"Quantum physics tells us that there is no end to the cosmic dance -- the universal field of energy and information never stops transforming itself, becoming new at every second. Our bodies obey this same creative impulse.... In order to stay alive your body must live on the wings of change.... By the end of this year, 98 percent of the atoms in your body will have been exchanged for new ones."
-- Deepak Chopra

Today menopause for many women will only mark a midway point in their longevity. The archetypal division of a female life into maiden, mother and crone will not fit everyone. To keep vitality as we age, we need to re-energize and transform ourselves. In this image, as the body being born and the body giving birth become one, I seem to be rebirthing myself.

 Cosmic Dance marks a change in stylistic approach and choice of materials. The flat bright colors of acrylic paint, appropriate for the drama of menopause, are no longer right for what I want to express about the texture and feel of aging. I scrawl and draw with crayons, oil pastels, pencils, charcoal, chalk and paint. I turn to rubbings from rocks, wood and plant materials to render variegated textures more indicative of nature.