Airy Hill Studio

The first week in a new place is filled with any number of assaults on the senses.  You are introduced to the area you will be living, the places you will be eating, and purchasing goods.  The wet market is a staple in the Chinese community.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was looking forward to the seafood section as much as anything. 

We approached this area of the market where tables were bordered by shallow white styrofoam coolers.  My brain assumed they were filled with seafood of sorts, but my eyes struggled to comprehend the idea.  I looked down expecting to see fish, crabs, etc., but instead I saw textures in blacks and whites.  Wet texture, moving and creating a beautiful ripple of line and depth. The visual journey continued with each inspection of goods.  Prawns, eels, crabs, fish, turtles, and a quick trip to the sketch book to journal the trickery that had just been played on my eyes.  

These works are a vivid reminder that there is a disconnect between what we see and what we think we see.  It is a moment in the experience where the presumption of knowing is far less interesting than reality.

The first week in a new place is filled with any number of assaults on the senses.  You are introduced to the area you will be living, the places you will be eating, and purchasing goods.  The wet market is a staple in the Chinese community.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was looking forward to the seafood section as much as anything. 

We approached this area of the market where tables were bordered by shallow white styrofoam coolers.  My brain assumed they were filled with seafood of sorts, but my eyes struggled to comprehend the idea.  I looked down expecting to see fish, crabs, etc., but instead I saw textures in blacks and whites.  Wet texture, moving and creating a beautiful ripple of line and depth. The visual journey continued with each inspection of goods.  Prawns, eels, crabs, fish, turtles, and a quick trip to the sketch book to journal the trickery that had just been played on my eyes.  

These works are a vivid reminder that there is a disconnect between what we see and what we think we see.  It is a moment in the experience where the presumption of knowing is far less interesting than reality.

The first week in a new place is filled with any number of assaults on the senses.  You are introduced to the area you will be living, the places you will be eating, and purchasing goods.  The wet market is a staple in the Chinese community.  I wasn't sure what to expect, but I was looking forward to the seafood section as much as anything. 

We approached this area of the market where tables were bordered by shallow white styrofoam coolers.  My brain assumed they were filled with seafood of sorts, but my eyes struggled to comprehend the idea.  I looked down expecting to see fish, crabs, etc., but instead I saw textures in blacks and whites.  Wet texture, moving and creating a beautiful ripple of line and depth. The visual journey continued with each inspection of goods.  Prawns, eels, crabs, fish, turtles, and a quick trip to the sketch book to journal the trickery that had just been played on my eyes.  

These works are a vivid reminder that there is a disconnect between what we see and what we think we see.  It is a moment in the experience where the presumption of knowing is far less interesting than reality.

Journey with me, if you will.  I am a child of the cold war.  In addition I am an American who grew up in the cold war.  I was raised learning about a “Red Square” where the rulers of the USSR lived and were always watching me. I thought the word “Propaganda” was something communists used to create hatred towards me.   Red Square was a place that I would never think of visiting or be allowed to journey to.   Imagine my surprise when old perspectives and ideas were challenged by a simple explanation that the Russian word for Beautiful and Red were so similar they had been misunderstood for years!

I was eighteen when the wall came down in Germany. When we arrived in Moscow we were taken to Red Square for the traditional photograph for the school.  It was an amazing experience on many levels, but the most astonishing part for me was to be standing on forbidden ground.  I didn’t know whether to feel honored or deviant.  I did however feel fortunate.  I fantasized of painting or creating some visual record that would capture this place for me. 

The journey began years ago but came to fruition while in the very place that I never dreamt I could go.  I began asking around and checking with others to see if they knew of or felt these feelings.  I began to ask others if they would partake in this journey with me.  The idea that so many before and after me will have traveled from their homeland to Red Square was interesting to me.  I thought about the dirt and dust on their shoes and how they would bring that unknowingly to and from here. 

I asked a group of individuals to go to Red Square or area around the Kremlin and collect dust, dirt, leaves, stones etc.  I asked them to also take a photo of themselves doing just that.  The response was mixed to say the least.  There were very different levels of comfort.  There were very different levels of commitment.

Once the dust and items were collected I added all the emails and photos that I had sent out requesting the collection, and burned them.  I took the left over carbon, crushed stones, ground dust, etc. and mixed it into the paint to create the texture for the center of Red Square.  This texture is present where you, others, and myself have traveled on our journey to this Beautiful Square, Red Square, Revolution Square. 

Cory Wanamaker

When you are moving through the expat life there are certain moments that are a confluence of joy, grief, denial, acceptance, and fear all in one.  Travel both away from your homeland and the place you currently call home builds your understanding of who you are.  It helps to broaden your own mind.  We experience different cultures through visiting, eating, drinking, talking, and engaging in lives.

When we are at the point of transition and we know in our hearts that it is time.  We talk behind closed doors first as a family, then as an extended family, then friends, and the circle expands. When you come to the point of understanding, that is when you realize it isn’t a time to fear, grieve, accept, or deny, it is simply time to progress.  

​I set aside a day to take a walk for inspiration in Old Town, (an amazing part of my new home). I began taking pictures of sculptures that were part of architectural structures.  Surprisingly though it wasn’t these protruding sculptures that caught my attention and spoke to me, but rather the many churches tucked in and nestled throughout old town.  They ranged in size and denomination but all had interesting iconic images.  When stepping into these churches I recognized that these images were a unique reflection of the church itself.

 In my painting I wanted to bring these treasures to the forefront, giving access to the visual traveler, instead of hidden behind hotels and restaurants.  I arranged them as if the churches were on a promenade of sorts.

The Angels have taken a pose originally seen in my painting called “Offering”. This is an image attached to my childhood upbringing in the church.   After collecting the offering from those seated in pews, the ushers would proceed to the front altar carrying the bounty in shiny golden vessels, waste high, in a ceremonial manner.  It is my hope as an adult that the angels I know now share knowledge, demonstrate understanding, perpetuate peace, develop connections, and a evoke sense of life to those who partake in my work.  

Cory Wanamaker

There is energy that fills the skies of Prague. There are connections that occur between people, places, and things that I can only explain as serendipitous.  Prague was at one point the center of time.  It held the meridian that the rest of the world used as its’ measure.  It was the seat of the Holy Roman Empire.  It was where some of the most important work to explain our universe was done by the likes of Brahe and Kepler.  It was a place where its very own culture was taken away, redefined, and reclaimed through both violent and peaceful means.  It holds an energy that is shared worldwide by the mention of the Bohemian spirit.  It conjures up images of beauty, life, architecture, and creates an almost comic book reality of fantasy and inspiration.   The skies hold something special here in Prague.  I feel fortunate as an artist to have had the birthplace of Bohemia as part of my journey.  

The iconic architecture, the forward thinking, the inspiring growth. The river, the boats, the sunset, the sky, the people, the movement, the lights.T he first family photo, the long journey, the sense of accomplishment, the sense of arriving, the senses come alive. The energy of the gunpowder, the cadence, the smell, the child reborn. The Bund, the Sky line.

Cory S. Wanamaker

The female guardian protects the inner dwellings of the soul. She completes the circle of life through birth. She exhales experiences and knowledge needed for survival. Her soul was born through the explosion of Chinese Firecrackers in a moment of sensory stimulation. The energy of the gunpowder, the cadence, and the smell felt like childhood reborn. It was a moment where I was transcended and grounded in a cyclical singular event. To say making this piece was fulfilling for my life is an understatement.

Cory S. Wanamaker

The male guardian protects external elements necessary for life. He is the architect of structure and process. He inhales the environment for understanding.  His soul was born through the explosion of Chinese Firecrackers in a moment of sensory stimulation. The energy of the gunpowder, the cadence, and the smell felt like childhood reborn. It was a moment where I was transcended and grounded in a cyclical singular event. What a joyful moment of creation.

Cory S. Wanamaker

When you come through the other side of an event that challenges you both mentally and physically you experience a multitude of feelings.   During February 2012 in Moscow, I had a Russian surgeon tell me I was a day away from Dead.  My American doctor told it to me again later that day.  Two very different bed side manners, but the same message.  

It is important to know that I am a Taurus; I have always felt like a Taurus.  I don’t know a lot about astrology, I only know what I feel and what seems to make sense.  I know for sure, that I am deeply connected to the earth.  Represented by the yellow oxide.   I can’t explain it, but it is the color that surrounds me.  I am steadfast, strong, and loyal.  I have a large energy that is both a blessing and a curse. When a bull walks into a room, you notice.  This is present in the intense red of this piece.    

This is the first painting I finished and signed while in Prague.   It is the first time I felt back on my feet and strong.   I have never been a fan of the quote, “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”.  I don’t know about that, but I do know that sometimes it leaves you black and blue.

Cory Wanamaker

​

Observation of life from the inside out is essential to my progress as an artist.  I am on the inside of the clock looking out.  It reveals the inner workings of time.   There is a representational message of the daily process in the twenty-four gears.  There is the message for the longevity of art in the heliocentric orbits that appear as leading in the glass. 

For me this piece is a sense of calm.  I hear the tic-tock of the gears; I see the dusk to dawn light of day out the window.  There are subtle soundings of life beyond the walls.  It is my day spent in the studio in quiet, creative, process with the unique blessing to be an artist in my own time.

Cory Wanamaker

This is the introductory piece to a series inspired by time in its many forms.  Time spent living in Prague, time spent standing in-front of the Astronomical Clock, time spent seeing the Tyn church when you enter Old Town Square.  It is about my time as an expat finding connections outside my own culture in place, space, and iconic landmarks.  The more time spent outside my own country stimulates cause for reflection and response. 

This specific piece is about the movement and counterbalance of time. The way we as humans move, are hurled into space on this earthly rock around the sun.  The energy it gives, the warmth of the sun, and the peaceful solitude found in the special moments of every day.  Responding to those moments whose time are fleeting and often go unobserved.

Cory Wanamaker

SOLD

Travel away from your homeland and the place you currently call home builds your understanding of who you are. It helps to broaden your mind. We experience  different cultures through visiting, eating, drinking, talking, and engaging in their lives. When I travel I enjoy looking for the place that the “locals” enjoy. I also enjoy trying to understand places or items with cultural relevance. Recently my family and I visited Zhu Jia Jiao.  Walking through the temples, over bridges, and enjoying a meal, it was apparent that I was in a different place from the where I now called home. It is hard to imagine what this town looked like many years ago, but the reference to old culture and place is easy to experience. Schools of gold fish swam effortlessly through, around and under the bridges weaving a texture that replicated the movement of those inhabitants and visitors alike.

The air was quiet, illuminate, understated. It could have been anywhere, but it was here in China during the autumn festival. After a night of celebration with friends we stepped outside where the warmth of the autumn air welcomed and encouraged you to look skyward. It was a moment of still, underlined with excitement. The creation of this piece reflects its’ moment of conception. There was, noise, celebration, firecrackers, and cheers resulting in a moment of reflection and serenity.

Cory S. Wanamaker

China has a vast history of gardening.  The hands of the people who work the earth are representative of the physical connection they posses.  I think of the gardeners within the compound I live.  I observe their gentle demeanor.  They are friendly, peaceful, and seem content.   Their tools are simple and effective.  They are a conduit between the gardener and the job at hand.  I admire the team of gardeners who work tirelessly, kneeling, pulling, planting, and picking grasses to make the grounds of our school a lush palette of green hues.

These artisans of nature paint the expat bubble and the world we inhabit with lush layers of greens, yellows, splashes of color, and fragrances that soothe the mind.

Write here...

This piece was created to develop a working knowledge of a style I have admired from afar.

The line, the dress, the architecture, and the deep history in production of ideas that are quintessentially Asian, carry a simple elegance.  It allows for calculated movement and balance through observation and interaction of the audience.  In particular I have admired the dress and style of Hanfu.

Hanfu is a term that comes from the Book of Han.  It is mostly referenced within the Han Dynasty, however its design and specific articles of clothing also include the Shang, Zhou, Tang, Song and Ming Dynasties.  This style back as far as 1300 BC.   Its influence is still present and honored in the dress of today. 

One of the joys of moving around the world is developing relationships that lead to friendships, opportunities, and unique experiences. I enjoy people, I enjoy talking about ideas, and I enjoy hearing about other’s processes.  It’s a different way of learning for me, but it sticks and I truly find wealth in these exchanges.  It’s more then networking.  The idea of taking your time in building relationships and allowing them to grow in an organic manner feels more authentic to me.  There seems to be an element of trust and balance that is inherently built into good relationships.   It wasn't until I came to China that there was a word or expression that captures this type of relationship building in a way that holds my expectation of integrity. Guanxi.

Travel both away from your homeland and the place you currently call home builds your understanding of who you are.  It helps to broaden your own mind.  We experience different cultures through visiting, eating, drinking, talking, and engaging in their lives.  When I travel I enjoy looking for the place that the “locals” enjoy.  I also enjoy trying to understand places or items of cultural relevance.  Recently while living in Prague we traveled to Istanbul.  The city is an amazing tapestry of textures, sounds, smells, color, patterns, and movement.  All deeply rooted in its religious and historical self worth.  It was one of the first trips where I felt as though I was immersed in a different culture while at the same time longing for my home here in Prague. I have come to recognize that my feet are firmly planted on a moving geographical point of origin that is truly transforming.

There are twelve gears in this piece to represent a year.  It is how we measure our time on earth.   They go by us month-by-month, day-by-day, and second by second.  There are moments when we reflect, observe, and plan. The figure is embracing time as it flows through her mind and creates thoughts, experiences, and memories.

There are moments when we think about what may be or what will come.  Often at the loss of the experiences we are having.   The time in between the daydreams and the planning are when the best things happen.  I don’t want to forget how to embrace those moments, and mostly I want to remember to take time to dream.

Among the everyday craziness that goes into creating a show, living life, packing, traveling, and parenting,  I often feel a certain nervousness settling in.   There are moments when I have to remind myself to slow down and take what comes.  There are moments when I must force myself to move and change from sculpture to painting to writing to blogging and so on.  This was a time when I had to allow the energy onto the canvas in raw expression.  It was a form of escapism from the writings and organizing of this show.  It was simply about just taking the time to create.

Looking at the passage of time through the lens of an ex-pat has brought this second piece in the Prague Meridian series to fruition.  It is strange how time twists and turns in relationship to your stay in a place.   Time in a place is often measured by numbers of years and length of stay.  We use this measuring practice in daily conversations.  It is a constant reminder of days spent, days leaving, or days being left behind.  It is the day-to-day occurrences that obscure, twist, and dilute the reality of our time. 

I would like to think that as ex-pats we have somehow learned how to ride the ups and downs of time while remaining aware of the important moments.    The central idea is to live the life we are meant to live and enjoy where this journey will take us. 

Cory Wanamaker

There is a unique relationship between ourselves, and the place we call home.  Wherever you live as an expat you have experiences that allow you to become connected to the place.  During this time of discovery I have been creating paintings and sculptures in the studio.   In a strange twist, I have found that this seems to have allowed me to create paintings that include my sculptures. There is connectivity between the bronzes and the paintings.   They are often telling the story of the same place through different voices. 

This piece shows my journey of time entwined with the grace found in the design of the sculpture.  The painted lines in the works are there to represent energy and the movement through the past, present, and future.  It is often our hope to embrace this journey with the grace of the sculpture.

She was there for the first time with her family when she was thirteen, he was there for the first time with his family when he was thirteen, I stood for the first time with my family and I felt thirteen again. 

Attempting to reproduce something of such grandeur and beauty is the work of fools.  There is nothing that captures, transforms, or can visually represent how the canyon is perceived by the human eye.  At the very best a photograph can only recreate a glimpse of what this organic being has to offer.  The canyon is more than something you see, it is something you take in and take with you.  It leaves an indelible impression on your perceived relevance as a human being.

I was minuscule as I stood in awesome observation.  I felt humbled, irrelevant.  I could only find context while studying a three-dimensional map from a bird’s eye view.  Even then its shear magnitude is incomprehensible.

Wait until you see it; wait until you stand at its edge, wait until you share this experience with loved ones and strangers alike.  Wait until you discover it for the first time.  The grandeur of the canyon brings wonder and awe even to the eyes of a re-born thirteen-year-old middle aged man.

Cory S. Wanamaker

As a creative observer I am never really short of ideas. It is my responsibility as an artist to sort through the good and bad and see where the journey goes. When that doesn’t work, there are times when you must just throw a canvas up on the wall and see what comes out. 

I walked into the studio and the first thing I did was ask myself if the drippings on the studio wall from all the previous paintings was the best work I have done in the last year and a half? Then I laughed at myself and thought, it is going to be one of those days is it?

Call it therapy, call it survival, or call it something far less dramatic. Sometimes art is just a return to the very nature of making marks and seeing where they go. I was hoping to figure something deeply personal out today, but instead I had fun, and that was certainly something I didn’t expect to have. 

When I entered the Czech Republic it was in the same manner in which I enter the studio, full of ideas, a strong work ethic and reservation. One of the items that is unique is finding a person who will help represent your work. This includes contracts, show preparation, and most importantly, handling me during an opening. It takes a person who has a gentle yet strong demeanor. It also has to be someone who knows how to throw a good party.

I approached Amy about taking on this task after attending a large dinner party at her house. She had reservations and it took some convincing, but she came around. I am thankful she did. It has been a pleasure to get to know Amy, Mark, and the girls. I am fortunate to have been part of their ex-pat experience. 

Saying thank you isn’t enough. As you reflect back on this experience, I hope that you too will think we learned something about ourselves, worked hard, enjoyed the openings, kept a balance, shared some laughs, and above all, had some “Unexpected Fun”. 

Forever Grateful,
Cory S. Wanamaker …Artist

This piece is a combination of the illustrated style of the previous paintings with the idea of texture and a study of how that texture works in layers.  The composition changed several times, change is often part of the process.  The idea of monks working like wizards with the bells is fantastical but interesting. The bell tower of Rostov is in a horizontal format.  This changed to a Vertical / Portrait painting, because I wanted to have the feeling of standing in the bell tower next to the bells, that was what I remember most, the honor or ability to stand next to the bells or in front of them.    The experience was cold, silent, and a complete contrast to the sound of the bells being played.  It serves as another example of the contrasts I feel daily in Russia.  The Town of Rostov was filled with contradiction, 

-A beautiful lake next to a utility road,

-A beautiful monastery next to run down homes,

-Brand new built homes next to shacks just hanging together.

-Old shops with nothing in them, next to stores full of fashionable boots and shoes.

 -Rundown exteriors of buildings hosting luxurious banyas inside.

-Stoic expressions hiding warm, caring personalities.

As an artist, traveler, father, husband, and globe citizen, I often have the felling of peeling back an onion, each layer becomes cleaner, sweeter, tastier, but the process often includes tears and frustration.

Cory Wanamaker

When I walk in Prague at night, the city turns a dramatic black and white.  The light rakes across the city in the likes of a Caravaggio painting.  For me that is when Praha is most stunning.  It has a beautiful fairytale elegance that welcomes people from across the world.  It has in turn welcomed my angels to walk among its most precious treasures. 

They have come onto the bridge to guide, share, illuminate, and offer a depth of beauty to all those who walk the cobble paths.  I feel blessed that my angels have found a place here.  It is a connection that has brought me to the beginning stages of understanding the energy that this special region holds. 

Cory Wanamaker

The Moscow River Journeys naturally through the landscape on an angular path.  In stark contrast to the circular road system that dominates the man made cityscape.  The circular pattern and coloring of this piece shows the movement of the roads and their place as we observe the track that the river takes.  It bends and curves as it welcomes people, parks, religions, fisherman, industries, and governance to its embankments.   It is interesting to me in the way that many honor, and how others mistreat this natural resource. 

I used water taken from the Moscow River during the process of making this painting.  It was part of the thinning, cleaning, and creating process.  It is my way of honoring water and how it appears in my journey.   Water is important to me for many reasons.  It keeps me grounded and connected in a peaceful, cleansing way, as it does Moscow.

Cory Wanamaker

There are moments when we should share what we know.  We share knowledge in many different ways.   We demonstrate it, write about it, sing about it, and even create art about it.  Sharing knowledge is important for the existence of traditions, celebrations, and the survival of cultures.  For me the most genuine of all manners is sharing through teaching.  It is especially important when we take the time to teach it to children. 

This piece is about those moments outside the classroom, outside the home, away from the kitchen table.  This is a representation of a mother sharing knowledge with her family, returning what she knows to assure a future.  This is the true moment when nurturing is truly natural.  

​My headphones were in, music playing and it was the normal ride on the blue line out of the city.  We were someplace between stops when music poured into my brain, louder, sweeter, more ancient, textured, and rhythmic then what was playing on my ipod.  It was a dark olive skinned eastern European challenging our auditory space.  Watching him play was both a visual and listening experience. I said to myself,  “this is why we did this!” 

This is bigger than a simple ride on the metro it was a reminder to unplug and listen.  You never know what surprises maybe around the corner or at the next stop.  It helped me to remember to turn off the electronic devises even when a stewardess is not there to remind me.

Cory Wanamaker

The Moscow River Journeys naturally through the landscape on an angular path.  In stark contrast to the circular road system that dominates the man made cityscape.  The circular pattern and coloring of this piece shows the movement of the roads and their place as we observe the track that the river takes.  It bends and curves as it welcomes people, parks, religions, fisherman, industries, and governance to its embankments.   It is interesting to me in the way that many honor, and how others mistreat this natural resource. 

I used water taken from the Moscow River during the process of making this painting.  It was part of the thinning, cleaning, and creating process.  It is my way of honoring water and how it appears in my journey.   Water is important to me for many reasons.  It keeps me grounded and connected in a peaceful, cleansing way, as it does Moscow.

Cory Wanamaker

This piece is as much an illustration as it is anything.  When I want to experience a place, my creative process begins with research. As with any of my works there is often a story or experience relating directly to the creation of the piece.  In this case I have chosen to construct areas of interest from Old Town Square with a visual composition that tells the story of some Prague’s history. The Astronomical clock and Tyn Church are certainly precious and recognizable symbols of Old Town. I have collaged a space where travelers can journey through these places in the presence of the Angels. 

The background is based on the work done in Prague by Johannes Kepler with Tycho Brahe.  When Kepler came to work in Prague he was using the Copernican model for the heliocentric universe.  He came to Prague to work with Brahe and it is here where he completed the Kepler model of the Universe.  The planets orbits are visible as the gradient circular motions in the back of the piece.  The planets themselves are represented as round visuals of simple experiences in Old Town, for example one is the Stain Glass window, and the other is a Prague Ham.  You will see that all the planets form a line from the sun on the Astronomical clock at a 23.4-degree angle, the exact tilt of the earth’s axis.

Cory Wanamaker

The walk up a rocky path to the stone fort was both breathtaking and exhilarating.  However, it was the experience of standing on a 100 –meter cliff edge that left a profound impact on my soul. 

I felt a deep connection to the land and sea of the Aaron Islands.  It took me back to my childhood where the smell of salt air fizzled through my brain and danced on my taste buds.  The pure energy and hypnotic flow of the water as it firsts crashes on the rocks then moves eloquently back into the sea is the definition of nature in balance. 

This is what I felt when standing on the cliff.  This is what inspired me to paint Dun Aengus.

It is my humble honor to present my interpretive painting from the cliffs at Dun Aengus as a gift to the State of Ireland. 

As an artist I have tried to capture the raw beauty and energy of the cliffs.  My hope would be that this painting would give those who have been or those who have never been the experience of standing on the edge of the cliffs at Dun Aengus.  It will either take you back in memory or inspire you to visit.

The ownership of this piece is handed over to the State of Ireland as a gift.  Not to be sold or bartered, instead, to be shared and exhibited as a representation of an aesthetic and cultural exchange between myself, my country, and the State of Ireland.

Views turn into memories.  Memories will define how we remember a place, time, and experience. 

A simple walk around the apartment  as instructed by the news reporter to see what was available to me right out my window.  Then I gathered ground and snow to create a stain which represents the river/road.  Then she gave the command.    Now you paint….so I did......

Cory Wanamaker

​

The Moscow River Journeys naturally through the landscape on an angular path.  In stark contrast to the circular road system that dominates the man made cityscape.  The circular pattern and coloring of this piece shows the movement of the roads and their place as we observe the track that the river takes.  It bends and curves as it welcomes people, parks, religions, fisherman, industries, and governance to its embankments.   It is interesting to me in the way that many honor, and how others mistreat this natural resource. 

I used water taken from the Moscow River during the process of making this painting.  It was part of the thinning, cleaning, and creating process.  It is my way of honoring water and how it appears in my journey.   Water is important to me for many reasons.  It keeps me grounded and connected in a peaceful, cleansing way, as it does Moscow.

Cory Wanamaker

​There is a personal attachment to St. George for me.  It is a direct link to my family and many stories told at gatherings.  Our first international experience living and working abroad was in England.  St. George is a patron saint of England and Russia.  He is also present in the castle district in our new home of Prague.  I can also talk about how I am drawn to the yellow oxides of the metro station in Victory Park and how it returns me to my journeys to Spain, but the most important factor is the WWII memorial.  

Paul Hummel Jr. fought in the Second World War for the United States Navy.  He often spoke of the tragedies of war in a manner that was a mix of regret and duty.   His greatest stories came from the parts of the world he would visit.  He enjoyed recalling his journey and how he experienced the many oceans on our globe.  The stories were all strangely attached to the over cast of WWII.  Paul Hummel Jr. died two years ago.  He was a good man, a patriot, and my grandfather.

Cory Wanamaker

​It is this poem below that rings in my mind while the creating this piece.  It is for me queer to walk out of a wooded park beside the Kremlin, to see large hoses running in water while massive architectural structures loom as mountains.  I think the horses must find it strange to be held captive with a city to their backs, water at their feet, and the smell of the woods, the greenery, the flora, and the view of a fire in the distance.

Cory Wanamaker

Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening

Whose woods these

are I think I know.

His house is in the village though;

He will not see me stopping here

To watch his woods fill up with snow.

My little horse must think it queer

To stop without a farmhouse near

Between the woods and frozen lake

The darkest evening of the year.

He gives his harness bells a shake

To ask if there is some mistake.

The only other sound's the sweep

Of easy wind and downy flake.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

And miles to go before I sleep.

Robert Frost.  
New Hampshire
1923

The Vltava River has the pleasure of enjoying some of Europe’s most beautiful cities on its journey through the Czech Republic. It has been painted, written about, and composed into music.  This river has been named and renamed.  In addition its name is truly written in the stars.  

I used water taken from the Vltava River during the process of making this painting.  It was part of the thinning, cleaning, and creating process.  It is my way of honoring water and how it appears in my journey.   Water is important to me for many reasons.  It keeps me grounded and connected in a peaceful and cleansing way.  This is the sister piece to the Moskva series.  They reflect the journey that my life has taken and the waters that were present.

Cory Wanamaker

This piece began by writing stream of consciousness thoughts about being in a new place.  The first thought was: “I have never felt more like a bull in a china shop, quite the way I do here in Prague.”  There are strange questions and thoughts that come with re-establishing yourself as an individual.  There are even more intense issues that arise while re-establishing yourself as an artist.   One is very different from the other, but necessary for survival in the same way.  The bull in this piece is less solid, more linear, and transparent than my other self-portraits.  While painting this piece it feels as though his head was cocked down looking back at me as I worked.

Cory Wanamaker

The Vltava River has the pleasure of enjoying some of Europe’s most beautiful cities on its journey through the Czech Republic. It has been painted, written about, and composed into music.  This river has been named and renamed.  In addition its name is truly written in the stars.  

I used water taken from the Vltava River during the process of making this painting.  It was part of the thinning, cleaning, and creating process.  It is my way of honoring water and how it appears in my journey.   Water is important to me for many reasons.  It keeps me grounded and connected in a peaceful and cleansing way.  This is the sister piece to the Moskva series.  They reflect the journey that my life has taken and the waters that were present.

Cory Wanamaker

With every piece of my art there is a story that is born out of experience.  We were touring the Castle grounds of Prague for the first time.  Our guide told the story of St. John Nepomuk.  How he was bound, tortured, the pushed off the Charles Bridge.  As part of the story she said that stars appeared in the sky when he was thrown to his grave in the Vltava River.  It is said he died because of his unwillingness to give up the confessions of specific people.  He died out of conviction.  I respect this type of commitment and integrity.  She told the story in a way that made it easy to visualize.

I began to think about water and its importance to life and how it can take away life as well.  I connected to the immersion under water and how even now I enjoy submerging myself at the bottom of a pool.  I think of the water as it washes your body on the way down.  It is a place to be still, removed, and reflective.  Being immersed in water is otherworldly and in some cases, brings peace.

Cory Wanamaker