Be it a hand or full human figure, I find that yoga postures contain worlds of meaning, embodied in a simple pose. It is a place where the psycho-spiritual finds perfect expression in the physical. Human-pretzel poses and seemingly impossible balancing acts are metaphors for the treacherous predicaments of life. Yoga's contortions paradoxically stretch the body into a stillness. Its ineffable sensations are like a golden other-worldliness, a personal place where millennia of eastern and western traditions merge. To me, arching Romanesque edges suggest altarpieces and the universal round. East, west — and everywhere else — are all found at the quiet center.
Laurie Lisonbee is a contemporary realist painter and fan of yoga who lives amidst the spectacular mountains of Salem, Utah. An artist and art educator, she teaches drawing, painting and design at Utah Valley University. Her gallery representation is with A Gallery in Salt Lake City where she will have a one-person exhibition of her figurative yoga paintings in April of. Her work can be seen on the web at: http://www.agalleryonline.com and at http://www.laurielisonbee.com.
