Bonnie Berkowitz
Bonnie A Berkowitz, MA, ATR-BC, ATCS, LPAT is an artist, teacher, and Art Therapist, mentoring artists to combine art making within a self-reflective practice. Bonnie holds a Master of Arts degree in Fiber Studio from Montclair State University, the 2001 Clinicians' Award from the American Art Therapy Association, and the 2002 Distinguished Service Award and Honorary Life Membership from the New Jersey Art Therapy Association for her years of service. Bonnie has exhibited nationally and internationally, receiving the 2003 Crafts Fellowship from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts (NJSCA), and most recently, was awarded the 2023 NJSCA Grant Finalist for her work with Fiber.
Artist Statement
Lifting up ordinary objects out of everyday life and recreating the expectation and function of that object is the root of how I begin to create my work. If craft is an art that enables humans to surround themselves in an environment of beauty, to enhance, interact with and inspire the mundane, then this is what I seek to accomplish. When a simple object becomes other than ordinary, when its original intention becomes unfamiliar and invites closer examination, it is then that craft elevates the simple, familiar life experiences and adds wonder and a longing to connect and touch, to know something more than only surface offers. My work is intuitive and mindful. Combining fabric, paper, thread, and beads with various other materials and a range of techniques, I engage in a process that becomes an intimate experience of experimentation, ritual, and relationship. I love to feel the weight, both the warmth and coolness of the fabric and beads together. I often encode a text or imagery into the surface to express thoughts and feelings about life experiences. I also love to use the vehicle of the puppet to explore character and movement through relatedness of stories and poems. I have used these materials for as long as I can remember and spoken this visual language all my life. My art celebrates this life and love through close exploration and pursuit of the creative mystery, which always leads me towards the discovery of the unexpected image.
http://babsart@gmail.com
