Fine Art
HILDA DEMSKY
Fine Artist
It's NATIONAL POETRY MONTH, and as part of our celebration, we've included "The Gratitude Project," inspired by the poetry of U.S. Poets Laureate during the height of the COVID pandemic. Fine artist Hilda Demsky created the artworks, and designer for the project is Louise Londin Design, NYC.
Please describe the inspiration behind "The Gratitude Project."
On Thanksgiving Day 2020, The New York Times invited poets laureate of the United States to submit, in 100 words or less, “what the people in their states would be thankful for” after the difficult year we all experienced at the height of the COVID pandemic. More than thirty state poets laureate responded. On November 26 and December 4 of 2020, their responses were printed in the newspaper. After reading the submitted verses, I felt deeply grateful to each of the poets laureate for their beautiful words.
I was inspired to create a series of paintings interpreting each of the poems submitted to capture the spirit of the poetry in a visual representation. My paintings contain geographic elements, symbolic use of color, and a subliminal outline of the referenced state's border. “The Gratitude Project” highlights The New York Times articles, the responding poets laureate poems, and the paintings they have inspired.
On Thanksgiving Day 2020, The New York Times invited poets laureate of the United States to submit, in 100 words or less, “what the people in their states would be thankful for” after the difficult year we all experienced at the height of the COVID pandemic. More than thirty state poets laureate responded. On November 26 and December 4 of 2020, their responses were printed in the newspaper. After reading the submitted verses, I felt deeply grateful to each of the poets laureate for their beautiful words.
I was inspired to create a series of paintings interpreting each of the poems submitted to capture the spirit of the poetry in a visual representation. My paintings contain geographic elements, symbolic use of color, and a subliminal outline of the referenced state's border. “The Gratitude Project” highlights The New York Times articles, the responding poets laureate poems, and the paintings they have inspired.
All paintings: Oil on Canvas ~ 20 X 16 inches ~ © Hilda Green Demsky
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Who is your favorite poet?
Maya Angelou is one. Her poem “Phenomenal Woman” comes to mind, particularly the following stanza: Now you understand Just why my head’s not bowed. I don’t shout or jump about Or have to talk real loud. When you see me passing, It ought to make you proud. I say, It’s in the click of my heels, The bend of my hair, the palm of my hand, The need for my care. ’Cause I’m a woman Phenomenally. Phenomenal woman, That’s me. I also appreciate Amanda Gorman’s “The Hill We Climb.” |
Where do you find sanctuary?
My sanctuary is walking by the sea, meditating on its beauty, power and vastness. I need the surf and sound of water to give me refuge during life’s ups and downs.
My sanctuary is walking by the sea, meditating on its beauty, power and vastness. I need the surf and sound of water to give me refuge during life’s ups and downs.
Hilda Green Demsky was born in a small town in Pennsylvania located on the banks of the Susquehanna River. While growing up on the river’s edge, Hilda learned early on about nature’s beauty and the pollution that threatens to destroy it.
Hilda graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and design. She then moved to New York, and her first job was selling post cards for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hilda carried her paintings on her head – “butter side up" – on the subway while earning her master’s degree at Hunter College. Hilda became an educator and worked with students at the middle school, high school and college levels. While teaching art at White Plains High School, she received the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Award.
Hilda was commissioned to exhibit her paintings in Mykonos, Greece. She also exhibited paintings at the 50th anniversary conference of the Fulbright Association in Budapest, Hungary. Her Fulbright Fellowship in Holland was another inspiring experience and one that motivated her to focus on flood waters. After she returned from Holland, Hilda exhibited work about global pollution at several Westchester County and New York galleries, including The Rye Arts Center and The Mamaroneck Artists Guild. After this series was fully exhausted, she changed her focus to the natural beauty of our planet.
Currently, Hilda lives near the Long Island Sound in Westchester County, where she works tirelessly in her studio, passionately expressing herself through painting.
Hilda graduated from Carnegie Mellon University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting and design. She then moved to New York, and her first job was selling post cards for the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Hilda carried her paintings on her head – “butter side up" – on the subway while earning her master’s degree at Hunter College. Hilda became an educator and worked with students at the middle school, high school and college levels. While teaching art at White Plains High School, she received the Christa McAuliffe Fellowship Award.
Hilda was commissioned to exhibit her paintings in Mykonos, Greece. She also exhibited paintings at the 50th anniversary conference of the Fulbright Association in Budapest, Hungary. Her Fulbright Fellowship in Holland was another inspiring experience and one that motivated her to focus on flood waters. After she returned from Holland, Hilda exhibited work about global pollution at several Westchester County and New York galleries, including The Rye Arts Center and The Mamaroneck Artists Guild. After this series was fully exhausted, she changed her focus to the natural beauty of our planet.
Currently, Hilda lives near the Long Island Sound in Westchester County, where she works tirelessly in her studio, passionately expressing herself through painting.
Hilda Demsky
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EXHIBITIONS:
Katonah Museum Artist Association "An Object of Curiosity" April 1 - April 30 Bethany Arts Community Center Ossining, NY "Artist Club Exhibition" April 7 - May 21 Pelham Art Center 155 5th Ave. Pelham, NY |
