Artists Registry

Cynthia Lee

La Grange Park IL United States

http://www.cynthiajlee.com
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I am a poet and a visual artist. I often use poetry to arrive at the "emotional truth" of an event or experience or place that resonates for me. I move from poem drafts to early versions of abstract paintings done in oil mixed with wax and other media. Once the poem is finished, the painting becomes easier, more abstract and truer to the original impulse.

"Molecular Weight" helped me to understand the horror of 9-11 from the vantage point of those who
died so suddenly. I have been unable to paint about this experience, but was pleased to have
the poem included three years later in an art exhibit which featured both art and poetry. The exhibit,
"War Forum: Images & Words," was at Woman Made Gallery in Chicago, IL (2004).

I have a Master's in social policy from the University of Chicago and have worked in both the public and private sectors. While I have published poetry and had staged readings of plays I've written, I found my creative home about a decade ago in the visual arts. I am now a professional artist who exhibits in galleries in the Chicago metropolitan region. My art is abstract, non-objective and often conceptual. I explore themes of nature, science, music, technology, social media and states of mind. I work primarily in oil mixed with cold wax and organic materials (charcoal, mica, sand, marble dust). I continue to write poetry and often use it to help me discover the "emotional truth" of something I am trying to paint. You can see my art and learn more about me on my website: www.cynthiajlee.com