INSPIRE ME! Artist of Month for August is Teresa Mas (Again)

ALPHA OMEGA ARTS
By TAHLIB

Baby Krishna by Teresa Mas

Since we began this journey in 2008, we've come across some truly amazing religious artists working in America but Teresa Mas stands out, and especially among Hindu artists. We first saluted her in December 2011 as our INSPIRE ME! Artist of the Month and she continues to fascinate and inspire with her fresh and colorful works. This month however is especially special because this month we are joining the 950 million followers of Hinduism around the world in celebrating the birth of the Hindu god Krishna. The holyday of "Krishna Janmachtami" is August 17th, and we are proud celebrate that "auspicious" day by featuring Florida artist Teresa Mas as our Artist of the Month.

The Stone: What Would Krishna Do? Or Shiva? Or Vishnu?

THE NEW YORK TIMES
By Jonardon Ganeri

Baby Krishna by Teresa Mas

The essence of Hinduism is that it has no essence. What defines Hinduism and sets it apart from other major religions is its polycentricity, its admission of multiple centers of belief and practice, with a consequent absence of any single structure of theological or liturgical power. Unlike Christianity, Buddhism or Islam, there is no one single canonical text — the Bible, the Dialogues of the Buddha, the Quran — that serves as a fundamental axis of hermeneutical or doctrinal endeavor, recording the words of a foundational religious teacher. (The Veda is only the earliest in a diverse corpus of Hindu texts.) Hinduism is a banyan tree, in the shade of whose canopy, supported by not one but many trunks, a great diversity of thought and action is sustained. [link]

RELIGIOUS ART | TALK OF WEEK

AOA NEWS
By Tahlib

"GANESHA" (above) is by Teresa Mas, and Mas is this month's Inspire Me! Artist. Mas is a practicing Hindu and a painter who lives in Florida. Her technique is dreamlike and seductive. The portraits of Hindu gods are fashioned from applications of acrylic paint and collage into celebrations of the internal journey we all seek as Believers. Find our more about this month's Creator Spirit from Florida at her December 1st Inspire Me! profile. *Listed below are the other religions art news stories of the past week from our interfaith world. The stories are grouped by the five largest faith traditions, with an additional category for other/interfaith.

INSPIRE ME! Artist, Teresa Mas

"I trust my God within, to guide me,
talk to me, remind me and teach me."
~ TERESA MAS

Krishna and Parvati

By Ernest Disney-Britton

Teresa Mas is a true American Creator Spirit. Her works are inward journeys of self-discovery filled with the unexpected at every corner. With a highly developed technique, she creates acrylic paintings often mixed with collages of surprises--imagery and details of surprises! A world traveler and follower of Hinduism, she studied art in Miami, Florida and also Spain. Teresa's paintings are fresh, colorful, full of light and in a word, so "beautiful" you are seduced by her creations and can't wait to discover more about her Hindu faith. Alpha Omega Arts is proud to feature her as the INSPIRE ME! Artist of the Month: December 2011.

Nomination's Open for America's Religious Art Prize

AOA NEWS

NEW YORK - Nominations are now open for the 4th annual Alpha & Omega Prize for Professional Artists, sponsored by the Alpha & Omega Project for Contemporary Religious Arts. "Throughout this month, nominations will be solicited from the religious & artistic communities," says Ernest Britton, Project Director. "Unlike typical visual arts awards, the A&O Prize celebrates both artistic excellence and the faith dialogue the artwork inspires." Open to artists of all faiths, past honorees include Kehinde Wiley (2008) for his painting, "Dead Christ"; Helen Zughaib (2009) for "Midnight Prayers"; and last year's honoree was Thomas Blackshear (2010) for his US Postage stamp honoring Mother Teresa. In keeping with past practice, the winner of the annual prize will be announced on November 1st following the meeting of the board in NYC. To make a nomination, please send an email recommendation of 200-words (or less) to aoprize@alphaomegaarts.org by August 31.