MONICA STROIK
On a broad universal level, each of us makes daily choices, some conscious and others unconscious, these all have consequences. While looking at my paintings you see this defined by those areas that are in more focus while other parts are more hazy or unclear. The choices we make in our lives add color or change color. The effect of these choices may cause us to change direction or confirm the direction we are already pointed towards. The more aware we become regarding the effects of the cause the better equipped we are at being more in control of who we are as a person, working together and communicating as a people.
On a personal level, these paintings are specifically tied to an experience that happened many years ago, the effect of which affects me on an almost daily basis, the degree to which is tied to the choices I make. The more aware I have become the less noticeable are the effects experienced on a daily basis. However, the hazy parts of my paintings display the irony that I can never fully be in control of the effects of my choices because of the damage the cause created. So, infused within this dichotomy of conscious and unconscious is that mysterious notion of that which is totally out of my control.