Valerianna Claff

The Trees & Pond series explores the light and atmosphere of wild, open spaces at different times of day and weather. It began with a swampy area I pass regularly, and my fascination with the light, the reflections in water and the patterns of dead tree branches against sky. Reflections are created by the bleeding of wet color onto a wet field, and, when dry, the more specific trees are painted on top. The new work relates to older bodies of work exploring ridge tops and weather patterns and a desire to celebrate the quiet that these places evoke in me. For me, the act of painting is ritual and prayer and an invocation to the spirit of the wild places to mend the broken threads of our belonging.

Marsh Sunrise,  watercolor, 7.5 x 11 in., 2017

Valerianna Claff, M.F.A. is a professional artist, educator, storyteller, ritualist, steward and director of RavenWood Forest. She teaches studio art at Clark University and at RavenWood, and combines her lifelong exploration of creativity, spirituality, music and healing to invite authentic self-expression and deep transformation. Her studies and exploration of shamanic and vibrational healing techniques, earth-based spirituality, mythology, women’s wisdom traditions and extensive experience facilitating ritual inform her artistic inquiry and practice. Her home is located in the densely forested wild lands of Western Massachusetts which provides infinite inspiration for her creative work and is a source of deep, spiritual nourishment.