Ritual (SAQA Virtual Gallery)

Lisa Flowers Ross lives in Boise, Idaho where she creates colorful, abstract, nature-inspired artworks using fabrics she hand-dyes. Flowers Ross holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Drawing, as well as a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Hope College. Her artwork has been exhibited nationally and internationally including at Visions Museum of Textile Art, CA, Yellowstone Art Museum, MT and Woman Made Gallery, IL, among others, and is included in private and public collections. 

Previously, Flowers Ross worked part-time as a curatorial assistant at the Boise Art Museum for over 20 years and was a voluntary art teacher for her daughter’s elementary class for seven years. In addition, she has independently curated several exhibitions for local art groups. Currently she is a juried artist member of the Boise Open Studio Collective Organization and Studio Art Quilt Associates and has been the recipient of grants from the Idaho Commission on the Arts and the Alexa Rose Foundation.

To learn more, please visit her website lisaflowersross.net

What distinguishes a ritual from a routine? The Cambridge Dictionary defines ritual as “a way of doing something in which the same actions are done in the same way every time.” This sounds very much like a routine, as well. But to me, a ritual goes beyond this definition. It is something special that evokes more emotion than that of a routine.

While first reviewing the artworks, I looked at the visual imagery without reading the artist statements. As a curator, I was looking for several things. The first was the quality of the work. Is it well made? Then, keeping the theme in mind, I asked myself if the art evoked some kind of feeling in me, if I could relate to it or if I saw something intriguing that made me want to know more. In addition, I was looking for a good composition. After that and only then did I eventually read the artist statements in which many of the artists shared their own emotions around rituals. Having made my initial selections, I also looked to see if they worked together as a whole.

In the virtual gallery, we have only the two-dimensional space of a screen on which to view the artworks. The audience does not have the opportunity to view a piece physically up close and in person. Because of this, and most importantly, the images need to be very good. Unfortunately, if there was an image that I did not feel was up to the standard of displaying on the Studio Art Quilt Associates website, then it was not included, even if the artwork might have been one I would have chosen.

Regula Affolter (Switzerland) - Elisabeth's sixty #108/2024
Judith Ahlborn (Colorado, USA) - Oh the Aroma
Iina Alho (Norway) - There is a Prayer Hidden in Every Heartbeat
Mel Beach (California, USA) - Yoga Flow(ers)
Anne Bellas (France) - Village des Cyclades
Jette Clover (Belgium) - Leaving a Mark
Jennifer Coghill (Ontario, Canada) - Meadowland
Joyce King Ferrie (Florida, USA) - Still Looking Up
Laura Fogg (California, USA) - Coastways Cousins
Sally Glutting (Montana, USA) - Labyrinth: Peace and Healing
Denise Hagan (United Kingdom) - Reflection
Helene Hein (Germany) - Blooming
Darcy Hunter (New Brunswick, Canada) - Rekindling-Mind, Body, and Soul
Patty Kennedy-Zafred (Pennsylvania, USA) - Jewels of Kenya
Darlene Khosrowpour (Texas, USA) - My Yellow is Yours, Your Red is Mine!
Karol Kusmaul (Florida, USA) - Art Buddies
Teresita Leal (Argentina) - The Screamers
Ann Mayse (California, USA) - Coyote Hills Park
Suzanne Neusner (New Jersey, USA) - Yoga Class
Amanda Preston Araujo (Colorado, USA) - Carimbó
Wen Redmond (New Hampshire, USA) - 'Door and Window Diptych'
Roswitha Schmit (Austria) - Begegnungen
Norma Slabbert (New Zealand) - Morning Tea Ritual
Peri Villeneuve (Florida, USA) - Winter Weather Log