About the Book

The idea for this book came from sketches I made when my mother was terminally ill.

I painted in bound watercolor books, working loosely - using bright, abstract images and hand painted words.  Although I am an artist, these paintings were in no way intended to be art.  For me, the directness of the watercolor helped me stay present with my experience, and the work became a document of that incredibly important time.

I created dozens of pages of this "painted journal" during my mother's illness.  After her death, I edited a collection of pages, copied them on a laser printer and bound them.  I began to share the "book" with the friends and family who were with me during my mother's last days.  I presented it to a class on death and dying and shared it with healing groups.  I began using this painted journal process to help others through their difficult times.

The painted journal provided a private space for me to process the experience of my mother's death.  The immediacy of the paint and the brush strokes allowed me to work through the painful grieving period.  Stephen Mitchell's a Book of Psalms brought me solace and I began to paint my interpretations of his words.  These became the first painted prayers.  I looked for other words that inspired me, and my search led me to pieces from many denominations and various cultures.  If there is one theme throughout, it is that each written work captured a part of me, and my brush strokes responded accordingly.  As one uses the words of the prayer and poetry as an opening to go inside oneself, I hope the painted images will provide another vehicle to do the same.  The chapter headings are intended only as a guide to that process. 

My deepest regret  is that my mother never saw this book or my subsequent work.  I am grateful that we resolved many things between us before her death and I feel fortunate that I now have this work to share with others.

I hope the paintings and their accompanying words bring you as much comfort and healing as they have brought to me.

Jody Uttal
Los Angeles, 2002

painted prayers is a collection of words and pictures--wisdom from many spiritual traditions combined with the eloquent and inspired paintings of artist Jody Uttal.  Incorporating ancient texts from Buddhism, Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Sufism and many other beliefs, painted prayers features writings of revered spiritual thinkers including Rumi, Rilke, Jesus,Reb Nachman,Thich Nhat Hanh, and Stephen Mitchell.

As Jody Uttal explains, "prayers are a vehicle to enter the inner landscape, as well as a way to connect with something outside ourselves.  When I discover a piece of written work that moves me, that somehow finds a way into my heart, I paint it.  painted prayers is a doorway -- opening both inward and outward."
 

About the Author

Jody Uttal grew up in New York City, where she attended the High School of Music and Art.  She holds a degree in fine arts from Cornell University and studied at the New York Studio School and the School of Visual Arts.  Her drawings and paintings have appeared in the New York Times, Ms. magazine and Psychology Today.

She is a committed social activist and a founder of the youth voter registration organization "Rock the Vote."  A longtime student of Jewish mysticism and meditation, painted prayers is her first book.

Jody Uttal lives in Venice, California, with her husband, Jeff Gold, and their daughters, Ella and Cleo.

URL:  http://www.PaintedPrayers.com/about.htm