Geraldine Brussel
American Painter died 2021
Embedded Files
One Crow
One Crow
"Many clouds, many mesas, one crow."
Original Watercolor on paper
Signed by artist
c.1974
Framed: 17 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches
Image: 10 x 13 inches
Signature
About The Piece
About The Piece
“Relax, use your creativity, and be happy”
“Relax, use your creativity, and be happy”
—BILL DIVEN
Like the crows settling in the branches of the cottonwoods, Geraldine Brussel found her place in the Bernalillo bosque.
Her flight followed a wandering path over the decades begun as a teenager fixated by a Rembrandt painting in a New York City museum.
“I just stood in front of it and couldn't believe it,” Brussel said while twisting her head as she had done to examine the master brush strokes from different angles. “How in the hell did he do it?”
Fine-art training in the 1960s launched trips to European cathedrals to study medieval stained glass, a return trip to Italy focused on sculpture, and eventually a loft studio in the Soho district of New York City. In the vibrant art scene she branched out into acting and creating stage sets and another European tour that led to a one-woman show of her paintings.
Her paintings and watercolors brought sales and grants, and for a few years in the early 1970s she divided her time between Soho and a meditation center in Vermont. Away from the city, the ego began to fade from her work, opening a path to Colorado and the visits to New Mexico which would bring her to Bernalillo about fifteen years ago.
“I was a New York artist hanging out in Europe, a very aggressive artist,” Brussel recalled. That changed as her art moved toward nature and the eternal threads binding it together.
It is a lesson she tries to impart on students at her One Crow Studio.
“I want to show them how to relax and use your creativity and be happy,” she said. “That will save their life. It saved mine.”
About The Artist
About The Artist
Geraldine Brussel died recently January 27, 2021.
Gary DeLuca who provided her with everything she needed in order to stay at her home for the duration.
Geraldine was a painter in the New York City art scene when a dear friend committed suicide. She heard about Tail of the Tiger on the radio. Realizing that she needed help with her grief and sadness over the sudden loss of her friend, she moved to Vermont to begin Tibetan Buddhist practice at Tail of the Tiger as a staff member and resident in the early 1970's.
This NY Times article gives the writer's view of that time: LINK
She continued her studies and practice as a devoted student of Trungpa Rinpoche and taught art at Naropa Institute in Boulder, CO. From there, she moved to Bernalillo, NM in the late 1980's, where she worked as a painter and printmaker and taught art in her inimitable way.
She was very well known here for her artwork and her teaching. She kept her life-focus on Buddhist practice and her artwork while enjoying a wide circle of friends. She studied with Trungpa, Namkhai Norbu, APR and Adzom Gyalse Rinpoches.
Geraldine continued her practice with us at Copper Mountain for many years In the past few years, Sally Moore spent Sundays with Geraldine and brought her to practice. Since COVID-19 began, Sally brought Geraldine to practice sessions via Zoom.
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