Painting Pears and Paula Mandel

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Painting Pears and Paula Mandel

“I can’t imagine a life without art. I can’t imagine it. It would be so sad. One of the most amazing things in the world is the art we create. It is a view into people’s souls.”

-Paula Mandel

If, on some sunny Sunday afternoon, you decide to take a drive through the streets of Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, you’d pass by movie theatres, Starbuck’s cafes, shopping malls, and even historical parks. And if you venture on to some of the more remote side streets, you might discover a small, broken-down old strip mall accommodating a mom and pop’s pizza shop and Morninglory, a small bakery and catering company exhibiting a painting of a piece of fruit in the window. A pear, to be exact. Enticed into stepping foot in the bakery, you might peruse the wall of sweets and goodies, find one you like, and buy it. And so you amble on, fruit tart in hand, sun on face, and $1.50 less in your wallet.

Later that day, after meeting a friend for lunch, you find it quite fitting to return to the bakery for another treat. On your arrival, you once again are lured into the shop door, ensnared by that splash of color, that painting of a pear hanging in the window, and you once again buy a dessert. This time, however, instead of departing to saunter along in the sun, you feel the urge to stay awhile, scrutinizing that work of art in the window. There is just…something about it that captivates you. That pear, those colors, that shape. You smile. You get closer, pressing your nose up against the storefront’s window, trying to see every detail of that painting. You become obsessed. You can’t place your finger on just what it is you find so allur...

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...McGraw-Hill, 2002. 184-87.

Hillman, James. “The Poetic Basis of Mind.” Writing the Essay: Art and the World. Ed. Darlene A. Forrest, Pat C. Hoy II and Randy Martin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 59-80.

Jung, Carl G. “On the Relation of Analytical Psychology to Poetry.” Writing the Essay:Art and the World. Ed. Darlene A. Forrest, Pat C. Hoy II and Randy Martin. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2002. 279-98.

Mandel, Paula. Almost. 5 May 2003. <http://paula-mandel.com/cgi-local/

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Artist Statement. Pears. 5 May 2003. < http://paula-mandel.com/cgi-local/

perlshop-paulamandel.pl?ACTION=ENTER&thispage=pea01&ORDER_ID=!ORDERID!>

Caress. 5 May 2003. < http://paula-mandel.com/cgi-local/

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Personal interview. 13 Apr. 2003.

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