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Want to learn more about Far Reaching Fragrance? Watch the interview with the artist.
- Patsy Surh O'Connell
Arranged Marriage - The masks represent Surh O’Connell’s parents, who had an arranged
marriage. The mask on the left side represents her mother, who had a traditional Korean
upbringing, and the mask on the right represents her father, who had a Western education.
The symbols at the top of the mask represent long life; her parents had almost 60
years of marriage.
Mandarin Duck #1, #2 - Because ducks mate for life, the duck symbolizes faithfulness
in Korean culture. The one flower represents Surh O’Connell, and the three flowers
represent her three children.
Hot Stuff - “When I saw the red pepper, which was not available in Korea when I was
growing up, I was fascinated by the richness of the food.” – Surh O’Connell.
My Journey - The three ducks represent O’Connell’s journey. The first duck represents
her birth in China. The second duck represents her early life in Korea; O’Connell
noted that a duck with its beak tied shut is traditionally given at a Korean wedding
to symbolize that wives should not talk back to their husbands. The last duck represents
a mallard that her husband got from Korea’s Jeju Island.
“I used it as an open-mouth mallard female to show that I’m in America and I’m able
to speak freely and say what I want to say, with women’s liberation and equality and
the right of your freedom and responsibilities and value.” – Surh O’Connell.
Long Life - Surh O’Connell drinks tea made from plants she grows at home. The painting
connects tea-drinking to longevity
Tea Ceremony Photo - Taken at a museum where they were showcasing Korean culture.
Surh O’Connell explained that the Korean tea ceremony is not as formal as Japanese
or Chinese tea ceremony; participants can talk during the ceremony, for instance.
The tea pot represents a father figure, and the tea ceremony respects that symbolism
by placing its lid on a small pedestal and not directly on the tabletop.
Dreaming - Surh O’Connell’s mother loved peonies, and after she died Surh O’Connell
decided to honor her by completing 100 paintings of peonies. To date she has painted
about 70. In this case, she picked the peony from her garden, brought it into the
house, and thought of her mother and the Korean poem “Missing You” while painting
it.
What’s Inside I - “In Korea we have a saying, ‘When you don’t know the person, it’s
like licking the surface of a watermelon.’ That means you don’t know what’s inside.
That prompted me to paint some fruit and vegetables. It has beautiful patterns inside,
especially the beets.” – Surh O’Connell.
What’s Inside II - “In Korea we have a saying, ‘When you don’t know the person, it’s
like licking the surface of a watermelon.’ That means you don’t know what’s inside.
That prompted me to paint some fruit and vegetables. It has beautiful patterns inside,
especially the beets.” – Surh O’Connell.
What’s Inside III - “In Korea we have a saying, ‘When you don’t know the person, it’s
like licking the surface of a watermelon.’ That means you don’t know what’s inside.
That prompted me to paint some fruit and vegetables. It has beautiful patterns inside,
especially the beets.” – Surh O’Connell.
You are my Sunshine - Surh O’Connell donated this painting to Gunsan Unversity located
in Tacoma’s Sister City, Gunsan, South Korea. Surh O’Connell says the sunflower is
a favorite flower of many Koreans. The painting was done on clay board, which takes
the watercolor paint differently than watercolor paper.
A Wild Thing - This painting is a Chinese-style composition done on rice paper. “Most
Chinese artists don’t crop the paper after they paint; they use the given size and
compose the paintings,” said Surh O’Connell.
Morning Visitors - In this painting, Surh O’Connell added soap water to dissipate
the ink and capture the look of wisteria flowers.
Generations - Surh O’Connell says that the idea of representing ancestors as circles
comes from Japanese Zen Buddhism. “Behind us we have all these ancestors who influence
us.”
Gongbi – Chinese painting style - The Gongbi painting method arose about 3,000 years
ago in China as a pastime for people awaiting a royal audience at the palace. Surh
O’Connell visited China in 2010 and spent six weeks learning the style. “The ink is
applied very thinly to build up the intensity of the color,” said Surh O’Connell.
She added that although the process takes a long time, it prevents the running that
would arise if a painting with thicker layers was mounted onto another paper.
Spring in Seattle - Surh O’Connell used ink to get the background texture. Then she
added salt to the texture. The painting shows that in May, when most of the peonies
bloom, once in a while we get rain that ruins the flower.
World Within I - Surh O’Connell did ten of the “World Within” paintings, with the
round circles representing the Earth. Her fascination with hummingbirds arises from
her first encounter with them, when she was living in California and mistook the sound
of a hummingbird’s wings for bees.
World Within II - Surh O’Connell did ten of the “World Within” paintings, with the
round circles representing the Earth. Her fascination with hummingbirds arises from
her first encounter with them, when she was living in California and mistook the sound
of a hummingbird’s wings for bees.
World Within III - Surh O’Connell did ten of the “World Within” paintings, with the
round circles representing the Earth. Her fascination with hummingbirds arises from
her first encounter with them, when she was living in California and mistook the sound
of a hummingbird’s wings for bees.
Nature As Was I - This painting was done in ink, then washed with a strong tea. Surh
O’Connell notes that crows have a similar value system to humans; they talk to each
other, take care of the chicks, and live together in groups that may contain three
generations. “They are survivors. As a refugee from China to Korea, survived the Korean
War, then came to America and survived – I wanted to use the crow as a metaphor of
myself.”
Life and Death in the Forest - The driftwood’s texture was achieved by crinkling the
rice paper on which this piece is painted. The feather represents life in an otherwise
dead scene.
The Girl Who Is Obsessed with Peonies - “I didn’t really put my face into that painting,
but I certainly am obsessed with doing the peony painting in order to achieve what
I promised myself – 100 paintings of peonies.” – Surh O’Connell.
Life’s Continuing Struggle - Surh O’Connell created this painting after a visit to
the Ballard Locks, to honor the salmon who become battered in their struggle to survive
and bring a new generation of salmon into the world.
Your Life was a Joy - Created on Himalayan handmade paper, this painting depicts a
geometric background representing Surh O’Connell’s mother’s life. The bird represents
the mother, who visited O’Connell’s dreams as a bird.
We are All In Together - This painting depicts ducks huddled together for warmth in
cold weather who are better able to survive working together.
Some Seize the Moment and Some Not - The effects in this painting are achieved by
the use of ink drops and soap drops. It was inspired by iridescent beetles Surh O’Connell’s
brother-in-law in Wisconson sent her. “There are birds and humans who see the opportunity,
and some who don’t seize it.”
Reunification - This painting represents Surh O’Connell’s hope for the reunification
of North and South Korea. The roof is a traditional Korean tile roof. The pigeon with
its head up is South Korea; the pigeon with its head down is North Korea. The red
background represents the region’s history of bloody conflict.
Immigrant –The New Arrival - Surh O’Connell says that when she left South Korea in
1963, her father advised her to learn the cultures of her new country. The vessel
represents and old Chinese vessel, and the old peonies represents immigrants who have
been here a long time. Surh O’Connell represents herself as a fresh peony.
Roots I – Uprooted - The “Roots” paintings are done in the Gongbi style, which uses
many thin layers to build up intensity of color. The crow represents Surh O’Connell,
uprooted to immigrate to another country.
Gig Harbor Persimmon - This painting shows the persimmon tree in Surh O’Connell’s
Gig Harbor garden, which also contains other Asian fruit trees. An expert warned her
not to expect the tree to thrive in Gig Harbor, but a few years later it started bearing
fruit.
Four Seasons-Spring - Gallery Coordinator Dr. Jennifer Olson notes that although the
images all appear to be the same size in the ditigal display, the “Four Seasons” images
were created on a much larger scale, which is evident when they’re displayed in a
gallery.
Four Seasons –Summer - This autobiographical painting shows a duck with a mate and
full seed pods, indicating that Surh O’Connell’s husband and children are still with
her.
Four Seasons-Winter - This autobiographical painting shows the sequence of a duck’s
life. The empty seed pods represent the fact that Surh O’Connell’s children have grown
and moved out.
Past, Present, Future-In the Moment - This painting depicts a type of peony Surh O’Connell
grows, in which the stamens are more significant than the pedals.
Asia Pacific Cultural Center - “In 1995 I brought my parents to America for their
last journey. In 1996 my father passed away. As anybody going through the situation
of losing the parents, I also was in the dark area of what am I living for, what is
my being.” – Surh O’Connell.
She dealt with this situation by calling a meeting with six different first, second
and third-generation Asian Pacific community leaders. They discussed their status
as immigrants, and the importance of culture to immigrant populations. Then they incorporated
the Asia Pacific Cultural Center as a non-profit organization.
“That was 25 years ago. We represent 47 Asian-Pacific communities here and abroad.”
– Surh O’Connell.
All Are One - This painting hangs in Washington State Speaker of the House and former
TCC Trustee Laurie Jinkin’s office. The peonies represent China, the cherry blossoms
represent Japan, and the white orchid represents Korea. Bamboo grows in all 47 countries
and we can all live together respecting each other.