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'Art, and the Conversion of the Heart'
Jane Smith Bernhardt - Artist
Information
From
Auschwitz to Hiroshima, from Russia to our inner
cities, teacher, author, portraitist, and actor,
Bernhardt’s art has taken her all over the world.
A
third generation portrait artist and seasoned actor
of stage and television, graduating from the
American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan, she
poignantly combines her portrait skills and acting
in projects such as the Hibakusha Peace Project.
The Project is a multimedia tribute to the
survivors of Hiroshima.
Using her art to change the
world, Bernhardt has delivered lectures on art and
social change,
led workshops in art and drama for schools, and facilitated many retreats.
Jane is a graduate of the Guild for Spiritual
Guidance and has studied for several years
with multi-dimensional healer Greta Bro. She
has recorded several volumes of messages from
spiritual teachers in meditation. The latest
published meditations are included in her
book,
We Are Here:
Love Never Dies
She has traveled extensively with her visual
art exhibits and original solo dramatic
performances. Finding in art a pathway to the heart
and spirit, Bernhardt uses creativity as a
vehicle for human transformation.
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Etty Hillesun
October 7,
2009
Jane will lead a retreat
at the Rolling Ridge Retreat
Center
in North Andover, MA
on the spirituality of Etty
Hillesum. |
" I seem to be trying to change the world
through my art, in whatever form. Sometimes I am
just trying to wake myself up ~ to tell myself the
truth,
or give myself a gift...
But often I am
following a calling that gives me the strength to
enter extraordinary places and find the heart. It
can be a perilous journey: Auschwitz and Hiroshima
have hearts wrapped in unbearable pain. Strangely,
we need that pain to understand ourselves, and to
love again. Art can be quite a magician in
this
alchemy. There is nothing I would rather be
doing than what I am doing"
Jane |
Jane's
traveling visual art exhibits are:
'Faces of the Faceless' - Created during the
Cold War, 'Faces' portrays Russian patriots
and poets, to give a human face to the enemy.
'Faces
of Resistance' - Portraits and poetry,
focusing on personal resistance to injustice.
(Plowshares prisoners, Sanctuary defendants,
Salvadoran refugees)
'Dinner at
St. Paul's - Portraits of guests of
an inner-city feeding ministry and their
poems.
'The
Hibakusha Peace Project' - A series of
collage portraits of A-Bomb survivors,
accompanied by their stories and poems.
Dramatic performances include:
Julia Ward Howe
- Crusader for World Peace.
Encounters
- Series of dramatic vignettes based on New Testament
encounters.
The
Hibakusha Peace Project / Performance -
Featuring music by Greta Bro / Peter Meyer and
dance by Minori Ishikawa.
Love Etty: the
Journal of Etty Hillesum
For
their beautiful technical work on the Hibakusha
Peace Project-
Jane wishes to thank:
Graphic Design/ Web Design
Mary Coburn - Web Master
MaryMack Graphics - Newburyport MA
www.marymackgraphics.com
Deb Martel - Top Floor Graphics
Framing
Kent Kehs - The Hannah Shop - Beverly MA
Photography
Barry Kaplan -The Finer Image Photo Lab &
Studio - Danvers MA
www.tfiphoto.com
Set Production
Gordon's of
Beverly
www.gordonsofbeverly.com
Jane
teaches and lectures on a variety of topics including
spiritual guidance,
portraiture,
resistance and social transformation.
Contact
Jane for details.
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