Brief Biography:
Until the 1990's, most of the artist's work has been in black and white, pen and ink and printmaking techniques: silkscreen, etching, lithography, (zinc plate, limestone and aluminum plate processes). Marilla studied at Putney Institute of Art, in England, at the Corcoran Art Institute in Washington, D.C., and with Al Widenhofer and Carol Levy at the College of Marin, in Kentfield, California.
The acrylic color series was inspired by an 'amazing journey' around the world in 1990, during which the artist was a tutor for children, ages 8-16 years.
Watercolors are the artist's more recent attempts in this delicate medium, initiated during her participation in a two week watercolor course offered in Tuscany, Italy, by master painter, Philip Buller in June of 1995. Since 1993, the artist has exhibited in all but one, One Woman Shows, approximately every two years. Her first exhibition was sponsored by the Mill Valley Art Commission in 1993. A list of her exhibitions between 1993 and 2003 is available.
Marilla has composed and performed original music for theater, film and multi-media events. She studied and recorded with Greek composer, Yannis Markopoulos and vocalist, Petros Pandis, in Athens, Greece, and directed the production of Walt Whitman's, "There Was a Child Went Forth" at George Washington University Theater in Washington, D.C. Marilla has created music and art programs for children in McLean, Virginia, at the Media Learning Center at Dominican College with CNS, (California Neuropsychology Services), and with Arcada Arts & Academic in San Rafael, California.
Acrylic Original, 36" X 28"
Acrylic Original, 36" X 28"/ Lithography Reproduction, 26" X 19"
Two monks, snow, steps, a great oval, and suggestion of a bird with ceremonial coloured feathers are featured in this acrylic painting. The painting was inspired by images and feelings evoked by the Tibetan ceremonies that honoured the life and death of Rollo May, mentor and beloved friend.
Acrylic/ Lithography Reproduction, 26" X 19"
Patmos is a small Greek Island in the Aegean near the southwest coast of Turkey. Its shape is a bit like a seahorse.
In this painting, as in the paintings, 'Istanbul', and 'The River', the central diamond is formed by the joining of two triangles, symbolizing the meeting of masculine and feminine principles. The sphere to the left represents the sun, and the one on the right, the moon. The left of the painting depicts the earth and abundance, the urns lead into the central sphere suggesting receptivity in the present. Under the moon, a small chapel overlooks the Aegean and the horizon beyond formed by water and sky.
The circle within the diamond implies wholeness in the meeting of heaven and earth, yang and yin, masculine and feminine.
Bali
Acrylic Original, 36" X 28"/ Lithography
Reproduction, 26" X 19"
Bali
is one of the smallest of more than 3,000 islands comprising Indonesia.
The mountains with their lakes and rivers are the sacred source of the
land's fertility. Myth and magic, celebration of ancestors, nature, and
the sacred and profane, blend within Hindu, Buddhist, and Muslim
influences.
Five elements in the Indian system are reflected in the
geometric forms of the painting: first, space or ether, (diamond), from
which the other four proceed in sequence; air, (the crescent); fire,
(triangle); water, (circle); and earth, (square). The colours
correspond to the seven vortices of energy or focal points of life
force: the crown - violet; the brow - purple; the throat - blue; the
heart - green; the solar plexus - yellow; the naval - orange; and the
root chakra - red.
Travelers, entranced by the island's beauty, diversity, and sweet
mingling of work, creativity, and spirit, have a responsibility to
respect the limited resources of the island.
Acrylic Original, 36" X 28"/ Lithography Reproduction, 26" X 19"
Hagia Sophia, (Divine Wisdom), was dedicated in 360 A.D. , during
the reign of Constantius, son of Constantin the Great. After 1123
years and a siege of 53 days, the Christian city of Constantinople came to an end. On May 29th, 1453, the 21 year old Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II captured the City. He ordered the great church be turned into a Mosque. Today, exquisite Christian and Moslem mosaics and sacred symbols coexist in Hagia Sophia.
In the painting, the geometry, (diamond/two triangles), the spiritual center, and the whirling dervishes, suggest a meeting of masculine and feminine elements, a meeting of heaven and earth, and the harmonic co-existence of different spiritual traditions.
Acrylic Original, 36" X 28"
In this painting, three religious traditions are depicted: Islam, indicated by the Mosque in Old Delhi, to the right; Hinduism, represented by the Lakrashimi Temple to Kali, to the left; and Buddhism, illustrated by the centrally figured Tibetan monk. These sacred traditions are united by the River Ganges in the foreground of the painting. Five figures on the lower right of the painting descend steps which lead to the river. At the lower left, a boat with another five figures approaches the Temple by the Ganges, the most frequent access to this Temple.
A circle within an oval within a diamond form the geometric structure of the painting. The circle represents wholeness. The oval represents potentiality, the seed of generation, the mystery of life. The diamond is formed by the joining of two triangles symbolizing a meeting of feminine and masculine principles
