I paint with oil color manipulating the pigment over the surface of a plastic plate. I use brushes, rags, and even my fingers to provoke the paint to speak back to me, to set in motion a creative dialogue. An evocation of mood swells with an intensity of gesture and color, and the images begin to emerge. As I work the figuration reveals itself.

The painted surface of the plate is then transferred onto paper through the pressure of an etching press or at times the lighter pressure of my hand on the paper's back. Unpredictable configurations and markings occur that are not possible by working directly onto the paper. The quality of the marks may be disquieting and raw, and at other times suggestive and luminous. It is fertile ground for revelation.

I am compelled by Biblical narrative. I often work with themes of pilgrimage, crucifixion, spiritual imprisonment, and rebirth. I am extremely drawn toward the archetypical aspects of both mythical and Christian religious experience. The Holy Spirit seems the feminine aspect of the Imago Dei.

Monotype provides a creative access. The process is a form of communication. A dialogue exists. Something returns my call.

Constance Pierce presents simple, direct portrayals of archetypal human situations made vivid by her ability to express pain, grief and revelation. She prefers deep, lush colors, yet her expression is the religious experience is beyond color to search the core of its meaning. Pierce states, "My work comes from my own Christian background. I think in terms of Christian figures, but in an archetypal way more than just a literal story." She adds, "The monotype is fertile ground for visual revelation. An evocation of mood swells with an intensity of gesture and color."

Her "Magnificat", used as the centerpiece of the exhibit at The Marian Library/International Marian Research Center, is part of a series of fluid, linear, prussian blue images which Pierce has created to depict the apparition of an angel or spiritual messenger, in this case Gabriel's message to the Blessed Virgin Mary. Pierce explains, "There are such moments of spiritual announcement in all of our lives."

This application of the experiences of revelation are, according to Pierce, much of what art about the Blessed Virgin Mary is all about. Each can relate to the woman who encounters the Divine among us.

The artist has developed an extensive teaching program as part of the outreach of her art. She speaks of visual journaling and offers intensive courses which she hopes will contribute to creative renewal. She writes, "The personal creation of a Visual Journal offers enhanced possibilities of apprehending, honoring and expressing the Divine. The hands-on processes engender creative thinking and aesthetic discernment, yet move into areas of spiritual journey and interior prayer."

To learn more about this processing, view her class web site: Visual Journal: Imagine the Interior

Education:

• The Hoffberger Graduate School of Painting; The Maryland Institute, College of Art; The Cleveland Institute of Art

Professional Experience and Fine Art Faculty Positions (most recent):

• The Cleveland Institute of Art National Summer Faculty 2000 "Visual Journey: Imaging the Interior"

• Research Fellow: Yale University, Institute of Sacred Music and the Arts, New Haven, CN
  Sketchbook Research: Yale Center for British Art, Sketchbook Archives; The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale; The Art of the Book Collection, Sterling Memorial Library
• Visiting Artist-in-Residence, Millsaps College, Jackson, MS
  "Sketchbook Visual Journal: Creative Approaches to Imaging"
• The Smithsonian Institution Associates Art Faculty, Washington, DC
  "A Visual Journal: Sketching at the Smithsonian" and "Creative Monotype Printmaking" (Sketching and Study for artists and educators at The Hirschhorn Museum, The Freer Gallery, The Phillips Collection and The National Gallery of Art)
• Artist-in-Residence for Creative Monotype, Center for Art and Religious Studies, Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC

Works are included in well over 125 private and gallery collections. Has exhibited prior to 1980 through today. Solo and group exhibitions since 1990 number ca 40 exhibits.