Newest Work- Wood Cut-out Illustrations

'The friend comes into my body Looking for the center, unable to find it, Draws a blade and strikes anywhere'- Rumi Wood Cut-Out Illustration by M. Diaz art in the trunk getting ready for a five hour drive and an art install... hanging, 'The friend comes into my body Looking for the center, unable to find it, Draws a blade and strikes anywhere'- Rumi

So the newest direction I have been growing into with my work is illustrating both on and with wood. This piece is a self-portrait and has pencil drawing on it along with image transfers of pomegranate slices. For many years, in fact from my first glassblowing experience around 16 years ago, I have been deeply affected by the work of the Sufi poet Rumi. Therefore this is the only piece in which the title is an inherent part for me of experiencing the art.

The title,

"The friend comes into my body Looking for the center, unable to find it, Draws a blade and strikes anywhere"- Rumi

Was the guide on how I developed this work, which is often NOT how I work, a title is usually secondary in my thought process, not first. The choice of pomegranates for me was at once about a forbidden fruit, as much as, a visceral, color and textural internal effect. The choice to image transfer allowed me to present them as slices or metaphorical 'cuts' on the analogy of wood as flesh.