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James
A. Cox
Editor-in-Chief
Midwest
Book Review
My Painted Dreams is a unique and impressive blend of art and poetry by Mahvash
Mossaed, a female Iranian-American. The monochromatic yet powerful images add
power to the simple, fluid free verse of life, death, spiritual essence and the
quest to find meaning in life. A profound, evocative, and wondrous book, and a
"must" for true devotees of insightful poetry. The Poets: The poets stand in the
rain,/They wear no raincoats./They have no umbrellas./They are discussing the
shadow of a shadow of a shadow.//But their poetry is already soaking wet--/They
have not developed their reality muscles/So they walk with a limp while admiring
the color of a vein in a leaf.
SMALL
PRESS BOOK REVIEW
Henry Berry
Mossaed
is a woman from Iran who has lived in Canada, Africa, and Europe with her husband
who is an architect for the United Nations. Her paintings and poems are broadly
humanistic with a special appeal for women with their tenderness, hopefulness,
and changeable sense of identity. Her paintings, many of women with distorted
but not grotesque shape, and her poems on subjects such as beauty, home, aging,
and youth, some of which include musings about God, have a dreamy quality going
along with the breadth of Mossaed's background, the humanness of her femininity,
and the universality of her feelings and view. The paintings shown in the book
are in shades of brown, the color of the text and cover also. Several full-color
gift cards accompanying the review copy better convey the richness and distinctiveness
of Mossaed's painting. Information on the book, the full-color cards, and exhibitions
of her artwork in the U. S. and other countries can be obtained by contacting
her at her address or email given in the heading of this review.
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ASIAN ART NEWS
My Painted
Dreams, a stirring collection of art and poetry by Mahvash Mossaed, uncovers one
woman's lifelong search for spiritual fulfillment in an often cold and indifferent
world. The journey is at times an agonizingly solitary one. She searches for both
answers and comfort from the people and the socially inflicted roles. One feels
like a trusted guest invited into Mahvash's vulnerable interior world to partake
in a soul's trying, but ultimately rewarding migration.
We emerge
from this book in much the same way: renewed, serene, and whole. Mahvash has,
as a skillful and gracious guide, given something back to the reader for daring
to make it through. That gift is a word of advice from the other side of the journey,
that we may only be midway through: that the pain of life is necessary in order
to gain an appreciation for the rewards that await us on the other side of it.
"Living was falling upside down/ In an empty void, hanging on to a piece of rope
. . .All that so at last, I may embrace God."
To me, Mahvash
has always captured the kunstwollen (the will to create) spirit which is also
found in the works of many folk and outsider artists in the United States. Although,
her work appears to be whimsical and stylized, it actually is very narrative and
filled with deep seeds of emotion on every canvas and in every poem. Her creative
spirit is directly linked to her daily experiences and to her relationships. Mahvash
does not try to interpret and create conceptual or abstract works from these experiences,
but aims to create art that is honest and true to her own spirit and being.
After many
years of work, some artists begin to create art for others. Mahvash has always
remained dedicated to painting and writing for herself first and foremost. That
is what makes her work very powerful and honest.
Bijan
Designer
Mahvash has so many surprises inside her heart that I am truly astonished!
The colors in her paintings reminds me of the colors I choose when designing my
clothes Mahvash expresses herself in her poetry as being "only a traveler
passing Through" I say in life we are all travelers passing through. The
beautiful words written in her poetry has touched me deeply. And I am wishing
her all the very best,
Designer
Artesian
Magazine of upwelling art and creativity
In My Painted Dreams, you may find yourself deep in thought with the correlation
between the written word and the painted images. It is necessary to add that both
are profound. To approach Mahvash's work, you have to let go of the excess baggage
in your head and be ready to converge into the simplicity of human emotion. The
poems like the pictures have a chronological arrangement that tell a story of
a sensitive woman's life, a woman, who is in tune with herself and is in search
of a greater spiritual fulfillment.
Mahvash's book is imaginative in design and conception. The aesthetic simplicity
of its style identifies with a timelessness that is universal. Rich in her images
and perceptive in her poetry makes this book an extraordinary and rewarding experience.
It has left me with a sense of peace that I have not realized for a long time.
Irvine world news
Mahvash's work has to do with women and women's issues. She paints everyday
life, things that affect her, one day happy, one day mad. " The same comes trough
in her poetry in "my painted dreams." There are such titles as "She makes a salad,"
"bad hair day," "the guests," "The tourist." The supermarket," "The perfect wife"
All go deeper using symbolism and dream imagery much as She dose in her paintings.
Her work is "dreamlike" and "spiritual," for instance, She turns The simple act
of chopping onions into a soul-searching poem. Her expression in her painting
of a little girl within also comes out in her poem, "little girl found," in which
all her selves, young, present, and The future older women She will become are
united.
Rebecca Alban Hoffberger
Director/Founder of AMERICAN VISIONARY ART MUSEUM
There is a sensitivity that at first sees itself as male or female, middle eastern,
western, African, or Asian, but as it expresses itself from magma closer to its
core, it transcends The outer flavors and learns to speak to each of us, all of
us, of what is life itself. Such was, is, and ever-shall-be, The timelessness
of Rumi. In My painted Dreams, author and Artist Mahvash Mossaed, sets out to
express woman and The middle easterner, and Enters into The sunshine of beyond.
Amy Amirani
Director of Public Works,
City of San Juan Capistrano
Extra ordinary melding of very personal poetry and very powerful personal art.
"My Painted Dreams" touched my heart, and made me pause, think , and look and
reflect inward. I am sure, certain phrases will stay with me for a long time.
For example "when destiny asks you for a dance ", or "he is getting old, he is
getting forgetful, and he is getting religious". It's rarely, that I read a book
which can make me feel good enough to smile at The same time that it's inviting
me to dig in to The depths of my Own soul.
Dianna Brianne Parkhearst
wife and mother
It is a wonderfully done piece of work. I enjoyed each poem next to The beautiful
art work that Mahvash has done. She is truly a gifted artist and poet and writer.
They relaxed my mind and yet gave me something to think about with each poem,
I took my time to read each one as they were pleasurable to take The time and
give to each poem individually. Great work Mahvash!
Maryam Ovissi
Director/Founder of Ovissi Gallery
Mahvash writes with a voice filled with a range of emotion that all women can
relate to. Both her paintings and poetry are a ramification of extreme emotions
She experiences daily and even under The most mundane circumstances.
"My Painted Dreams" presents a wonderful selection of poetry well paired
with paintings. It is almost as though She created each poem for The specific
piece depicted...or perhaps vice versa.
To me, Mahvash has always captured The kunstwollen (The will to create) spirit
which is also found in The works of many folk and outsider artists in The United
States. Although, her work appears to be whimsical and stylized, it actually is
very narrative and filled with deep seeds of emotion on every canvas and in every
poem. Her creative spirit is directly linked to her daily experiences and to her
relationships. Mahvash does not try to interpret and create conceptual or abstract
works from these experiences, but aims to create art that is honest and true to
her own spirit and being.
After many years of work, some artists begin to create art for others. Mahvash
has always remained dedicated to painting and writing for herself first and foremost.
That is what makes her work very powerful and honest.
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