D e s e r t E x p o s u r e 
January
2008
Jean Bohlender
Page: 2"And that path leads to this field," she says, pointing out a field of daisies in her painting "The Field of Prayers." While the "Path" painting is dark and serene, the light in the sky above slanting in through the thick, dark trees to illuminate the path below, the "Field" painting is also serene, but brilliantly lit. The yellow, orange and white daisies in the foreground seem to nod gaily under the blue sky, a thin line of trees on the horizon the only dark note in the work.
"It's funny," Bohlender muses. "In a way, it was such a sad trip because of the death, and yet it brought back so many happy memories and feelings of family, and I have happy feelings from the paintings that came out of it."
Daisies figure into another work in the series, a larger painting titled "Like Faith, Beginning." Both life and death are depicted here, Bohlender points out. "The daisies, you see, are passing away, but the seagulls are rising," she says, drawing attention to the small group of birds in an open area, two of them taking flight.
She walks to another room and points out her painting "Letting Go," one of the largest works that will be in the MRAC show. In this self-portrait, Bohlender sits in a rocking chair, wearing a powder-blue dress. Her feet are bare and she rests her head in one hand, the other hand resting on the arm of the chair. Her face shows a sense of sad weariness. Yet the sadness is offset by an awareness of acceptance, perhaps.
Bohlender's living human face lights up at the mention of the word "acceptance."
"That's the point I had finally come to when I painted it," she says. "The 'letting go' is on all levels, in all areas of life. Letting go of parents, letting go of children, letting go of those people you love who can't love you."
She pauses, looking at the painting as if trying to feel within her once again that sadness and the transition out of it.
"Depression is an ugly thing, and there is some ugliness here," she says finally. "But there is also something beyond that, and you get to that point through acceptance.
"My intention, always, is to be honest," Bohlender says of her art. "I paint the story I have to tell. That's all I have. It's really all any of us have. And as individual as that is, as specific as it is to each of us, it's also something universal."
Jean Chandanais Bohlender's work can be seen at the MRAC gallery, 1201 Pope St. in Silver City, Jan. 25-March 20, with an opening reception for the artist Jan. 25, 5-6:30 p.m.; for information, call 538-2505 or see www.mimbresarts.org Her work is shown locally at Last Day In Paradise, 211-B N. Texas St., 313-5610., in Silver City; at the Chiricahua Gallery, 5 Pine St. in Rodeo, 557-2225; and at MotherLode in Willcox, Ariz. For more on the artist, see www.jeanbohlender.com