Lesta comments
on her painting and her “signature.”
Children of the World – this
painting resulted from an almost magnetic
attraction to the faces of specific children that I
came across in
various magazines, books, and calendars. In each child
there is some
spark of appeal that seems to resonate with these times
of changing
consciousness about our planet and the responsibility
we share as a
global family to promote mutual recognition and assistance.
In each child there is some expression of the rainbow
of human emotions
mirrored in all of us. One child whispers secret affection;
another
insists on being seen. One communicates a gentle compassion,
another
brims with sorrow. One radiates pride and promise;
another retreats in
shy uncertainty. One pierces the viewer with clarity;
another sees the
viewer through the smile of love.
As I tried to capture the essences of these children
from Afghanistan, America, China, Mali, Nepal, and
Tibet, I found myself captured by the purity of each
message. The best way to portray what was speaking
to me was to get out of my own way and allow each personality
to speak for itself. In the end, I am as
surprised by the family that gathered itself on canvas
right before my
eyes as if I did nothing but introduce them to one
another, and to you.
There’s a story behind why I sign my paintings
with a symbol that looks
like a C with a head and legs. After the passing of
my father, Harry
Bertoia, a world-renowned artist, I found in his work
area three
key-sized figures he’d made of bronze.
After giving one each to my brother and sister, I
took one home and placed it on a ledge in the stone
wall of my bedroom. It had been perched in the same
spot for sixteen years, a tiny representation of a
female figure, when I leaned
back from a painting I’d just completed and wished
my father could be
present to see it. He would be able to answer my questions: “Have
I
finally achieved a level of mastery that can turn into
a career? Is
this painting good enough to consider selling?”
Suddenly a chill went up my spine as I heard a “Ting!” behind
me. Electrified in every cell, I turned around. The
woman-key had fallen – or been pushed? – from
the stone wall onto my desk. The room filled with a
presence and the word
YES. Tears came to my eyes, and I knew I’d been
answered. In the
intervening eleven years, I have signed every painting
of hundreds that
have sold with that precious-to-me symbol of confirmation,
not only of
my artistic ability, but of the enduring energy of
love.
|
|
Lesta Bertoia stands beside
her high school friends Ron and Susan Spier
at the Butter Valley Art Show held in Pennsburg
October 15, 2005, before saying “good-bye” to
the collage they purchased at the show created
from stones and driftwood. |
|
|
The sale of Lesta’s
collage brought funds for the Lorax Foundation,
a nonprofit organization which promotes the
conservation of the Butter Valley area. |
|
|
A collection of Lesta
Bertoia’s work offered at the Art of
the Butter Valley exhibit and sale on October
15, 2005, showcases the versatility Lesta displays
in her work. Acrylics in both abstract and
realistic styles and collages are featured.
|
|
 |
Lesta Bertoia’s
painting entitled “Children of the World” features
the beauty found in the faces of many races
and cultures. This painting was purchased by
Bear Fever and presented to Boyertown School
District on behalf of their shared mission:
building community cohesiveness. |
|
| |
The painting will be offered
to Boyertown High School’s library along
with a plaque naming Bear Fever’s participating
artists and sponsors—further testament
to the commitment to diversity within the community. |
|
|
