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Om lokah samastah sukhino bhavantu
May all beings in the universe
be peaceful, happy and free
"I dedicate this art to my spiritual Mother and teacher, Amma (Mata Amritanandamayi), as it's through Her that I learn to express Divine Love in art in the forms of Hindu and Buddhist deities, and of nature. I am mostly drawn to painting the Hindu 'pantheon' of Gods as they represent the many faces and aspects of one God. Descriptions with each piece show how they relate in everyday life to everyday people, as the deities have a life and magic of their own, being rooted in the ancient practices of yoga, meditation, and bhakti (devotion). The creative process, in whatever art form, can become a sadhana (spiritual discipline), where art, music, or dance is made as an offering to the Divine, and the process is used for the purpose of self inquiry. If others can be uplifted by this art then that uplifts me as well."
Om's love and practice of the ancient Sanskrit language has compelled her to tie in sacred verses with the paintings from various revered texts such as the Bhagavad Gita, the Shri Lalita Sahasranama, Hanuman Chalisa, and others. |
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| Art background |
| Om Shantih has shown and sold her art to different galleries, yoga, meditation, and spiritual centers since 1981. In upstate New York she was part of Wade Fabric Art Gallery, in Sugar Loaf, and directed the Om Shantih Gallery, in Monroe, at the Yoga Society of New York where she also taught yoga classes. In 1987 Om recieved a grant from the NY State Council of the Arts to teach quilted painting workshops to both children and adults. From 2000-06 Om worked at Films for the Humanities & Sciences as a full time graphic designer. Her favorite jobs were making educational posters for elementary and middle schools that teach about healthy lifestyles and how to get organized at school and at home. |
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These can be viewed and purchased at www.films.com/posters: Healthy Lifestyles, Get Organized poster sets: and for high school career choices, Career Clusters poster set.
Om graduated from Ringling School of Art and Design of Sarasota Florida in 1981. She started out making her quilted paintings that were later collected all over the country as well as abroad. Many paintings were commissioned through interior designers for restaurants, banks, hotels, condominiums, and private residents in Florida. Her fabric art also extended to custom hand painted fabrics for interior designers, and a line of hand painted shoes and handbags for Jacobsons of Florida. |
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| United Nations exhibit |
| In 1984, Om chose the path of meditation and yoga after meeting her spiritual teacher, Guruji, (Sri Brahmananda Sarasvati). Her life and art changed further when she moved up to Ananda Ashram in upstate New York. In 1993 Guruji ignited her love of Hindu deities when he told her to paint the "Rasa Lila" (Dance of Enlightenment) really large, and that it would go around the world. Upon completion of the preliminary painting, Om had a serendipitous meeting with the head of the UN Archives and was quickly invited to show her art in Geneva in a special commemorative exhibit. After a year of work, the final "Rasa Lila" wall hanging (6' x 4'), was finished in December and the opening for the exhibit was slated for June in Switzerland. "Money was tight at the time and I had no idea how I would afford a trip to Europe. I tried to detach and have faith that it would somehow work out. Meanwhile I was working on a japa painting of Hanuman (from January to June). |
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Hanuman is known for his heroic feats, one of them being able to fly across the ocean. At the ashram there happened to live a stewardess guru-sister and one day out of no where she blurted out that anytime I wanted to fly anywhere to let her know as she could get tickets for a fraction of the cost. I was spellbound as it was then only a month away from the show. God works in unexpected ways, whether it was faith alone, or the magic of Hanuman, or both, I got to go to the United Nations show in Geneva." "Women in Pursuit of Peace" was a multi-disciplinary exhibit honoring women who worked for world peace; whether art, music, social work, etc. Joan Biaz and Audrey Hepburn were part of this exhibit which traveled for 3 years across Europe. Only a few quilted paintings remain since Om Shantih has transitioned away from painting on fabric and has now gone back to traditional painting. |
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| meeting Amma |
| Om's next major life transition was upon meeting Amma (Amritanandamayi). From 1996-2000, Om had to disengage from showing and selling her art and got absorbed into wood sculpture, making life size deities for the ashram she attended. "During this spiritual retreat time, the lengthy, tedious, and physically demanding process was helping to re-sculpt my mental concepts. I can say that I wasn't the same person after finishing the last piece, which was Shiva." |
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| back to college |
| In 2006, Om left the corporate world to go back to college full time to finish her degree in art education by 2009 at The College of New Jersey. Her main interest is to teach art to elementary school children, either in public or private institutions with an inspiration to guide children in finding their self esteem and higher intelligence through the creative process. |
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| at present |
| Today, Om Shantih works alongside of her husband Dave Lewis, a professional musician, who also manages distribution and sales of her artwork across the country. Dave is a professional pianist, organist, composer, arranger, accompanist, and band leader, specializing in jazz. His true passion is writing and recording devotional music, such as bhajans, and singing and praying to God. At Rowan University, he received his B.S. in music education, and at Temple University he earned his M.A. in music theory. |
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More can be learned about Dave and his music in the 'devotional music' section, as well as ordering his CDs. All artwork is available in gift card and poster formats, as well as other archival prints--see 'art format' section. Most originals are for sale. A percentage of our profits are donated to Amma's charitable trusts that feed, house, and give emergency aid to the poor in this country as well as in India and elsewhere. For more information about Amma and her humanitarian services see above websites. |
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