Michele Indiana Anderson

Artist Statement:
Michele Indiana Anderson (Jampa Sangmo) is an artist and Buddhist Nun. At fourteen, she began formal training as an oil painter and this led to her pursuit of an academic education in art. After graduating from the University of Denver with a Bachelor of Fine Art, cum laude in 1983, she put her creative skills to work as a practicing artist. Her paintings have been exhibited throughout the United States and are included in both corporate and private collections. In 1996, after a devastating auto accident, she devoted herself to the study of Buddhist philosophy and continued as a working artist.

Her interest in Buddhism began with her first meditation class in the late 1960’s at UCLA. With over thirty years of meditation experience, she has had the privilege of studying with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Venerable Riber Rinpoche, Thich Nhat Hahn and other Buddhist masters. This pursuit has deepened her understanding of how the mind perceives, and has informed the way she approaches her painting. Her intrigue with the fragility of the world and continuous fascination with the ability of the mind to find new ways of understanding has led to this current body of work. These paintings are a dialogue about the shattering of illusion and the nature of impermanence. In order to preserve the history of process, she utilizes numerous glazing techniques. With some paintings, she has used over a hundred layers to achieve the luminosity she seeks. The choice of vibrant translucent colors and glazes allow for images to appear and disappear within each layer of the paint and record the history of the marks. Her intention is to offer the viewer the opportunity to observe the entire process of the painting which reveals its own memory and awareness. She has stated that “it is through this complexity of making the painting that I find a simplicity that leads me to new understandings and even newer questions.”

Michele resides in Santa Cruz, California where she teaches meditation and continues to study, practice, and paint.