Eileen MacAvery Kane and her Painted Trotter outside the Happy Buddha in Goshen.
A Hudson Valley native, Eileen MacAvery’s work explores our relationships with memories, family, community, spirituality, nature and the environment through photography, drawing, and film. The interaction of these elements, and the sometimes unlikely pairing of them, is what interests her.
Currently teaching at SUNY Rockland Community College, MacAvery has more than 30 years experience as an artist, graphic designer and art educator. She is author and designer of the books East End Stories, Teacup Secrets, and Ethics: A Graphic Designer’s Field Guide, and the blogs ethicsingraphicdesign.org and chakraspirit.com. She is NYSCA grant recipient and Fulbright Scholar.
This is how the artist explains her Painted Trotter:
“Yoga is a huge part of my life, you might say it’s a lifeline for me. I’ve been practicing at Happy Buddha Yoga for many years now and love the studio and teachers.
“When the Goshen Art League asked if artists wanted to participate in the Trotter event, I readily accepted and asked if my trotter could be paired up with Happy Buddha.
“The inspiration for my trotter this year is ‘Green Tara.’ The Green Tara embodies the healing energy of release from fear and ignorance. Human ignorance comes in many forms — from jealousy to pride — and it’s the healing energy of Green Tara that brings awareness and relief from these negative aspects.
“When I was working on it, my grandchildren saw it and asked me to include a rainbow, and I thought it would be an excellent element to integrate for what it has come to represent in the time of COVID-19 as a symbol of hope.”