The following notes are taken from the Cyrilla Mozenter Brown Bag on November 16, 2005.
At this meeting, Cyrilla discussed some of her work in a slide presentation. The presentation began by expressing her interest in the development of her work over the duration of a 20-year career period. She said that she is always pleased to hear of any insights on, around or surrounding her work and the ideas contained. She hoped that if we had any varying interpretations, we would share them and their connections.

The slide presentation began by projecting an image of a painting that Cyrilla made in 1982. This painting was noted for having multiple layers of paint. She said that when she made it, she was interested in the choking of the surface. When making her marks, she thought of penetrating or breaking it up somehow. She imagined her sharp charcoal stick as an instrument similar to a sword. She said that cutting into the image was something like cutting into one’s self. She wanted to dislodge the image from inside and it resulted in this type of mark making. The whole while, she describes a great feeling of intention. No mark was made without intent. She wanted everything to matter, and reveled in the moment of each mark. She mentioned that it is important to her that artists be present in mark making. She could not understand how some other artists could hire people to develop their work for them. The actual imagery contained in this first work could be best described as a shape similar to the likes of a peanut or a wooden spoon. Other possible interpretations were a baby, a fetus or a seed.



Not all of Cyrilla’s works merited as much discussion as the first, though the second work shown was a three-part snowperson that apparently became a thematic style later on as the body of work developed. An important aspect of this work is the idea of growing. Snow, hexagons and other geometric shapes were of interest and importance to the artist. The idea of revealing shapes from alternative perspectives was mentioned. She said if you pick up a hexagon from vertical to horizontal, the bottom shape is revealed.
This movement was thought of as moving from something “rocky” or unbalanced towards stabilization or a state of balance. The result was something like a vessel-shaped head. For Cyrilla, making drawings is like making stories. One must pose a problem and find resolution. The problem of constriction was important. Similar to Alice in Wonderland the notion of fitting in a room or a limited space was present. Being either to small or too large was of interest to the artist but more importantly the Magical resolutions that are described in Carrol’s book were of conceptual influence.
Visually, these images reference the Psyclatic figures from Greece approximately around 3000 BC.



Cyrilla discussed the importance for artists to be in conversation with other art and artists from other times and in other places. Enthralled by these mysterious figures, Cyrilla created representational versions of them in her large-scale charcoal drawings. Beyond drawing, other mediums, such as sewing and cutting was incorporated in her works. By paying attention to every stitch she experienced a feeling of calmness. Other images included the lotus leaf. She mentioned that she felt a lack of ownership when creating a representation of a lotus, however, despite this repeating occurrence, she wanted it to be there. At this point Cyrilla mentioned a lush insight that she gained from excessive working with charcoal it is that “ Black charcoal erased over and over becomes silver”.
She then went on about the importance of tone and the concept of release from darkness.

Visually these shapes look similar to scissors cutting, a rabbit with large ears, or a pocketknife. She mentioned how the rabbit has a relationship with fecundity. Also the visual reference to image of the devil with horns was described. In her drawing she stressed the importance of release and the need to incorporate impulses.

Shifting into a more theoretical discussion she described the necessity for destructive forces in order to open up possibilities for new construction. This was meant to explain the varying mark making techniques employed. She went on to describe a fascination with archiving and imagined creating a giant tomb for maps and other documents.

Cyrilla’s following slides displayed work that can be described as portraying whirling flowers at great scale though the use of big gestures. She commented that there is a struggle to do small gestures because she finds small gestures harder to do. Images of abundance were projected. These images also contained the recurring image of these permutated and rather mysterious psyclatic figures.

At this point in her career, she acknowledged a shift from drawing to more sculptural elements. She described this as refreshing to work with actual objects simply because they carry a certain realness that was alluded to in her drawings. These sculptures are bowl like, fragile, and subtle. They are made of beeswax and different powdered pigments. She mentioned the influence from Egyptian fans and the Egyptian culture’s notion of preserving things. She noted that when a viewer brushes up against her work there is a positive tactile experience.



Again she returned to the idea of containment and worked in the idea of crucifixion. One of her sculptural pieces incorporated the spreading of seeds and beckoned thoughts of procreation and regeneration. It was described as drawing on the floor and acknowledged for holding aspects of vulnerability. The artist described it a particularly hair-raising experience. This then transitioned into the artist’s thoughts on drama and its incorporation within art making.
The next piece can be best described as a “Meditation on Soap”. Apparently, an impulsive process was employed in stealing soap from public restrooms that gave the artist a focus to her day. She knew it was wrong, but she said she felt like doing wrong. She thought of these objects as both clean and dirty. She liked thinking of soap as a purifier. The soap bars were ultimately displayed on towels in a grid on the floor. She says she was influenced by the Japanese dry gardens stances of poetry and that this work has reference to language, rhythm and musicality.
Following, came a work developed around the idea of choking and hurting. This piece placed fruit pits in felt bags that were subsequently stained a reddish/ violet color.
In briefly discussing this piece, she mentioned “You watched waffles while I watch watercreast” Obviously an alliteration, I believe this was constructed by the artist in relation to the work.
Following, the artist discussed the idea of influences. We transform the book as the book transforms you. A good artist absorbs all of culture. Should they not, it reflects an inability to see and makes art making a meaningless gesture. She implored that we use it (art) not just study it.
The artwork shown thereafter went into including more felt sculptural components. She brought up Hexagons, Geometry, polar bears, the color white, and snow. One slide displayed a pair of snow white felt gloves. They were gaudy and looked similar to polar bear paws. From here her interests followed ideas such as notes on a musical scale, hand pain, puppeting and marionettes.
The last piece displayed a suspended figure. She concluded the luncheon by acknowledging a sense of purpose or something beyond the art. She hoped to find out if her work told , taught or showed us something new or forgotten. And Lastly, she described her process as being a joyful procedure that is both pressured and playful.