ARTIST'S STATEMENT

Dear Artista Gallery Customer,

My name is Sara Shoval.   I was born into a family that admires art. My childhood passed between the smell of the sea and the smell of fresh bread in the first neighborhood of the city of Tel Aviv, Israel.   My father was a storyteller so from a very young age I was carried on the wings of imagination to very far places.

When I grew up the love of nature and the joy of light always helped me very much.

I tried to find harmony and beauty in my life and outside of me I always found my guide of my soul to show me the way.  I understood that a human could do everything that their soul really wants, that they need to go beyond their fears so that they will never stop them.  At the age of 19 I went into the army and became and Officer.  I had many soldiers to care for.  Even though this was a difficult time I found the time to dance and sing and to build friendships and love.

After the army I went to college in Jerusalem and I got my B.A.  I then went to Italy and studied for two years in Pietra Santa Karara, the place where Michael Angelo was born and worked.  I felt his spirit around me and I learned to carve the stone and marble.  I then went to England to learn how to work with ceramic, then I went to Japan and there I learned traditional drawing.

After my studies, I became a solo dancer and a choreographer.  I had an amazing group of dancers and through them I could bring my soul's creation to people.  As the years went by I shifted from dancing to paintings and sculpturing.   I built a studio next to my home and I brought stones from the mountain of the Galilee in Israel and I carved them in my studio.  The other stones were sent to me from Italy.  I also did ceramic sculptures after which I cast many of them into bronze sculptures.  My biggest love now is painting.  I paint the images of my soul and my Inner Light.  The joy I feel to touch the colors, the shapes and space is enormous.  Today I have a gallery in the Mitzpe Hayamim Hotel and Health Resort in the Galilee, Israel.  There I exhibit my work on a permanent basis.  I live high on the mountain of the city of Safed (the city of the Kabbala, Jewish mysticism) looking down at the Kinneret Lake - the Lake of the Galilee and the Purple Golan Mountains.

The harmony is in my life, now I have two sons and three grandchildren and a loving husband.  I love to work in my garden, it brings me peace and happiness.  I think it is important to emphasize that dance and paintings, sculpturing and gardening are all the same energy clothed in different dresses.

This exhibition was born from the will to bring happiness and joy to people, the wisdom of longing to do something that is pure, the ability to have a dream and the ability to wake up to the deepness of the gift that God gave us.  This exhibition is the song of my soul to you wherever you are.  I am grateful for your support in these most troubling times.

With Love,

Click here to view a listing of exhibits.

Click here to view the images and prices of the Shoval paintings currently in the Artista Gallery collection.  Warning....This file is 2,403KB large and should be viewed with a fast internet connection only.