Miriam’s Dance

Cassandra Clark

About Cassandra Clark

My name is Cassandra Clark and I’m a mixed media artist living in Brooklyn, New York. I grew up in a small town upstate and moved to Brooklyn for my conversion to Judaism. I studied art at SUNY Stony Brook and loved every minute of it. I found a passion for teaching art through teaching Jewish painting classes at Stony Brook Hillel. I’m currently pursuing graduate study in art teacher education. Besides art, my passions include sustainability, fashion, thrift shopping, cooking, animals, and making things beautiful.

About Miriam’s Dance

One of my passions is sustainability, and I always think of this theme when I think of Shmita. I love the idea of giving back to the Earth and reusing whatever I have on hand. This painting was made partially from recycled materials and I didn’t buy anything new to create it. I used collage elements of drawings and monotypes, recycled bubble wrap, and paint that I bought secondhand. The painting is titled “Miriam’s Dance” because it depicts Miriam and other Jewish women crossing the Red Sea. Throughout Jewish history, women have been the silent leaders and change makers. This painting has a feminist meaning and also an environmental meaning, as plastic waste was kept out of landfills and the water through creating this work.