Artist Statement ~Brina Sedar
The Studio at Vixen’s Hollow
I paint from lived experience.
My work grows out of memory, identity, and story both inherited and imagined. I’m interested in the quiet places where personal history, resilience, and inner worlds meet. Some of my paintings are rooted in specific narratives, while others emerge from intuition and feeling, allowing meaning to unfold slowly.
A significant part of my work is informed by Jewish identity and spiritual tradition. I’m drawn to Kabbalistic ideas, not as doctrine, but as metaphor, particularly themes of fragmentation and repair, concealment and revelation, exile and return. These concepts offer a visual language for exploring what it means to live with inherited history while continually reshaping the self.
Women appear often in my paintings, sometimes explicitly and sometimes symbolically. I’m interested in women as bearers of memory, transformation, and continuity and figures who hold strength and vulnerability at once. Through them, I explore inner life, survival, intuition, and the quiet authority of lived experience.
I’m drawn to symbolism, texture, and figures that feel slightly otherworldly or in transition. These elements allow me to explore themes of belonging, transformation, and survival without explanation or certainty. I want the work to remain open as a space where viewers can bring their own experiences, questions, and emotions.
Painting, for me, is both a form of reflection and a way of making sense of the world. Each piece is an invitation to pause, look closely, and sit with what resonates.
Artist’s Bio
I’m an artist based in New Jersey, where I live with my husband and our animals on a small hobby farm. named Vixen’s Hollow. After retiring from a long and fulfilling career as a licensed professional counselor and professor, where I trained students entering the fields of counseling and social work, I began devoting more time and attention to art..
That earlier work of listening closely, teaching, and bearing witness to people’s stories continues to shape how I see the world and how I make art. My paintings are informed by lived experience, reflection, and curiosity, often exploring themes of identity, resilience, and inner life through narrative and symbolic imagery.
I’ve traveled extensively throughout my life, and those experiences have deepened my sensitivity to place, memory, and the shared threads that connect people across cultures. Today, painting has become both a creative practice and a way of making sense of the world — one that grows out of observation, quiet moments, and the stories we carry with us.
Working With Me
I accept a limited number of commissioned and collaborative projects each year. All of my work is original, one-of-a-kind, archival quality mixed-media. Work is acquired through direct conversation rather than online sales. If you are interested in commissioning a piece, acquiring existing work, or discussing a project, please get in touch using the contact form.
Contact Me
Interested in working together? Fill out some info and I will be in touch shortly. I am happy to email, call or text. Please provide your phone number and preferred method of contact. I am looking forward to connecting with you!