Crystal Vicars

Through the 2022-23 RSA program, I was invited to look at the world that once was through creative lenses I don’t often wear. Two of which lenses, poetry, and music, profoundly resonated with me. I found inspiration in the poetry Leonora Speyer’s The ladder. As I read Speyer’s words I envisioned a ladder where every rung was the flesh and bone of a woman’s body. A body that was left beaten and bruised as someone traversed upward. I felt struggle climb side-by-side with the power of the human spirit as they searched for a world of equal opportunity and inclusivity. While listening to the harmonies and the push and pull of the voices in the 19th century African American spiritual We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder.

The RSA 2022-23 theme I will not let you go until you bless me, the words of Leonora Speyer in The Ladder, and the push and pull of the voices heard in, We are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder, became my exegetical method of exploring the ancient scriptures of Jacob found in the book of Genesis. Through this I discovered that I wanted to create a painting that represented a dream for the future. A dream where the struggles of the past and the worries of the present became rungs in the timeline. A dream where heaven and earth are intertwined and we are blessed to come and go as we please.

About Crystal

Crystal Vicars is a mixed-media artist and educator originally from the Indianapolis area. She received her MFA in Painting with Distinction, from Indiana State University in 2009. Crystal is an Assistant Professor of Studio Art and Gallery Director in the Department of Media, Design, and Communication at Marian University. Vicars’ current body of work is inspired by the ephemeral characteristic of nature, and life. With paint and sometimes collage materials she creates textured surfaces that invite the viewer into a world of colorful layers. For Crystal, painting is a spiritual event. The space between artist and canvas is natural, supernatural, and spiritual. Vicars enjoys the evolution of process, and her paintings address one’s inner self, connecting with the outside world. With her research of nature and traversing through its many forms, she creates an abstract translation that visually explores physicality and place. Crystal has been in numerous group and solo exhibitions including Interesting Artifacts, a group show at the Harrison Center for the Arts, Contemporary Landscapes at the Hilliard Gallery, Kansas City, Missouri. California Open National Juried Exhibition at TAG, Los Angeles, California.