An Old Lady’s Haiku with Cat

At this point in my life, I’m committed to my work, driven by a deep desire to communicate and explore the many mysteries around us. In a time when it’s more urgent than ever to care for nature and one another, I create not just to please, but to provoke – to gently pause others in their tracks, inviting them to experience the profound, the playful, and perhaps to leave a little bit changed.

My art and haiku often draw on mythology, religion, nature, and personal memories. In this way, I see myself as a storyteller, hoping to intrigue anyone who takes a moment to stop and look.

Barbara Lorei attended art school at Edinboro College, Edinboro, Pennsylvania and studied under several leading artists in Erie, Pennsylvania. After marriage and raising three children, she returned to art; studied Oriental painting while working primarily in ink and watercolors. During this time, she did freelance artwork ranging from church banners to book drawings and book covers. In 1982, she concentrated primarily on oil painting and has exhibited her work throughout the Maryland and Washington, D.C. area. Since turning 85 she has been working primarily with glass mosaics. She writes haikus during her off hours.