Martin J. Benoit
Louisiana Ink Art
www.louisianainkart.com


"Creating art in ink...a square inch an hour."

We are proud to offer a select collection of Martin Benoit's work at The Old Firehouse Gallery.

Martin J Benoit (his last name rhymes with "Renoir") has been capturing the images of his world in pen-and-ink since the early 1980's. His collection of works has something for everyone.

He first became interested in art at the impressionable age of eight while watching an artist work at a theme park. That memory stuck with him through the years. His first pen-and-ink work was for his own home in 1983. Over the years since, he has fine-tuned his highly-detailed ink works to produce drawings of intense detail. Viewed from a few feet or across the room, the incredible detail of Martin's work gives life and depth to the drawings.Martin works with a very fine-tipped technical pen.

After composing a scene from his vast collection of photos and clippings, he spends hours in preliminary pencil sketching. Every line is measured and calculated to produce a drawing of exact proportions. It requires an hour per square inch to complete an original ink drawing.

The Truth of Being
by Allene Goldman, Rosann Naim, Judy (Rutherford) Gottesman

There is One Life, a universal consciousness, manifesting as what appears to us as individual people, animals, plants, rocks, and stars. This Life is spontaneous in expression; it is effortless perfection; it is harmonious unity. When we reside in the awareness of this One invisible Life, we are at one with infinite perfection, fulfillment, love, harmony, and peace.

We suffer in life because we are not familiar with spiritual Truth. It is the unlearning of non-truth and the letting go of our misconceptions about this world and about life that is so difficult for us. It is our clinging to these misconceptions that causes pain and suffering. All misconceptions originate in and comprise the ego state of consciousness. We live by default in ego consciousness until we become aware of the Truth of Being.

We are, and always have been, spiritual beings-unique expressions of the One invisible Life. Spiritual guidance is always available to us. It is available in times of struggle or tranquility and in moments of despair or peaceful reflection. This guidance comes to us without any sense of personal effort. It is not a product of the thinking mind. It is not reasoned or argued. It cannot be contained, defined, or narrowed down. It is not prayed for or bargained with. We cannot will it, set about to find it, or uncover it. It is an experience that comes many, many times to all seekers of Truth, and it draws us away from misconception into the awareness of Oneness, the Truth of Being.

Paperback: 123 pages
Dimensions: 6.9 x 5.4 x .4 inches
Price: $10.00
Copyright © 2004

PORCELAIN LITHOPHANES

The gallery carries a vast assortment of Porcelain Lithophane nightlights, shadow boxes, and mantle stands. Lithophanes are a rare and exquisite art form from the 19th Century when it was discovered that three dimensional images could be produced by shining light through a carving of various thickness in porcelain. Designs can be viewed at www.theporcelaingarden.com and if we don't have the design you're looking for, we can get it for you!

FLYING SHUTTLES

In 1733, John Kay invented the Flying Shuttle, which was one of the key developments in weaving that helped fuel the Industrial Revolution. Prior to the flying shuttle, large looms needed two weavers to throw the shuttle back and forth as the fabric was woven. The Flying Shuttle was the first step in the automation of weaving by having the shuttle launched by machine back and forth through the loom thus providing an increase in speed and the ability to weave wider fabrics. The Flying Shuttle dominated commercial weaving through the middle of the twentieth century.This "original" shuttle is made of natural finished hardwood and has been reclaimed from one of the many weaving mills in the U.S. and England.