Both paintings and yoga promote a sense of calm and tranquility. The mood and the subject matter of a painting is a reflection on meditation while participating in yoga brings a sense of serenity and relaxation to the participant. When one enters Potomac’s One Aum Yoga Center, he or she can feel the calm vibe and experiences the peacefulness — a change from the hustle and bustle that pulls many into a world of commotion and activity. The space says relax — and the yoga and paintings provide the medium.
One Aum Yoga Center will be featuring the artwork of Potomac artists from The Art Gallery of Potomac for the next two months. The show, entitled “Let’s Breathe in Tranquility” displays paintings that reflect a sense of calmness and serenity, to enhance the feelings that yoga promotes as one stretches and meditates while performing yoga poses. Participating artists in the show are Veronika Herman Bromberg, T.H. Cunningham, Carol Dyer, Felisa Federman, Habib Hastaie, Yolanda Prinsloo, Dot Procter and Millie Shott.
Yoga instructor and yoga therapist Shannon von Burns and her co-yogi Sean FM opened OneAum Yoga Center a year ago in a house located at 10008 Falls Road in Potomac Village. Von Burns is a “teachers-teacher,” yoga therapist and practitioner. She and Sean FM teach individual and group classes, private yoga sessions and provide individual yoga therapy. Von Burns, previously an avid runner, now holds clinics for runners. Patient Art Levine has been seeing her for his back, hip and gait problems. He said, “Shannon understands the body. Her twists, pulls and turns are always therapeutic — she knows exactly how to stretch me. She has given me greater flexibility than I have ever had before.” Levine sees von Burns three times a week.
Both Sean FM and von Burns are pleased to host the art show. “It’s a great partnership,” she said. “Yoga is a creative artistic experience. Everyone is their own painter — their own work of the heart. Inspiration comes from everyone and everywhere. My brother Sean is artistic. He is an artist and a musician. We believe that yoga and art are a common experience.”
Bromberg is displaying her painting and photography. Her work is the juxtaposition of old and new — the contrast between architecture and nature. “I enjoy taking pictures as an observer of nature and landscape,” she said. She also likes to create mixed-media collages. She has worked at both the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Guggenheim Museum, but now loves teaching art to elementary school children.
Prinsloo describes her art as “Images that transport me to another time in life — and the viewer to another state of mind.” She likes to bring serenity through her art. Her “Red Canoe” painting takes her back to her childhood when she lived 20 minutes from the ocean. “I like to return to a time of freedom and beauty — that’s what childhood is,” she said. Prinsloo shows her art nationally and internationally. Her highest honor through art came when she met President Nelson Mandela and presented him with a portrait commissioned by the South African Embassy in Washington D.C.
Federman is presenting her mixed-media artwork which combines fabric, acrylic and layers of paper. Her art is realistic, but it is mixed with abstract landscapes. She said, “The mood of my paintings gives the viewer a feeling of peace and a place to escape to from a busy, hectic life.” Federman is from Buenos Aires, Argentina where she won distinction at the National Fiber Art Competition.
Hastaie is displaying his paintings of peaceful nature settings and landscapes. The Iranian artist studied sculpture, painting and design at Tehran University and received a master of fine arts from the University of Kansas. His paintings reflect his enjoyment and love of nature and the beauty of the earth surrounding him. His sculpture will be on display at the Masterworks 2014 Art Show at Glen Echo through June 1.
To contact von Burns or Sean FM, call 240-444-0102. The office can be reached at 301-299-1013 or email them at Shannon@oneaum.com or sean@oneaum.com. They also have a website: www.oneaum.com.