Black Tara is one of the "21 Taras." She is an African-American Tara. Tara is the goddess of loving-kindness and compassion. As Black Tara, she is known for the powerful way she cuts through obscurations. The successful bidder will receive a signed and numbered print.

"Black Tara" is part of Ms. Stone's "Contemporary Goddesses" series. Her goal is to bring archetypal Goddesses and Bodhisattvas into contemporary American forms. Ms. Stone says she is "looking for ethnic diversity and inclusiveness in my depictions and I rely on my friends for models."

Black Tara subdues the eight classes of harmful spirits and nine malignant spirit brothers. She makes the world tremble and quake by striking the mountains and islands with the palms of her strong hands and stamping upon them with her powerful feet.

For this artwork, Ms. Stone hand carved 3 mokuhanga woodblocks. Mokuhanga is the traditional Japanese style of woodblock prints. Typically a separate block is hand carved for each color used. The blocks are printed onto Japanese Kozo or mulberry paper by hand rubbing with a barren. The inks used are sumi and watercolor inks. Mokuhanga is a labor-intensive traditional printmaking practice. In addition to the three blocks, Ms. Stone hand paints the details in the artwork.

Ms. Stone paints contemporary Buddhist and Hindu art. She finds joy in painting Buddhas creating the space and environment for the deity to reside. "The idea is that once the painting is completed, the deity moves in. The painting no longer belongs to the artist. It is the home of a Buddha." Ms. Stone is also the author of Drawing Buddhas and Bodhisattvas. "I want everyone to paint Buddhas, it's the best!"

Website: faithstoneart.com

Details:

Dimensions: 16" w x 20" h

Medium: Mokuhanga woodblock hand-rubbed onto Japanese Kozo paper and hand-painted.

Titled, numbered, and signed by the artist.

Year: 2021