Brian Berman

As an artist, I've had many valleys to explore and mountains to climb. Much is documented in my memoir(Available on Amazon, or at my studio during the tour. I write about the challenges I've faced and the evolutionary gifts that have been my journey of becoming. Having a supportive arts community has nurtured my spirit and helped me rise up like the phoenix. Back in 2022 when we lost our home on Palomar Road, Lisa and I didn't know when our next home would reveal itself. We were invited by a great peace builder to volunteer in Poland in support of Ukrainian mothers and their children. To live in service, and our community service led us onward to work in the town where Auschwitz memorial museum lives. We offered support for those impacted by the Holocaust. After a very fulfilling time of service the Ukrainian mothers moved onward, our services were complete and we returned to Ojai. One of the challenges was losing my main suppliers for my HOLOS Amulets. This fall, I will be releasing my remaining stock offering discounts including metal printed pendants and sculptures. What I have been working on in preparation for this year's Studio Tour, a new portal series, like the one in the Museum Exhibition, new sizes HOLOS Amulets with new an 18K adjustable gold plated chain in a beautiful soft pouch to enhance the beauty of these as gifts. I also created 3" carved crystal amulets in quartz crystal and obsidian, nestled in a purple velvet pouch. I will also have a new series of sacred geometry designed wall hangings on embossed paper. With much cultivation and nurturing my creative spirit, Is evolving past the endings and into new beginnings of creativity. I look forward to the October Studio Tour, and I also open my studio by appointment so please reach out to me. My best wishes, Brian - Artist for Peace

As I've been sculpting for 35 years, I've come to a time in my life where I'm ready to begin to release some of my private collection. I've always believed that when I let go of something that I've treasured, I am making room for what's next. These cast glass sculptures were a part of an I AM series I created in Seattle when I was learning how to kiln cast glass back in 2008. They have traveled from Washington state, to Ojai, then to Poland, and back to Ojai. They have many more miles to travel, so I hope they find a home with you, wherever you live. The theme of this series: acknowledging that we are bodies of light. I cast them in a variety of colors and these were my favorite ones. They are cast in lead crystal from New Zealand. Though they are small in size, they have much weight to them. My "I AM" sculptures have been one of my most popular sculpture series. We all have an I AM presence, so most of my art collectors found ones that they loved, as a reminder when viewing the art to return to their I AM presence. I've created them in stone, steel, and glass. If you have time to explore my website: BrianBerman.art and have interest in any of my artworks, please contact me for seeing my artwork by appointment. I thank you for your interest and providing the support we artists need in these challenging times.

I had the good fortune to spend some time in Thailand and Vietnam this past month. Asian sculptural artworks appeared everywhere, from golden metal sculptures, to sculpture studios offering monumental size marble sculptures, in hotels, and especially Buddhist temples. I was blown away by a museum in Da Nang, Vietnam that exhibited monumental stone sculptures carved during the 5th-9th century, and expressing Hindu and Buddhist carvings. What a discovery. The Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture is one of the first museums built in Vietnam by the French. The main building was constructed in 1915. It evokes some motifs of French colonial architecture in the early twentieth century and resembles the image of the Champa temples - towers in Central Viet Nam. I had the opportunity to contemplate more than 400 sculptures on display, including National Treasures and others representing the masterpieces of Champa sculpture in ten centuries (from 5th to 15th). The sculptures were made in a variety of materials, such as sandstone, terracotta, and metal. Grounded in various themes from fertility symbols, deities, mythical animals and architectural decoration from the Hindu and Buddhist, they express the features of cultural and religious values of the Champa people over many generations. The Da Nang Museum of Cham Sculpture was a must-see destination for me having half of my life creating sculptures. Though I took hundreds of photos, my creative time was designing two engraved copper portals. It was time to bring these two copper discs into a sculptural form. I had purchased the two discs from Alaska Copper and Brass in Seattle in the late 90s. They have traveled from my home studio on Bainbridge Island, to Ojai when Lisa and I moved here in 2011. Eleven years later, we were volunteering in Poland do to the war in Ukraine, they traveled with my tools with hopes that I would have the creative inspiration to design these copper discs into sculptures. Well the inspiration came while in Vietnam, using graphic images I've collected and loving the toroidal geometric designs that are inspired by my Holos design and embossed paper wall artworks. I thought the best way to display these sculptures would be to hang the discs within a circular stand. Though they are not yet ready to be seen, I plan to exhibit one of them in the OSA exhibition in the Ojai Valley Museum, and have the second one for the October OSA Studio Tour. My home studio is open by appointment. You are welcome to view my artworks, or purchase what connects with you. I have finally combined my artworks under the domain BrianBerman.art This website brings my former websites BermanSculpture.com and Holosamulets.com under one website BrianBerman.art I look forward to sharing my art with you.

HOLOS is transforming. For the last 13 years, I've been producing HOLOS sculptures, wall prints, and jewelry. When I saw this design in my meditation back in 2013, I recognized the beauty and importance of what this design represented. For me the design symbolized we are One Humanity. It also represents the totality of All That Is. I was told by a physicist that I modeled the creative pattern of the Universe. My inspirational glass casting teacher said I could use this design in my artwork for the rest of my life. Many people have my HOLOS sculptures made of stone, kiln cast glass, 3D printed metal sculptures, cast precious metal pendants, and wall prints. I continue to receive comments of great appreciation for what HOLOS means to them. Here's one quote that I recently heard for travelers and locals alike, "I wear the HOLOS almost every single day! Love it so much and I can feel the amazing energy it brings 🙏💜 So grateful for your artistry!" I have a limited inventory of my HOLOS artworks, so if interested please contact me. brianberman.art So what is transforming? I created a new logo identity as my purpose and passion is promoting peace. Now more than ever, PeaceBuilders need support. If you are interested in my artwork or my Awakening Peace design, drop me a note and let me know what interests you.

Digging Deep to Find New Inspiration is my motivation for this Blog post and likely this year. I've been invited to stay with a friend in Thailand and visit Vietnam in May. I'm turning 77 in April and want to explore some of the ancient carvings in these two countries. It is my goal to explore ancient temples carved out of Marble and Limestone mountains. I might even take a stone carving class in Nuoc Stone Carving Village. As my main support comes from the sales of my artwork, I invite you to book a trip to my studio or website and select gifts for yourself or loved ones from my stunning collection of HOLOS Amulets, or my sculptures and wall artwork. I will make it worthwhile, so find what you want and we will work out a way to make it happen. Many of my artworks can be viewed on my website: BrianBerman.art , and if you'd like to come see my artworks in person, drop me an email at brianlberman@gmail.com or text or What'sApp me at 360-620-1040. Please identify yourself with your namewhy you are reaching out to me, this will clear up any mystery. Many thanks for the 35 years of support from all the art lovers and patrons that have supported me through my art sales. I am humbled and grateful when you find my artwork appealing and meaningful to you.

A core element of my work is peace and connection, including wall and wearable art. My life and artistic path have taken me through many transitions - some tumultuous - yet this newest chapter is producing some of the greatest work of my career. Longtime peace activists, my wife Lisa and I relocated to Poland in 2022 to work with the One Humanity Institute supporting refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. Many of my fellow sculptors were stunned when I sold most of my tools before leaving Ojai. For Lisa and I, it was a conscious step into the unknown - an opening to something new. Just before their departure, I collaborated with printmaker Linda Taylor to create a series of letterpress embossed prints. Using laser-cut templates, his geometric images carry an intriguing dimensional quality - an early bridge from his sculptural roots into wall-based work. While in Poland, I discovered how deeply he missed making art. I continued developing my signature HOLOS form, working with a Czech studio to produce cast-glass pieces from models generated with my 3D printer. When the slow pace of glass casting created delays, I began exploring new ways of “seeing” HOLOS. That exploration led to something unexpected. Using inspection-style filters (x-ray and wireframe views) I began generating stark white-on-black images that are both mesmerizing and beautiful. They became the foundation for a new 2D series centered on HOLOS: clean, luminous, and quietly powerful. Another personal transition has been my painful separation from my grandchildren. Turning again to art as a lifeline, I have been transforming 2D photographs into 3D-printed models of each child. “Not all my artworks are about beauty and peace,” he says. “But my intent is to find peace amidst these emotional challenges.” These new works will be on view at my studio this Saturday, March 14, alongside original stone, metal, and glass sculptures. I just returned my Tri-Portal sculpture to our garden of Peace, so please come and enjoy. I will have many 3D printed gifts for all. I will also be demonstrating my 3D printing process.

My last blog shared our family alienation crisis that began last June. These last 8 months have begun an exploration of health challenges and finding new ways to help me express what I'm personally going through. Not all my artworks are about beauty and peace. Though my intent is to find peace amidst my health and emotional challenges. On that blog it was using a photo of my grand daughter and creating a reduction wood carving and letterpress printing class with Linda Taylor. I then shared turning photos of my grandchildren into 3D models that I printed on my 3D printer. Not all prints are successful. In the gallery of images you can see one of the failed prints. I saved it as a model of when life shows up in ways that can't be controlled. In my last class with Linda, the prints has a registration misalignment that one of my friends said was a perfect example of what your family is going through. The 3D print failure I have in the gallery similarly expresses that. I needed help with my health and my helplessness, so I asked my health insurance for support and I began working with a therapist. I haven't felt the need for therapist help for 3+decades, and I really took a turn as 2026 began, as my life boat was filling with water. I wondered with worry if my life would end and the family alienation would continue. As a peace builder, I was needing support and with the helping hand of this therapist, I'm doing much better as I use art, and my life experience to help heal myself, and my family. I have lived by this creed, Art Heals Lives. I drew the image of "Tsunami of Grief and Loss" and that was really helpful. I also felt that this image might resonate with others going through similar emotions, with what is going on here in the US and other parts of the world. My therapist asked me how I see myself in a couple of years. I said that I will be of great support for those that are going through what I am navigating now, and I can be of help and support for them. I was then invited to take a still life painting class with master painter Carlos Grasso. "Moment of Solace" was the result of that class time. With the intense concentration in representing what was the still life model, it helped keep me in the present moment and release my emotions from the past and future. Though this was my first painting experience, I could see the value of this being a mindful practice. Not about making art for sale, but making art for healing. After another therapy session examining and inquiry of my Tsunami drawing, the questions arose about "What's Next". The images that came up were about my lifeboat sinking, and I might not live to see my grandchildren again. I created the image of my "Heartache". This was a photo montage created in Photoshop. This helped me release much of my emotional sorrow, and once it was visually expressed, it no longer weighed heavily on my heart. Next I imagined a still life model with my granddaughter for Carlos' next class. I've included the model, but I didn't take a process photo. Will see how well I can express this model in future classes, or maybe I go back to painting vegetable and fruits. I've left town for a few days to retreat and break free from my dailies. I'm hopeful that I can explore artistically, what's in my heart and what's next for me. I will have a display of these images and models for the Second Saturday mini tour March 14th from 10-5pm, just a month away. Thanks for reading my blog, and I hope to see you next month at my Mini Tour. If you don't get to see a map, usually posted on the OSA Website a few days before the mini tour.