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Digital display of Mother, oil on canvas painting by Natalya Gudovich, at Palettes of Harmony - a showcase of Russian art at ArtBeats 5 at Legacy Suite, Jamaica Pegasus Hotel. “The essence of this poem…,” said Aleksei Sazanov, head of consular section, Embassy of the Russian Federation in Jamaica, “ … is that love is unconditional …” Sazanov was giving context and translation of ‘Wait for Me’, a poem by Konstantin Simonov about a soldier who is going to war and is telling his love to wait for him. His words seemingly summed up the evening of November 25 at Legacy Suite, The Jamaica Pegasus hotel – for love flowed in many forms. Russia – a country which is dotted with famous landmarks – from St Petersburg to Moscow, from the ballet to the opera, there is rich art history embedded in her DNA. It was the night of ‘Palettes of Harmony’ – a first-of-its-kind event showcasing Russian fine art – a collaboration between the Embassy of the Russian Federation in Jamaica with Osmosis ...

The creator and his creations - Wazari Johnson “I am like a child on Christmas morning when I open my kiln,” said Wazari Johnson, his shirt dotted with spots, and hands caked in clay, ready to shape the docile, earthy mass of mud into statement pieces. It's love, he said, that makes the wheel spin around, fire in the kiln burning and ideas to create the poetry and prose in glazed ceramic. “For me, everything about ceramics is just simply awesome,” Johnson said. “I love everything about the process, from getting the idea of what form I want to create, to preparing the clay, to taking it on the wheel. I love seeing the piece slowly dry and finally proving what it's made of in the fire, I love glazing and glaze firing.” These ideas, like any artists’ creation, form on a blank slate. In this case, from specks of mud, which Johnson said is therapeutic to work with and is also adaptable to changes. “I find that clay is a very versatile and "forgiving" material,...