Islands in the Stream Zen Chicken Drawing

Honoria Starbuck (Miami, Florida) grew up on Key Biscayne, an island off the coast of Miami. She studied art and art history at the University of Texas and holds an interdisciplinary PhD in Fine Arts, Communications, and Education. Honoria is influenced by art history stretching back to cave art. The zen chicken series is specifically influenced by expressive calligraphic artists and the asemic writing movement. Zen chickens also stem from the abstraction of Ikebana, the flowing flowers of Emile Nolde, the frottage of Max Ernst, the eye of Man Ray and Dada, the diffusion of ink by George Grosz, as well as current events. In addition, Honoria’s artwork is a form of moving meditation closely related to her 14-year practice of tai chi. Honoria has decades of diverse experiences as a Mail Artist in the international Correspondence Art Network through which her work has been exhibited in over 400 exhibitions including twice in the Venice Biennale. Honoria has also worked in Internet art creating the first Internet opera (1995) which was recognized by the Global Bangemann Challenge for innovation. Honoria’s theme is flow. Flow connects the molecules of pigment into patterns on the paper and intellectual themes flow from one individual artwork into the next. The Zen Chicken theme has a strong current of humor and flexibility as the dilettante rooster roams through a wide range of entanglements from Japanese flower arranging to modern art. Honoria is a professor of practice in the Art and Entertainment Technology Department in the College of Fine Art at The University of Texas at Austin.