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Artist's Work Inspired By Beauty Of Nature

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By DEE YOUMANS-MILLER

Special to the News & Tribune

Published: January 21, 2009

NEW TAMPA - Artist Magda Barsoum-Homsy's new series of work was inspired by her granddaughter.

And you can see those pieces, titled "Butterflies," at the New Tampa Regional Library.

Born in Cairo, Egypt, Barsoum-Homsy began drawing at an early age as a member of a family that supported art. Her aunt and mother were painters, so it came naturally to Barsoum-Homsy.

Spending summers in Alexandria, Egypt, her subject matter included some of the most beautiful scenes in the world - sunsets on the beach, feluccas going down the Nile River, as well as the calm desert sands by the pyramids.

Being an ophthalmologist, Barsoum-Homsy's father shared a poem with her about a blind boy not being able to see the birds and trees. The decision to become a pediatric ophthalmologist was an easy one.

Barsoum-Homsy completed her undergraduate degree in medical education at Cairo University. She then immigrated to Canada, where she completed her post-graduate residency in ophthalmology. That was followed by a fellowship in pediatric ophthalmology in Washington, D.C.

She practiced pediatric ophthalmology at St. Justine Hospital for Children and served as a professor of ophthalmology at the University of Montreal from 1975 to 1998.

Barsoum-Homsy moved to Florida in 1998, where she established a practice. She is also a professor of ophthalmology at the University of South Florida.

She has continued to paint throughout her career.

Barsoum-Homsy said painting is a form of regaining energy, meditation and a way to clear the mind.

She paints at quiet times in the evening, late nights and weekends, with music playing softly in the room.

Injustice is reflected in her art, whether it is famine, abused women, violence or war. Her recent work is inspired by the beauty of nature and by the resilience of mankind. Embracing all cultures she is deeply affected by her experiences through her travels.

"I collect pieces of wood, pebbles, fabric and assemble them in a harmonious fashion, so that each insignificant item plays an important part of the whole composition," Barsoum-Homsy said.

Working in media from oil, watercolor and acrylics, Barsoum-Homsy is also proficient in encaustics.

"Encaustic is nothing else but pigmented wax and resins," she said. "It is a technique first used in the first and second century discovered in the Fayum Mummy portraits in my native land. It has been popularized by famous contemporary artists such as Jasper Johns, Diego Rivera and Tony Scherman.

"The pigmented wax is melted on a heating plate and applied by brushes to the surface of a ridged support such as wood. It solidifies very rapidly. It then has to be fixed and fused by reheating each applied layer of wax. It is a beautiful medium that has depth, texture, transparencies and lends itself to collage as well."

A self-taught artist, Barsoum-Homsy has also studied under Pierre Archambault, Pierre-Leon Tetrault, Kitty Bruneau and Ming Ma, all renowned artists in Quebec, Canada. She has participated in several art exhibits in the past 20 years in Quebec, San Francisco, Orlando, Tampa and Columbus, Ohio.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Magda Barsoum-Homsy's art display

WHERE: New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd.

DATES: until Jan. 31

INFORMATION: Magda Barsoum-Homsy, (813) 767-5495, e-mail magdahomsy@aol.com or visit her Web page at www.northtampaarts.com.

The writer is a member of the North Tampa Arts League.

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