After her death, her disciples wrote this book, praising her asĪ friend of women, a skilled preacher, and Walatta Petros (1592–1642) risked her life by leaving her husband and led a struggle against the Jesuits, who were trying to convert Ethiopians from their ancient form of Christianity.

This translation of the first biography of an African woman tells the story of an Ethiopian saint who led a successful nonviolent movement to preserve African Christian beliefs in the face of European protocolonialism. She considers herself lucky to be working in a field that she enjoys and has this advice to other artists who might be trying to make ends meet: “It’s tough to make a living just making art.” Szabo says that having an “income-producing” job to take some of the stress off of being an artist helps her fulfill her drive to create the artwork so essential to her psyche.īooks The Life and Struggles of Our Mother Walatta Petros In addition to her artwork, Szabo supports herself with another passion, real estate. Not that she has any trouble juggling these surprises when they come up Szabo also trains as a boxer, is a Young Partner for the Boston Ballet, and sings. Describing the printmaking process as “rigid, yet allow for experimentation at the same time,” Szabo enjoys silk-screening because it allows her to improvise and take advantage of any “surprises” that might arise. “I am thankful to my professors, who encouraged me to experiment,” she says. “I really enjoy the process of going through so many steps to get to the finished product.”Įntering college with the intent of focusing on pre-med, Szabo switched her major in her second year to studio art. “ takes the simple art form of drawing and makes it as complicated as possible,” she says.

The abstract images represent feelings and communicate meanings that she cannot articulate otherwise. Szabo uses her artwork as a kind of mind-mapping exercise, allowing the ink to create a “playland” for her thoughts.

“This carried over into how I used the printmaking process.” “My journey into creating mind maps started with drawing repetitive lines as a stress release during my first two years at Mount Holyoke,” she says. Her use of cohesive shapes and colors can also be traced back to college. Through repetition and transparency, Szabo brings the illusion of depth to two-dimensional art. Since her first printmaking class with Professor Nancy Campbell at Mount Holyoke, the Boston native has been using silk-screening techniques to create her layered, abstract pieces. “I can’t survive without art,” says Ariel Szabo White ’09, who uses the name Ariel Szabo professionally.

Abigail Adams by Phyllis Lee Levin