Erica fareio

My paintings are an expression of the beauty and magic I see in Grand Canyon, the surrounding Colorado Plateau and in our everyday experiences. I have come to realize that the cycles and patterns of the natural world can serve as a reflection for aspects of our own day to day living and relationships. I believe that nature can teach us how to navigate more gracefully through our own seasons and rapids of human experience. After all, we are nature too! This is one of many messages I attempt to convey through my art.

When art is able to articulate true insight and wisdom, it becomes a powerful tool. It can help to open our minds and hearts to different perspectives, ideas, emotions and help us to see that we and all living things are connected on a very fundamental level. I have been an artist since childhood and continued my art education through college. I started as a Freshman at University of Arizona then eventually transferred to NAU. My higher education also led me into fields of geology, ethnobotany, music, graphic design and wilderness medicine. My connection to and observations of nature have been primarily fostered and nurtured by time spent living and working in Grand Canyon.

I have worked as a professional river guide for Arizona River Runners since 1997. As my life experience grows, my inspiration also grows and evolves. I am now exploring other subject matters, including current affairs, archetypal imagery and the collective consciousness. I am seeing art now, as a way to live life with intention, as a way to pay attention. I live in Flagstaff with my Husband and 14 year old son. I still guide part-time on the Colorado, as it is an essential puzzle piece in my blessed life, but I have shifted my main focus to art and family.