art www.queenscourier.com • february 2013 • lic courier 35 terlife and what’s beyond the clouds into Levinstone’s work. Observers tell Levinstone her work is ever-changing. In rich amber skies and wispy clouds, they see endless possibilities. A 17-year-old boy once described her work as “artistic shorthand.” She thought that was the best feedback she’d ever gotten. “It really comes from the soul. There’s something people feel when they look at the work. As much as my work is about the sky, it’s more than that. It’s about what’s beyond there. We look at it and it looks back at us, we discover things.” Levinstone isn’t afraid to let her work go towards the dark side. When the American landscape changed on September 11, 2001, her art dove into a deep emotional crevasse, abandoning bright colors for black, white and charcoal grey – the color of the collapsing towers’ smoke. Her most recent collection spurred from the devastation of Superstorm Sandy, the havoc and the mess it left behind. “It’s interesting the role ones mental state effects one’s work,” she said. Levinstone uses her work to help others. She runs workshops and teaches classes at a creative center for people battling cancer. She visits students in their homes and helps them craft a portfolio for art schools or showcases and visits homebound elderly residents, painting and drawing. Art provides escapism and serenity, she said, similarly to watching a movie. Some of the people she works with have never created art before, but watching their moods brighten is an amazing process. Levinstone also recently began teaching at the Queens Paideia School, an addition she says has added endless meaning to her life. She calls the experience symbiotic, stating it’s not just the teacher teaching, but her students who enrich her life every day. Levinstone’s latest show can be seen at the Jeffrey Leder Gallery, beginning Friday, March 29.
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