You’ve Got Mail 2003
From a photo taken in Brownsville, TX 2001
Crossed 2019
Painted angrily after a Salvadorian father and child drowned crossing the Rio Grande, having just been denied legal asylum.
Changing Landscapes 062615
Painted after the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision on the rights of gay couples to marry.
Mother and Daughters 2016
My sister, mother, and I enjoyed many girls’ vacations throughout the years, with Akumal, Mexico our favorite destination. After our mom passed away, Mothers and Daughters commemorated our times together. Mom is the thin white profile sandwiched between us. My hand sprinkles some of her ashes into the waiting hand of my sister. We make stone stacks and spread her ashes wherever we travel. The circular breasts represent motherhood, with our daughters and sisters-in-law deciding what images would depict each.
Nature plays a big role in who we are as mothers, as family, as women, as curators of life. Alice and I translated this painting to a wall in Akumal, Mexico during the first Akumal Arts Festival (100 artists from around the world painted murals throughout the tiny town}.
Bort Gray
Juggled: a Gray family portrait
Veering away from my more comfortable realistic approach to portraits, this painting encapsulates my view of our nuclear family. The balls represent our three children, with inner circles as their spouses and children. My parents and siblings reach upward from my mind while my husband’s siblings connect horizontally from his eyes. As the patriarch of our family, Ed holds our hearts in his hand.
Studio Class
Nationally known artist and author, Al Bright was a mentor to hundreds during
his years as a YSU professor. I was among those who benefited from his instruction, patience, and friendship.
Under the Sea
Encaustic workshop with Loretta Tipton
Whitewater 2003
One of my few abstract paintings.
Glacial
Class demonstration using gesso.
Ground Control to Major Tom 2014
Created using James’ Halloween silhouette, soon after we visited the Matisse cut-outs show in NY.
Star Light, Star Bright
Created using Madeleine’s Halloween silhouette shortly after a visit to the Matisse cut out exhibit in NY.
Spirit Bird, Gray
The Goat Farm
Gifted to David and Linda Lawless for their generosity in allowing us free access to their farm.
On the Farm
My cousin, who still lives on a section of the family farm, entertained my grandsons with frogs and tadpoles during their summer vacation in Ohio.
Elizabeth’s World
Our Life
Married 59 years, Myron and Alice Bort spent many evenings on the backyard swing. 2002
Gone Fishin’
Rich Stevens
Homemaker’s Dilemma; years of waxy buildup
Alice Habuda Bort, surrounded by her husband, children and grandchildren. Mixed media encaustic
Home for the Holidays
Created with the help of daughter Elizabeth, this is a gingerbread replica of our house at 538 E. Western Reserve Rd, Poland, OH