Though Woodland Hills artist Alisa Gabrielle was legally blind, she had the inner vision to create the voluptuous nymphs and maidens she carves in marble. The enchanting female forms Alisa Gabrielle creates often have eyes, but they cannot see. The sculptress identifies with them as she brings them to life from their stone bonds. She was legally blind herself for more than 30 years before a corneal transplant restored a measure of her vision in 2001.

How does a sculptor cope with drastically impaired vision? Alisa Gabrielle found her coping strategy in her art. "I was able to express so much of what I couldn't see in clay and stone. The act of touching the stone was not only healing, it lead me to find the beautiful forms that I so enjoy creating." "I was not completely blind; I could see to some extent, but things were very blurred and out of focus most of the time.  Though I was able to wear contact lenses which gave me passable vision, I was limited to wearing them for half the day, and sometimes not at all when lenses caused corneal abrasions  My other senses became more acute, however, especially my tactile sensitivity. I could actually ‘see' my work with my fingers. I could feel the stone's contours emerging as I worked," Alisa explains.

Alisa's new series of carved marble and mixed media paintings will be featured in a One Woman Show entitled "Sirens, Maidens and Nymphs." This provocative series speaks to the heart of the female spirit. Mermaids, nymphs and a "modern Volendorf," representing females from cultures ancient and current, evoke the mythic world of the feminine and all that it conjures up in the imagination.  Voluptuous and sensual, these pieces bring the viewer into a world of feminine longings and beckon the viewer to caress the curvaceous forms.

The series of maidens are carved out of black Belgian marble and a rich array of alabaster. Each one speaks to the earthly and spiritual concerns of women throughout the centuries.  Ms. Gabrielle's braided maidens, as well as the Sirens in stone and on colorful canvases, reveal woman as goddess, fertility symbol, seductress, mother, creative spirit, powerful or submissive, and at the heart of all life.

Ms. Gabrielle goes annually to Pietrasanta to select the exquisite Carrara marble she uses to carve her sensual pieces.  "I am so inspired when I am in Italy.  I am not only surrounded by beautiful art,  but I have a sense of awe working in the same town where Michelangelo lived, and where sculptors from all over the world, including Botero,  come to live and work with the precious stone."  Ms. Gabrielle's work has been featured on Channel 7 news with George Pennacchio,  on NBC's Emmy winning  TV series "Starting Over ," and has been exhibited in Europe  and throughout the United States. Her work is now being spotlighted in a new book "The World's Greatest Erotic Art of Today."

The Topanga Canyon Gallery is located in the heart of Topanga, at 120 N.Topanga Canyon Blvd., Suite  #109, Topanga, 90290, 20 minutes from Santa Monica. Open Wed. - Sat., 10am-6pm, Sun., 11-5pm.  Call (310) 455-7909 or go to our website www.topangacanyongallery.com                Alisa's website is www.alisagabrielle.com