This coffee table art book joins bas-relief sculpture and ekphrastic poetry on a journey into the creative expressions of sculptor Brad Burkhart and poet Cheryl Latif. The collaboration consists of 40 poems by Cheryl Latif inspired by 40 sculptures by Brad Burkhart chosen by the poet. Each pairing tells a unique story that leaves room for the reader to reflect and reflex.

Our Advance Reviews (endorsements) say it best!

"I love it when art talks to art. Burkhart’s living creations crafted by a visionary’s hands are sculptures that tell stories. Latif joins the conversation with language she crafts like a sculptor, clipping away all the unnecessary words and leaving poems that say the biggest things, in the gentlest of ways. It’s a conversation worth witnessing."
– Rick Lupert, Author & Editor

"This labor of love, brought forth amidst the cacophonous, attention demanding, noisy time we find ourselves, is a work of subtlety that needs your dedicated and focused attention to reap its rewards. Don't miss it!"
– Martin Steele, Artist

"Brad’s sculptures are playful and charming, but still they hold the weight of mythology and all the drama of the human journey. Cheryl’s poems are open-hearted, affirming reflections that bring the artworks vividly to life."
– Lorette C. Luzajic, Artist, Author & Editor

"A fascinating marriage between language and shapes."
– Dr. Hendrik Ohldag, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

"Burkhart is a master at spontaneous evocations of life’s mystery with symbols wrapped in rich textures and earthy tones. Latif beautifully translates these subconscious expressions into a language that celebrates life, connection and the wonders we share."
– Teresa Mallen, Painter & Book Artist

"Experience the synergy of transformation combining two mediums, bringing to light the delicate balance of life, enduring and whimsical, secretive and dark, magical and transformative, playful and nuanced, each art form supporting the other in the dance of confirmation."
– John Coinman, Singer/Songwriter/Musician

"Art and poetry fill in the spaces of our lives, as we experience the magic together in a universe of imagination, transformation, and dreams."
– Jo Andersen, Painter & Book Artist

"Cheryl’s exacting poetry, so full of metaphor, is a journey all by itself, but adding Brad’s visual elements creates the magic. Many of these pieces could be reflections for circle discussions, meditations or life celebrations."
– Leah Goodwin, Art Consultant, Curator & Poet

"I was struck by its unique take on the human condition. Thought provoking and humorous and visually beautiful."
– Del Crawford, The Mulberry Gallery

About the Authors: Brad Burkhart and Cheryl Latif

https://latifpoet.com/

Cheryl Latif began writing at age 12. One day her mom, an English professor, found Cheryl’s poems in a drawer. She left a note praising her for her words. The first of Cheryl’s published poems appeared in a California State University Stanislaus publication entitled Between Sheets in 1978. Her mom had encouraged her. It was a wonderful surprise to have it accepted.

When she moved from Los Angeles to San Diego in the 1980s, Cheryl began reading at poetry venues. She eventually began to submit her work and found herself both first and third place winner of the 1999 SPAWN poetry contest. Cheryl attended the 2000 Seattle Poetry Festival, during which the Pacific Northwest stole her heart. She returned to San Diego where she was host and curator of a nationally known weekly reading, Poetic Brew at the Claire de Lune, still committed to making Seattle her home.

Cheryl made her way north in 2001, landing on Bainbridge Island for five years. During this time, she served as a judge for poetry contests sponsored by the San Diego Writers Cooperative; Berkeley’s Bay Area Poets; and San Diego’s African American Writers and Artists. Her poems appeared in local, regional and national publications, and her columns ran in the Bainbridge Islander. She was commissioned by Temple Emek Shalom, Ashland, Oregon, to write a poem for the dedication of their new sanctuary, and she earned honorable mention in the 2005 New Millennium Writings contest.

Now a resident of West Seattle, Cheryl spends her time fooling with words: writing poetry, promotional copy through her marketing company named ad infinitum, and an occasional column. She is the author of two chapbooks, transformations and rain on my tongue. A limited-edition handmade book of seventeen new and selected poems, tears & ash, was produced in 2003.

Cheryl Latif co-authored with sculptor Brad Burkhart, their hardcover coffee table book, Reflexions: Sculpture & Poetry, published in 2023.

https://burkhart-sculptor.com/

Brad Burkhart's art explores the collective, cultural calling many of us feel to reintegrate intuition with rationality. As an undergraduate art major at Kalamazoo College, Brad traveled extensively in Europe absorbing the profound influences of medieval and Renaissance artists. He was struck by the shift he saw represented in the art from that period when human consciousness moved from a spiritual orientation to an intellectual orientation. Later, thinkers such as Joseph Campbell, Carl Jung, Leonard Schlain, Suzi Gablik, and Riane Eisler, all of whom address the value of integrating intuitive knowing with rational thought, began to lend inspiration to Brad's artistic concept and purpose.

The artist's relationship with nature and ecology led him to also study horticulture and landscape design. He eventually became a leader in native habitat restoration in Southern California. The healing influence of the natural world resonates in many of Brad's sculptures. Brad began focusing exclusively on this artwork in 2012. He creates clay relief panels depicting mythic, intuitive scenes that seem to offer a story about how we can address the deep sense of alienation from self, nature, and one another that many people experience today.