Artist: Michelle Eisenstein

Description of Buffalo: If you have ever found yourself strolling through Buffalo's Japanese Garden, a Frederick Law Olmsted designed park, located along Delaware Park's Mirror Lake, then you have experienced the ethereal nature of this special gem when spring offers up her cherry blossoms.

In that moment, you might have witnessed the glory of the sunshine peek through the pale shades of pink or felt the gentle flutter of the petals brush across your face as they were swept gracefully from their branches by the wind. You might have stopped and captured this experience on your phone, snapping a quick photo, hoping to look back and recall that feeling again. In a world so chaotic, nature offers us a chance to breathe in her beauty and refresh our spirit. A timeless metaphor in Japan, the cherry blossoms, known as Sakura, remind us of life's fragility and fleeting nature. They whisper, slow down, allow your senses to marvel in life's splendor and try to remember to live in the present. They teach us to be mindful and to enjoy life's small gifts, a shared smile, a belly laugh, a warm embrace. I wanted to represent this expression of life and beauty in this piece while offering a juxtaposition of the delicate bloom on the stoic buffalo.

The buffalo is made of terra cotta are approximately 18" long and 12" high.

Artist Bio: Eisenstein is a staff member of the Roswell Park Marketing Department and member of the Art Committee. As a freelance artist specializing in charcoal portraits, she primarily works in black and white. In contrast, Eisenstein also works with color, rendering soft pastel house portraits and watercolor paintings. While most of her work consists of commissioned pieces, she takes pride in giving back by donating works of art to benefit patients at Roswell Park and to help raise money for cancer research. In 2017, she was invited to create a piece to become part of Roswell Parks art collection. This large-scale charcoal drawing of Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres now hangs near Phlebotomy for patients, staff and visitors to enjoy. Eisenstein finds great joy in sharing her art with others.

Artist studio:

https://www.instagram.com/michelleeisensteinart/