Deborah K. Tash, born in 1949 in the Bay Area, works in both image and word—blending painting and poetry into something deeply personal and quietly otherworldly. Her practice is shaped by a mixed cultural background: Mexican heritage on her mother’s side, and Celtic lineage on her father’s. That layered ancestry becomes a kind of compass in her work, guiding her toward subjects that explore identity, memory, and the spiritual weight of place.
Tash identifies as a Mestiza—not just by bloodline but as a way of navigating the in-between. Her work often feels like it lives there: between cultures, between dream and ritual, between what can be named and what can only be felt. Color and texture draw you in. But beneath them are stories, symbols, and layered meanings that reveal themselves slowly.
Here are three pieces that show different sides of her visual language.
Water Spirit Voices (Totem Series)
In this acrylic painting, the frame itself—black, bold—sets the tone. Inside, we’re submerged in a deep blue world filled with bubbles and bordered by vivid pink waterlilies. But what really draws attention are the figures within: two feminine water spirits, half-human, half-fish.
One spirit swims across the scene in gold, her tail elaborate and bright. The other, in copper tones, turns away, her black hair flowing like ink. Around them drift two real goldfish, blurring the line between natural and supernatural.
The composition is calm but alive. There’s no conflict, just movement. The painting doesn’t tell a story outright. It suggests. The spirits seem to belong to the water, not imposed on it. And while they’re mythical in shape, they don’t feel far away—they feel present. As if the water has something to say if you’re quiet long enough to hear it.
Dreaming of Roses (Soft Power Series)
This piece is built from layers—both visual and symbolic. A stylized vaginal form sits at the center inside a circular shape, surrounded by roses, pearls, and shimmering spheres. All of it unfolds on a soft pink background, with a glowing Native American–inspired cross anchoring the design.
The arrangement of objects feels intentional, ceremonial. The pearls, the flowers, the crystal balls—none of them feel decorative. They read more like offerings or protective charms. It’s gentle, but there’s strength here. Not loud. Not confrontational. Just unapologetic.
Part of Tash’s Soft Power series, this work looks at femininity through a different lens—one that centers softness as a source of force, not weakness. The piece doesn’t hide. It doesn’t provoke, either. It just exists, open and grounded, asking the viewer to meet it without flinching.
Raven Feather New Moon (Discourses With The Moon Series)
A watercolor collage, this piece sits somewhere between ritual and dream. The central image is a dark moon, abstract and still. Below it, a hand reaches upward. The hand is painted with soft cloud patterns and holds a copper disk embedded with a crystal—like a gesture offering something unseen.
Around the moon is a ring of copper, rhinestones, and black-and-copper feathers. At the border, painted feathers repeat alongside small pyramids—some inside circles, others inside squares. The colors are muted but rich: bronze, shadow, hints of light.
There’s no narrative here, but there’s presence. The whole piece feels like a space for listening. The kind of image that asks for stillness. It’s not trying to explain. It’s holding something sacred and quiet, trusting that the viewer will meet it halfway.
Deborah K. Tash doesn’t make art for quick consumption. Her work is layered and meditative. It asks you to take your time. To notice. To sit with the mix of cultures, symbols, and sensations that show up in her visual world.
You can explore more of her work here:
👉 fineartamerica.com/profiles/deborah-tash
She continues to make art that honors both lineage and imagination. Her pieces remind us that it’s possible to move between worlds—cultural, emotional, spiritual—and to create something honest from that movement. Something that stays with you.
