The assignment from Art House Co-op:

We’re creating a visual encyclopedia where each artist is asked to visually interpret three words that are assigned to them randomly and were submitted by the Art House community onto 4×4 inch canvases. A visual encyclopedia book will then be created that includes at least one canvas from each artist. An exhibition will be held at The Brooklyn Art Library on December 3rd, 2010.

My reaction:
My first word is inculcate. I admit, I did not know what it meant, so first things first, look it up:
in·cul·cate [in-kuhl-keyt, in-kuhl-keyt]
–verb (used with object), -cat·ed, -cat·ing.
1. to implant by repeated statement or admonition; teach persistently and earnestly (usually fol. by upon or in ): to inculcate virtue in the young.
2. to cause or influence (someone) to accept an idea or feeling (usually fol. by with ): Socrates inculcated his pupils with the love of truth.

Hmmm. Why did this suddenly make me think of nuns? Yes, I did go to catholic school until 7th grade. So, I took an old photo of nuns here and transfered it onto the canvas. Then using a school house font, I thought it would be fun to illustrate the word the way I had looked at the cursive alphabet above the blackboard for seven years when I was so young.

The book page was ripped out of an old volume about the reign of Elizabeth the First of England. Who, although cut ties with the catholic church, as rumor goes, wanted to be represented as the iconic images of the virgin mother. Somehow that all ties together in my mind.

This is the first in my series for the canvas project.