Terry Coté – Artist’s Statement
My creative journey began in 2020 as a quiet ritual to soothe anxious thoughts. While traditional painting felt too loose for my detail-oriented nature, discovering mandalas felt like coming home. The precision, balance, and repetition of dotting provide a structured harmony that quiets my mind and anchors me in the present. Working with acrylics on wood panels, I apply each dot by hand using specialized tools and needles. This slow, intentional process offers a grounding energy that deepens my meditation. Whether in my studio or beneath the shade of trees while camping across New England, the rhythm of dotting connects me to the surrounding light. This practice teaches me to trust the unfolding of each piece and soften my self-expectations.
My mandalas are visual offerings of calm—quiet meditations created dot by dot, breath by breath. I hope each piece invites viewers to pause and find a moment of stillness of their own.
-Terry Coté
About Terry:
Most evenings after dinner, I retreat to my studio where time slows, and the world narrows to the tip of my dotting stylus. Here, creating mandalas is more than an art form; it is a quiet, restorative ritual. My journey began during the uncertainty of early 2020, born from a need to soothe anxious thoughts and rediscover inner peace. While my husband and daughter—both gifted artists—encouraged me to paint, they find freedom in the loose sweep of a brush; I find my sanctuary in the meticulous—the precision of a dot, the unwavering logic of a circle, the geometry of peace.
Each work begins on cradled wood, where acrylic paint is placed dot by dot, breath by breath. This repetition is my meditation, a grounding ritual that transforms anxious noise into harmonic silence. This stillness is deepened by nature. Beside my husband Dave—my partner in life and adventure since 1993—I have learned to chase the “perfect light” across New England’s forests and the vast stretches of the American landscape. While he captures the world en plein air, I sit under the canopy, weaving the energy of the trees into patterns of order and light.
Beyond mandalas, I express care and intention through quilting for loved ones, marking meaningful moments in their lives. By day, I navigate the structured world of commercial property management as an Executive Coordinator; by night, I soften that structure into visual offerings of calm. Each mandala is a visual meditation—created dot by dot, breath by breath—inviting you to pause and find your own moment of peace.