Artist Amy Eisenfeld Genser's Magnificent Mixed Media Underwater Scenes

Connecticut-based artist Amy Eisenfeld Genser is inspired by underwater scenes. Using rolls of paper and acrylic on canvas, Eisenfeld Genser creates mixed media art that is reflective of the stony corals andd polyps that one would typically see while scuba diving near a coral reef.

The artist explains in more detail: "The sources of my work are textures, patterns, and grids. I look for forms that can be repeated to create a pattern when they are joined. My work tries to capture the essence of an experience or an image I have seen."

She is fascinated by the flow of water, the shape of beehives, and the organic irregularity of plants, flowers, rock formations, barnacles, moss, and seaweed. Her pieces bring to mind aerial landscape views, satellite imagery, and biological cellular processes. 

A side view of each piece provides a three dimensional depth to an already tactile painting. Her mixed media works are so greatly detailed, viewers are inspired to reach out and touch the rounded shapes created from spirals of recycled paper, or the textures that are created from a smattering of acrylic across the canvas.

Related: We follow Gensler's stunning artwork with an inspiring update on a giant coral reef considered dead that is now showing new signs of life.

Related: Giant Coral Reef in Protected Area Shows New Signs of Life New York Times

In 2003, researchers declared Coral Castles dead.

On the floor of a remote island lagoon halfway between Hawaii and Fiji, the giant reef site had been devastated by unusually warm water. Its remains looked like a pile of drab dinner plates tossed into the sea. Research dives in 2009 and 2012 had shown little improvement in the coral colonies.

Then in 2015, a team of marine biologists was stunned and overjoyed to find Coral Castles, genus Acropora, once again teeming with life. But the rebound came with a big question: Could the enormous and presumably still fragile coral survive what would be the hottest year on record?

This month, the Massachusetts-based research team finished a new exploration of the reefs in the secluded Phoenix Islands, a tiny Pacific archipelago, and were thrilled by what they saw. When they splashed out of an inflatable dinghy to examine Coral Castles closely, they were greeted with a vista of bright greens and purples — unmistakable signs of life.