Flying Solo
I honestly didn’t know what to expect. “Landscape Fantastic” is my first solo exhibition, five years in the making. My working title for many months was “The White Frame Exhibit” because I decided to frame all the pieces the same way: 4”x6” works matted to 8”x 10” in simple white frames. Even before I had created many of the pieces that would make up this show, I conceived a neutral consistency and unity allowing the work to be studied on its own merits, without the distraction of a variety of mismatched frames. For me, the layout was about rhythm and symmetry and a cadence of colors that presented these joyful pieces as leaping off the wall into the beating hearts of their viewers.
The postcard announcing the exhibition and its opening reception featured my favorite in the collection, “Tree Stand, Acadia”. When the curator at Gallery 777, before seeing this postcard, chose the same piece to highlight in the monthly newsletter circulated to community patrons, I knew I found the star of the show. I broke my own rule, framing it slightly larger and centering it on the wall to anchor the installation.
The response to the work has been everything I hoped it would be. The volume of the exhibition – 21 pieces – took friends unaware of my commitment to making by surprise. For those who were with me in the scrapbooking era, the appearance of my familiar torn paper collage technique brought knowing smiles. There was curiosity about my process, and even a sort of treasure hunt using the titles as clues to uncover the subject in the more abstract pieces. We were loud at the opening, probably louder than is acceptable in a library. The space was full of laughter and connection.
For me there was such joy in seeing all these pieces which are usually haphazardly scattered throughout my studio, polished and sparkling in conversation with each other and their viewers. The message was clear and my people were rejoicing.
“Landscape Fantastic” represents five years of watercolor collage work. I selected pieces inspired by my travels around the Americas. I find nature to be majestic, magical, and immensely joyful. To me this means I can interpret it in fantastical ways. While traveling I capture what I see in photographs, quick thumbnail sketches or plein air watercolor paintings. In my studio I build from these initial studies creating a range of stylistic source material. These paintings are then torn or cut into pieces and arranged into new compositions, inviting the viewer to connect with place.
