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Turtles All the Way Up
Turtles All the Way Up
first displayed in :
Gallery by the Lake's "Zoo View" show
Historic City Hall, Lake Charles, LA
6/24/22-8/27/22
also included in:
Chaos Theory: Toys
Henning Cultural Center, Sulphur, LA
9/28/23-11/9/23
("In My Shell" not included)
If you like to make your own interpretations on the meaning behind art - stop reading now. Turtles have been a sort of totem for me my entire life, so when I learned the theme of the exhibit ("Zoo View"), I formed an idea of variations on the turtle, representing my journey of trying out new creative techniques. Most of my art experience has been in pencil drawings, so the first piece was a realistic sketch, and since I was sticking to what I knew, what was safe, it was "In My Shell," as was the turtle. My recent return to art found me trying out alcohol ink markers, but using them on canvas, going for a somewhat "stained glass" look. So the next one was "Going With the Flow." I then discovered a new technique for me (through another piece) that involved base colors of acrylic paint but adding highlights and shadows with markers after. Since it was only the second time trying that, this turtle ventured out across the road - "Taking a Risk." The last one was created without me thinking it would even go in the show. I wanted the turtles to get progressively more 3-dimensional as they came out of their shell, and paper was what I had in mind. I'd seen paper quilling and just kind of took some of the ideas and did whatever - play - freedom. I wanted the turtle to be free. In space. I envisioned it as outer space, but as I made it, I thought "Well, it might be inner space." In both cases a "Departure." I'd also read a quote recently that "space and time are relative to the individual observer—we carry them around as turtles do their shells." So those words are featured in the shell. So the series is "Turtles All the Way Up" instead of "Turtles All The Way Down" (look up the origin of that phrase if you've never heard it.)
first displayed in:
Chaos Theory - Atomic Age and the Unknown
Henning Cultural Center, Sulphur, LA
9/8/22-11/5/22
also included in:
Gallery by the Lake's "In Depth" show
Historic City Hall, Lake Charles, LA
11/25/22-1/28/23
The theme of 2022's Chaos Theory show was "The Atomic Age and the Unknown." I chose to take the words of Einstein's letter to FDR which prompted the Manhattan Project and use them to draw his silhouette. (Then filled in his hair with E=mc²)
One Dot at a Time
One Dot at a Time
first displayed in:
Gallery by the Lake's "Special Things Around Us" show
Historic City Hall, Lake Charles, LA
9/9/22-11/12/22
also included in:
Gallery by the Lake's Summer Open Theme show
Historic City Hall, Lake Charles, LA
7/14/23-9/16/23
These 4 pieces were on display at Historic City Hall as part of Gallery by the Lake's "Special Things Around Us" exhibit. This time, I went for consistency of technique instead of subject. Stippling - drawing with just dots - involves changing the density and sometimes the pen tip size to achieve shading and depth. I'd done one stippled piece in high school, and hadn't tried it since. After using several different green pens for the shadow of the absinthe spoon, I decided to attempt full color for the first time, and I like how it turned out.
displayed in:
Gallery by the Lake's Summer Open Theme show
Historic City Hall, Lake Charles, LA
7/14/23-9/16/23
My first attempt at a landscape done with paper quilling techniques. Since the circles made up the leaves of the tree, and I was making a tree out of paper...full circle.😉
displayed in:
Gallery by the Lake's "Tools of the Trade" show
Historic City Hall, Lake Charles, LA
9/29/23-12/2/23
Still continuing paper quilling, I wanted to create a mushroom house. Given the theme of "tools of the trade," I included gardening implements for this down to earth dwelling. The mushroom house reminded me of the Smurfs' homes and when I looked more into it, I learned this:
displayed in:
Gallery by the Lake's "Louisiana Landscapes" show
Historic City Hall, Lake Charles, LA
12/15/23-2/17/24
A hexagonal canvas inspired me to try something James Webb Space Telescope related. Through a twist of art fate, I learned the acrylic paint would peel off the canvas cleanly. That led to these networks...galaxies, neurons, wires...or maybe the mycelial that seems to find it's way into almost all of my pieces.
displayed in:
Gallery by the Lake's "Louisiana Landscapes" show
Historic City Hall, Lake Charles, LA
12/15/23-2/17/24
Trying to continue the process of "play" and not planning too much, I picked up the alcohol ink markers again and chose colors traditional to Louisiana Mardi Gras. Maybe it's a deconstructed king cake.
displayed in:
Curioddities - Myths and Legends
Henning Cultural Center, Sulphur, LA
2/1/24-3/21/24
Inspired by Brian Muraresku's book "The Immortality Key," this piece depicts the possible potion consumed at Eleusis, a temple to Demeter and Persephone in ancient Greece. It's theorized that the ingredients may have included psychedelic components. The Greek written around it translates to "If you die before you die, you won't die when you die."
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