BERKELEY SPRINGS — The Morgan Arts Council’s Ice House gallery show, “Our Voices: Perspectives of Women” is open through Sept. 8. Gallery hours are Thursday through Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“Our Voices” features a wide variety of female artists from near and far, who examine the lives of women through their art. Claudia Olivos from Santiago, Chile, uses her paintings to celebrate and honor the energy of the Divine Feminine; Padma Prasad Surapureddi from Chennai, India, paints narratives inspired by the Tamil tradition of Bhakthi poetry and the sculptures found in Shiva temples. Born in Bogota, Colombia, artist Julia Vallejo studied in Fredericksburg, Va., before completing artist residencies in Italy, Mexico, and the United States. She works primarily in painting and drawing using her bare hands and feet to apply different thicknesses of paint. Dr. Maria Balibrea Melero was born in Madrid, Spain and uses watercolors or oils to present marginal monsters and other realities on canvas.
Other artists from around the region showcase their paintings, mixed media, sculptures, illustrations and fabric art. Theresa Wells Stifel uses waste and vintage ephemera papers to create bold pieces. Jane Pettit is another mixed media artist and sculptor who uses glass, stone, ceramics and found objects such as broken dishes. Fabric artist Norma Jean Brooks creates baskets, bowls, and wall art. Abbie Chessler says her painting comes from a place of emotion and surrender relating to her experiences as a woman.
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“I like my own work to tell stories, ” said Curator Marily Mojica. “The artists in this group are from different origins, social and economic backgrounds who create distinct art in dissimilar styles.”
She said she wanted to give these female artists a new platform to exhibit their work, but she’s the “struggling artist” in the bunch.
“We are diverse in many ways, ” she said. “Half of the women are married. Two are openly gay. Most are self-taught. Six hold art degrees. Four own their own businesses. Julia is from Bogota, Columbia. Nicole is half Native American and half Cuban. Maria is from Spain, and I am what’s referred to as Nuyorican, born in New York to Puerto Rican parents.”
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One or two of the artists found her. She was approached by the curator of a chain of local restaurants who’d overheard her speak of wanting to do something for Women’s History Month. Mojica put out a call on Facebook and several friends responded. Two of the women in the show reached out to her as a result of that artist call.
She met Krissy Whiski and Padma Surapureddi individually at exhibits in which they participated. Surapureddi’s series was of a painting where she was recording her journey from India to America.
“I fell in love with the series because I myself was working on something similar. I was journaling in my paintings, ” she said. “Toward the end of the exhibit, Pad read some of her poetry and I was mesmerized. I approached her with the idea of doing a show called ‘Art With Words, ’ but it never materialized. In my opinion, her palette is sometimes dark, yet it has a lot of vibrancy.”
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“The place was loud, crowded and yet her immediate surroundings were tranquil, ” Mojica said. “She was painting as if she was the only person in the room. She was in her own creative space, and I admired her ability to do that. I see her as a free spirit; she describes herself as a “bohemian surrealist” painter. I love Krissy’s palette and her whimsical presentation. It’s like paintings of life. Her work is very pop and yet authentically Krissy. Her paintings hold power over me.”
She discovered Keiona Clark, Juliana Vallejo, Lea Craigie Marshall, Jane Pettit, and Rachel Cross at Artomatic, a multimedia arts event held in the Washington, D.C. area.
“I think of Keiona as very brave, a self-taught artist who, as a result of surviving cancer, has produced a surprising amount of good work, ” she said. “Juliana is very good at painting on a large scale. I admire her skills and the ability of her paintings to demand attention. The scale speaks to you from a distance. I also adore Jane’s sculptures. Like Juliana’s work, Jane’s sculptures also command attention. I have loved every single piece I have seen her create…bold texture, vibrant colors and great assemblage. Artist Lea Craigie Marshall always surprises me. Her creativity shows in multiple ways. She creates in many different mediums: collage, painting, sculpture, installation. As for Rachel, she has an energy I respect. She’s a lover of all things: animals, the earth, people and art. This shows in her art. I met Marcie Wolf-Hubbard and her husband at their New Year’s Eve party five years ago and discovered her work and the method of encaustics. Marcie has illustrated for magazines and books, as well as worked as a courtroom illustrator. She teaches art for the aging. I picked Marcie for this exhibition because I love the fact that although she paints nudity, it is very tastefully done.”
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She met Nicole Oxendine at a meeting for an organization for Latin artists. A year later she and Oxendine shared space at Artomatic and also exhibited at an event celebrating the life of the artist Frida Kahlo.
“She was a great addition to this show. Because although Nicole is also a painter, she decided to exhibit something different, her wonderful textile collages. Nicole and I had a conversation about her specific pieces in this show.
“Working through craft traditionally seen as ‘women’s work’ throughout Lumbee, Cuban and Celtic cultures, I enjoy deconstructing existing materials and frameworks to explore new possibilities, ” Nicole Oxendine said in a statement. “In these new formations, the intentionally light, loose weft combined with the layered, frayed warp, allowed to serve primarily as fringe, weave together to imagine new creative freedom and movement for my people.”
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Mojica’s been an admirer of Theresa Wells Stifel’s work for a while, but she didn’t meet Stifel until the show opening in July.
“I love the diverse women in her art. They were a great addition to the show. Abbie Chessler returned to making art after many years of channeling her creative energy into her career as a museum exhibition designer. She is a printmaker, painter and has done some installation art. I worked with Abbie last year at an exhibit for a restaurant and was looking forward to working with her again. She seems to be inspired by nature. I met Elizabeth Levine Steel when I visited her studio for the first time during Open Studio night. She started painting after retirement. Immediately after speaking with her I thought, what a sweet woman. She was so inviting. I remember I was staring at her scarf collection, and she invited me in. Like Lea, Elizabeth is also multi-talented. She started her art career as a jewelry silversmith. She has been painting for six years now and her work is pretty incredible.” Mojica said she’s attracted to all of the arts: dance, visual, performance and fashion.
“I am inspired by everything…color, people, music, children, travel, other artists, flowers, etc. Although I hold an Associate Degree in Studio Art, I am self-taught. I began by making rag dolls to help with depression and to have something to do. In the late ‘90s, I moved from making jewelry to painting. I sometimes make or design my own clothes. Painting is very therapeutic for me. When I’m painting, I feel relaxed, almost trance-like.”
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She said she’s not only a creative person but an emotional and an analytical person. “I am a colorist, a storyteller and a lover of esthetics. Art keeps me in tune with my emotions, with who I am. It also keeps me grounded and reminds me of my passion for beauty.”
“The stories are not always happy, ” she said, “but the colors are always cheerful. The colorist in me prefers bold, loud, dramatic colors. I use the power of color to evoke emotions and sometimes I create my own story, leaving it to the viewer’s imagination to interpret.”
Also opening at the Ice House in the Carr-Kelly Gallery and Hall of Dreams from July 26 to September 8 is the artwork of Neal Redmond, Maggie Banks, and Alison Young. Their works include paintings in acrylic and oil and graphic drawings.
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This program is presented with financial assistance from the West Virginia Department of Arts, Culture and History, and the National Endowment for the Arts, with approval from the West Virginia Commission on the Arts, and local hotel/motel taxes.
The Ice House is at the corner of Independence and Mercer in Streets. For more information on this and other MAC activities, call 258-2300 or visit www.macicehouse.org.
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