Straight from the heart

Yes, this blog is supposed to be about paper, but I'm veering to mention a work of art I saw recently at Cincinnati's Kennedy Heights Art Center. The overall exhibition "Hanging Out" features work by women in a group called Art4Artists. They meet regularly, and work on individual pieces as well as collaborative ones.

 

The piece that so surprised and moved me was "Sandy Hook's Children: In Memory." It was created by Cincinnati fabric artist Patricia Shuler Statzer as her heartfelt reaction to the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in 2012 during which 20 children and six adults were shot and killed. She told me about it in 2014. She had been making it not because she planned to show it, but because she was compelled to. 

When you walk into the gallery it first looks like a celebratory banner. Step closer. It is deceptively simple in its imagery and technique, which makes it all the more poignant and heartbreaking as we learn a bit more about each child.

Hmm. Can I split myself in three Friday night?

I've been kind of in hiding, hoping that by not doing any shows, it would give me time to work on two new series of large and complicated collages. I have started work on them, but other things - primarily my greeting cards lines - have drawn me away.

Well,  as these things turn out, I'm about to have work in a crush of shows … all at the same time. Gulp.

Paper, Scissors, Folk Rock (left), Paper, Scissors, Soft Rock
Mixed-media collages from the Paper, Scissors, Rock series
by Sara Caswell-Pearce. ©  

I'm the guest artist in Studio 405 - home to photographers Kent Krugh, Lars Anderson, and Tim Freeman - at Cincinnati's Pendleton Arts Center for this month's Final Friday and Second Look Saturday. It's my first time showing collages at PAC, and I'll have some prints, too. 6-10 p.m. Friday May 30, and 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday May 31.

Think About It
Mixed-media collage by Sara Caswell-Pearce. ©

"Think About It," a collage created last fall for an invitational exhibition at the YWCA of Cincinnati's Women's Art Gallery, was accepted into this year's SOS Art exhibition, which focuses on issues of peace and justice. It is an increasingly large exhibit, featuring work by more than 100 area artists. It opens 6 p.m. Friday May 30 with artist walks and talks, and a potluck, and continues through June 8 at the Art Academy of Cincinnati in Over-the-Rhine. Other events surrounding the exhibit include poetry readings, a film screening, a panel discussion, and dance and music performances.

The second part of the exhibition "Thank You, Lily," opens 6-9 p.m Friday May 30 at 1305 Gallery, 1305 Main St., Over-the-Rhine. It features work by the gallery's owner, Lily Mulberry, who died in early April. She experimented with a wide variety of media and styles. There also are some pieces for sale by artists who have shown at the gallery, including me. All proceeds benefit Lily's family.

The Grand Tour: Riding the Waves
Mixed-media collage by Sara Caswell-Pearce. ©

I also was juried into the annual Art Comes Alive exhibition at Cincinnati's Art Design Consultants via the collage "The Grand Tour: Riding the Waves." The exhibit opens 7-10 p.m. Saturday June 7 with a cocktail party, and awards ceremony. 310 Culvert St., downtown Cincinnati. $50, reservations required by June 2.

Second Sight (left), Joshua's Third Eye Experiences
a Sudden Growth Spurt (middle), Hindsight (right)
Mixed-media collages by Sara Caswell-Pearce. ©

Last but not, well, you know is "Tripletta," a traveling invitational exhibition of sets of three miniatures by area artists. It opened May 9 at Covington Arts and continues through June 20. It's part of a larger set of exhibitions, Trifecta, all curated by Wideman. Hours are 9 a.m.-5 p.m. weekdays. 27 W. 7th St., Covington.

Friday night Open Studios … plus two new shows at Brazee

Gulp. It's time for another Open Studio. As always, I will be in and open at 5 p.m. earlier than the regular hours. Two annual holiday exhibits open in the gallery - just across the hall from my studio, Multiplicity features multiples/series by artists, and Hang It Up is a fun show of handmade ornaments.

I have three pieces in Multiplicity, my trio of cakes … part of what I am sure will be an ongoing series. They were cooked up for the anniversary celebration of a local bakery, and were just shown in "Food for Thought" at the University of Cincinnati's new Blue Ash gallery.

Now, they're back home! I think "Love's Offering" - made with antique needlework patterns from Godey's Lady's Book and Victorian flower scraps - would be a perfect wedding, anniversary or engagement present …

© Love's Offering (2013)
mixed-media collage: antique, vintage, recycled papers
12"x12" on hardwood panel
$225

© Classic 14-Layer Marble Cake (2013)
mixed-media collage: antique, vintage, recycled papers
12"x12" on hardwood panel
$225

© The Beginning of the End: Eve Offers Adam
 a Piece of Fruitcake (2013)
mixed-media collage: antique, vintage, recycled papers
12"x12" on hardwood panel
$225

She's got a ticket to ride ...

Nice news: two of my recent collages were juried into the fourth annual The Golden Ticket exhibition at Clifton Cultural Arts Center. It features work by Cincinnati-area artists and includes a wide variety, and I do mean wide. I got a sneak peek at the art when dropping off my pieces last Saturday. The exhibit opens 6-9 p.m. Friday Sept. 5 - awards will be announced at 7 p.m. - and continues through Oct. 2.

© The Grand Tour: Wild things (2013)
mixed-media collage by Sara Pearce

© Shapeshifting: Edith threw caution,
 and perhaps her inheritance, to the wind (2013)
mixed-media collage by Sara Pearce

Think about it

© Think About It
mixed-media collage by Sara Pearce

 recycled wrapping paper, paper samples, stencil;

handmade paper; antique medical illustrations;

ink; archival glue; mounted on foam-core board

16.25" x 24.75"

In the spring, I was invited to create a piece for a fall exhibition at the YWCA of Cincinnati's Women's Art Gallery that will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights movement (it opens Friday Oct. 4).

What better day to post the final collage than today - the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, when The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. so eloquently spoke about his dream, a dream that should be everyone's.

At first, I wasn't sure whether to be celebratory of the progress made or critical of the progress yet to be made. Then, I landed on an idea that came from my work with old books, and the saying "you can't judge a book by its cover."

Using duplicates of antique medical books, I would cover one with a collaged black cover, the other with a white one. When a viewer opened the covers they would see that both were the same inside. Inside, the plan was to carve out a well in each, and fill it with the anatomical illustrations from the books, trying to make them identical.

After mulling it over for, well, months, another idea emerged. It was based partly on the original one, but more strident, more protest inspired, and a little less like my normal work. Here it is as it evolved ... the last image shows the back of the collage with its recycled wallpaper, wrapping paper, etc. fully revealed.

As I say in my artist's statement:
"My hope is that after the initial glance at the collage, viewers will look more closely, more deeply - past the peeling skin of the surface and into the cut-out letters. Just as we should look more deeply at each other."