Sight/Unseen

 About the Show:

In early January of this year, I was thrilled to be invited to be part of a cooperative art show with the Concord Community of Artists. The CCoA's founder Sylvia Nuzzo Philis, hatched the idea for the show and concept.  Sylvia began meeting with all of the participating artists to discuss the theme and arrangements. It was so cool to be part of the process of creating an event like this.

My friend Lisa Fulmer, put her expertise in social media and marketing to work promoting the artists and the event. It was awesome to see all of her blogs, articles, and interviews leading up to the event. She created a buzz and a lot of excitement.  Here is a link to my interview with Lisa: http://concordartsalive.blogspot.com/2016/05/meet-artist-michelle-cicala.html?m=1

  



The name of the show was Sight/Unseen, and it's theme was identity. Each artist explored their ancestry, and culture for their piece. I immediately knew what I would paint. Or Who I would paint rather. I have wanted to paint my Great Grandmother for a while now. I saw this as the Universe giving me the nudge to take it on.

Sight/Unseen's theme made each piece of artwork extremely personal. Each piece was accompanied by a narrative written about the work by the artist. Rarely is an artist given the opportunity to explain their inspiration -usually the art is left to speak for it's self. The narratives were wonderful and made the show very intimate.

Here are a few photos of my Granny I used as inspiration for my painting.

This is the dress she is wearing in my painting

Granny looking out the back door

Granny in her chair. I adore this photo!

 Here is my narrative and painting:

Granny:

 My Granny, Elsie May Scott, was born in Central Florida in 1914. She was married at the age of 14, and had 5 children by the time she was 21. She had 12 children, 11 survived. She was pregnant for a total of 9 years of her life. She was married for over 60 years.  At the time of her death in 2009, she was a Grandmother to 34, had 56 Great Grandchildren, and 19 Great-Great Grandchildren.

She has been an inspiration to generations of Mothers and Grandmothers in my family. She is honored and remembered as a woman of courage and faith; a strong and nurturing Mother; a Grandmother of kindness; and a wise Great Grandmother full of history and love.

I remember her as a hardworking woman, storyteller, homemaker, and an amazing seamstress. I recollect the flowers in her yard, the smell of her making lunch, and her laugh. I close my eyes a see her resting in her chair, with her feet up, and a big cat in her lap. Granny’s biscuits are famous in my family.  I cannot count the times that I have reminisced with family members about her, only to shake our heads and muse over how she could have done it all. I am so honored to have known her, and so blessed to belong to her.

As a mother I have called upon her for strength and guidance. In the flow of creativity I evoke her help and inspiration. To me, she is a Guardian, a Muse, and a Goddess.

Granny

Sylvia encouraged all of us from the beginning to step out of our comfort zone for this piece. Try a medium, subject, or technique that we normally wouldn't. I did this by painting a portrait. I tend to paint animals, so this was fun. A large overall theme for my work focuses on Spirit Animals. I wanted to include this with my portrait as well. My Great Grandparent's home was in the country. Surrounded by cows, dogs, raccoon, birds, chickens, cats, and lots of other critters. I asked some of my cousins, Aunts, Uncles, and my Grandmother for their memories of Granny. They helped me decide on the flora and the big white cat. I am so pleased with how it turned out. I feel I was able to capture her nurturing nature and the Central Florida vibe I associate her with so much!

This show was a wonderful! It was my first gallery experience. It was much different than setting up for a show geared toward selling and displaying a lot of paintings and prints. I didn't have to worry about set up or weather conditions. All I had to do was dress up and show up! My painting is very special to me and wasn't for sale, so their was no pressure there!

It was held at the Artist Den in downtown Concord. The Artist's Den has a wonder mission to engage people with disabilities in the creative process. They have a studio, classes, and a gallery space. We were so lucky to share their space and promote each other with this event.

Gus and the girls checking out the show

All of the artwork  had a wide range of perspectives. It was amazing to see visitors move from piece to piece reading the narratives, and taking in the interpretations. The mood was cheerful excitement set to live music performed by local Concord musicians.

I loved every minute of Sight/Unseen. It's success was due to the amazing creativity of all the artists, musicians, and all the hard work and planning of Sylvia Nuzzo Philis and Social Media Guru, Lisa Fulmer. I look forward to future endeavors with this group. They are a class act!

Some of the wonderful artists of Sight/Unseen

To see all of the Artist's interviews, and their work follow this link:
http://concordartsalive.blogspot.com/