The opening reception for Faces was loads of fun! The gallery spaces were open and the artists were crossing their fingers that the evening rains would not stop viewers and potential customers from coming out for Raleigh’s First Friday. Lucky the rain tapered off after an hour or so and gallery spaces were then inundated with art admirers.

There was a rather eventful occurrence that sent all of 311 Gallery in a frenzy for a few minutes, but I’d rather not discuss it here because they do not need any more free promotion. 🙂 It was a popular topic of conversation for the evening however, and it led to other discussions about personal perceptions of the world.

For this exhibition, I am showing with Margaret Griffin, an interesting lady who has taken a strong liking to Raku sculpting. She explained the whole process to me and I was very intrigued! It’s a lengthy process, but the outcome is simply beautiful.

My own pieces created for this show emphasize texture and the surface of natural things. The pairing entitled “Can’t Elope” is 3D-textured. I was freaking out during the creation of those pieces because I was determined to have it resemble the skin of cantaloupe, and it concerned me that it might not come out right (but that’s what the whole creative process is for… right?). So, after finding some white texture medium, I mixed it with acrylic and placed the mixture in a bag. Then I added it in a pattern to the canvas with the same technique as cake piping. The photos to the left are the outcome! Can’t Elope. Haha. I also played a ‘guess what fruit’ game with a lovely couple for this pairing; took them some time and a few hints to figure out what fruit inspired these. I think forcing them to not read the title and putting them on the spot caused them to draw a blank. It would have for myself!

“Flyberry” was another painting I was concerned about turning out well. This idea was an expansion of a old sketch. I felt that it fit well with show because there was an actual face for this piece and texture from the strawberry aspect. The biggest challenge for this one was making sure minimal yet detailed in the right places. I like to think it turned out well. This one was a crowd favorite.

The other pieces from this show are available for your viewing pleasures on the ‘Art‘ page. 10 pieces were created for Faces. Contact me if you have any interest in a piece. Some have already sold, so bear that in mind. Below are some photos I actually remembered to take of people viewing my work. Enjoy!