Path of the Lotus-A Collection of Oil Paintings by Diane Nations
and Internal Dialogues-New Work by Woodie Anderson

Exhibition Dates: January 28-February 24, 2018
Artist Reception February 11, 2018, 2-4 pm
Open for Gallery Hop Friday, February 2, 7 – 10 pm

Diane Nations - Path of the Lotus: Fully grounded in the earth, coming from the murkiest waters, the lotus flower lives unsoiled. The pure beauty of the lotus is a testament from Nature of the potential that lies within and which is revealed through persistence.

Today, as in ancient times, there is much to learn in observation of both self and nature. For more than 5,000 years the Lotus plant has been revered as a divine symbol. It is considered to be one of the most ancient plants in existence. Artists, writers, and spiritual teachers have looked to the Lotus plant for inspiration and as a living example of a spiritual life for centuries. Asian cultures have looked to the lotus plant for remedies and as a source of food. And in more recent times, scientists are finding the lotus bloom regulates its body temperature much the way humans do and nutritionists are taking note of the nutritional values found in the Lotus plant.

Diane, a retired interior designer, has studied painting under several regional artists. A new member of Artworks Gallery, she is also a member of AAWS and Muddy River Artists. Diane Nations’ process of creating art is a combination of intuition and observation of self and environment. Her inspirations come from nature, memories, meditations, and imagination. She incorporates symbols of transformation, metaphors, and ancient architecture in her work with the hope that it will encourage the viewer to pause, to be present in the moment and be open to whatever observations and reflections may occur. For this show, Diane looked to both the lotus flower for inspiration and her memory of the teachings she received from Swami Chandrasekharanand Saraswati (February 3,1930-March30, 2016) The show was created and is displayed in his memory.

Internal Dialogues-Woodie Anderson: The dialogical self is a psychological concept describing the mind's ability to imagine the different positions of participants in an internal dialogue. Artist Woodie Anderson's new work explores how listening to the voices in our head can lead to empathy, insight and deeper understanding of the interconnection of self and society. This exhibit includes large-format screenprints on found fabrics, a series of print studies exploring images of unknown women including the famously mysterious L’Inconnue de la Seine, and prints on paper incorporating Anderson's own writing.

Artist and designer Woodie Anderson employs printmaking, drawing, sculpture and written language to explore the areas where identity, personal history, and society intersect. While studying fine art and graphic design at Appalachian State University (ASU), she began experimenting with the tensions between fine art and commercial applications of visual language–areas she continues to explore in much of her work through the use of text, info-graphics, and other collected graphic materials. Often starting with well-worn household fabrics, she employs a variety of processes including stitching, dyeing, screen-printing and drawing to build layered, textural pieces that are full of life. Letterforms and texts–including original and appropriated writings–are integral to much of her work.

Anderson lives and works in North Carolina, where she also teaches printmaking at the Sawtooth School and participates in the Art-o-mat® (Clark Whittington’s vintage cigarette vending machines repurposed to dispense original artworks). She a member of Artworks Gallery and has exhibited at regional and national venues including the Cooper-Hewitt National Design Museum, SECCA and The Turchin Center for the Visual Arts at ASU.

Attached Images:

Diane Nations:
Lotus II

Woodie Anderson:
Center; L'Inconnue de la Seine Studies Series; Screenprint on fabric
Be; L'Inconnue de la Seine Studies Series; Screenprint on fabric

 

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