Collage & Perennial Peas
Erin Daniels
The famous painter Georgia O’Keeffe wrote about her feelings of emptiness and depletion after an exhibit and her words ring true. If you have been following along over the past year and a half you have seen and heard a lot about the preparations for my solo exhibit, “Garden of the Soul”, at Hood College. A true labor of love, “Garden of the Soul”, was an unequivocal success and I am so grateful for everyone’s love and support. I feel certain that all of my “artistic ancestors” would be proud! I am in talks with another possible venue for the exhibit - also with a personal tie - so stay tuned and fingers crossed!
In the month since the show came down, I have had the opportunity to relax a bit, read a lot, get my hands dirty in the garden, and reflect on where my work is headed next. I’ve been playing with collage and having lots of fun snipping away and arranging elements from my watercolor botanicals into new patterns. (see photos above)
Envisioning the pure joy and beauty of being enveloped by these luscious patterns I have contracted with a pattern designer from the UK to translate my collages into wallpaper patterns. I am very excited and will keep you updated as to when samples are available!
OXFORD FINE ARTS ~ MAY 19-21 ~ OXFORD, MD
One of the benefits of preparing a gallery full of work for Hood is that I will have lots of new work on offer at Oxford Fine Arts this coming weekend! No last-minute scramble to have work framed and ready - that’s a first for me!
One of my favorite weekends of the year, Oxford Fine Arts never fails to disappoint with great art, food, and friendship all against the charming backdrop of Oxford, MD. Again this year I will be donating an original botanical watercolor to the auction and tickets are available here. (You do not need to be present to win).
My original botanical watercolor, “Perennial Sweet Pea”, was inspired by these recurring sweet peas, grown from seed, in my own cottage garden. The site of these magenta flowers in the wild, blooming alongside showy orange tiger lilies, is a vivid memory from childhood and still a favorite garden pairing.
Also a favorite of Thomas Jefferson, seeds are available from the Monticello Shop. From the website description - Perennial Pea is a summer-flowering vine that Thomas Jefferson sowed in one of the oval beds at Monticello in 1807. It was an established garden plant in America before 1720. Perennial Pea is a long-lived vigorous climber with attractive blue-green leaves and showy flowers in red, pink, or rarely, white.
