Watercolor Artists will be participating in the next art show hosted at the Frame Company and Art Gallery following the successful debut solo floral photography show BLOOM which comes to an end this week.
BLOOM features floral photography by Vanessa Lee Thomas, Co-Founder of the Dublin Arts Collective (DAC) and Owner of FablesandFlora.com, who recently was awarded first place in the Mixed Media/ Alternative Process Category for the Fine Art photography contest run by the Alameda County Fair for her piece ‘Thankful’. Vanessa was also a second place winner with “Dougherty Blossoms” in the first Nature in Our Backyard Contest organized by the City of Dublin and won ‘Best in Show’ at a previous County Fair Contest also in the Mixed Media / Alternative Process Category with her artwork “Poppy Delight”.
When asked about her choice of subject Vanessa commented “Communing with nature is healing and observing the complex beauty of flowers is a meditative practice which is what draws me to create images that are joyful, colorful and radiate positive vibes – people often say my work makes them happy and that makes me happy too!” In response to questions about what’s next Vanessa indicated that she is now studying Art Therapy, “we have all experienced loss and grief in various forms through the pandemic and art provides a space to reflect, remember and heal. Given all the challenges we have been through in the last few months it was wonderful to see people in person at the opening reception and also to connect with others from across the globe at the online launch. It was a great turnout and I look forward to enjoying the rest of the series.”
The exhibition launched a series of art shows taking place in Dublin every month until the end of the year. The shows are meant to showcase local talent and highlight the only gallery space currently accessible to artists ahead of the Cultural Arts Center development for the City. Owner of the Frame Company and Art Gallery, Sawsan Wolski, has been offering her business to display art for over 20 years and the gallery space is in need of renovation. The series of art shows has been dubbed ‘Gallery Quest’ as the project hopes to raise funds to upgrade the space.
Shows scheduled are (1) DAC Watercolor Artists August 12 (2) Guest Artist Show September 16 (3) Scary Art Show October 14 (4) Tri-Valley Artists Studio Tour(TVAST) November 13-14 and (5) Holiday Art Boutique December 2 that will be held at Keypoint Credit Union in Shamrock Village, Dublin.
“It was so exciting to start our art space quest with our very own Vanessa Thomas’ “BLOOM”, a solo exhibit that features flowers with an extra artistic beauty and technique,” said Sawsan Wolski. “Putting on this art show and the next five that will follow is very exciting not only to me and the artists but also to the community of Dublin and the art lovers at large. We hope that more of our residents come out to show us their support for the arts.”
The BLOOM show was also a platform to highlight the new fine art printing service established by Jeff Salinas, Owner of The Dublin Trophy House who printed several of the artworks including the featured 40″ by 60″ canvas print of “Colors Inside”. “It was enjoyable and a creative challenge to work alongside Vanessa and Sawsan to get some of the artworks show ready,” said Jeff Salinas, “her vibrant photographic images were compelling and a great way to do a trial run of the new equipment allowing me to provide the fine art printing service to artists.”
The DAC Watercolor Show will also be collaborating with Dublin’s Poet Laureate, James Morehead who will create a unique poem based on the paintings entered in the show. James’ poetry book canvas has just recently been launched and one of his poems “Tethered” has been turned into a hand drawn animated short film by Italian animator Gaia Alari, 750 frames were drawn to create this 2 minute short film: https://youtu.be/n4l6vTDK4yE.
The DAC will to continue to support partnerships between the visual, literary and performing arts to introduce new and engaging experiences for Dublin residents. To foster interdisciplinary modes of communication and engagement the DAC is introducing “Artists Without Borders” sessions that will be spearheaded by poet Marie-Anne Poudret and allow artists from all disciplines the opportunity to engage in open dialogue about their practices and perspectives.
The vision is that the renovated gallery space will serve as a base from which to explore, experiment and experience the arts while discovering new opportunities for collaboration while delving into the minds of creative thinkers.
For further information about the DAC Watercolor Show contact Show Chair Meghana Mitragotri by email: [email protected]
