I am so pleased to announce my first solo exhibition, PLAYSCAPE, at the Norfolk Library, 9 Greenwoods Road East in Norfolk, CT, from November 1 to December 3.
Please join me at the opening reception on Sunday November 2 from 4pm to 6pm.
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
Over the past few years as I’ve sought my voice as an artist, I’ve flitted restlessly among mediums, explored, experimented, and experimented. I sought adventure and issued myself challenges. I wrote, reflected, embraced impermanence, and played with color and texture. Layer upon layer, I built pieces of art while also building an awareness of who I am as an artist.
The result is a variety of work with one unifying factor: PLAY. My studio was my playscape. My materials were my toys. I would take a spark—a color, a texture, an image, a written reflection—and let it lead me down an unexpected path. I tried not to let my perfectionist brain derail the journey or even ask where I was going. I made the process, not the product, my priority. Art was simply the result of that play.
The work you’ll see here includes collage, paint, alcohol inks, and text as texture. You’ll find fabric and wool and other bits. You may laugh, smile, or shed a tear. Most of all, you’ll find my discoveries about myself. Thanks for your willingness to let me share them with you.
BIO
Dana Rau is an author and artist. With a degree in creative writing and art history from Trinity College, and an MFA from Vermont College of Fine Arts, she is the author of more than 350 books for children and a working artist in collage, paint, wool, and words. She has taught classes in writing and art from her studio at Whiting Mills in Winsted as well as from the Farmington Valley Arts Center, the American Mural Project, the Highlights Foundation, and the Mark Twain House. She also visits schools to present and engage with young creators. Dana now works from her sunny home studio in Burlington, Connecticut.