We hold First Friday receptions on the first Friday of every month, from 5-7 pm.
Stop by to meet the artists and enjoy their artwork!
In the Reception Hall for March:
Childhood Armour and Time on the Farm
Sally Becker features “Childhood Armour and Time on the Farm” in the Reception Hall for the month of March. Her exhibit is a collection of pastel and encaustic paintings, mixed media drawings, and stoneware wall hangings and sculptures based on observations of farm life and forests at her Adams County home. “I have an almost never-ending source of subject matter where I live. This collection shows night time landscapes, changing woodlands, daily visits from a pair of ravens, cows ruminating, and found objects from the past, just samples of an artist’s possibilities. “
Artist’s Statement:
Sally Becker
Iron Blue Gully Art Studio
527 Plum Run Rd New Oxford, PA 17350
717-476-5069
https://beckersironblue.wixsite.com/sally-becker-artist
Artist’s Statement:
February 15, 2023
I have lived most of my life on the small farm tucked away in Adams County that my family has owned for almost 70 years. The cherished landscapes, wildlife, feathered and four-legged friends, and the farm buildings that date back to the early 1800’s are the main sources for my art.
When I ask myself what one word would describe the overarching theme of my work, I decided the best word would be “time.” I have a personal goal in creating art. I want to make a visual record that invokes past memories of my life on the farm. Presently, I have had the time to look again and see my surroundings more closely and from different points of view than when I worked away from home. Because I am inspired to take another look, there is always something new to explore or something familiar that I can investigate from a different angle. The subject matter never gets old and never runs out. I always have a camera on hand to record new impressions for future work.
I am a trained art educator with over 30 years of teaching experience. This means I have knowledge in using a variety of media. Drawing and painting are the backbone of my skills. Pencil, graphite, and ink are often combined in my mixed media work to emphasize texture, an art element I often feature. In addition to this, I have included chalk pastels as a favorite painting medium. I am comfortable with them and enjoy the challenges that arise during the painting process. They fit well with my intuitive approach to creating art.
I am drawn to the effects of heat on clay and encaustic paints. My love of clay goes back to age five when I gathered the bluish iron clay from the sides of a gully in a field on the farm. This love of clay intensified at the university level where I studied traditional Carolina firing methods and raku. The effects of heat that controls the outcome of clay work always excites and surprises me. Fifteen years ago, I started using encaustic paints and found that heat used to manipulate the wax pigment by moving, blending and fusing it is just as challenging and fascinating as heat work on clay.
When I am working in my studio, I feel the healing effects of creating art. When the work is going well, I feel better in mind and body. I produce images from my memory and observations using an intuitive problem-solving process. My goal in showing my work is to encourage the viewer to find their own personal connection to their past and present and to experience the power of art.
Note: Sally will donate any profit from the sale of her artwork in this exhibit to the Mel Shull and Nan Hatzes Art Education Grants. See the front desk for more details.
