SLIPPING THE KNOT

Slip # 2
acrylic/canvas 18 x 18

 

August 3-16: Slipping the Knot

watermedia paintings by Martha Wakefield

RECEPTION: This Saturday,  August 6: 5-8 pm

Artist Talk at 7 pm

Martha Wakefield, a former fashion executive, is a visual artist working in watercolors, acrylics and oils. She is a juried member of the Cambridge Art Association and the Rhode Island Watercolor Society. Martha has studied with Wolf Kahn, Stuart Shils and William Lawrence. Her work has been accepted into numerous juried shows and is in many private collections in United States and Canada. Her paintings have been featured in the Fall/Winter 2010 issue of Wild Apples: a Journal of Nature, Art, and Inquiry, and The Palette Magazine where she is a staff writer. A juried member of the Rocky Neck Gallery of Gloucester, she is also is represented by the Hope Gallery of Bristol, Rhode Island.

This intimate show features seven paintings (18 x 18 acrylics/canvas), four small works (acrylics on handmade paper mounted on canvas), and a large watercolor (36 x 28).  Martha started this series in January.  This was the results of those art accidents where her intention was to explore mixed media utilizing fabric from garments that represented a relationship with her mother.  Instead the slip emerged and series was created.

This body of work is an exploration of loss—of love that once was vibrant has slipped away. To denote this spirited soul I am utilizing a slip—an article of clothing that conveys intimacy with the wearer. A slip can be utilitarian or sensual, revealing the beauty of the female form without portraying nakedness. It has an intimate relationship with the wearer acting as a second skin but also acts as a protective or proper barrier to the other influences. I am using color, shape, line and layering to convey a sense of someone wearing, moving, and living in such a sheer skin of fabric—yet one who remains hidden from our view. The garment holds the memory of a loved one; we sense a presence though in truth she has slipped away from the knot of life and family. All that remains is the clothes.


Red Slip # 3
watercolor 36 x 28



Please join us either this Thursday 8/4 for Nights on the Neck featuring live music with Fax Holiday from 6-8 pm, plus refreshments, art & fun and/or this Saturday evening 8/6 for an artist reception from 5 - 8 pm with more food, spirits, artists, friends, art & more fun!