Four Creemore artists dive into primordial waters
Artist Sue Miller continues to expand her exploration of people and their connection to the nature.
A new show, Primordial Waters, is an deeper exploration of her installation called Georgian Bay Primordial, which was first shown in Collingwood in 2016 and an expanded version at the Dufferin County Museum over the New Year.
This third incarnation, supported by three other local artists, will be shown in Orillia, with an opening reception on Earth Day.
Sculpture, painting, recorded sound, video and backlit resin blocks serve to create an immersive experience that encourages people to think about their connection to water.
Humans are drawn to water, said Miller. “It is about the spiritual connection to water and what we get out of it.”
Because water and habitats are under threats from development, it is up to people to be good stewards.
Joining Miller at the Orillia Museum of Art and History (OMAH) is fellow Mill Street Art Studio painter Peter Adams, paper artist Liz Eakins and Frith Bail, working in clay.
All four artists are working with the theme of water but each one has been working independently.
“The four of us have shown together in the past but this is the first time we’ve had this degree of freedom to create all new work on a theme. I really don’t know what the others are creating, but I’m really looking forward to seeing how the different pieces speak to each other,” said Adams.
Traditionally an oil painter, Adams has been working in mixed media the last few years – combining different layers of oil paint, acrylic washes, paint markers, oil sticks and spray paint.
Water has been a common thread in much of his work over the years, from the creeks of Mulmur, to the Noisy River to Georgian Bay. Several of the pieces in this exhibit have been inspired by the Amazonian artist residency he participated in last summer.
Eakins is exploring new work in Japanese paper, painting with different mediums such as milk paint, and using a Japanese starch called konnyaku to strengthen the papers has allowed her to crumple them into textures reminiscent of water surfaces.
Bail, who fires her work in a primitive sawdust kiln, is recreating the essence of her soul place, the lakes and rocks of the Laurentians, using clay, glass and mirrors.
The exhibition runs in the OMAH’s Mulcahy Family Gallery from April 21 to July 15, with an opening reception from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on April 22.
