October Artist Forum

On October 6, after a busy installation and opening the week before, SSG welcomed Shelby Fischer and Ros Casey who spoke about the journey to embracing one's artistic abilities and impulse. Each one of our speakers in this year's Artist Forum Series have incredible stories with talent to match.  However, Shelby and Ros's story is particularly interesting because one served as the catalyst for the other. 

Shelby began her talk by explaining that after years in DC, having enjoyed gratifying and successful careers, she and her husband reevaluated and decided to move....anywhere!  Somehow that anywhere became a delapidated farm in Charlottesville that they began renovating.  In the spirit of personal exploration, she was soon signed up for a class at McGuffey called "Mapping the Dark" with Rosamond Casey.

The class was a match.  It burned away old tendencies, namely difficulty opening up, and set fire to Shelby's love of creation.  Ros's technique in class was to encourage collaging, book production, and material arrangement so that the participants found gratification in their "ordering of that world."

Shelby re-ordered her world.  She set up a studio.  She filled that studio with paper, glass, vintage woods, old sheet music, album covers, and probably trunks full of other delights.  Then she set to work, sometimes for 18 hour stretches, constructing newly interpreted narrative scenes from existing materials. Though only an "artist" for the past few years, she has already worked through several stylistic phases -from sewing pattern transfers to glitter to cut glass -  saying that once she has moved through what she has to say, "it's just done."  At the moment, she's putting together abstract landscapes, horizontally arranged from ripped jazz album covers. As soon as we work out the technological kinks, the movie she made for the group will accompany this entry!

Having Ros as a foil to Shelby was invaluable.  She may be one of the most well-spoken artists I've ever experienced.  In a low voice, often playing with her curls, Ros aptly pointed out that when the student is ready the teacher will appear.  The mandala exercise she introduces in her class often has this effect on people, the ripple of taking pleasure in making transferring to the compulsion to explore further, though Ros did note that not many of her students taken it so far.  Trish Crowe, of the Studio at Firnew Farm, shared what a pleasure it was to see this new artist develop.  She had a front-row seat to boot, they're next door neighbors!

Speaking of...Shelby has had multiple shows in the Charlottesville area, and they are ever increasing.  This month she is on show at PVCC and in the spring will be featured in the Mother's Day event held at the Gallery at Firnew Farm.

Stay tuned for the movie, and be sure to sign up for our November 10th Forum featuring Lyn Bolen Warren, of Les Yeux Du Monde,  and Russ Warren who will speak about the artist/gallery relationship.  Email members@secondstreetgallery.org for details and to RSVP!