Tropical Fruit Collage

Hello! Thanks for checking my art out. I'm really excited to introduce these new works to you (and to the world!) I've been dreaming these up for years and have only now been at a point in my artistic progression where I could figure out how to execute this idea/style that I've had in my head. It feels new and very hopeful, to me. If you look back on my earlier works you can see my progression. I unveiled this new style at a gallery opening (solo show) in October of 2021. The show was titled, "Tropi-Soul, Fragments from the Island Haze" and moving forward (at least for awhile) all new works in this new style will be under this collection title. I just think it fits! So, if you're still reading, back to the opening show, I wasn't sure how my collators would respond to this new style, but thankfully the reception was very warm, selling out nearly the entire show! I definitely cried in the bathroom a little. Feeling encouraged, I'm moving full steam ahead. A bit about the style, technique and inspiration: I live in the tropical paradise of the Florida Keys. We have (accurately) been coined "America's Caribbean." I take inspiration from my unique surroundings and lifestyle. From my front porch I can see endless water to both my left and my right. It's quiet, starry, balmy and very remote (I'm pretty sure that I'm closer to Cuba than I am to a Walmart!). My husband (a fly-fishing guide) and I used to live aboard our vintage 34' sailboat, until a hurricane swiftly ended that two-year adventure. Now we have a cute blue cottage nestled in the palm trees. Coconuts literally plunk onto our roof as we sleep. They roll off where we gather them in the morning for a sweet treat. Ok, so that was long, but the point is that my art is about my life here. It's about showing how I see the mundane and beautiful details of our salty island. It's about slowing down and seeing beyond the Jimmy Buffet soundtrack. With these works I intentionally created a process that fell very closely in line with the way I write a poem. I focus loosely on a single memory and create large sheets of gelli printed abstract artworks that reflect the components of that memory. I allowed myself to be fee and create whatever images come to mind, so long as they are connected to the memory. Once these large sheets are pressed I cut them into small pieces (not for the faint of heart!) and mix them together on my worktable. Then I put on some music and “intuitively whittle” the fragments into place by selecting, reassembling and gluing them into their final form. It's the most fun I've ever had making art. I hope you will decide to take home a slice of my life! xx Valerie *These pieces are mounted onto wood panels, but I've attached them in such a way that you can take them off the panel and frame them traditionally (behind glass). The "fragments" are attached to a sturdy backer and the sturdy backer is attached to a second backer that is nailed into the wood panel. The nails are small finishing nails and can be removed with care. Feel free to reach out to me for help.