Holiday 2018 Lineup and the Story of the Work, 2018

May this season of light bring you joy, peace, and love!

I just finished up the series I've been working on the past several months, featuring images of places I'm grateful to have experienced this year. 

These images were based on my photographs from as near as Phoenixville, and as far as Italy, France, and Iceland, with a special nod to my dear friends at Guesthouse 1x6 , whose patronage and friendship allowed me to return to Iceland. The work I created there was the starting point for this series that continued when I got back to my studio in the US. 

And here's the backstory:

In August, Nat and I returned to Iceland and drove up to the Westfjords, with the goal of reaching Isafjordur. The weather was so kind to us, and we were able to photograph some incredible vistas, with long, colorful sunsets that stretched across an endless sky. He returned home and I was able to stay on at 1x6 and work on the start to this series. I burned screens using the sun's light, taught a workshop at Bokasafn Reykjanesbaer, and painted a refrigerator and a headboard in the Guesthouse. Those paintings formed the foundation for these works. In them, I am reflecting on the places I photographed and the stories behind each of these abandoned farmhouses. I think of the conversations that inform these works and the emotive effect each place had on me. I think of the music that accompanied each piece and the kindness of the people surrounding and supporting the making of these pieces. And I'm humbled and grateful.

While I'm at it, I might as well tell you about the other works, too

When my college roommate and very close friend suggested that the two of us should go to Europe during my spring break, neither of us really believed it could happen, until the right airfare, the right connections, and the right dates all lined up beautifully. And, blink, blink, there we were, landing in Paris. Our trip took us to Venice, Florence, Cinque Terre, Genoa, then to France to experience Nice and St. Remy and Provence. In a glorious whirlwind, we experienced some of the most gorgeous cities Europe has to offer, and needless to say I came home with more photographs and inspiration than I can fit in a brief paragraph. It wasn't until summer that I was finally able to start to work through some of the ideas I had, as school in spring is a whirlwind itself. Here are some of the pieces I created, and as time goes on I'm sure I'll revisit this imagery again. 

Home Sweet Home

Photographic inspiration is everywhere. My morning commute to school, a trip to the grocery store, a quick errand downtown...every day I encounter the perfect compositions that lead to new work. Sometimes I'll drive past a building for weeks, plotting the moment when I could come back, when the light is right, and there's not too much traffic, to get the right shot. Sometimes, the moment is just right. Sometimes I'm a tourist in my own town, or I'll get word about a particular place that has a history that needs to be documented. In any way, there are moments that need to be part of my artwork and so they are. Southeastern PA, in all its seasonal forms, is a beautiful area in which to live and work. 

What you're actually looking at:

My work starts with my photographs. I take photos of places that are abandoned and forgotten, because I'm fascinated by the stories those structures tell. Behind each of those photos are levels of stories. The ones I choose to I develop as silkscreens are those images that at once are distinctive of their place of origin, but can also be anonymous and at once be a symbolic shorthand for any place. I print those images over my paintings and then paint back into them, using acrylics or encaustic paints. Each piece I create is made as an original. It's not part of an edition, nor is it reproduced by mechanical means. I think of these pieces as the meeting place between printmaking, photography, and fine art. 

All images (c) Gillian Pokalo, 2018