Sunday, June 29, 2014

5th Annual DPP Capitol Exhibit. Shelby Pizzarro

The Mystery of Violet Oakley - Collage
I have always loved visiting the Pennsylvania State Capitol Building in Harrisburg. It has it all: sweeping exterior staircases, incredible marble sculptures, murals beyond compare, and Commonwealth, resting atop the dome, a gilded fourteen foot six-inch statue I had the pleasure of seeing at ground level after restoration.

This is why I am so excited, and honoured, to be included in the Fifth Annual Daily Painters of Pennsylvania Group Exhibition taking place in the East Wing Rotunda for the month of July 2014.

The Daily Painters is Blog devoted to artists living in Pennsylvania. The diversity and standard of work is magnificent. I love visiting the Blog because it takes me back to my Art School days where we were able to view work in progress, and careers in transition, in an encouraging environment.

For the exhibition we each submitted three works. I chose The Mystery of Violet Oakley as one of my pieces. The Pre-Raphaelite influenced work of Violet Oakley is no stranger to us living in the Harrisburg area.  Forty-three murals grace the walls of the Capitol. Violet was the first woman artist to receive a commission of such magnitude in the United States. Her extraordinary talent and life inspired my collage.

As one of the Red Rose Girls, Violet shared her life with Jessie Willcox Smith and Elizabeth Shippen Green. Living together encouraged a climate of extreme creativity and speculation on the true nature of the arrangement, a mystery that would never be fully solved.

The substrate for my collage is canvas. In addition to the photo of Violet, I used handmade and art paper, ribbon, joss paper, a letter written by Violet, and a pressed rose petal.

Although we Daily Painters don't physically live together, we do share a home base on the Blog. And like the Red Rose Girls, it is an enlightening and nurturing place to be.

5 comments:

Julie Riker said...

It was nice to meet you today and see your work in person. I especially liked your Violet Oakley piece. In my early career I worked on the restoration of the capitol for 6 years and was fortunate to be up close to her magnificent murals.

Sue Marrazzo Fine Art said...

YAY, Shelby!
'Glad you are in the DPP Exhibit.

Sisterhood of the Muse said...

Hi Julie...

Nice to meet you as well! Thanks for your comments. Have a GREAT july 4th!!!

Sisterhood of the Muse said...

Hi Sue...
Yeah...finally...I'm exhibiting! :-)
Nice hanging your work too.
Have a GREAT July 4th!

Mary Beth Brath said...

Awesome post Shelby. I ordered my copy of Red Rose Girls the day after we hung the exhibit. Can't wait for it to arrive. Thank you for your help with the exhibit. I look forward to working with you more in the future.