Art Ambassadors: Karole's Artist Statement

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Karole's Artist Statement

Karole F. Nicholson

Artist’s Statement
I am a pastel artist. It brings me to a place of discovery, comfort, and expression. My art creates the opportunity for me to have an intimate conversation with the viewer.
Each of my pastel landscapes allows me to convey mood, connection and a sense of place. My goal is to place you in the moment, receiving your own message providing you with just enough information to have your own experience.

Beginning with watercolor, I apply washes of color on sanded paper. This guides me to a palette. The defining medium is pastel, applied with light strokes, over the watercolor, carving shapes, identifying time of day, season, and environment. Choosing New England landscapes as my main subject allows me to render the ocean, lakes, mountains, and fields, always with the influence of sky, clouds, and atmosphere.

Part of my evolutionary process is understanding the power and potential of the pastel medium; how it is textural, accepts a light touch yet dances on the paper with coarse grounds. I have yielded to the desire to work larger giving a greater presence to the essence of each subject. I am empowered to be more interpretive, sharing what is seen with these eyes, felt with this heart.

My art experiences are directly related to my life experiences. Working larger, interpreting, limiting information, all speak to my own relationship with the universe. What I create is not only a reflection of who I am today; it is the sum of many parts that is tethered by the struggle and the joy of a lifetime.

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About the Art Ambassadors

Art is the universal language of all peoples. How artists think, see and express themselves opens a world of possibilities for broadening cultural dialogue. Recently a Peruvian artist, Yvonne Garreaud exhibited at the Attleboro Arts Museum. Her paintings earned a coveted People’s Choice prize and prompted many Attleboro artists to want an opportunity to become more familiar with the art and culture of Lima, Peru. The dialogue created by this one artist prompted Lucrecia Sosa, Attleboro Arts Museum coordinator and active arts activist in the community of Attleboro to initiate a cultural exchange project. The Art Ambassadors project has been organized for this purpose and will also kick-off a sister city connection between Attleboro, Massachusetts and a city in Lima.

Artists and Project Team
Lucrecia Sosa, Project Coordinator, / United States of America
Erika Fetzer, Project Coordinator/ Peru
Kerrie Bellisario, Project Curator

Artists:
Kerrie Bellisario, Mixed Media on paper
Michael Evans, pastels
Belinda Gabyl, sculpture
Donna MacClure, watercolors
Sarah Mott, sculpture
Karole Nicholson, pastels
Kris Occhino, watercolors
Colleen Vandeventer, oil painting

Belinda Gabryl

Statement

I have principally worked in clay throughout my entire career because I find this medium best accommodates my interests in the relationship between surface and form. Clay is, of course, infinitely malleable, but it is the surface treatment that establishes the character and idea of each piece. Early in my career I used raku and saggar firing techniques on both organic and industrial forms to capture the effect of weather and natural forces. In Providence I focused on low fire glazes, color, and more whimsical effects although the environmental influence of the Southwest persisted. Most typical of this period was my tornado teaware which was featured in Ceramics Monthly and collected by several museums, including the Everson Museum. The figurative sculptures developed for the Attleboro Museum signify a new artistic direction. I have often worked in larger sculptural forms but never the figure. I am still, however, fascinated with surface and in these figurative pieces the surface is clay itself--terra sigulatta. Terra sigulatta has a natural purity and warmth that glazes and glass lack and a luster that invites contact. My surface treatments also continue to play with animation and they imbue the figures with an aura of mystery and myth. There are allusions to images and ideas derived from both traditional western and ancient Meso-American forms. Influences can also be traced to my experiences with the cultures of the Southwest during my formative and College years. Each piece is constructed from extruded clay tubes which permits flexibility and spontaneity in the construction of the forms. As I progressed through this series, the forms became larger and structurally more complicated. The use of the glass marbles is another surface variation and is my homage to glaze. Glaze is a specially formulated form of glass that is designed to fuse with a clay surface. The glass marbles make this hidden element transparent but color is introduced in a manner that appears both separate from and integral to the glass. This technique animates the surface and alters the appearance of the figure with the movement of the viewer. It is the combination of these elements--figure, surface, myth, and media--that ultimately gives each piece its unique coherence.

Art Ambassadors

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Karole's Artist Statement

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About the Art Ambassadors

Kris Occhino

Michael Evans

Belinda Gabryl

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