Stop by the gallery to meet our new art show artist, Nancy Tilson-Mallett on March 22! Nancy’s works include silk paintings or complex cloth with embellishments of embroidery and felting and beading of microscopic or biological images. This exhibit will run from February 12 through mid-April.

Artist Statement:  

I am a retired physician, now living the creative life of a visual artist. My passions for the love of nature, color, and patterns in biology and medicine are expressed in my artwork. Most of my works are silk paintings or complex cloth with embellishments of embroidery, felting and beading, of microscopic or biological images. Recently, I have painted designs and images with acrylics on birch board or canvas.

My latest work, “Patterns in Nature: Turtle Shells, Animal Eyes, Diatoms and Flowers,” reflects my interest in the world around me. The Turtle Shell Shields were inspired by a personal event of rescuing a turtle, in the middle of the road on its back. I picked him up with his arms and legs wildly wiggling, took him to the nearby pond where he immediately dived in. It was symbolic of what was going on in my life at the time, that I needed to stop struggling, cover myself in s shell of protection, and find my natural place in the world. Animal eyes are closeup images of one eye of colorful creatures. These pieces are painted in acrylic on birch board. Diatoms are fascinating microscopic algae of the ocean, made famous by the scientist-illustrator of the turn of the 20th century, Ernst Haeckel in the book The Art and Science of Ernst Haeckel. Several pieces are mixed media of dyed and embellished fabric, and other pieces are mandalas inspired by a diatom image, acrylic on canvas. In addition, I enjoy representational oil painting of landscapes and of plants and flowers.

The overall experience is the immersion into our natural world. It is drawing us home, to respect and protect our earth.