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Thanks for stopping by, my name is Cheryl and here’s a little more about me and my work:Anyone who knows me knows that I love people. Which lead me into working for a short time in retail. In approaching some people I found that some shied away, some were willing to talk, which was my main motivation for approaching them, some got angry, or defensive, or lied, or even stole from the store. All these things made me wonder at their motivations for feeling this way or doing the things that they did. While I did not feel in most cases that I was a threat, some how they felt that they had to defend themselves in some way. Why? What were they protecting?In thinking through all this I realized that we protect our social images, our images of ourselves, and our inner child from harm. While we go to great lengths to hide these emotional attributes, I found that animals also protect themselves the same ways but in a physical sense. There are some that react in aggression, some run, some hide, some camouflage themselves. The rabbit runs and hides in the thicket, while the lion confronts with aggression and the zebra relies on camouflage and numbers to protect themselves. Do you know any people that react to problems like any of these animals?My sculptures reflect this by taking a cue from how the animal protects itself and adding a human emotion. As an example: In “Camouflage” the zebra with the attributes of a woman sits quietly, unnoticed eluding harm. Sometimes the form of protection is a bit more subtle as in “The Rules”. Three monkeys sit in a circle, hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil, playing the game of success. Monkeys are the primitive parts of human nature so I have put them into a situation of playing by the rules which should lead to success. But while hiding behind rules is safe, it rarely leads to success which requires taking chances. Which is why “hear no evil “still has part of his ear exposed, “speak no evil” can easily talk and “see no evil” peaks.People protect themselves in many and varied ways. Sometimes viewing these sculptures hits a nerve and is just what we need to see ourselves or someone we know in a new and different way. I am often asked which one is me…..I’ll never tell! Which is my form of protection! |
| EXHEBITIONS | |
| Aurora Gallery “Fire and Ice” Worcester, Ma. |
November – December 2010 |
| Pearson Legacy Gallery Deer Isle, Me. “Noah’s Ark Revisited” |
November 2010 |
| Amtrack Station Saco, Maine |
Summer 2010 |
| Art for MARC UNE Art Gallery |
Summer 2010 |
| Arts Worcester 660 Main St. Worcester, MA 01610 |
Summer 2010 |
| Biennial (Honorable Mention) | Spring 2009 Spring 2007 |
| “See You at the Zoo” solo show | Spring 2008 |
| “Fire and Ice” Member Exhibit | December 2009 December 2008 December 2007 |
| “A Cool Breeze” Member Exhibit | Spring 2009 Spring 2008 Spring 2007 Spring 2006 |
| “Monson Center for the Arts Committe’s Choice Award |
Spring 2006 |
| EDUCATION | |
| University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Ma. B.F.A. in Sculpture Minor in Art History |
2003 |
| Mount Wachusett Community College Associate of Art |
Summer 2001 |