The Fairfield Art Association new exhibit in the Main Gallery at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center through the end of September.
Sara Slee Brown with her Mixed Media show titled “Possibilities”.
“Brown is an Iowa City artist that won first place in the Adult Mixed Media category at last year’s fine art exhibit at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines. The winning piece “Stone City Fireflies Square” intrigued me when I viewed the exhibit and led me to contact her about exhibiting” says Suzan Kessel, FAA Volunteer Director. “I think everyone will enjoy this show and find her creative process very interesting”
Brown explains how she came to work in this media “Ten years ago, I retired as graphic designer for the public library and began to seriously pursue my dream of a career as an artist. As an undergraduate and graduate student in painting I had been trained in the traditional methods and my early work had been oil on canvas. After working as a digital graphic designer, I developed methods for combining and layering digital images in my computer with the eye and sensitivity of an oil painter. I developed my own method for constructing my current work that I call: “LāDi: Layered Digital Imaging”.
“Lilac Bridge” mixed media, layered digital imaging
Reflections help define the artist Sara Slee Brown-
“It has taken me a lifetime to gather my wits, time, and experience, put them together and finally express myself through my artwork.
As a child, student, young wife and mother I focused on the needs of others and doing what was expected of me. I have no rebellious streak but I do have artistic talent and a deep need to express myself with it. Over the years this need had idled while others have been fulfilled. I have raised two children mostly single-handedly while my husband pursued his calling in medicine. Choices and promises that I made as a young woman proved to be extremely difficult to honor at times. The unexpected consequences of commitments and choices can be easy or difficult to handle. The unknown elements are always the most challenging to understand and resolve. Just as the kids were on their own and I began to think about creating some art, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The treatment for this included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for the next year. It was a difficult, scary time.”
As a child, student, young wife and mother I focused on the needs of others and doing what was expected of me. I have no rebellious streak but I do have artistic talent and a deep need to express myself with it. Over the years this need had idled while others have been fulfilled. I have raised two children mostly single-handedly while my husband pursued his calling in medicine. Choices and promises that I made as a young woman proved to be extremely difficult to honor at times. The unexpected consequences of commitments and choices can be easy or difficult to handle. The unknown elements are always the most challenging to understand and resolve. Just as the kids were on their own and I began to think about creating some art, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. The treatment for this included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation for the next year. It was a difficult, scary time.”
