Five AAG Members in Vintage Show in Belton

Five Anderson Artists Guild members have works on display in an exhibit called “Retro, Vintage, Classic” at the Belton Center for the Arts: Evelyn Beck, Carolyn Gibson, Nathan DePue, Mary Anne Porter, and Diana Walter. The exhibit runs through May 10.

Most participants had multiple pieces in the show. Here are reflections by our members on one of their pieces:

Diana Walter’s Legacy of Fallen Leaf

“This is a mixed media collage featuring a number of dimensional elements. The central image is a replica of a Native American (Crow) woman's cowry shell dress (circa 1900). The yoke of the dress features dozens of tiny shells outlined with strips of leather and accented with handmade paper that’s edged to emphasize the vintage vibe of the piece. The skirt section of the dress uses painted fused paper folded in ways that give it dimension and movement. The dress is set against a background of Japanese Kinwashi paper, painted and tinted to emphasize the paper’s long, interconnected fibers.

“The inspiration for this piece came from a longstanding interest in Native American culture, particularly in regard to the designs used in clothing and jewelry. After coming across an online auction notice from 2005 for the original dress (which ultimately sold for about $3,000), I wanted to pay tribute in some small way to the vision and craftsmanship of the original maker. The greatest challenge I faced in bringing my tribute piece to life was determining which dimensional elements to add and how to create them.  A particular challenge was designing the yoke’s intricate shell pattern, which to me was the element that made the original dress so unique and so stunning.”

Evelyn Beck’s Breakdown

“I was immediately drawn to this old photo that inspired this piece when I found it in a strange little shop on a trip. The first cars and the many challenges involved in operating them have always fascinated me, as well as the fact that they once drew a crowd. The challenge of this piece was deciding on the colors—and limiting them to just a few. I decided on soft hues as a counterpoint to the mechanical, masculine elements of the photograph.”

Carolyn Gibson’s Norge Familietre

“This is a photomontage of old family photos. It starts with my maternal grandparents. They immigrated here from Bergen, Norway, in the early 1900's. My grandmother came here through Ellis Island. My grandfather came here with the intention of going to California to join the Merchant Marines. He stopped in Chicago. One afternoon he passed my grandmother in a park. They had known each other in Norway when they were children and recognized one another. There went the plans to go to California. They married, had two sons and a daughter (my mother). This photo includes three generations: my grandparents, my mother and two uncles, and my sister Linda and me.

“I chose to make my grandparents and my mother stand out the strongest. I intentionally used a filter with a scratchy surface to make it appear old. I experimented with different color combinations and chose to use these opposites to further enhance the squares that I wanted to stand out. The images of my uncles and me and Linda are intentionally faded for this same reason. I could have used a black and white, or even a sepia tone, but I believe the use of color brought out a stronger contrast.” 

Nathan DePue’s Come Fly with Me

“This black and white photo was taken at a WWII event my wife and I have been going to for several years. It was taken with a Nikon z 7ii camera and wide angle lens. With this scene I wanted to get all three modes of transportation in one shot. To me it goes back to the glory days of flying and how at any small local airport you would have everyone in the area coming to the airport in cars and by bicycle to see these flying machines. There were several challenges with this scene from the start and getting the correct view/angle  was one. (I wanted a lot of sky in the picture as I felt this picture needed it for contrast.) I wanted the airplane to be in the center with the car and bicycle on the sides, and getting low enough for proper angle is key. The correct height and angle makes or breaks this picture. After I decided on the angle, I took three photos at different exposures to create one HDR picture. After taking the pictures, I merged them to one photo on the computer, did a few artistic tweaks, and turned it to black and white. I adjusted certain colors when converting it to black and white; this can change the look of the picture a lot even though it's just black and white!”

Mary Anne Porter’s Canning Peaches

“My watercolor painting of peaches was inspired by canning peaches in the summer. I had painted the peaches in color with none of the items in the background. I wanted to paint them over, adding the items and balancing out the painting adding other items. I think that’s making it more monotone and less busy, focusing more on the activity.”