STETSON GALLERY REOPENS WITH HOLLY JAYNES' "My HeART"

STETSON GALLERY REOPENS WITH

HOLLY ALOHA JAYNES EXHIBIT “My HeART”

 The Stetson Art Gallery in the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead reopens Sunday, September 8, with “My HeART,” an exhibit of new works by versatile Marblehead artist Holly Aloha Jaynes. An opening reception will be held from Noon-2 p.m.

The new art in Holly Aloha Jaynes’ exhibit consists primarily of collages, depicting subjects of value and interest to the artist.  Jaynes experiments with a wide variety of media from rust, fabric, ruined photos, images and painted papers, combining different texture, colors, or images to see how an original idea may be transformed to create something totally unexpected, expanding the imagination. One collage in the exhibit is combined with eleven small painted portraits of murdered women in Albuquerque, NM, who were forgotten by society until a woman walking her dog found a piece of remains.  “These murders are a paradigm of what happens and is rarely reported when ‘society’ view people as “less than” because of unwelcomed circumstances,” Jaynes said. “Painting these women from tiny photocopies, before their identities were even known, was a spiritual connection for me to each of them and my way of honoring their spirits.”

The other portion of the show consists of encaustic paintings (the Greek word encaustic means to “burn in”).  In the encaustic process, hot wax, combined with pigment, resin and beeswax, is melted and painted onto a stable, absorbent and heat resistant board.  Manipulating the hot wax and applying it to the board is fairly spontaneous, as the liquid will solidify immediately.  A heat gun is used to fuse each layer, and the art can be reworked at any time.   The paintings in “My HeART” resulted from carving design into the soft wax, using grids as well as photo transfers, to reveal images of natural, spiritual, and non representational content.  “Encaustic painting often surprises me at the mystery it may contain,” said Jaynes.
Jaynes said of her artistic process, “my artwork is explorative and a spiritual gift, and brings me happiness, fulfillment, challenge, and creativity to my spirit.  I reveal the connection of the spirit inherent in my relationship with my art to the viewer, which brings my art closer to the viewer: to ponder, question, wonder, enjoy and perhaps even purchase! “ 
Holly Aloha Jaynes was a graphic designer and art director for advertising agencies before returning to school at Mass College of Art & Design, pursuing a dual major in painting and photography.  She received her Masters from Lesley University in Expressive Therapy, and uses various art modalities leading groups in the mental health and addictions fields.  Holly had taught art across the lifespan, from pre school art camp, to Bell School Fine Arts Day, to decorative furniture painting classes for seniors. 
Holly has exhibited in the Boston area and on the North Shore for more than 35 years.  She is a member of LynnArts, the Marblehead and Salem Arts Associations, as well as a women’s art group.  She has been co-chair of the Crafts Exhibit for the Marblehead Festival of Arts, as well as an exhibitor in several MFoA exhibits, for many years.  Jaynes has won awards from art associations and the Marblehead Festival of Arts.  This year she won an award for her collage, The Goddess Prayer for Women’s Art, which is shown in this exhibit. She was the photographer for the book, The Dames: Honoring The Good Women of Farrell Court, Powder House Court and Roads School with Sandra Winter as editor.
For the rest of the 2013-14 Gallery year, the following artists’ exhibits have been planned: October, Tom Jefferies; November, Richard Pohl; January, Nicholas Kent; February, Barbara Naeser; April, William Cloutman; May, Daly Inspirations, watercolors by students of Elaine Caliri Daly. The months of March and June are currently open, and the curators welcome inquiries at stetson@uumarblehead.org. 
For more information, contact stetson@uumarblehead.org.