Artists Rosemary Kavanagh O'Carroll, Dorothy Magadieu, and Nancy Shand were featured in the DeBlois Gallery's May show. Each of these artists has found inspiration for their work in  the everyday world around them. Utilizing their talents and creativity, each of them has transformed the ordinary into art that is quite extraordinary in their respective mediums. Rosemary O'Carroll has documented the lives of migrant workers throughout the United States through her emotionally charged paintings. Greenhouses, both the contents and the structures themselves, have provided opportunities for expression for photographer Dorothy Magadieu. Nancy Shand uses items gathered from the beach that she combines with other materials to produce her unique sculptures.

'Greenhouse Series'

The photographs in this exhibit are part of a portfolio of greenhouse images that I have made over the past ten years. It is still a work in progress. The first of these photographs were made quite by chance. As I was driving along, I happened to notice a greenhouse with a large "For Sale" sign attached. I went back and stopped, hoping to find some bargain plants. What I found there instead were scenes that I wanted to photograph, and luckily, I had my camera with me. Even now, I am surprised by those first images.

Sometimes photography effects a kind of transformation, changing the ordinary into something quite extraordinary.  So it has been with the Greenhouse Series. Whether the magic is sparked by the odd shapes of the greenhouse structures, the sun-filtering materials used in them, or just the interaction of film and chemistry with the peculiar light that occurs in such spaces, I don't really know. What I often find though is that tattered sheets of plastic, seen through the camera's lens, turn into richly textured fabrics that reveal or conceal what lies beyond them. Greenhouse walls and windows become canvases painted brightly with chalk, dappled with shadows, or spotted with beads of water. It is this possibility of transformation occurring that engages me and compels me to photograph in greenhouses whenever I have the chance.

Dorothy K. Magadieu

73 Old Orchard Road

Sherborn, MA 01770 

Telephone: (508) 653-5593 

Rosemary Kavanagh O’Carroll: Artist's Statement

‘Migrant Labor in America’

I paint and document labor and child labor worldwide.  I normally work with oil on copper incorporating sheep wool and mohair locks from my sister Bridget’s farm in Michigan. But now I am documenting and painting the migrant workers in America. Two years ago I was visiting my childhood friend in Florida and she told me about the pesticides being sprayed on the migrant workers and how they were getting sick and giving birth to deformed babies.  I was very bothered by this and kept thinking about it back in my studio in Connecticut while I was eating an apple.

Last February of 2007 I flew to Florida. I was staying in an apartment in Fort Lauderdale and was watching and photographing the workers on the property.  I spoke to a few, one of the truck drivers who drew a map for me and a wonderfully shy man in one of my paintings ‘Jacob’s ladder’ who told me where to go to find the migrant workers.  My friend and I drove down to Homestead, Florida and I took photos of the migrants working in the fields, and I spoke to a couple of them and took portrait photos of them while they talked to me.  I also went to other designated areas in Florida and then in March flew out to California with my husband and daughter to John Steinbeck country and photographed the migrants there near Monterey.

While I was in the fields, something magical happened. I was totally mesmerized and enthralled.  I was there with living history, and I was so excited I can not even describe it. The heat was stifling in Florida, and yet they were so quiet and moved so quickly, and accepted their fate without outward signs of sadness-yet the sadness was swarming in the air.  The political power that is hanging over these people and skimming under the surface of their existence was and is quite apparent. There was always a truck lurking in the distance and sometimes a school bus painted black to blend in with the trees, which they were transported on in the early morning hours.

I have 18 paintings finished, many of them 72 x 48 inches. I feel the excitement and their desperation once again while I am working. Even though I paint quickly, I find that my style is evolving as I go back to certain areas of the canvas and slowly apply thick layers of paint to portray the thought process and layers of contemplation of this time in living history.

My mother taught me how to oil paint when I was four years old. I won a scholarship to Olivet College when I was 14 and studied under the late Gage Taylor. I studied at Pratt Institute for two years then moved to Ireland after meeting my husband in a castle. I lived and painted in Ireland for 8 years. I taught art to the children in the country and had a solo show once a year at the Siamsa Tire Gallery in Tralee, County Kerry, Ireland. After moving back to America I went back to school and have a BFA in painting.

I am represented by Artrom Gallery in Rome, Italy.  I have exhibited in many juried shows in NYC, Chicago, Lowell, MA, Nebraska, Rome, and Mexico. I have had two solo shows at the Creole Gallery in Lansing, Michigan on Child Labor in the 19th century, which was sponsored by the MSU Labor Department in 2002, and on Afghanistan in 2004. The Creole Gallery owner Robert Busby called me last February to tell me they (sponsored by the MSU labor department again) were going to have a solo show for me on my migrant workers in September, 2007. We spoke for 30 minutes and then after he hung up he was murdered.

He was my friend.

I was the last person to speak with him and I felt in a terribly sad way, that I had to finish what I started. And so I did.

Rosemary Kavanagh O’Carroll

124 Waterville Road, Farmington, CT  06032

Home:  860-679-9306 cell: 860-748-6898

roby_o_car@hotmail.com   www.ocarrollpaintings.com

Nancy H. Shand: Artist’s Statement

After many years of painting and drawing landscapes I have expanded to gathering materials from the beach, which I then use to create sculptures. These new forms are both about and from the landscape that surrounds me. 

 I started collecting and building my sculptures in 2001. At that time I lived in NJ and summered in RI. I hated to leave the beach, so I began bringing bits and pieces of it back with me at the end of summer. The rocks, shell, and driftwood that I gathered became materials that I used to make sculptures. I now live permanently in RI and comb the beach in all weather. Different shapes, interesting color, and bizarre natural objects constantly attract me on my walks. The activity becomes a form of meditation for me. I don’t go looking for a specific thing; I ask what does the beach have for me today. 

I think of myself as a colorist so it was a challenge for me to work in a fairly minimalist range of color. The grays of the driftwood and rocks were set off by the deep blues and purple of the mussel shells and the gold thread, wires and beads that I use. I approach these sculptures in a playful manner.  

Once the objects are amassed in my studio the fun really begins. Sometimes I like to live with them for a while before they suggest a special interpretation to me. At other times ideas jump out demanding to be noticed. I knew almost immediately what I wanted to do with “Sailing Together into the Unknown”. The tree stump has so many nooks and crannies just begging for the small rock sculptures to be nestled into them.  The gold thread literally ties two elements together. It can be a sail or harp or nothing at all. Giving it a name took much longer. I lived with “Sailing” for a year trying to decide what it represented to me. In my more cynical moments I referred to it as “Ship of Fools” or “The Raft of the Medusa” from the 19th century painting by Gericault. There was something about the shape of the tree stump, which is the superstructure of the piece that reminded me of the painting.  Recently I looked up the painting in my Art History book to confirm my thoughts. I was shocked to be reminded that the painting depicted a terrible disaster at sea. The sailing ship Medusa sunk and 106 survivors formed a raft. Unfortunately when they finally were rescued there were only 15 left. It was then I realized that my sculpture was far more hopeful and I named it, “Together, Sailing into the Unknown”. 

Color is creeping back into my work. “The Creature from the Deep” simply demanded to have color incorporated into the natural form. I was using red fishing line to mimic the hairy roots. I kept looking at the large, light colored appendages and decided to jump in with RED. That was a pivotal moment for me. I started seeing all the intricate line forms in the piece and began using copper, brass and gold wire of various widths, to augment and accentuate these lines. Gradually I added a different line and mass with the fragments of bone and skull. 

The smaller sculptures which are placed on or in cigar boxes are dealing with the same ideas only on a smaller scale. Here the color of the box plays a significant role in the overall composition.  Surprise, humor and recycling are also part of my artistic aesthetic. 

Often when I am working on a piece, I am not fully aware of what it is that I am accomplishing with the work. It’s not until I am done that my feelings are fully revealed. For me this is the mysterious and wonderful part of the creative process. It takes place not only through the eyes and the fingers but also the heart and mind.  

Nancy H. Shand

59 High Hill Road, Tiverton, RI 02878

nshand@cox.net; (401) 625-1176