Silk Road Wandering Nancy McKay, artist and teacher
Events and Blog
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Nancy was recently awarded a
three-week residency during Summer 2012 at the North Rim of Grand Canyon
National Park. The body of work to be created at the North Rim
will
represent the park's natural history - and beauty - wildflowers, rocks
and fossils, weather and weathering with sheer silk layering and digital
manipulation to illustrate layers of time and the power of one's
imagination to honor place.
This three-week residency sponsored by the National Park Service is one of 50 Artist in Residency programs. According to NPS, "The arts have always played a vital role in championing our National Parks, natural resources, ecology, environment and preservation. Thomas Moran’s evocative and astounding paintings directly influenced the establishment of our first National Park (Yellowstone, 1872). The residency opportunities are designed to both engage and inform the public audience (through outreach programming) while providing quality uninterrupted time for artists to create their own body of work". Nancy believes we all can engage creatively in nature by close observation of basics- such as light, color, line, shape, and texture - thereby enhancing the overall outdoor experience. Her first demonstration at the canyon rim will showcase light, color, and texture of the rock formations as the light changes throughout the day. Visitors will mix the colors they see, watching them dry on the silk leaving bands of pigment similar to the geologic processes forming the color patterns of the canyon. Visitors will then compare panels of colors painted at first light and in late afternoon. A second program will demonstrate how to use digital cameras to capture abstract imagery from nature invoking ones imagination to create artwork that is unique and highly personal. Next Fall, Nancy will hold a program locally to showcase the Grand Canyon in the work she created there. |
Current Exhibits
Synchronicity Gallery, Glen Arbor, MI
.
Teaching 2010 and 2011
Ann Arbor Community Recreation and Education
The Clearing Folk School, Ellison Bay, WI
John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasstown, NC
Two Twelve Arts Center, Saline, MI