Native plants and animals

dsc_0003_adj_webToday I hung the show “Paper, Canvas, Cloth” at Campbell House Galleries. This has been an amazing journey for me. The show is a collaborative effort between me and 2 friends. Our styles are quite different, but the theme of our art works well together. We each appreciate the beauty of nature.

On this journey, I’ve realized I have a pretty strong artist voice. I really love making nature-inspired art. I also love the challenge of making an art piece which expresses a concern for the environment, but I don’t want it to scream environmentalism.

“Silenced” is all of this. This piece features Carolina parakeets, the only indigenous parrot in the United States. These colorful little birds would form huge flocks near bottomland hardwood forests and were listed officially as extinct by the American Ornithologists Union by 1939. The species decline was apparent in the 18th and 19th century and was attributed to deforestation. Vigorous flocks were still noted in the late 1800s, but the bird had virtually disappeared by 1904. The reason for this rapid population decline isn’t known, but hunting played a significant role. They were hunted for their beautiful feathers and to reduce predation of crops. Their flocking behavior made easy killing, because they would return to the vicinity of dead and dying birds. The final cause for it’s rapid extinction is speculated to be poultry disease, but there is no evidence to prove that.

As humans, we are constantly altering our environment to better our lives. I hope “Silenced” reminds the viewer of the natural beauty around us and also shows how fragile our world is. While making this piece, I wondered how do we rationalize our communities continually growing and creeping into natural landscapes. Something usually has to give and that something always seems to be native plants and animals.

 

Join me for:

Paper, Canvas, Cloth
November 4 – December 17, 2016
Campbell House Galleries, Southern Pines, NC
featuring the work of
Sharon Ferguson, Marilyn Vendemia, & Nanette S. Zeller

 

One comment

  1. Mary Stori says:

    Nanette…….first congratulations and best wishes on your exhibit!! Secondly, and most importantly…….”Silenced” literally took my breath away….to say your found your artist’s voice is an understatement!!

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