When Dalton resident Cathy Holmes heard about “Chasing Yutori,” an exhibit from Chattanooga artist Janet Campbell Bradley showcased in Gallery One11 at the Creative Arts Guild, she said she was “extremely intrigued.”
“This type of art is brand new to me,” Holmes said. “And to have the opportunity to meet the artist and have her explain her process for producing this art is really a special treat.”
“Chasing Yutori,” at the Guild until July 26, includes a series of pieces created using different media and painting techniques, including encaustic painting, where pigments are mixed with liquid wax, applied to a heated surface and transferred to types of Japanese paper, along with encaustic monotypes and cyanotypes, which use paper coated with a special solution underneath a photo negative that is then exposed to ultraviolet light.
Bradley then created additional layers to her pieces before affixing the monotype to a wood panel and coating it with layers of encaustic wax.
Holmes, who has attended several gallery openings at the Guild, was one of the first to arrive to the July opening on Friday.
“They’re always so interesting,” she said. “The Guild does a wonderful job of bringing in artists with unique perspectives on art. This is really something. It’s a very nice social event, also.”
A Japanese concept, Bradley said “yutori” is defined as “having spaciousness in your life” or “having enough time and peace of mind to enjoy life without rushing.”
“And it’s kind of contradictory and tongue-in-cheek,” she said. “We rush to get through the work day so we can go on vacation for the weekend, knowing that when we come back we’re going to be covered up. It’s working really hard to pause. That’s kind of where I went; I’m making these pieces to evoke a calm balance and feeling, but at the same time I’m trying to get all of this work done in order to evoke that calm.”
Several of the pieces include moments worth capturing that evoke a sense of serenity, Bradley said, including photographs of a St. Augustine, Florida, beach, a large oak tree — hanging above a street sign reading Willow Drive — and her two black cats, Mina and Neko.
“I’ve always wanted to capture moments,” Bradley said. “Tying that in to the whole concept of yutori, we’re all chasing after those moments. The whole concept of making enough time or space to be able to enjoy what’s there, I want someone to look at that and just feel something calm or joyful. Something that makes you feel good when you look at it.”
Amanda Brown, the executive director of the Guild, said she is “thrilled” to have Bradley’s works on display.
“We have really enjoyed getting to know Janet and her work,” Brown said. “I think she has a unique perspective of moving into this medium of encaustics because she started working with metal. So, taking that application into working with the wax and the layering process that happens I think provides a really unique approach to the medium and one that is quite successful with lots of different subject matter.”
Bradley said she is “extremely honored” to bring some of her works to Dalton.
“I actually spent several years working in Dalton and interacting with a lot of the people, so I’ve always had kind of a connection here and I love the Creative Arts Guild,” she said. “Many years ago, when I first started out as a jeweler, I did my first outside show at the Creative Arts Guild. I love giving back to this community because they’ve given me so much. It kind of goes beyond words.”
Also on display in the Guild’s Gallery Five20 and showcased at Friday’s gallery opening is “Art of Clay,” curated by the Georgia Clay Council.
The exhibit features pieces from clay artists and members of the council, including Dalton artists Kathryn Somers, Ree Lambert and Maria Khote, Cohutta artist Donna Henderson, Resaca artists Dan and Mary DeFoor, Ball Ground artist Jalen Austin, Canton artists Valerie Diamond and Fred and Laura Ellis, Marietta artist Linda Zlotnik and Waleska artists Megan Baker and Phoebe Maze.
Maze, who attended the gallery opening, showcased several of her clay pieces that feature scenes representing the fictional character Rapunzel and mermaids, among others.
“I’m a storyteller,” Maze said. “I like telling stories with my artwork. It’s always got some kind of narrative to it.”
Working in clay since the late 1980s, Maze said her pieces typically feature open doors and eyes.
Maze said she has been with the Georgia Clay Council “almost since the beginning” in 2003.
“It really started in Canton, but after all of this time there’s been a lot of artists that are from Dalton or Calhoun, so now it’s really just kind of North Georgia,” she said. “It’s really grown.”
Gregg Sims, who visited the gallery opening with his wife Sandra, said he was looking to potentially add a few pieces to the growing collection of artwork in his office, most of which have been purchased at the Guild.
“Art is a part of life and you need to engage,” Sims said. “That’s my point of view. Being an architect, I’m interested in what we see visually.”
Brown said having monthly gallery openings helps connect to one of the core values of the Guild’s mission to “support working artists.”
“And there’s two sides to that,” she said. “There’s the mission to bring a large variety of works to showcase for our community, then there’s the other part of engaging with the actual working artists. This is more than just a passion, it’s their way of living. So, by bringing their arts to the walls and offering the opportunity for purchases and sales, we’re committing to the artists and the support of them and their process. When we look at coordinating the whole year, we try to bring a different variety of artists and exhibits so that we showcase the full gamut of all the arts disciplines. I think that’s the important piece.”
Holmes said being able to take part in events at the Guild is “really special.”
“I think the Creative Arts Guild is one of the most significant assets that we have in the community,” she said. “How many communities this size have something this special? I’m so grateful that we have it.”