The former Guilford Art professor's latest exhibit in Greensboro runs from May 21 to June 1 and features several paintings of the wetlands that make up the Upper Haw River.
“As I paint, the metaphor of the swamp becomes deeper and more meaningful. I imagine not draining the swamp, but preserving it and our earth and its creatures for generations of our children. Can we leave our personal swamps and reconnect with each other? We forget that we are nature too, all part of one incredible and interdependent world.”
When it came time to create pieces for her new exhibition, retired Hege Professor of Art Adele Wayman didn’t have to look far for inspiration. The body of work for “Swamped! Haw River Wetlands,” Adele’s latest exhibit, were created from scenes an easy walk from her home and studio near the river.
Adele’s exhibit runs from May 21-June 1 at Greensboro Project Space, 111 E February 1 Pl. downtown. A reception will be held Friday, May 24. Twenty-five percent of all sales of art will benefit Piedmont Land Conservancy, which works to protect hundreds of acres of undisturbed bottomland forests and high quality wetlands that make up the Upper Haw River.
Where others might see water and muck in the swamp, Adele sees – and paints – something else entirely. “After heavy rains, my eye is drawn to the bright glimpses of blue reflected in the waters through giant beech trees whose branches – so like our own gestures – reach down through twisted growth to the swamp,” she says.
She says there’s much for an artist to choose from on her walks. “Should I paint just the blue glow of the water punctuated by sun and shade on tree trunks? Or move in closer with a tiny brush to paint the twisting vines? Or try to capture subtle shifts in the current or reflections? Maybe I’ll leave unpainted areas of the open canvas and let my illusion of the swamp gradually emerge.”
For Adele, her latest exhibit is more than an artistic exercise. It’s a moral imperative she hopes will lead others to move to action to preserve the land. “As I paint, the metaphor of the swamp becomes deeper and more meaningful,” she says. “I imagine not draining the swamp, but preserving it and our earth and its creatures for generations of our children. Can we leave our personal swamps and reconnect with each other? We forget that we are nature too, all part of one incredible and interdependent world.”
Adele took her first art lessons at age 10. She studied art at Vassar, the Art Students' League and the School of Art in Rome. Her work has been exhibited in Washington, New York, Beijing, San Francisco and across many galleries in North Carolina. She was an Art professor at Guilford College for 40 years before retiring in 2014.