SMITHSONIAN PROJECT 2022
In partnership with the Smithsonian Institution and their nationwide Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program initiative, the Hallet Oak Gallery collaborated with me as one of their local gallery artists. I sat down with wildlife biologist Bobby Eichler, of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, to talk about how our collaboration has helped create an epic NEW art piece that was debuted at Hallet Oak Gallery in South Central Texas, on Sunday, March 20, 2022.
Designed to engage with communities and become a catalyst for conversation about life in small-town / rural America, our collaboration with MoMS seeks to start dialogs, build excitement, and open doors to communities like ours that are rich in history, culture and heritage. Since 1994, Smithsonian Institution has visited over 1400 local communities.They have collected, curated, ad published an online collection of these community-sourced stories / exhibitions directly through their Stories from their Main Street initiative.
Now, as an artist represented by United HOUSE Studios, Inc., (aka the HOUSE), I look back on my experience at Hallet Oak Gallery with compassion and a renewed sense of urgency to continue widening my heart towards local communities, especially in the area of arts education, which is now being offered through private art lessons as a service of the HOUSE.
SMITHSONIAN Project Interview
w/the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department
ABOUT THE PAINTING
"The whole piece, is entitled, "The Urgency of Patience (2022)" and is made up of 30 individual pieces, each entitled, "Seeds of Patience, Rooted" ...along with its corresponding numbered position on the board. They all contain stories from my hometown, voices of the Lipan Apache, voices of Ukraine, and personal stories, the voice of my family history. It is another first for me as an artist, in such a project involving so many government officials, environmental stewards and supporters of the arts, and as part of a @Smithsonian Institution collaboration with my local art gallery.
This particular Battle of the Soul collection series, TREE OF LIFE, depicts each of the 7 Sins and 7 Virtues being dismantled into Seeds, which are reworked as a whole picture that gets pulled into its opposite, to create balance. (i.e., Rage gets pulled into Patience, Envy into Admiration, Greed into Generosity, and so on). I enjoy continuing to push the boundaries of what I'm capable of when working on a record number of pieces at a time, as well as the impact each piece begins to have the more authentic they become." -- Adrénus
Below are the first 8 (of 30) Seeds in the painting along with the words and their interpretations:
Turning Stories Into Art Expression
This was an epic six-month long journey and community effort, transforming 30 blank canvases into incredible Stories from my Hometown, Stories from Ukraine, Stories From Lipan Apache, and Stories from the Heart. The three Stories from Ukraine pieces include words shared by Nadia Khivrych, of her views on how the war happening in her home country of Ukraine will change the landscape of all our countries forever; Lucille Contreras, of Lipan Apache ancestry shares her views on what she feels is in the future of the Indigenous Peoples; and there are stories from my own family history dating back to the late 1800's.
Battle of the Soul Collection
Series 6, THE TREE OF LIFE
The Urgency of PATIENCE, 2022
"Stories From My Hometown"
4ft x 5ft, Acrylic and Gesso
(one piece)
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Battle of the Soul Collection
Series 6, THE TREE OF LIFE
Seeds of Patience, Rooted (2022)
10in x 10in, Acrylic & Gesso
(30 piece) includes:
"Stories From My Hometown"
"Stories From Lipan Apache"
"Stories From Ukraine"
"Stories From The Heart"
To Our Team & Society's Role As Stewards
Creating this new art piece has brought together stewards of the environment, stewards of the community and creators and supporters of the arts, in collaboration with the Smithsonian Institution's Museum on Main Street (MoMS) program.
I’m so grateful to you all for your part in inspiring more belief in the power of art in our community.
It has been a rich learning experience simply by having researched this art piece with Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) and meeting officials from Lavaca County, including our County Judge's office, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service, US Department of Agriculture (USDA), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Hallet Oak Foundation's Friends of Lavaca River, and the Lipan Apache community in association with of the Texas Buffalo Project.
I look forward to a continuation of dialogs on the topic of protecting our place on this planet, as well as sharing more about this historic and educational piece, online and offline.