The Summerland Community Arts Centre is pleased to present "Through the Looking Glass: The World as I See It" by Nancy Dearborn as our first gallery show of 2020.
The show opens Thursday, February 6 with a reception at the Arts and Culture Centre, and runs until March 6.
Born and raised in British Columbia's spectacular Fraser Valley, glass artist Nancy Dearborn has always sought to echo the beauty of the natural world in her art.
The call to create began early in Nancy's life, beginning with interests in painting and photography. Her love of colour and texture opened her to the world of glass and it through this medium that she found freedom as an artist.
In 2004 Nancy relocated to the Okanagan Valley, continuing her artistic journey and developing her own technique. Nancy has become known for the highly textured surfaces that she achieves by using a unique process of hand-hammering glass. The piece is then built in layers that produce light-catching angles and depth of colour. Many of her works are comprised of thousands of fragments that return to the kiln for several firings.
Nancy explains, "I cut, break, and smash glass, then assemble the pieces carefully in a kiln, allowing the fire to reform it into an expression of beauty. I combine my work with elements of nature such as driftwood, reclaimed lumber, ash and light to arrive at the final form. Art is an expression, my language, my voice. Art is our history, our present, our future. It's about story, character, risk, courage, experience; an enduring evidence of our journey. If I did not create, I would be of no substance, no depth. I feel honoured when people connect with my art and my journey, and appreciate what they see."