Despite the busy-ness of the holiday season, several of the “Common Ground” artist teams took advantage of open studio hours at the SPAACES gallery in December to begin realizing their projects for our exhibition in April. Among them were Laine Nixon, a professional artist, and Chantel Gingrich, who has recently shown and sold work at The Academy of Glengary’s art shows.
A recurrent theme in Chantel’s work is the appearance of a Volkswagon bus, circa 1970s. Chantel remembers fondly a trip she took with her sister in a more modern VW bus and for her, the bus is an “iconic” image that elicits feelings of “happiness, joy, hippie culture and free spirits.” Her pencil sketch was the catalyst for the current collaboration.
Laine’s work, on the other hand, is never realistic and often utilizes a method she calls “color writing.”
“All my work is abstract,” Laine said, “based on math and systems and process. This is way outside of what I normally do. But selfishly, not doing what I normally do is why I wanted to do this whole project.”
While Chantel’s drawing set the tone for their work, prior to settling on their vision, the artists shared conversations about their life “journeys,” for which the traveling bus became a metaphor.
“The concept came after our connection to the subject matter,” Laine explained. To them, the bus represents “the soul, or the psyche” moving through life experiences — from darkness, fear and sadness to light, hope, joy and faith.
“Luckily, Chantel is leading the way,” Laine said. “She has a strong vision and a strong design. I bring myself to it with some of the detail.”
As the two painted, they discussed details they might add to the piece — from observing animals, to graffiti on the bus to a potential 3-D stream of water flowing past the road to represent life’s currents.
As they worked in the studio, a playlist of ‘70s music provided an audio backdrop and inspiration. They’re even considering a musical backdrop during the presentation of their work at the exhibition, evoking for others the spirit of “peace, love and happiness” of the hippie era.
“After all, who can resist a VW bus?” Laine laughs.
Thanks to Laine and Chantel for allowing us an early look at their work in progress. We’ll be back with another team sneak peak soon!
All participants in “Common Ground,” including the collaborating organizers, are donating their time to the project. If you’d like to help with the expenses involved in art materials, promotion and exhibition costs, we welcome tax-deductible donations to the SPAACES Art Foundation (nonprofit EIN 84-500-4237). You can donate online at the SPAACES website (https://spaaces.art) or you can send a check to SPAACES, at 2087 Princeton St., Sarasota, FL 34237.
We look forward to your feedback as we share more photos and stories with you about our artists and their creations.