(Image: "Victory" by Judy O'Donnell)
(Gorham, ME) Judy O'Donnell's “Becoming Whole: Odysseys of Healing” is an invitation to dialog on the healing process.
One can't help but react to the pieces because the artist has a knack of making deep emotional experiences accessible, sometimes opening a door to a memory that in that instant of recognition becomes a shared one, and the observer knows he or she is not alone.
“I use animal imagery a lot because it is less confrontational,” says O'Donnell, who regularly derives inspiration from walking in the woods with her dogs in all weather.
“Nature connects us as human beings,” she says. “It revitalizes and brings us joy.”
She also uses objects in nature to house the harder growth and healing phases.
Paintings may feature benevolent, often winged mystical beings, or animal totems. Each evokes a visual narrative, often in vibrant earthy colors, punctuated with precipitating auras and spun with wave or wind-like brush strokes.
A professional sculptor for 30 years, O'Donnell's contemporary tabletop pieces in bronze or marble have an up-and-out bend to them depicting transformations of the body and soul that run from primordial imagery and emotion to the outer banks of inner recovery.
“My job is to stay open to emotion—and demonstrate the resilient qualities of man,” says O'Donnell. “If I can visualize it, paint it or sculpt it, I can work my way through anything.”
The artist's reception on October 26 from 4:00 to 7:00 pm is open to the public. The show runs through November 16. Isaac Dyer Galleries is located at 180 Fort Hill Road, just past the entrance to the University of Southern Maine on Route 114N. Gallery hours are by appointment. For more information, please call 839-5466.
>link to Judy O'Donnell's website
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