Paula Uche, Deborah Holihan share mixed-media exhibit honoring nature
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Deborah Holihan’s paper mache fairy houses sit along the windowsill while Paula Uche’s oil paintings of seasonal landscapes hang on the walls at Petit Branch Library. The two local, amateur artists share their art at the library to connect with the community.
“The current exhibit adds a level of intrigue, diversity and a little whimsy to Petit,” said Simcha Glassman, Petit Branch librarian and coordinator. “This allows the viewer to experience different spectrums of art and how they can fit with each other, despite being so vastly different.”
The artists’ work is featured in the “Dancing in the Light — and Other Play-Filled Scenes in Leaves, Fields, and Snow” exhibit at Petit Branch, which began on Feb. 27 and continues until March 29.
Uche’s work in “Dancing in the Light” ranges from the 1970s to the present, using gouache, oil and watercolor paints to depict natural scenes of both still life and movement. With six paintings in the exhibit, Uche channels the naive style of New York artist Grandma Moses to capture the scenery of her home in upstate New York and New England.
Through her featured work like “Children in the Leaves,” Uche shows lighthearted scenes from fall and other seasons.
Her work “Sunburst,” also displayed at the exhibit, draws upon her experience with interracial marriage to a Black, Nigerian man. It also depicts her love for the early 20th-century dancer Isadora Duncan, illustrating a Black feminine dancer in a rich red color scheme.
“I tried to put her leaping up in front of the sunshine, just leaping in the glory of creation with all this light dazzling around her,” Uche said. “I put her into a Black body. I don’t know why. It just felt right to me.”
An alumna of Syracuse University, Uche’s perspective on natural scenes changed while she was a resident of the area. Her scenes highlight the sacredness of Onondaga land that has survived colonialism, Uche said.
“I just feel like my art is honoring nature from this part of the world,” Uche said. “I honor the origins of this land before we developed it; before white people came.”
To Uche, acknowledging stolen land is essential to appreciating the beauty of the Onondaga nation.
Holihan, who also appreciates nature in central New York, started her artistic endeavors with a tall paper mache sculpture of a heron, an animal she often sees as a Seneca River resident. Her work often emulates the wildlife she sees around her house. While nothing at the show is being sold, Holihan found her real love for creating sculptures after friends and patrons bought her pieces.
“It’s an inner-child thing,” Holihan said. “It’s not that profound, I just like to make cute things.”
Using wiring techniques with old coat hangers to make free-standing sculptures, Holihan showcases nine works ranging from fairy houses to a giant paper mache dragon.
Holihan said her featured sculptures focus on the matter’s eyes, which makes her art meaningful and alive. She ends up spending “too much time” on the eyes.
“I just love anything that I can paint in the end,” Holihan said. “As long as I end up with a paintbrush in my hand, I’ll be happy.”
Uche and Holihan share their art at the library to connect with the community. Artists do not have to be rich and famous, or even have an art degree, to find accomplishment in their work, Uche said.
“Libraries are centers for their community because of their accessibility to everyone, which allows artists to connect with the broader community in a unique way,” Glassman said.
