Pathways & Passages – Dayna J Collins

2017 Was a Wild Ride!

The past year has been the most exciting and exhilarating of my art career. It all stared in the fall of 2016 when I told people, I have nothing major on my calendar for the upcoming year. I plan to just play and explore. And then everything changed . . . .

I’ve blogged about most of these events, but here is an abbreviated summary of my 2017 art life.

Spare Parts Show at the Salem Public Library

Art Featured in New Book: Cold Wax Medium

Solo Show at Guardino Gallery: Waterlines

Salem Art Association Mentorship Program

Taught an Oil and Cold Wax Class at Sitka Center for Art and Ecology

Private Master Class with Pat Wheeler

Two Person Show at Borland Gallery

11th Annual Day of the Dead Show at Guardino Gallery

Artist in Residence at the Salem Art Association Art Annex

Salem Art Association Panel Discussion

What’s Your Story Workshop

Symbols Show at the Art Annex

Guest on KMUZ Talking About Art

Sitka Art Invitational

17th Annual Guardino Gallery Little Things Show

BEST IN SHOW Something Red Art Walk

It was a great year. And I’m not making any proclamations about 2018. Mum’s the word.

Opening Reception: Pathways and Passages

Dayna J. Collins on the left, Nancy Eng on the right.

The opening reception for Pathways and Passages was Friday night at the Borland Gallery. There was a nice steady stream of friends, who stopped by to see the show and say hello. The show is up through August 27th, so there is still plenty of time to visit. The Silverton Fine Arts Festival is the weekend of August 19th and 20th, and Nancy will be at the gallery on Saturday, August 19th, and I’ll be at the gallery on Sunday, August 20th.

Nancy with Susan, Michael to the right, and Diane Trevett in the background.

On our drive home, there was a wonderful sunset.

Hanging the Show: Pathways and Passages

First thing Monday morning, I drove out to Silverton and met up with Nancy Eng to hang our new show, Pathways and Passages. Hanging days are like piecing together a giant jigsaw puzzle. We both brought a lot of art, too much to hang everything, so we auditioned the pieces we had, moved things around until we found a place for most everything, and put the remaining pieces in storage. When something sells, the purchaser can take it with them if they are from out of town, and we can replace the piece on the wall with something from inventory. Here’s how our morning went.

A blank canvas at Silverton Arts Association Borland Gallery.

Dayna spread out her art in advance of hanging.

Dayna hangs her pieces. All of her paintings are plaster, oil, and cold wax on wood substrates.

Merging the art of Dayna J. Collins and Nancy Eng.

The art of Dayna J. Collins on the left and Nancy Eng on the right.

“Dangerous Waters 1, 2, 3,” plaster, oil, and cold wax by Dayna J. Collins.

Little oil and cold wax pieces by Dayna J. Collins.

New series by Dayna J. Collins. Plaster, oil, and cold wax.

And then before we knew it, the show was up and we were finished.

Artists: Dayna J. Collins and Nancy Eng.

The opening reception is Friday, August 4, from 6-9 pm. Borland Gallery is part of the Silverton Arts Association and is located on the banks of Silver Creek in historic Coolidge-McClaine Park in Silverton.

A New Show: Pathways & Passages

About a year ago, I was invited to have a show along with my artist friend Nancy Eng, at Borland Gallery in Silverton. The gallery is part of the Silverton Arts Association, a long time artist organization in the quaint community of Silverton, which is located about 20 minutes east of Salem. Nancy had the idea for the theme of our show, Pathways & Passages, which was easy to translate into abstract landscapes and non-representational work.

Last week I stopped by the gallery for one last look before we hang next week.

I finished my pieces last week, and this week I have been doing the tedious, but necessary, work of assigning inventory numbers, giving them all titles, signing and pricing them, taking photos, and then packaging everything for transport.

Here’s a preview of some of the pieces that will be in the show. They range in size from 6×6 inches up to 30×60 inches, with lots of pieces in between.

“History Racing Past,” plaster, oil, and cold wax by Dayna J. Collins.

“A Glimmer of Understanding Took Hold,” plaster, oil, and cold wax, by Dayna J. Collins.

“The Thrill of Discovery,” plaster, oil, and cold wax, by Dayna J. Collins.

“Memory Had Vanished,” plaster, oil, and cold wax, by Dayna J. Collins.

“A Moment of Stillness,” plaster, oil, and cold wax, by Dayna J. Collins.

“The Garden Seemed Enchanted,” plaster, oil, and cold wax by Dayna J. Collins.

“Along the Shore,” plaster, oil, and cold wax, by Dayna J. Collins.

“Symbiotic Relationship,” plaster, oil, and cold wax, by Dayna J. Collins.

“Looking Backward in Time,” plaster, oil, and cold wax, by Dayna J. Collins.

The opening reception is Friday, August 4th, from 6-9 pm. If you can’t make it then, a great weekend to visit would be the weekend of August 19 and 20, when the Silverton Fine Arts Festival is going on. The gallery will be open, and the festival will be taking place at the same location, nestled in the woods of the historic Coolidge-McClaine Park on the banks of Silver Creek.