Ginny Ferrante Perry
ARTIST’S STATEMENT
CANAL SERIES
My home in Tinicum Township, Upper Bucks County, Pa, was for many years the inspiration for much of my work. I am not intrigued by a plant or landscape's predictable and perfect beauty but by its chaos. In such imperfection and discord—a wilting sunflower, a weed, dried leaves, disarray after a deluge—I find splendor and spiritual metaphor that moves me to deep emotion. A story whispers from the chaos.
Long treks along the Delaware River Canal charms and I’ve a special fondness for the character and personality along the path and banks. Enormous Osage Trees creak in the wind, aged voices urging me to recount their story. Old souls, abstract faces and figures, embedded gnarly bark now awaken. Emerald Ash, slaughtered by their namesake Borer, wither and crumble, felled by an intense storm.
The canal is a somber boneyard framed in tall grasses, cattails, and fluorescent algae. Herons and ducks feast on canal life while turtles humorously croak—laughing as I amble by. Canal images live behind my eyes and emerge upon my canvas to capture the euphoria of chaos in pen, paint and brush. I yearn to capture a storm’s aftermath, light at the apex of a dusky sky, seasonal alterations, climate conditions. Depicting changes in life, the images quench my thirst in a wellspring of inspiration.
“NOT FORGOTTEN” SERIES
My experience as a volunteer interfaith Lay Chaplain brings me close to the layered years in the eyes of those living in dependent care. The faces are abundant with character, wisdom, strength, courage, faith, and acceptance—marbled with moments of fear, loneliness, and confusion. Struck by the legacies of untold stories and the desire to be heard, I am moved to draw and paint portraits of the residents, some abstractly, some realistically, in various techniques and mediums. Expressed and interpreted through ink, paint, and pastel, I explore my relationship with each individual back in my studio.
These individuals have powerful and heart-wrenching stories, and my images are created with gentle tenderness and compassion. As we sit and talk, I hear their love and pride of families, a yearning for home, and the desire for independence and autonomy. Age doesn’t diminish the desire to laugh, learn, play, freely express emotion, and tell stories. These men and women have a lot to say, and they want people to listen. Non-verbal residents with intricate facial expressions share through body language. These Images offer a glimpse into the complex and often warring emotions within the process of aging, failing health, and memory loss. They share their lives, and the stories imprint on my heart and canvas. Designed as part relationship and part life documentation, the images are a guide through an emotional journey of the resident’s end-of-life experiences. As you explore these lives it may spark awareness, empathy, and compassion for the elderly and those in nursing homes. You may feel the urge to reach out to an elderly neighbor or family member who could use a phone call, emotional support, assistance and/or companionship. This series is about the rich, sometimes difficult, meaningful, and purposeful lives of our elderly friend, and family. They have much to say, and it’s our privilege to listen.
MY APPROACH TO ART MAKING:
I work in diverse media including painting, drawing, collage and printmaking. My drawing style entails intricate, bold, energetic, and poetic markings, and sometimes delicate renderings. Lines and images are created with charcoal, ink (often drawn with string dipped in ink or twigs), acrylic paint (often poured and manipulated), pastels, and plaster that are drawn, erased, scratched, and/or incised into. I draw and paint on heavy Bristol paper, watercolor paper, canvases, and on top of older paintings. I often use a limited color palette of subdued colors and black and white. The medium or mixture of mediums I use depends on the message or emotion I’m trying to convey. My work is often a palimpsest. I sometimes work on top of older paintings, drawings or pieces I’ve discarded leaving visible traces of the original piece that only I know is there. I find this practice oddly satisfying…especially when it works!