Evan Willemse: The Wonder From The Sea/ From The Past

 The Wonder From The Sea/ From The Past

    I had the great pleasure to focus my energy on Nancy Newton's show From The Sea/ From The Past, that was shown at Propeller Art Gallery September 16 - October 1, 2023.

 Unfortunately the show isn't available in person anymore, but there are still videos and pictures online that allow you to view the show. Recently I even located a podcast that Nancy, as guest, stared in that really helped me experience her work, and the exploration and experimentation that sparked her past works.

Nancy Newton, Flying Over, Mixed Media Collage, 2023

    Some of Nancy's work takes inspiration from R. Murry Schafer's Dream-e-scape which is a 20 minute long orchestra song. She also works with patterns and visual aspects found in beach objects, but mostly, for From the Sea, from shells that were created in marine ecosystems. 

She first started to sketch shells in her sketchbook, and, in doing so, realized that they represented mini universes. Afterwards, she worked on multiple small canvases using the sketchbook drawings as collage material. These works continued to evolve and develop.

Before using Dream-e-scape, Nancy made beautiful landscapes found in From the Past. 

Austin Clarkson, Founder, Exploring Creatively in Depth and Professor  in Music at York University introduced her to what she now often uses today - a  creative process which is both considered and meditative.

Bertram Brooker, Machine World, 1950
Dream-e-scape video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqASBnCN6RU

    While I was viewing the online gallery tour, I listened to Dream-e-scape as a strategy to allow me to enter into Nancy's mind. It was very interesting to see the energy in the works and video. I could feel the electric energy, the movement, power, speed, and I felt like I was on a roller-coaster. That constant up and down speedy journey taken by me with the work and song was such an inspiring experience.


Nancy Newton, Sea View, Acrylic on Canvas, 2023

This entire experience inspired to write a poem about this journey: (This was created from both viewing the show and listening to Dream-e-scape)

 A Constant Battle

A journey was fought here

the constant push and pull between two people

a chase, one after another

ending with a struggle to find the other

this universe is so big

how is one supposed to find themselves on this roller-coaster of life?

    This whole experience was an honor to go through, and it definitely was a once and a life time opportunity to have. I know that I could have done a few things differently to enrich the experience from this show, but with what I had, I made a unforgettable memory. If you wish to see the show unfortunately it is closed, but there is a tour on Nancy's website that viewers can still watch.

Nancy's Website: https://www.nancynewton.com/index.php

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