Guest Juror: Linda Dautreuil
On display starting on November 18 and running through the holidays until February 10, the miniature show is particularly challenging as it limits artists to a 5x5x5 inch work of art. While some artists produce two-dimensional pieces in a 5x5 inch format, many choose to submit a three-dimensional piece that takes advantage of every cubic inch available.
Resulting from a national call for submissions, artists from around the region and the country submit their miniature masterpieces to be on display at River Oaks and be judged by guest juror Linda Dautreuil. The Covington, Louisiana painter Linda Trappey Dautreuil was born in New Iberia and lived most of her life in the southwestern part of the state. She began making drawings and paintings in the 1970’s while simultaneously pursuing a master degree in creative writing. The daily process of drawing and the immediacy and directness of the paint medium caused a change in the creative direction of her life’s work.
Primarily a painter whose compositions are based on abstract forms and shapes, Dautreuil has included figurative references and non-linear narrative content in her work since 2001. The materials and processes she favors build surfaces slowly through layers of thin washes and mark making with graphic mediums such as oil crayon, wax pencil, and graphite. Occasionally she uses collage in the form of original drawings on raw canvas, cut and integrated into the paint surface. She also paints on hard surface panels such as Masonite in multiples, adhered to the rigid surfaces forming paintings in shallow relief.
Dautreuil will also offer a class as part of the ongoing GAEDA Education Series. “Bewitched - From Storyline to Paint & Spaces in Between” will take place November 15 & 16 from 10:30 am - 4:00 pm. Entry fee is $85 for both days and skill level suggested is Beginner to Advanced. Participants will work with 8”x10” drawing paper for preliminary sketches and a 16”x20” pre-stretched, acrylic primed canvas. Upon registration, each participant will receive a synopsis of The Witch of Maurepas Swamp and a minimal supply list. Day 1 will focus on determining possible themes and follow-up discussion of sketches, while Day 2 will begin with a short presentation of references to the Swamp Witch narrative before painting begins. Each participant will interpret the thematic content of the narrative as a unique work of visual art.
The 5x5x5 show is joined by another favorite that comes back every year, the Outreach Project featuring students from Pecan Grove Training Center, Rapides ARC and Evergreen Life Services. The 2017 inception of this project is titled “Home Sweet Home” and shows off the incredible talent that often comes out when students with special needs are enabled to express themselves in the visual art medium. “The art our students express themselves with often has an incredibly insightful quality,” says Rachael Dauzat, Executive Director at River Oaks. “We have been championing this project for six years and it always delights me to see the works of our students. What started with a handful of participants and one training center has expanded to almost triple the size and the results are worth a look.”
Rounding out the exhibits is “Homage” by resident artist Kayla Terrell in the Galerie des Amis. A friend of River Oaks in every sense of the word, Kayla holds a B.F.A. in Studio Art from Louisiana College and went to work in the Graphic Design field, but still painted and did various projects on the side. She now works at River Oaks Square Arts Center as well as paints on a daily basis. Kayla enjoys hand-lettering of which she is self-taught, Live Event paintings, creating signs and other paintings for herself and others.
As a young child, Kayla was always creating something from “nothing.” Tissue paper, glue and popsicle sticks were some of her items of choice. She is still inspired by old, found-objects, old barns and churches and nature and enjoys working with salvaged wood pieces, cheesecloth, paint and many other textures.
