Michelle Forsyth's Gray/Grey

    Surrounded by fellow students and faculty members this past Tuesday evening, I found myself amidst a frenzy of flannel shirts. No, it wasn't another Whitworth hipster gathering, but in fact, a surprisingly meaningful gallery of Michelle Forsyth’s latest art series: Gray/Grey. Filling the Bryan Oliver gallery with work based on the patterns of her husband’s shirts as well as a few pieces of her Dark Watercolors, Forsyth displayed a hodgepodge of her latest crafts. From layered acrylics and gouaches to woven cotton and colored pencils, her depictions of “Kevin’s Shirt” provided a sort of richness to an overlooked object. Initially as I perused across the room, my first thoughts did overlook the meaning of the pieces. Centered on their basic quality at first glance, I missed the true art in their labor. They appeared merely as…Kevin’s shirts.

Kevin's Shirt: Element

    While I did enjoy the hypnotic value and play with layered colors of varied opacities in the shirt works, primarily I only took to the piece Dark Watercolor 012 due to its entrancing details. With dripping watercolor streaks, bright lines of colored pencils, and meticulous stitching, the piece provided contrast in not only color but material. Although on paper, these details created the illusion of fabric and texture; an attribute that tied the piece to its surroundings.

My favorite: Dark Watercolor 012

    After the reception, viewers were invited to listen to Forsyth discuss her works. She began by displaying some of her biggest inspirations. Ranging from the famous working style of Jackson Pollock to the innovative mended clothing artwork of Celia Pym, these artists influenced the reasoning behind Gray/Grey. Rather than find purpose in aesthetic quality, this series centers on the notions of labor for love. Being “much more intimate than previous works” Forsyth explained that the art of these pieces was in the act of making them. It was the process which she was concerned, the difficulties of creation. I was amazed when she divulged that another aspirator of her work was her recent diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease. Focused now on the complexities of each artistic act, Forsyth felt a need to transition into new materials and concentrations. With the purchase of a loom and the notion to stitch her pieces, Forsyth challenged herself, highlighting her capabilities even more. This also meant though, that Forsyth would have to start excepting the mistakes within her works. Instead of touching up missed strokes she decided to embrace the imperfections, noting their place in the beautiful occurrence of formation. In this richness, her artwork, much like herself, demands a second look; a second look not only in the details but “how it functions within our lives” and what is revealed in self identification.

    As her lecture wrapped up and the crowd dispersed, I was overwhelmed by praise for the process. Forsyth’s artwork, story, and inspirations reminded me once again of the versatile presence of art. While often only pictured in the galleries, art finds its original beauty in the studio; a place where effort and invention collide.  

Be sure to check out Gray/Grey next time you find yourself in the Lied Center as well as Forsyth’s other recent projects “32 Years Later”  and the documentations of “What’s Left Behind” after natural disasters at www.michelleforsyth.com.