Bronwen Duncan | The Nature of Joy
Bronwen Duncan
The Nature of Joy
Edge Gallery, August 6 - 28, 2021
I’ve always been drawn to nature and to colour. When I started painting with pieces of wool, I didn’t know I’d create joyful paintings set in nature, I just knew I needed to add little swirls of movement and the odd spark of happy colour. But stepping back, I realize I have been unwittingly shared moments of delight found within nature’s rhythms…
When immersed in natural space, I feel a piece of life’s puzzle slip into place. Daily aspirations and whirring stresses settle as I shift into being an observer of the greater whole. Whether it is the smell of moss wet with new rain, the sound of woodpeckers’ insistent drumming, the sway of limp-armed cedar boughs blowing in the wind, or the bright yellow of a dandelion pushing through rocks, everything is vibrating with life, is real, is now. And even as mother nature conducts her ruthless shuffle of life and death, of reuse and regrow, there is a back-current of joy as simple as being alive that is as sure and strong as the sun that feeds it.
Too many of us forget joy. We run against the clock, we enact our roles, we feel helpless against a world that seems to be going wrong.
So, step outside. Stop awhile. Let nature still our busy minds. For a heart that is singing – is alive with joy – has the power to love, to create, to heal. I believe the newly popular focus of “mindfulness” opens that door, but maybe not enough. Walk a little further…
I hope each picture brings a little momentary joy to everyone who views it.
BRONWEN DUNCAN
Bronwen finds a tactile joy in creating fabric art. In her 20’s, she ran a business creating batik clothing, lampshades, pillows, and other decorative items, eventually co-owning the gallery where her work was displayed. Decades later, she played with hand-painted and block-printed textiles, as well as loose-stitched and layered fabric collages. Most recently, she’s discovered the thrill of felting, compelled to imbue impressionistic landscapes, flora, and fauna with a sense of movement and joy.
Bronwen’s attended felting workshops with Sheila Alexadrovich, Susan Ross, Toos Omtzigt and Katy Delau. Using a mixture of both wet-felting and needle-felting techniques, her wool paintings are hand stitched onto fabric-covered canvas art frames, in order to enhance the three-dimensional and tactile element of the work.
She has shown her felt paintings in the group show: Fibre-Optics: Inspiration to Creation Northern Fibre Arts Guild show at Arts Underground gallery in Whitehorse May 2019.
Past Exhibitions
