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Listening to Rocks

Dianne Shullenberger and John Snell

October 12 – November 20, 2018

Reception 5-7pm on Friday October 19th with an artist’s talk at 6pm

“There is so much life connected with rocks we just have to look closely and to listen. This exhibition is a three year collaboration with John Snell. We have hiked to some locations together but mostly we have been on our own to investigate these amazing forms in all seasons and in various parts of the country. We each have an intense eye for minute details in nature…This body of work emanates from hikes taken in Vermont, New Hampshire, Iceland, Michigan, and Italy. These colored pencil drawings and fabric collages highlight the vegetation surrounding or existing on the rocks, drawing attention to their colors, patterns, textures and understanding the differences in each site.”

-Dianne Shullenberger

“Growing up in Central Michigan I did not often see rocks of any kind, and my first memory of seeing bedrock was from my teens when I traveled an hour south where I saw a new interstate road cut. In the past forty years living in Vermont, I’ve grown to love the abundance of rocks, large and small, as well as the magnificent road cuts, immense quarries, and rivers polishing their way over the soul of the earth. Add the beautifully complex growths of lichen and mosses and the fact that many are best seen after a bit of hiking, and it is clear Vermont’s rocks are an artist’s dream comes true. And as a result, I’ve enjoyed rocks wherever I have traveled around the world.The rocks I’ve photographed are portrayed both in situ and as abstracted details in the hope that they will inspire others to get out traveling and hiking to see more of these treasures. As I discovered in creating this exhibit with Dianne, creating art with hiking friend is a bonus. So pick up your paints, sketchpad or camera, meet up with a friend and, no matter the time of year, go out and listen for what the rocks have to say.” 

-John Snell

Dianne Shullenberger of Jericho, Vermont, is well known for her fabulously intricate fabric collage pieces that present landscape and nature in a totally unique way. “The fabric collages use small pieces of fabric to form shapes that are then stitched in place on the sewing machine. Thread is used to shade, give texture and do detail drawings. Each piece involves constant layering of fabric and threads, a labor of love.” The naturalistic outer edges floating on top of a fabric background give each piece a jewel-like quality which forgoes preciousness while embracing the wildness of nature. The exhibit also includes her detailed color pencil drawings.

John Snell is a photographer from Montpelier, Vermont. The two artists found common ground in their love of both hiking and art, resulting in an exhibition focusing on rocks from very different but harmonious viewpoints and mediums.