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Local artists use life experiences as a springboard into expressive work.
By BRANDY STARK
© St. Petersburg Times, published May 31, 2001
DUNEDIN -- A myriad of images confronts the viewer. Pregnant celestial women hang suspended, watching a red dragon and a striped shark swim through the air. Ancient games with mysterious rules wait to be played.
These are but a few aspects of "Visions, Games, and Fantasies," featuring the eclectic and metaphysical works of local artist Boo Ehrsam and the "Dreamcasting" works of Nancy and Steve Eggert, currently on exhibit at Snooty Judy's Gallery in Dunedin.
Ehrsam creates expressive works of art, often focusing on empowered female figures. Empress, derived from the picture on a tarot card, shows the universal woman, pregnant, crowned with stars and sitting regally on a throne. Mother Earth reveals a blue woman holding the sun and moon against an arching rainbow standing amid wind and waves, her pregnant abdomen forming an image of the earth.
The Vessel is symbolic of a woman's aging process, from fertility to menopause. Marilyn's Journey, inspired by St. Petersburg Times articles on the life and death of Marilyn Myers, who had ovarian cancer, shows her on her deathbed, the shining face of her freed spirit in the foreground.
"While seeming disjointed at first glance, my exhibit is really a study of life and metaphysics from both a feminine and personal viewpoint," Ehrsam said.
Much of Ehrsam's subject matter reflects her own life philosophies. Silent Scream shows a being, part fish, part human, being cut open on a plate, imagery derived from an experience that inspired her to become a vegetarian. The Journey: A Story of Reincarnation stems from her work in a nursing home. From a distance the viewer sees a grinning skull, but when viewed close up the skull becomes the background to an unending journey of life, death and afterlife.
Some of Ehrsam's most popular works are derived from her experimentation with games. Game of Ancient Egypt and The Royal Game of UR attempt to reconstruct historic pastimes.
"Ancient games have metaphysical origins in that many were used for divination and magic prior to being used for amusement. Games also explore our similarities throughout history and the world; they unite us in a sense of play and are an integral part of our past, present and future," Ehrsam says.
In addition to her artwork, Ehrsam is volunteer arts columnist for the local cable access show In the Park on channels 47 and 15 on Time Warner Cable.
Steve and Nancy Eggert also draw on life experiences for their mixed media art. The couple's hobbies include flying hot air balloons, sailing a catamaran and studying the stars, influences evident in their work.
Tigger Shark combines the couple's love of ocean life with the color and stripes of the Winnie the Pooh character. Fire Dragon flies freely through space and time next to the green, red and purple Little Ptera, a pterodactyl-like being. Both reflect the couple's love of flying merged with a sense of youthful wonder and delight.
"Visions, Games and Fantasies," at Snooty Judy's Fine Art Gallery, 514 Skinner Blvd., Dunedin, through July 10. Gallery hours: 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.-Thurs., 11 a.m.-7 p.m. Fri.-Sat., noon-6 p.m. Sun.Call (727) 734-9835.