Lighting

Find out more about the artists mentioned in this piece at http://www.artworksrichmond.com/ArtistDirectory.htm

Recently, I visited my friend Lorraine at her mosaic studio in town. As we were on our way to her upstairs space, we went by the studio of Vinnie Gonzalez, a neo-pointilism painter and photographer. The studio was dark. Vinnie was working at his computer on a new website featuring his paintings and photos. As Lorraine introduced us and explained a little about Vinnie’s work, the artist flicked a couple of switches and a chain of track lighting hanging from the ceiling aimed at his canvases brought the room to sparkling life. A large 3′ by 3′ painting of the Buddha hung on the far brick wall which Vinnie had painted black. His art was breath-taking in the new light. The entire studio was transformed at the flip of a switch.

We climbed the stairs to Lorraine’s studio and again I was mesmerized by the energy of the place an artist works. Lorraine had jars and jars of mosaic tile, glass, pebbles, and shells lined up on wooden shelves. Her work encompassed mirrors, tables and objects. She had photo albums of her larger works, a mosaic mural for a restaurant and a mosaic entry way to a condo complex. The most intriguing pieces to me were a bass drum and a floor tom with the heads done in mosaic. She also paints and her canvases hung in the two rooms of her studio.

As I was leaving we happened by one of the large spaces that serve as a gallery for exhibitions. Lorraine said, “You’re not seeing this the way it should be seen.” switched on the track lighting and again, I was astounded at how the proper lighting made all the difference. It literally created a different world in the gallery.

How many times do we forget to flick the switch and change the lighting? We can have a dark day, an empty, hopeless, attitude but if we just take time to flip the switch, turn on the light, we can instantly change the way we see our world.  We can sit in loneliness or light a candle of friendship and connection and raise our spirits in a snap.

Darkness and drama are choices. We all carry the light within us. Flip the switch, let your light shine and discover the dancing colors of life.

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