Spotlight on AGP Member Donna Grant

Donna describes the process.

The Art Guild of Pacifica is a dynamic collection of people that are rich in capabilities, artistic experience, teamwork, and most of all talent.  There is so much talent that I wish I could blog about every single AGP member all at once.  I’ll have to settle for one member at a time.  Let me introduce you to Donna Grant, a Director-at-Large and the Membership Coordinator for AGP.

I like to keep my art unbridled. Most of the time, it’s done in the living room where I can hang with my family.  I find art commissions a personal challenge because it puts my creative expression inside a fence.  This is why I find Donna Grant’s latest artistic endeavor so fascinating.  Donna has been working with Pysansky eggs since last Easter.  These are eggs dyed using the detailed Ukrainian method.  It is a combination of precision and recklessness that while completely contradictory becomes mutually supportive in the hands of the artist.

Egg Wash

The Pysansky process creates patterns on carefully blown out eggs using hot wax. Here is how Donna describes the process (excerpted from her blog): “I used dark dyes with a wax resist, and then bathed the egg in a vinegar solution that allowed the color on the un-waxed areas to be released. It is wiped, and then the remaining wax is melted off giving this result. It reminds me of scrimshaw.” 

Donna stumbles upon random occurrences when the hot wax wills itself into unexpected or unplanned areas on the egg, or in the calcium patterns of the eggs themselves, coaxing a brand new design.  While she enjoys the precision inherent in the process and the delicacy of the eggs, she finds these random happenings exciting and surfs each one to discover where it will take her.  “For me, the process is more of an exploration than a regular painting is,” she stated when I spoke with her recently.

The egg takes a color bath.

Without divulging any secrets about what’s in store for the future, you can see more of Donna’s eggs on her blog here.  She is an active member of the Art Guild of Pacifica, has a splendid garden, and her good friend Calina is an amazon parrot that Donna has belonged to for the last 40 years.  Donna currently has a piece on display in AGP’s “Tell Me A Story” at the Sanchez Art Center, as well.

If you’re a member of the Art Guild of Pacifica and would like to see your creative endeavors included in the AGP Blog, feel free to blog it yourself (any member can be linked up to do so by reaching out to Michael Risenhoover), or let us know and we’ll get you blogged as soon as we can!

Blogged by Donna L. Faber, AGP Secretary

donnalouisefaber.com