People-Nature-Art with Matinicus Carver David Sears

Description

David Sears creates art deeply rooted in the surroundings of his homes in Cushing, Maine, and on Matinicus Island. “Exploring with the eyes of a child and the awareness of a student, parent, educator, photographer, filmmaker, woodworker, writer and painter, my pattern has been to gather knowledge from a small section of the natural world and share it through creative, site-specific activities.,” he says. “For the past two decades I have lived part of each year on Matinicus, a small Maine island on the outer edge of Penobscot Bay, where I make things and try to understand life on a mountaintop surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean.” He will share his art in person at the Wendell Gilley Museum as the Gilley’s People-Nature-Art speaker for the month of March on Tuesday, March 10 at 7pm, preceded by an artist’s reception at 6pm. Admission is free but reservations are required. The program will be livecast simultaneously; please indicate when you sign up whether you will attend in person or online. “My carved and painted birds reflect a fascination with objects which convey an intense knowledge and awareness of the maker’s environment,” he says. “Combining function, sophisticated woodworking and designs with traditional knowledge, these birds are imbued with beauty, mysticism and the pragmatic need to attract sources of food. I hope my work honors those traditions, expands the concept and encourages a greater appreciation of traditional skills, the fragility of all environments and the critical need to preserve unspoiled locales and living things.” People-Nature-Art is a free monthly series that brings artists, writers, carvers, and creative types of all kinds to the Gilley to explore how nature and art interact in their work, and how their art impacts their own approach to nature.