This is a printer-friendly version of an article from Zip06.com.
03/16/2017 12:01 AMBegging Bowls and Offering Bowls, a series of pen and ink, collage, and watercolor works by Cromwell artist Ann Grasso, will be on exhibit at The Mary C. Daly Art Gallery at Mercy by the Sea, 167 Neck Road in Madison, through Tuesday, April 4.
Grasso’s work focuses on specific cultural observations.
“As a visual artist, tangible objects are my preferred way of thinking about ideas and frequently they provide a quiet clarity that the noise of conversation misses,” she says.
During a trip to Vienna, Grasso noted the excessive use of gold both on the exterior and interior of buildings—not just religious buildings, but also commercial and residential dwellings. Grasso created the Begging Bowl series to point attention to the disparity between the haves and the have nots. Begging bowls are seen as the icon of the poor and needy. However, Grasso suggests there are also constant requests from the rich and greedy whether through non-profits or commercial endeavors.
“Both groups are anonymous. The poor are a faceless sea of many,” she says. “The rich are insulated from public scrutiny because they can pay for their privacy.”
The Offering Bowls series transitions to the other side of the coin. Used in Buddhist practice, and often filed with water, offering bowls are symbols of generosity. Grasso found it fitting to paint this series in watercolor.
Grasso’s work is influenced by her life-long interest in textiles, her social/political desire for equality/equanimity, and an awareness that nature daily offers something new, if time is taken to notice. Throughout her 35-year career leading an architectural business, Grasso studied book arts at the Haystack Mountain School of Crafts and with Daniel Kelm in Easthampton, Massachusetts. To spread the word that we are all creative in one way or another, Grasso offers the anngrassopatternart.com website, a collaborative approach to dealing with patterns of living. Grasso’s fine art work and photography, including the Begging Bowls and Offering Bowls series, can be seen at anngrasso.com.