Mermaid's Tears - Trudi Gilliam
Metal sculptor and former St. Croix resident Trudi Gilliam will be the featured artist at Designworks for the January 21 edition of Art Thursday. The show, titled "Mermaid's Tears," is Trudi's latest collection of work incorporating sea glass, copper, brass, driftwood, and paint.
"Mermaid's tears is a term used in folklore for sea glass," says Gilliam. "My passion for beachcombing has given me a trove of sea glass from the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans as well as the Caribbean Sea. When I heard the term mermaid's tears, I liked the image. It provided me with an unusual focus for using the glass along with my metal work. I enjoy collaborating with the forces of nature-sand, sea, and time-to create a one-of-a-kind piece of sculpture. The colors and texture of the glass are so appealing. One cannot help but wonder, 'What is its history, its use, how did it come to wash up on the shore of a particular beach?' My ability to give the sea glass pieces new life is also part of the motivation for incorporating it into my work."
The show's work focuses on the use of sea glass in a variety of designs, both realistic and abstract. A mermaid's mask, seascapes, and the mermaid herself are represented. Trudi's always unusual and decorative weavings provide a format for the application of pieces of sea glass for color, texture, and mood. These are open-ended works of art that require the viewer to bring his or her own experiences to the interpretation of each piece. Trudi is also exhibiting new pieces of sea glass jewelry along with her latest sculptures.
"Mermaid's Tears" opens with a reception for the artist from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, January 21. Trudi Gilliam will be on hand to talk with art patrons and friends alike. The show will be on display through February 17. Designworks is located in historic Apothecary Hall in downtown Christiansted at No. Six Company Street. For more information, contact Richard Harris at 713- 8102 or 643-1952.
St. Croix collectors have enjoyed seeing their island through Trudi's eyes since the early 70s when she moved to St. Croix from New Jersey. She started out as an art teacher selling her work through galleries and auctions but eventually eliminated the middleman to "sell her works more affordably." Lots of people will remember Trudi's infamous gallery/studio in the Comanche Walk in Christiansted so "people could see me work." Here she sold, took requests, and did commissioned sculptures, murals, mobiles, and wall reliefs.
Gilliam's work has undergone lots of change over the years from lizards, birds, goats, ferns, West Indian houses and reef life, to abstract forms. Her use of media has changed as well. She likes working with natural things - brass, copper, and steel - some new, some scrap - against local woods like mahogany, Tibet, even driftwood. With her cutting torch and anvil, Trudi both shapes the metals and creates their richly textured surfaces.
