DECEMBER 6-29, 2019
“Talismans”
Rhonda J. Smith
OPENING RECEPTION
First Sat. December 7, 5-9 pm
TAG TALKS
Saturday Dec. 7 at 5 pm
Saturday Dec. 14 at 2 pm
Printmaker, artist, and educator Rhonda J. Smith is exhibiting a series of linoleum and intaglio prints based on Mexican and West African traditions that involve the use of small talisman like objects. This series of talismans are printed amulets and milagro’s for safe journeys. In Mexico the milagro (which means miracle) is a small metal charm that might be carried for protection, healing or good luck.
The themes of her prints involve journey, excursions that occur both within the process of creating and in the physical encounters with places and cultures.
Like the layers of journey that reveal themselves over time, Smith uses a matrix created on acrylic sheets printed in layers using non-toxic inks. By overprinting the various plates, and creating some with specific images, she found the surfaces produced a tangle of lines suggesting maps and coordinates.
For Smith, the process of travel and printmaking are similar. Despite assumptions about where the journey may lead, she is always surprised by what she eventually discovers.
Rhonda Smith, "Hoping Helping Hands are Always There to Assist You "
Rhonda Smith, "The Rhythm of Time and the Pull of Water"
Rhonda Smith, "Protection for Your Journey Home"
________________________
TAG/THE ARTISTS GALLERY
216 North Market Street
Frederick, MD 21701
________________________
GALLERY HOURS
Fridays & Saturdays, 12–9 pm
Sundays, 12–5 pm