Barb Drake

June 2-4

"I've been creating art for as long as I can remember. Paint by number paintings as a child, sketching, pen & ink drawing, acrylics. As an adult, I explored ceramics, creating hand-carved historic tiles and mosaics using found objects and vintage china. This movement into working with found objects led me to creating assemblages and dioramas.

Using vintage paint by number landscapes and HO-scale figures, I have created dioramas depicting scenes that represent for me a return to a simpler, more carefree time -- a time without ubiquitous technology that keeps us isolated and out of nature. As a child, I loved the make-believe world I could create with the tiny plastic farm animals and cowboys, and as an artist many years later, using them in my assemblages still evokes a sense of that original joy."