ART EXHIBIT Becoming One: Spirit, Nature, & Form The Art of Deborah Johnson

Confront the fine art created by the multi-talented Magnolia, Delaware artist Deborah Johnson straight from her collections at her Falling Leaf Studio. 

The Historic Odessa Foundation is pleased to exhibit a selection of her glass works, tapestries, paintings, Shibori dyed silks, and embroideries.  In works spanning over a decade, Deborah Johnson reflects on the hidden structures that unite all living things.  Fractals, sacred geometry, and organic forms intertwine, revealing the rhythms and patterns that connect us to the divine and to the natural world.  Deborah’s paintings, woven tapestries and glass often use the human gaze to draw the viewer in and blur boundaries between self and creation.  Other works, like Shibori dyed silk and layered embroideries are simply a joyful exploration of the colors and textures found in nature.

Plan your early summer visit to the Historic Odessa Foundation to include an exploration of this fascinating art exhibit.

Artist Statement:

We long for connection—to each other, to the earth, to something greater than ourselves. Becoming One: Spirit, Nature, and Form explores this deep yearning to merge with the natural world.

My current body of work delves into the intricate world of fractals, drawing a connection between their mathematical elegance and the natural beauty that surrounds us.  Fractals, with their infinite complexity and self-similar patterns, mirror the structures we find in nature—from the branching of trees and the formation of snowflakes to ocean waves and the delicate veins of petals and leaves.  Through my exploration, I aim to highlight the inherent beauty in these patterns, emphasizing how nature’s designs are both chaotic and orderly, simple yet infinitely complex.  This work is a celebration of the harmony and balance found in the natural world, inviting viewers to see the extraordinary in the ordinary and to appreciate the mathematical underpinnings of the beauty that often goes unnoticed.

Techniques Used:

Glass: Deborah’s drawings are formed with glass dust; each whisper thin layer building on the next.  She combines these ethereal images with strong linear components formed by drawing in air with hot glass as it streams from the bottom of a crucible.  Cast glass components create multi-dimensional surfaces that draw the viewer into the work.

Tapestry: Deborah’s tapestries are created with wool and silk on a linen weft.  She hand-dyes many of her colors and sometimes incorporates 24K gold thread and holographic monofilament.

Shibori Dyed Silk: A traditional Japanese technique, silk is dyed, then folded and wrapped on poles, then wrapped tightly with linen twine.  Hot dyes are poured over the silk on the poles and the poles are steamed for over an hour.  The resulting work is cooled and unfolded to reveal one-of-a-kind textures and patterns.

Embroideries: Deborah embroiders on Nuno felted wool on silk, a fabric she hand-creates.  Her work includes traditional Eastern European hollow needle embroidery as well as Asian silk thread work.

A free public reception will be held at the HOF Visitor Center on Thursday, May 15th from 6-8 pm to socialize with the artist, HOF members, and collectors of the artist.