Jeannine Dabb
Visual Arts: Ceramics, Illustration, Jewelry, Mixed Media, Murals, Painting, Photography, Printmaking, Sculpture, Visual Arts Instructor, Works on paper; collage
Jeannine Dabb-Artist Statement
I spent the past few years feeling as if I am balancing on the fulcrum, much like the “rocking rider“who has emerged as the main subject in my recent paintings.
The fulcrum point is the point where the lever rests or is supported and on which it pivots. I have spent the past few years living with challenges that included finding and balancing myself on the fulcrum and being prepared to swing my roll in different directions as needed, especially with constantly changing social climates. Personally, learning how to navigate a world as an immune-compromised individual in a world struggling with civility and beliefs in modern science. This year of my Appell fellowship, at Marketview arts and the Center for Community Engagement has been spent working with the public, and students, volunteering, making art, and Covid. Pressure and weight are always resting on one’s shoulders when you care about your actions.
My body of work is based on my life experiences over the past few years. It is a diary of sorts. Paintings are based on pure emotions, and abstractions, focusing on the positive in this overwhelmingly negative world. I paint landscapes, people, and animals, how I view them and respond to the events that personally affect me. My goal is to evoke positive feelings. I use brilliant colors, found objects, dynamic lines, gold leaf, cut painted paper, and mica. These elements work together to inspire the viewer to see the brilliance still evident in this wild world. There are stories told between the colors and found objects, personal and complex responses to how I feel in these places or interact with the people that occupy them. I want to create a sense of brightness, revitalization, and excitement for the viewer despite the sometimes depressing and heavyweight we feel. Learning to enjoy the ride and pivot in response to difficult times and situations is important. This is about balancing the load or getting back on when you fall off the horse.
