Dorothy Bury-ShawDorothy began her art career as an editorial freelance illustrator. For several years her work appeared regularly in Chicago Magazine, the Chicago Sun Times, the Tribune, Midwest Magazine and others. Although gratifying, she came to know fine art was her true calling. In years that followed life took her in many directions. There were times of great joy and times of profound loss. Through it all not a day passed that she did not draw. Today she takes inspiration for her art from the bounty of rich, evocative life experiences and relationships that continues to this day.
It was a severe storm that snapped her into the powerful, distinctive style of art she now produces. Flood waters poured through low windows of neighbors’ homes, just a few yards from where Dorothy’s studio lay waiting. She sensed the certainty of impending loss and life being changed forever. Nature’s unrelenting force had exposed the raw, open jaws of her artist's spirit gasping for air, near drowning. That very night after a long day fighting approaching waters, sleep deprived and feeling anxious, she found her sketchbook and pens and sat down to draw. Forms with intricate line work rushed forth and she did not want to stop. Her spirit and heart were engaged in powerful, pointed conversations. Rusty gears were suddenly in motion. Startled by the impact of this awareness, she watched in amazement as images and patterns covered her paper. She felt the ancients surround her with a drumming chant of solidarity as her pen followed the beat of their rhythms. Incredibly, as she worked the flood waters receded without serious damage to her home. She looked upon her sketches and knew it was just the beginning. There was no questioning the rightness of it. Dorothy’s work involves the intricate weaving of line and shape in ink renderings of painstaking detail. The patterns she creates are borrowed from nature and the art of many cultures, architecture, textiles, pottery, mosaic and manuscripts, past and present. She isinfluenced by tribal art, ancient religious ceremonial dress, folklore and myth. Within her images, patterns and colors utilize the rich use of symbolism. It infuses her art with a mystical quality. |
http://www.dburyshaw.com/
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