4/14/2008

Abstract narrative painter Dale Fairbanks visited Country Day on April 10th and 11th. Students found Fairbanks’ artwork, currently exhibited in the art gallery, intriguing and were delighted to hear that she would be giving workshops on oil pastels. Fairbanks spoke to lower school students about her work and hosted half-hour oil pastel workshops with five lower school classes. Fairbanks also hosted workshops with honors art students and Country Day parents.

At these workshops, Fairbanks demonstrated oil pastel techniques and how to use everyday objects such as silverware to create texture. Students found it particularly frustrating when Fairbanks dealt with the issue of art ownership and asked them to pass their oil pastels to the person next to them. Although students were originally hesitant to share their work, at the end of the workshop, most were pleased with their shared finished product.

Although Fairbanks knew at the age of five that she wanted work as an artist, she did not begin painting professionally until she was an adult. Originally from Mississippi, she found her inspiration in Fairbanks, Alaska’s lack of color. After ten years in bleak Alaska, Fairbanks returned to the South. She now works in Gulf Breeze, Florida, and her work reflects the Gulf of Mexico’s colorful influence.

Fairbanks’ work is inspired by her natural environment. Although her work is largely non-representational, students pressed Fairbanks to tell them what her bold and colorful paintings represent. She responded that her work, titled after songs, is symbolic of everything from the war in Iraq to her idea of the beauty embodied in a shooting star; however, it is abstract and according to Fairbanks, “can be whatever you want it to be.”

Dale Fairbanks’ artwork is on display in the Country Day exhibit “A Collection of Color,” that also features glass orbs and vases created by Jenny Knox and Charity Poskitt. The opening for the exhibit was on April 11; the art is available for viewing and purchase through April 25.

Courtney Schumacher
Marketing & Public Relations Assistant