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Local artist’s creative mind to produce new show at Guild

(Image by Anastasia Osolin)

SARANAC LAKE – On Friday, July 7, dilapidated metal frames, rusted mechanical parts and severed doll limbs will hang from the walls of the Adirondack Artist’s Guild for a new exhibit titled “Lost and Found, Collages and Assemblages,î” by Anastasia Osolin.

At first, the mesh of doll heads, clock frames and car gears appears bizarre and possibly frightening, but a longer examination reveals the intricacy and beauty melded into Osolin’s work.

In her collages and assemblages reappear the themes and styles most fascinating to her: astronomy, Victorian ephemera and industrial decay. There is, however, no specific process; each piece is transformed by the process.

Osolin describes her process as organic. No sketches are made, no concrete plan. Her creative ideas are often influenced by philosophical questions, distinct colors, distorted surfaces or old mechanical objects.

The collages one can already find in the Guild are perplexing. On a two-dimensional surface, humans perform everyday activities such as sewing or walking, but with a twist. Her newest piece, “Stars in the Making,” is a collage of a woman in a large dress seated in a wooden chair handling a bright star with a purple aura. Her assemblages are perhaps more curious.

The parts to her assemblages are always decrepit and come from either her own collection, a flea market, or as a gift. Osolin recalls opening her front door to find a rusted bicycle frame resting on her porch.

Two of the pieces to be presented on Friday are known as “Stars in the making” and “The Celestial Motions.” Both pieces are inspired by astronomy, a particularly popular theme in her work, despite not being a scientist. Her fascination stems from wonder.

Osolin has a philosophical mind. Many of her pieces were born from questions such as, where we fit in the universe?î Her passion for stars and space possibly originates from watching Carl Sagan’s “The Cosmos,” joked Osolin.

But if she is a philosopher, she’s an artist first.

“It’s something I have to do,”î she said.

Not everyone can be an artist, believes Osolin. To her, being an artist means you interpret the world differently and express that through your work.

Osolin hopes people will come see her work for themselves and draw their own conclusions from each piece.

The opening for the show will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday, July 7 at the Guild. The show runs through Aug. 1.

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