Artist’s Statement of Nancy Powhida

My art comes from life, from the repository of human action, and from interaction. I make freeze framed dramatic tableaux. Figurative narrative is my game. I like to work in series that converse with history and art. Currently sculpture is my primary medium.

In this exhibit carved, pink, foamboard sculptures portray local dramatic moments during our French and Indian and Revolutionary wartime (1750s -1780’s). In each work three to five, interactive figures roughly 10”x 7”x 6”, inhabit a flat 15”x15” space. Each piece revolves around a renown hero or heroine such as Jane McCrae and it depicts an historical event. (Jane was celebrated in song and verse throughout the 19th century as a martyr to the patriotic cause.) I was delighted to find at the Chapman Museum the colonial period paintings of F. C. Yohn; they became the springboard for this exhibit.

I work primarily in nontraditional materials such as insulation board, Great Stuff foam and resins. I use a subtractive and additive carving, cutting process. I use clear, quick drying, paperglue and insulation foam. I use acrylic varnish to toughen and protect each work. I make small and life size sculptures I am a trained painter, printmaker and sculptor.