Retrospective of Dillon’s work on display at Barnes GalleryDate: 10/20/2021 LEVERETT – Artist Sally Dillon’s work is firmly rooted in the natural world, but with her own colorful interpretation.
“A lot of artists my age do abstracts,” Dillon said. “But I see so much variety in form and color, in nature, that I won’t ever run out of inspiration.”
A retrospective of Dillon’s work, created over a span of almost 60 years, is showing this month at the Barnes Gallery, at the Leverett Center for Craft and Arts. Large painted and dyed silk hangings, fish and birds crafted of felt, metal sculptures, coats and painted wooden cubes showcase the Amherst resident’s fascination with watery habitats and the shellfish, fish and mammals that live in them. Much of her later work, accomplished after she moved back to Massachusetts, features dolphins, whales, mollusks and narwhals.
“Most of the creatures I’ve actually seen, and I’ve also done a lot of drawing at the salmon hatchery in Sunderland,” Dillon said. “One of my pieces hung in the Northampton History Museum. It was part of the Northampton Silk Project, which was about the silk trade. There’s still mulberry trees growing around here.” Mulberries are the food source for the larvae that produce silk.
Dillon, who grew up in Fitchburg, originally enrolled at Mount Holyoke College for chemistry. One class with art teacher Leonard DiLonga, however, was all it took to shift her focus. After stints in New Mexico and Texas, Dillon has been creating art in the Pioneer Valley since 1995.
A centerpiece of the retrospective is a painted hanging with egrets and river denizens surrounding a large dolphin. Dillon described her creative process, using earth tones and subtle shading to create depth and realism in depicting the water creatures, which are dyed in stages, with large masks of plastic and lines of melted wax protecting the finished areas.
“The wax lines have to be solid or the color seeps through,” Dillon explained. “Then I can dye the rest of the fabric.”
About 80 art lovers filled the Barnes Gallery for the opening reception of Dillon’s show on Oct. 10. She was also thrilled to receive fiscal compliments for her work: sales.
“I sold 13 pieces,” Dillon said.
Dillon walked about the gallery recently, and explained that her use of color is part of the reason her work appeals to a broad cross section of people. The colors connect people to nature and prompt them to feel the reverence Dillon feels, and tries to communicate through her works.
“It speaks to other people,” Dillon said. “ I love all the beautiful colors in nature, and if I get that into my art it helps to convey my message of loving nature.”
The Sally Dillon retrospective will be on display at the Barnes Gallery during the month of October. The Leverett Craft and Arts Center is located at 13 Montague Road in Leverett.
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