The current exhibition at the gallery at Lakeland Community College in Kirtland, Ohio, titled “from Woman XI,” is a large collection of works by women artists from northeast Ohio and across the country. In past years, this exhibit has been one of the most interesting and provocative shows on view at in the Lakeland Gallery and this year’s show is no exception. Gallery Director, Mary Urbas, always does a masterful job of curating the exhibition and at last year’s show I mentioned to her that she should look at the work of Polly Chandler, of Austin, Texas. Mary followed up on my suggestion and invited Polly to submit four pieces to this year’s show.
I have been an admirer of Polly’s photography for many years. I typically point my students to her website which contains dozens of beautiful images, most of which were photographed on Polaroid Type 55 film, a 4×5 instant sheet film that was a mainstay of professional photographers for decades, but which was discontinued by Polaroid in 2008, shortly before the company went bankrupt. Polly’s work is deeply personal and invites the viewer to explore the inner sanctum of her soul. Viewing her work is always a moving experience.
I had the privilege of printing and framing the images that Polly submitted to from Woman XI. As any artist can tell you, the cost of exhibiting artwork is often prohibitive to an artist who might be trying to survive on meager print sales, a part-time teaching gig and, hopefully, a day-job of some sort. The cost of printing, framing and shipping four large pieces to a show almost 2000 miles from home is a serious impediment to any artist unless there is grant money to support it. In this case, I was able to act as a local source for Polly to have her prints made, framed and delivered to the gallery.
I made the prints on my SC9900 large format printer. I loaned Polly the use of four of my frames for the duration of the show and the gallery will cover the cost of shipping any unsold prints (unframed) back to Polly. This made it possible for Polly to participate in the exhibition and gives the art community of northeast Ohio its first opportunity to see her work as it is truly meant to be seen. It’s a fortunate circumstance where a number of factors came together to create a mutually beneficial opportunity. I’m happy to have played a role.
from Woman XI is in the Lakeland Community College Art Gallery, now through March 30. An artists’ reception will be held on Sunday, March 25 from 3:30—5:00PM which will include the annual Woman of Achievement Award ceremony.
