Artist Jane Dippold creates landscapes because of the amazing beauty surrounding her; the lovely work of this Coldwater native captures that beauty, and invites viewers to discover the magnificence of familiar sights. Entering the Anna Bier Gallery where Jane’s collages are currently on display, one instantly feels as though you’ve come home, each image a warm reflection of daily life in our rural community. Reveling in the real places that she artistically duplicates with torn paper and paint, she constantly takes photographs which form the basis underlying her artistic interpretations.
A graduate of Miami University with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree, Jane started her career as an artist at Gibson Greeting Cards in Cincinnati. Since then, she has created artwork for over 30 children’s books, children’s magazines, and countless designs for giftware and gift wrap as well as greeting cards. In addition to paper collage, she works in watercolor, acrylic, colored pencil and digital art.
Jane says that barns symbolize home and familiarity, and when they are gone are greatly missed. A variety of striking barns populates the gallery walls, each with its own story to tell. “Still Standing,” a small red barn which the artist says may no longer actually exist, appears to be gripping the ground for dear life, while “The Boss” is a huge structure that dominates the barnyard in which it impressively stands. “Julie’s Favorite Barn” is beloved by Jane’s sister who frequently drives past the endearing building appealingly adorned with an American flag, and has grown quite attached to it.
Not all barns are depicted in familiar shades of bright red; “The Black Barn” is revealed standing stoically behind a row of tall, slim, leafless trees, splashes of color adding a sense of joy to the dramatic picture. A color palette evoking evening is used in “Sinking Sun,” which shows a barn of indeterminate color centrally located underneath an expansive sky at sunset, the darkening light casting shades of blue and magenta across the stalwart buildings as well as the farm fields in the foreground. Fields of color illuminate “Ohio Skies,” as a beautiful sunset hovers over a rural landscape featuring, of course, a fetching barn.
Jane’s collages are formed with paper that she tears, cuts and pastes in layers to create the texture, pattern and graphic elements of the artwork; in addition to hand-painted paper, vintage poetry pages and old sheet music as well as newsprint and other recycled papers are utilized, sometimes adding revealing subtexts to the pieces. Snippets of a poem can be discerned among the leafy fronds surrounding two perky flowers in “Poppies;” the alluring phrase “Only living to be giving Sublime sweetness in a lonely place” encourages the viewer to linger awhile before the seemingly uncomplicated picture.
“Freedom,” featuring an American flag soaring across the canvas, stands out among the landscapes and florals; the inspiring piece which also contains small pieces from sheet music for “The Star Spangled Banner” was created in a presentation for elders in an assisted living facility who were observing the anniversary of 9/11 by dressing in red, white, and blue and watching Jane work. “Freedom” continued to evolve as the artist worked to perfect her concept after leaving the retirement home, and a few strong brushstrokes were added not long before the piece arrived at the Anna Bier Gallery, completing a masterful work that effortlessly evokes patriotic pride in the viewer.
Jane Dippold’s captivating work will be on view March 30 through April 27 at the Anna Bier Gallery, located within Henry St. Clair Memorial Hall in Greenville. The gallery will be open from 6 p.m. till 9 p.m. on March 30 in conjunction with Darke County Center for the Arts’ concert by “The Piano Men,” and prior to DCCA’s Family Theatre presentation “Underneath a Magical Moon” on Sunday, April 7. The art can be viewed every day by appointment; to arrange an appointment or a tour, contact Gallery Director Tamera McNulty at 937-564-5863; all exhibits at the Anna Bier Gallery are free and open to the public.
