{"id":89633,"date":"2020-03-31T21:15:54","date_gmt":"2020-04-01T03:15:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/local-artist-draws-from-past-two-decades-of-work\/"},"modified":"2020-03-31T21:15:54","modified_gmt":"2020-04-01T03:15:54","slug":"local-artist-draws-from-past-two-decades-of-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/local-artist-draws-from-past-two-decades-of-work\/","title":{"rendered":"Local artist draws from past two decades of work"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
<\/p>\n
FARMINGTON \u2013 From a distance, the art pieces look like soft scratchings of pencil on paper, short lines filling space, etchings shaping a jawline and filling the soft curve of an eye.<\/p>\n
But as you draw near, the lines reveal themselves as short hairs that weave in and out of the canvas to create the image of woman staring back at you.<\/p>\n
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas, who uses her hair to sew drawings into canvas, has begun experimenting with her gray hair.<\/span>Liz Weber\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas first began experimenting with sewing her hair into her art pieces in 2000. While it started off with an offhanded comment from a friend, she said she was drawn to the idea and challenge of a new art form. Meza-DesPlas, who had never sewn, began experimenting with canvas materials and needles.<\/p>\n
An exhibit at San Juan College showed part of her experimental journey as an artist. The exhibit spanned the past 20 years of her work and included graphite drawings, hand-sewn human hair drawings, mixed media work and a piece Meza-DesPlas drew directly on a wall of the gallery.<\/p>\n
The exhibit \u2013 \u201cMarks, Strokes, and Scribbles: A Survey of Drawings \u2013 ran until March 27 at the San Juan College Fine Arts Gallery.<\/p>\n
Rosemary Meza-DesPlas studies one of her drawings at her exhibit \u201cMarks, Strokes, and Scribbles: A Survey of Drawings\u201d at San Juan College.<\/span>Liz Weber\/Durango Herald<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>
Meza-DesPlas said she has been drawn to the dichotomy associated with hair. In one context, it can be seen as \u201cluxuroius, flowing and beautiful,\u201d but in another it can be seen as repulsive. \u201cIt\u2019s the context that determines people\u2019s reaction to it,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
To collect her medium, she said she uses her fingers to comb through her hair in the morning and at the end of the week sifts through what she has gathered, labels it and stores it. The exhibit at San Juan College showed how her process and use of her hair has evolved and developed in her art.<\/p>\n
Meza-DesPlas also is exploring incorporating her own gray hair in her drawings. The different color has allowed her to explore new materials and canvases to work with. On display at the exhibit was a work in progress featuring her gray hair.<\/p>\n