By Marilyn Liden Bode
When — not “if” but “when” — you walk into the Kingston Art Gallery the colors will assail you. There is something very unique about the intensity that comes from the brushes of Joanne Schoener Scott, Bainbridge painter. She attributes it to where she is from. The monthly Second Saturday Gallery Night from 5-8 p.m. Aug. 8 features Scott, her work, refreshments and music. Her brilliant show, “Where I’m From” provides the perfect setting for the Silent Slug Auction and all the SLUG inFESTation activities. (See the “Slug Bait” article for the slug fest day’s activities.)
“Where are you from?” That question invariably is asked of Scott soon after she starts speaking to someone for the first time. She said, “My accent is somewhat hard to identify. I was born in Venezuela and lived in South America mostly as a child. My teenage years were spent in Europe, mainly in Scotland where I began to study fine art. Immigrating to the United States in 1980, I got my degree and settled in Texas with my family. My Venezuelan mother’s roots are Spanish so I am bilingual. My father’s family traveled from England in the 1700s to settle in Barbados, one of the British Caribbean colonies, giving me strong English roots too.
“The influence of this mixed cultural background is integral to my art. This handful of new paintings represents the places I have called home, including the beautiful Pacific Northwest.”
Scott’s work will hang in the gallery from Aug. 5 through Sept. 6. Seeing her work encourages us to contemplate our roots and appreciate the impact our roots have on who we are and what we bring to our community.