Grayslake artist's wintry painting inspires local poet
An oil-and-cold wax painting titled "Endless Winter" created by Grayslake artist Rebecca Stahr has recently become the source of inspiration for a local writer-poet.
Stahr is a full-time artist and has work displayed in private collections and public gallery spaces in the greater Chicago and Milwaukee areas. As an artist, she is inspired by being able to find beauty and value in the broken, as well as in impermanence and the cycles of life and nature.
J.A. Calvillo had seen Stahr's featured artist exhibition "Transformations: Conversations with the Soul in a Time of Solitude," showcasing 21 new works of oil and cold wax paintings at the Blue Moon Gallery in Grayslake in October, 2020.
There, he met the artist, they connected, and Calvillo became wholly enchanted not only with the overall presentation of the artworks, but specifically with the ethereal serenity and emotional presence of "Endless Winter." In fact, he admired it so much so that his wife surprised him with the painting as a birthday gift later that month.
According to Calvillo, his writing explores "finding the dark between the light; understanding negative space; and hearing the silence in the music," citing that "these each are poetry's voice for all those who are muted."
It was from this vein that the painting's presentation of wintry colors and stark textures prompted Calvillo's poem. When coupled with the visual expression of Stahr's work, the two form an elegant and gracious honoring of this sometimes most trying and weary of all seasons.
"As winter fully made its appearance this week, and as the pandemic rages on, it's so important for people to have beauty and meaning in their lives. Art and creative expression can fill this essential need," said Kendra Kett, director/owner of the Blue Moon Gallery.
"We love it when patrons at the gallery connect with our artists and deeply resonate with their visual expression. We love it even more when a collaboration like this brings added beauty, respite, and grace to our community."
To see more works by Rebecca Stahr, visit www.thebluemoongallery.com/featured-artists/rebecca-stahr or stop by Seymour Street Studios, 31 S. Seymour Ave., in Grayslake.
To experience more of J.A. Calvillo's poetry, visit jac-jacasa.blogspot.com.
The Blue Moon Gallery is at 18620 Belvidere Road, Grayslake. Feb. 13-14 is the last weekend for its current exhibition, "We Make Life Beautiful," which features a new encaustic painting by Rebecca Stahr titled "Cosmogony." Gallery hours are 1-4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Inquiries may be directed to Kendra Kett at (224) 388-7948. Visit www.thebluemoongallery.com.
Endless Winterby J.A. Calvillo
The narrowing days consume the aperture's light
As winter's hands dress the warm soil in blankets of white
And too, summer's passions flicker away into the last embers
Before a frigid grasp claims foolish lovers; lost and not at home
Safe, in golden slumber; awaiting the sweet songs of spring's rite
That gainsay a death's epilogue and ease the peril one remembers:
How the isolation and regeneration grasses of brome
Swayed and soothed away an endless winter's night.