Opening Reception: Rebecca Ross

Berks County artist Rebecca Ross is having a solo exhibition at Clay on Main in Oley, PA from January 12 through February 16, 2020, with an opening reception on January 12th from 4-6pm. The show focuses on a group of figurative, religious oil pastels created over the past thirty years. Forty-one works will be featured in the show. Other series included in the show are based on yantras, Pennsylvania-German hex symbols and crop circle geometry.

Much of Rebecca’s work is made in an oil pastel, scratch board technique. Rebecca says, “ My artworks are made with both oil pastel and wax crayon. I create my own scratch board by blocking out large areas of the page with neon and glitter crayon. Location and size of the blocks of color are chosen based on anticipated placement of figures and symbols in the final work. After completing the base coat, I cover it with a mix of oil pastels. Different colors are put in different areas of the page. I favor darker colors for the outer layer. I draw with pen nibs for scratch board, combs, razor blades and map making tools. The work is both additive and subtractive, like oil painting. Part of the work is made by using oil pastels to draw over scratched areas.”

Rebecca has lived in Berks County for over twenty-six years. In the 1980s she received a B.F.A. in art from the University of Nebraska and an M.F.A. in painting and drawing from James Madison University in Virginia. Rebecca has an art studio in Goggleworks Center for the Arts in Reading. Six of her most recent works are also featured in the show. They are colored pencil drawings and acrylic paintings based on live musical performances.