SOL- Smiling Out Loud. The Art of Listening.

“An immersive experience” is how one friend described my solo exhibition at the Piano Craft Gallery on Tremont St. in Boston, which opened on August 4th and runs thru Aug 13th.

“Snapshot stories” another patron smiled. But it was my sister, who drew my attention to the patterns I paint. She said they’re beautiful repetitions and I should do more of that. I was reminded of my attachment to their use, how patterns are all around us, and if we take time to pause and see them, they make us smile.

Another dear friend shared a more religious perspective, she said “You were just minding your own business painting, and look what happened!” And threw her hands up to gesture at the totality of the exhibit, the quantity and quality of the work.

“SOL- Smiling Out Loud, The Art of Listening” is a collection of fifty paintings by DaNice D Marshall, and curated by Erik Grau, Director of the Piano Craft Gallery. After the installation went up, Erik walked around the open spaced gallery and counted each person that was depicted in DaNice’s art work.

“Three hundred and thirty six!” He announced smiling. And he hadn’t included us, me and my husband, in the final tally. It made me realize, if no one else came to see my work, that technically, I could claim 339 people had been in the gallery with me during my solo exhibition 😉

Someone asked me what does it feel like… having a solo exhibition in Boston. Honestly, I feel outside of myself. As if I’m watching someone else’s life. Even more so, because I was born and grew up in Boston.

And then there’s this simultaneous expansion going on, that is I have two paintings showing at the Krikorian Gallery in Worcester, and next week I’ll have work showing at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, located in Augusta, GA. Next month two paintings will be at a gala in Pennsylvania and later during September I’ve been invited to a three artists exhibition at New Art Corridor in Newton, MA.

To me, life is a learning curve and I’m riding the top of a wave right now. I’m humbled by the number of people who have encouraged me, who have helped me and supported my art. I’m in love with the world right now & this life, which began rather ordinarily, which I now live extraordinarily.

The MFA is my dream goal and my mantra is a line from Robert Frost’s poem, “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening”:

I’ve “…miles to go before I sleep.”

If you get a chance, please stop by a gallery. This one, or a gallery near you. Seeing art in an art gallery is mind expanding. There’s something about being up close and personal that touches the human soul in such a beautiful & profound way. Like a plant needs water, we need art to dream & grow.

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