Kristi Ponte comes from three generations of professional artists -- working in glass, watercolor, acrylics, metal art, iron forging and floral design -- and she herself has been painting in acrylics for more than 30 years.
The old saying might posit there's nothing new under the sun, but when Ponte wanted to add more dimension to her art, "voila, resin painting with multiple layers was my answer," the Springdale artist says. "After my very first painting, I was mesmerized by the depth I could achieve and was definitely hooked."
FAQ
5x5 Soiree & Auction
When: 5:55 p.m. Oct. 26; works on show now
Where: Arts Center of the Ozarks in Springdale
Cost: $15 admission; 5x5s are sold by silent auction
Information: (479) 751-5441
Bonus: Hors d’oeuvres, gourmet coffee and sweets, and a live jazz band are also part of the soiree ticket.
This year is Ponte's first time showing her work as part of the annual 5x5 Exhibition, Soiree & Auction at the Arts Center of the Ozarks -- an event now in its 17th year -- and "I'm so thrilled to be a part of the Springdale art community and this fundraiser," she says.
"The 5x5 Exhibition and Soiree is a long-standing, annual ACO event that features local professional artists and gives non-professional artists as well the opportunity to share their work," explains ACO spokeswoman Rebecca Estep. "The event brings together artisans and art lovers for a fun evening of entertainment and fundraising. All proceeds help keep ACO's gallery open to the public and to continue showcasing local, regional and even national artists and exhibits."
"My resin paintings are inspired by essences of nature," Ponte explains her work. "The three 5x5 paintings I created are mini versions of my much larger 'Iced' series. Every painting from this series has a geode inspired theme. These three specifically are like little natural treasures. A calming drift of colors in black, white, metallic gold, iridescent champagne and translucent pearl intertwine and flow along all three pieces intersecting with the cantilever of Brazilian crystal points, glass and polished crystal pebble clusters.
"Each cluster contains Brazilian crystals I purchased at one of my favorite places in Colorado, the Broadmoor Seven Falls. There are three coats of resin on each piece containing mica powder pigments, acrylic paint and alcohol ink. Each layer is applied 24 hours apart.
"On the daily, I'm constantly thinking about better designs, impactful and soothing color combinations, unique substrates, display possibilities, art with a purpose and constantly ask myself, 'Why do I do this?'," Ponte says. "Why do I search, collect and buy supplies, prep canvases, drop clothe the floors and tables, wear a respirator, pull on protective gloves, use a heat gun and fire up a blow torch?'
"[It takes] lots of equipment and protection for resin painting. It's a very temperamental, sticky, frustrating, short working time medium -- but quite simply, I just enjoy it! As an artist, there are always trials and errors, especially when using a new medium. Moving forward and pushing on to be better is the goal for me."
Eve Smith, visual arts and program director at ACO, calls the 5x5 Soiree a "tiny but mighty fundraiser."
"It's always an exciting and daunting challenge to create on not only a square, but a 5-by-5 inch square," says Smith. "Although the art pieces are small, they always have a big impact."
With some 300 pieces of art to compete for in silent auction, "I like to remind people that this is a fundraiser," she adds. "So at the end of the night, not only do patrons have their ears filled with great music, bellies filled with food and drink and eyes and hearts filled with great art, [their] purchase furthers the arts ecology in [their] area!"
NAN Our Town on 10/18/2018