Art Folio: Digital Meets "Old World"

At first glance, Kathy Wolfe’s body of work looks like a series of oil paintings. Larger than life burnished pears, fish, flowers and bowling pins appear as if they were skillfully brushed onto wooden canvases.

When the Avondale Estates resident reveals her work begins with a photograph taken with a digital camera, it’s hard to believe. From a picture of a single object, the finished piece takes on the look of a  time-worn “old master’s” painting.

To transform the pixels into looking like textured, antique oil paintings she uses a gelatin transfer technique. The process begins with printing a photo on clear film and then drying it for several days until the ink is hardened.

Next, she mixes gelatin, water and marbling powder, and heats up and then cools down the mixture to a specific temperature and pours it onto a block of wood. The film is then carefully rolled onto the surface, transferring the image into the gelatin. During the drying process, cracks and textures form, making each, a one of a kind.

“I love the unpredictability of this technique. Every piece is an original,"  said Wolfe.

To find out more about Wolfe’s work visit www.kathywolfe.com.

Art Snap Shots

Picture Decatur. If you have an image of the city of Decatur you would like to see mailed across the country and around the world, the Decatur Post Card Project is for you. Submissions from all ages in a variety of media are welcome preferably from current or past residents. A jury will select several pieces for 6x4 post cards that will be stamp ready by May 2011. Instructions for artwork submission can be found at www.decaturartsalliance.org. Submissions are due by March 31.

Art Exhibit. , 415 Church Street, Decatur. New works by painters  Shannon Goines, Vickie Martin and Kathy Meliopoulos.  

An Ideal Husband. Academy Theatre, 119 Center St., March 24 to 27. The comic show presented by Academy Theatre and The Lyceum Project tells of Lord Goring’s attempts to rescue M.P. Robert Chiltern from compounding a mistake in his past by making another one due to the influence of a strange woman. Tickets are $15. 

40th Annual Writers’ Festival. 141 E. College Ave., Decatur.  March 31 to April 1. Featured writers are Danzy Senna, bestselling author of  "Caucasia," and "Symptomatic," Jennifer Nettles, singer-songwriter of the duo Sugarland and poet Adra Collins author of, "It is Daylight." Tickets for Jennifer Nettles appearance are free and available to the public. 

Meet the Artist. , 112 E. Ponce de Leon Ave., Decatur, March 12. Spend an evening with artist Kristofer Neely whose Guardians, or angels painted on wood strips, have become symbols of comfort and hope for many. Guradians have found homes in Church sancuarties, college campuses, homeless shelters, nursing and refuges for people who have been abused or neglected.