From the Mountains to the Sea

Image Credit: Linda Elksnin. Basket Weaver & Biblical Quilt. Mixed media on archival paper. Courtesy the artist.

June 27 - July 23, 2017

“From the Mountains to the Sea,” an exhibit featuring the cut paper collages and paper cut works of Lillian Trettin of Jonas Ridge and the mixed-media paintings of Linda Elksnin of Vilas. The artists divide their time between the High Country and the Low Country of South Carolina and works in the exhibition reflect both environments.

Lillian Trettin’s work reflects her experiences living in the Carolinas and East Tennessee, where she grew up. She creates figurative collages by piecing cut-paper shapes together like a jigsaw puzzle. She begins by drawing caricatures and sometimes writing stories about them as an aid to developing more complicated works. Characterized by dark humor in bright colors, the collages and cut-paper works are inspired by folklore of Appalachia and the Low Country of South Carolina, Southern literature, the art of Romare Bearden, and family history.

In 2011, Trettin returned to making art full time following a career in higher education as a teacher, researcher, and consultant and after raising two sons. She remains convinced the delay enriched rather than impeded her growth as an artist. Trettin has exhibited in museums, collages, libraries, and public galleries throughout the southeast.

Linda Elksnin creates mixed-media paintings by layering watercolor and gouache on a painted background, then building up color and texture with colored pencils or pastels. Her inspiration comes from textiles, folk artists, and mainstream artists such as Mark Rothko, Romare Bearden, and Marc Chagall. Works from her Mola, Moon People, and Eco series will be featured in this exhibition.

Shortly after earning a BFA from Syracuse University, Elksnin’s career path took a different turn when she taught art to children with disabilities. After earning master’s and doctoral degrees in special education from the University of Virginia, Elksnin moved to Charleston to coordinate the Graduate Special Education Program at The Citadel. She retired as Professor Emerita in 2007 and returned to painting full time. Her work has been shown throughout the southeast in public and private galleries, museums, and at juried art shows.