Vanessa Valore

Description	:	Vanessa Valore shall be providing a unique aspect to the upcoming June show. Unlike most art showings, this one will have an interactive aspect - the audience becomes a participant. The name of the event is Sandbox Play. Sandbox Play is a toolbox of self exploration and discovery that provides playful insights into one's character and personality. It consists of a quick interview, in which the participant looks through various objects in a box - animals, plants, figures of many colors, sizes and shapes. The next step is taking the chosen objects and placing them into another box which has only a thin layer of sand - much like a blank canvass. Vanessa Valore records the choices, asks questions about why and how certain objects were chosen and placed, then discusses the results. This interview leads to the creation of custom artwork. The name of these pieces is called Rock Art. Rock Art pieces look like a thin rock surface and contain icons painted from the choices from the Sandbox session. These personality portraits are a new form of portrait painting in that the emphasis is not facial features, but aspects of one's character and personality. Custom commissions are taken on the night of the event, these orders are tailor-created to the individual. There are also completed paintings that will serve as examples, and are accompanied by text explaining the symbology behind each piece. The word Rock Art references our first form of communication as humans - petroglyphs and cave paintings. The modern icons utilized by Vanessa Valore is a pop culture version of this ancient form of communicating. Just think about the desk top of your computer to grasp this meaning....looking at a trash can icon many words come to mind,such as, it deletes information, provides more space, etc.. The sandbox experience and the lasting reminder in the tangible form of rock art will make a lasting impression. When asked what the artwork is all about, V.Valore replies, "IT IS ALL ABOUT YOU." What? Come find out.