Slave to Freedom
18 x 24
Oil on canvas with newspaper clippings and photos and cut paper collage
Summer 2007
On loan from the private collection of U.S. Representative Tim Ryan (D-OH).
During my almost seven years living in Pittsburgh, I became friends with an extraordinary man whom I watched become the youngest ever Ohio State Senator and later be elected to the United States Congress. CSPAN is much more exciting when you are watching your friends.
This piece (pictured at the top of my blog) grew out of the deep places of pain while I've watched lives be changed as we have been at war with Afghanistan, Iraq and ourselves. Articles from the Washington Post make up the base of the flag and the words, Slave to Freedom come from a song by my favorite band, Good Brother Earl (Pittsburgh, PA). My first chance encounter with Tim Ryan was leaning against the back wall of the Horseshoe Bar (Warren, OH) listening to the soulful voice of our mutual friend, Jeff Schmutz.
May we never forget.
May we always be a slave to freedom.
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12 x 24 oil on canvas with cut paper collage, pages from the Bible.
24 x 36 oil on canvas with cut paper collage and stamped letters.
Valerie A. Jarrett is an original visual artist exploring the beautiful marriage between life and art. The artist's trademark: brilliantly colored canvas in oil paint with multi media collages of significant quotes, poems, songs and speeches. Original Art Inspired By Words. For Valerie, it is a partnership between Nature's colors and the fireworks that bang around inside her head. Valerie is available for once in a lifetime pieces for the people in your life's journey.
Clean.
12 x 24 oil on canvas with cut paper collage, pages from the Bible.
Blind Men See.
24 x 36 oil on canvas with cut paper collage and stamped letters.
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- Valerie
- State College, Pennsylvania, United States
- Original Art Inspired By Words
Original Art Inspired By Words
Valerie A. Jarrett is an inspired artist exploring the beautiful marriage between life and art. Her early work was in crayon and paper at the kitchen table with her mother and Ed Emberely's book on how to draw animals. Wanting to expand her horizons and mediums, her brother purchased canvas and paints for a birthday. This marked the beginning of what is now the artist's trademark: brilliantly colored canvas in oil with collages of significant quotes, poems, lyrics and speeches on top using cut magazines letters and attaching them with glue. Original Art Inspired By Words. Sparked first by the lyrics of the band, Good Brother Earl (Pittsburgh, PA) whom she was following at the time, Valerie sought to combine Nature's colors and the fireworks that band around inside her head.
Paul Duffy once wrote, "A truly great person is the one who gives you a chance." When Valerie was in twelfth grade, her art teacher, James Ritchey (State College Area, State College, PA) encouraged her to trust her eye and pursue her art. Much (much!) later, while working in Pittsburgh, she was honored to study under portrait artist Martha Chaney Ball. Valerie has wandered the world and her art follows (leads?) on all her journeys. From the green escarpments of Ethiopia to the political arena (circus?) of Washington, DC to the steel "town" of Pittsburgh to the pristine mountaintops of Telluride, Colorado, Valerie seeks to collect people into her life and to be acutely aware of her surroundings then allow that precious mixture to come alive through her art.
The middle child of a Penn State professor and amazing Meals on Wheels volunteer coordinator, Valerie currently resides in her hometown of State College, PA. When she is not painting or cutting or gluing, she pretends to work at The Allen Street Grill (starving artist?) and recently for the State College Spikes (single A short season team of the Pittsburgh Pirates).
Valerie is available for commissionable works and once in a lifetime pieces for the people in your life's journey.
In November 2006, Valerie had her first solo show in the DuPont Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC. Since then her work exhibited in a varied of group and solo shows as well as national juried shows. Most recently, Blind Men See debuted at "Opposites Attract" National Juried Show at The Art Alliance Center in Clear Lake, Houston, Texas (February 2008) and Slave to Freedom at "Freedom" National Juried Show at Altered Esthetics in Minneapolis, Minnesota (July 2008). Valerie's work is in private collections all over the country.
Thanks to my brother, Adam who is the biggest champion of my work. Thank you to my parents who no matter what, there was always a thick safety net under this trapeze. Thank you to Terra for driving me around and making life count. For people like you who read artist's bios this far down. Thank you to Andrea and Kristin. Thanks to the staff of The Allen Street Grill for letting me come to work. Thanks to Kevin, Tim, Roxie and Tucker, Beth and Karen (for having me as your first artist-in-residence), the boys from Church, Brent, John P., the Balliet Family, other ibfs and non boyfriends to be named later and all the people who believed in me when it really didn't make any sense.
Paul Duffy once wrote, "A truly great person is the one who gives you a chance." When Valerie was in twelfth grade, her art teacher, James Ritchey (State College Area, State College, PA) encouraged her to trust her eye and pursue her art. Much (much!) later, while working in Pittsburgh, she was honored to study under portrait artist Martha Chaney Ball. Valerie has wandered the world and her art follows (leads?) on all her journeys. From the green escarpments of Ethiopia to the political arena (circus?) of Washington, DC to the steel "town" of Pittsburgh to the pristine mountaintops of Telluride, Colorado, Valerie seeks to collect people into her life and to be acutely aware of her surroundings then allow that precious mixture to come alive through her art.
The middle child of a Penn State professor and amazing Meals on Wheels volunteer coordinator, Valerie currently resides in her hometown of State College, PA. When she is not painting or cutting or gluing, she pretends to work at The Allen Street Grill (starving artist?) and recently for the State College Spikes (single A short season team of the Pittsburgh Pirates).
Valerie is available for commissionable works and once in a lifetime pieces for the people in your life's journey.
In November 2006, Valerie had her first solo show in the DuPont Circle neighborhood of Washington, DC. Since then her work exhibited in a varied of group and solo shows as well as national juried shows. Most recently, Blind Men See debuted at "Opposites Attract" National Juried Show at The Art Alliance Center in Clear Lake, Houston, Texas (February 2008) and Slave to Freedom at "Freedom" National Juried Show at Altered Esthetics in Minneapolis, Minnesota (July 2008). Valerie's work is in private collections all over the country.
Thanks to my brother, Adam who is the biggest champion of my work. Thank you to my parents who no matter what, there was always a thick safety net under this trapeze. Thank you to Terra for driving me around and making life count. For people like you who read artist's bios this far down. Thank you to Andrea and Kristin. Thanks to the staff of The Allen Street Grill for letting me come to work. Thanks to Kevin, Tim, Roxie and Tucker, Beth and Karen (for having me as your first artist-in-residence), the boys from Church, Brent, John P., the Balliet Family, other ibfs and non boyfriends to be named later and all the people who believed in me when it really didn't make any sense.
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