Statement, Bio, Resume
Artist Statement
My art brings big women out of the closet. I draw, paint and sculpt full-figured females as a way of self-healing, rebellion and to make a social statement that all bodies are amazing, beautiful and a miracle. Many of the women in my paintings, drawings and sculptures are doing things that many consider taboo for large women to do. For instance, my women enjoy cooking, eating and being nude and do so without shame. What nerve! My work asks the viewer the radical and rebellious question: why can't a fat woman enjoy being nude at the beach? Size is beside the point. The fact that my women are enjoying themselves and enjoying the viewer looking at them is what makes my work unique. They are large and in charge in a world that thinks small.
Gaston Lechaise’s women inspired me and freed my mind enough to dare to think that big could be beautiful. In learning to draw the human figure, I studied old masters such as de Vinci and Rubens. More contemporary artists like Rico Le Brun and Niki Saint Phalle have also influenced my work. As a teenager growing up in the little town of Cedarville Ohio, I worked with what I could find and supplemented it with Playboy, Esquire, and Marvel comics. The females from the pages of Playboy appeared comfortable in their bodies and with their sexual powers. This attitude intrigued me. There was a raw sensuousness in those women that I internalized while drawing them. It is that rawness and sexuality that gives my work it’s certain ‘funk’ and earthiness. Superwoman, Catwoman, and Wonder woman are reflected in my color choices and imbue my women with a larger than life profile. They are doers, changing and transforming the negative into positive; they are not victims and actively refuse such roles. My female images have large bellies and hips to symbolize the power of creation. Many of these women don’t have facial features. I do that to remind the viewer of symbols and archetypes of strong feminine principles. Drawing females has helped to me heal and understand that mystery that is ‘me.’ Drawing them has helped me discover and own my own femininity and power. This power for years was hidden by the ingrained social message that I was not beautiful because I am large. Today, I believe there are nothing more beautiful than the human body, no matter whether it is female or male; both are amazing and a reflection of the myriad forms that the Cosmic assumes.
I love the action of of drawing large, therefore I like working on large substrates when possible. Years ago I was introduced to using a brush as a drawing tool. Like learning to use charcoal, it was a frustrating experience in the beginning, but, after a time, it became a natural estension of my hand. I use line in my work to unify color and design.
People have asked, why do blue people or use bright color choices for my people. Why not? I have always liked the color blue as in its continuum of color I find daylight and night, both of which a spiritual/comic significance for me. I use primary and secondary color for many of my characters as a way to allude to the rainbow colors of humankind. When I apply the paint sometimes I do so in an impressionistic in short lines, daubs or dots, at other times I apply broad swathes of color using a large brush enjoying the tactile feeling of applying the paint.
At present I am building a body of work using plastic sheets, Mylar and other clear flat surfaces that will accept paint. Using these materials allow me to manipulate them in a number of different ways. I can create a sense of depth that takes the viewer by surprise. I like combining different mediums and materials to create something fresh that holds my interest. I have to enjoy the process of making art to stay with what I am doing at the time, and using this process is stimulating, although at times if can offer to many choices, but it is a nice problem to have.
While living in Yellow Springs Ohio, I took a paper mache’ class from local artist Margaret Petrie. Margaret had discovered using boarders over paste instead of more traditional preparations to adhere paper together. Whenever I take on another medium I always recreate my logo in the medium. With this one I create a dancing suspended figure that a friend named Blue Jubilee. After a while, I created an outfit for her with seed beads.
After moving to Lowell Ma, I started making other dolls and decided to call them Spirit Image Dolls. I also discovered by accident one day how versatile coffee filters could be in sculpting projects. Women who saw these dolls wanted to learn how to make them so I started classes to teach them how to do so. Many of the women expressed by creating their doll it helped them to connect to something spiritual within. When the word got around that I was having these classes a number of teen centers contacted me to teach the class to their pre teen and teenage girls. It was a lot of fun and informative to see these young girls and women create their dolls.
For the last few years I have been creating maquets for larger than life pieces that I will create using this paper Mache technique. I envision them being at least 8 feet tall. Gaston Lechaise’s Standing Woman (1932 and his other female sculptures are a source of inspiration to my work.
Resume
Solo Exhibitions:
Transfigurations: Curvilinear Portraits October 23- 17 November 2007.
119 Gallery, Lowell MA.
Passions II. May 2003. Riverbend Art Center. Dayton, OH
Studies in Passion: Drawings and Paintings by Deborah Dixon. February 2001
Riverbend Art Center.
Selected Exhibitions:
Abstractions II Regional Juiried Exhibition March 29- 4 May 2008. Juried by Christine
McCarthy of the Provincetown Art Association
Get Out of Jail Free. March-June 2008. Visual Aid. Marin Community Foundation,
Novato, CA.
Brush Art Gallery Member's Show 2008 Juried Exhibition. March 9- 5 April 2008. Brush Art Gallery. Lowell, MA. Curators: E. Linda Poras, Michael Lally and James Dyment.
For Real All Member's Show. December 14, 2006 - 14 January 2007.
All Arts Gallery, Lowell, MA.
Get Out of Jail Free March 2007-April 2007. Visual Aid. San Fransico LGBT Center
Gallery.
Lowell Art Association and Arts League of Lowell Collaborative March 22-April
21, 2006. Whistler House Museum of Art. Lowell, MA.
Abstractions I February 4-26th 2006. ALL Arts Gallery. Lowell, MA. Curator: Kathleen Driscoll.
Wright-Dunbar Market Days June 2005. Dayton, OH. Curator: Dwayne Daniels
Developments in Line March 2004 Dayton, OH.
40th Annual Greater Hamilton Art Exhibit March 2004. Fitton Center for the Creative Arts. Hamilton, OH.
Sinclair Student Exhibition 2003 Judge: Dominique Assumer of the Springfield Art Museum. Dayton, OH
Meet the Artists XV 2003 Curator: Anthony Radford. Central Library Indianapolis, IN.
Whitewater Valley Annual Competion 2002. Juror: Julie Stewart Leach. Indiana University East.
Yeck Fellows Award Show 2001 Dayton Art Institute. Dayton, OH
Who Are We/We Are: Indianapolis and Dayton Artists Speak March 2001. Curator: Bing Davis and Julia Moore. Dayton Visual Arts Center. Dayton, OH.
The Female Experience: 1999 UCSB Women's Center. University of Santa Barbara California.
Obsessions II 1998. UCSB Women's Center. University of Santa Barbara California.
Obsession I 1997. UCSB Women's Center. University of Santa Barbara California.
Awards received:
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First Place AbstractionsII 2008. Arts league of Lowell. Jurist: Christine McCarthy of the Provicetown Art Association
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League of Innovation 2004. Dayton Ohio2002 Yeck Fellowship Recipient Dayton Art Institute.
Education: Sinclair Community College, Dayton, OH.
Professional memberships:
Cambridge Art Association. Cambridge MA.
Arts League of Lowell. Lowell, MA.
The Brush Art Gallery. Lowell, MA.
Newburyport Art Association. Newburyport, MA.
Western Avenue Studio Association. Lowell, MA
Collections:
Enterprise Bank, Lowell MA
Sinclair Community College
Dr. Steven M. Horvath. Ph.D. Santa Barbara
Lee Dorthy, Chicago, IL.
Jorgen Hansen, Santa Barbara
Dr. Michael Cox, Ph.D Yellow Springs, OH
Dr. Barbara Fleming. Yellow Springs, OH.
Andrea Day, Brookline, MA.
Pam Wilson and Mary Cutter, Lowell, MA.
Commissions:
St. Michael's Episcopal Church. Santa Barbara, CA 2005
National Women's Music Festival 2004
Public Art
Revolving Museum 2007
WAS Stuios Patio Project 2007
Interviews Lowell Sun Online, host: Bridget Scrimeti. July 2008
It's About the Arts, host Glenn Williams. July 2008
Publications:
VYU Magazine Interview with James Dyment Publication forthcoming later this
summer 2008
Lowell Sun Deborah Dixon's art is full-bodied. May, 6th 2006. By John
Greenwald
Arts and Entertainment. Dayton Daily News. March 14, 2004
Reading In Indianapolis. February 2003
Student Exhibitions at Sinclair. Dayton Daily News. May 18th 2003
Impact Weekly. Yeck Scholarhip programs assist emerging area artists. By Jud Yalkut.
November 7-13 2002 Designer Celebrates Women of all sizes. Dayton Daily News.
By Karen Rase
Women's "Obsessions" Santa Barbara News Press. November 7, 1999. By Mariana Walker
Teaching:
Gear Up College Bound Teens. Revolving Museum, Lowell MA
Drawing Revolving Museum, Lowell MA
Private Drawing lessons 2001 to present.
Lowell High School. Figure drawing and painting 2008
Image Dolls, United Teen Center, Exeter, ME 2007
Image Dolls Workshop, Western Avenue Studios 2007
Western Avenue Studio Summer Art Program 2007, 2006, Painting, Paper Mache
Volunteer Activities
Co-ordinator of Gallery Four at Western Avenue Studios. Lowell MA
Second Shift Studio. Yellow Springs, OH 2001-2004 Figure drawing
Xenia Ohio Senior Center. Xenia, OH 2001, 2002
Yellow Springs Senior Center. Yellow Springs, OH 2002