|
As a result of her 'Safari' series, National
Geographic featured Gayle in their "National
Geographic On Assignment" as an artist inspired by
the life of Dan Eldon. The film won first place in the New
York Indie Film Festival held in November, 2004 in the category
of "Best Broadcast Documentary".
Gayle has exhibited in the Greeting Gallery,
the American Visions Gallery and the late Art Attack gallery
all located in St. Louis, Missouri and Art Divas Gallery, Two
Graces and the New Grounds Gallery in Taos, New Mexico.
She has sculptural books in the permanent collection at Taproots
School of the Arts in St. Louis. Her artwork is found in collections
across our Nation and in Canada and England.
Her current goals are to continue
the pursuit of life's great “safari” or journey in
her artwork and to share her joy of life through her art.
Gayle resides in Taos, New Mexico with three indoor
cats and many, many outdoor cats.
Gail met Dan Eldon in the autumn of 1998 in Yellow
Springs, Ohio. You may say this is impossible for Dan had long
left behind his earthly journey, but you are wrong!
There are those who live on
and impact lives for years to come. Dan was such a phenomenon.
The truth be told, it was in Yellow Springs that I found "The Journey Is The
Destination: The Journals of Dan Eldon." I began to read
the short introduction and peruse the collages compiled by his
mother, Kathy Eldon. There I found the semblance between Dan and
me … thus, our journey began. His love of mankind and desire
to divine a difference, his miscellaneous roamings and ramblings
which he referred to as 'safari' and the collages were all reminisce
of my years past.
At this point I began to make
noted changes in my life, but it was not until the publication
of "The Art of
Life" did I make Dan's creed my own. I began by making each
visit to shops, to work, or merely wandering throughout my neighborhood
my own personal safari. The result was Dan joining my adventures.
Dan encouraged me to take those goals that I had
set for a 'future' date and make a reality in the here and now.
He so inspired me that I began my first collage in my 'safari series'
as a gift for a friend. Dan told me to not stop there. I put my
house on the market and had a contract on it the very next day.
A month later it sold and I moved to my Shangri-la - Taos, New
Mexico!
With Dan still urging me on, I continued to do collages
relating to my concept of the various journeys or 'safaris' one
takes in life. When I had six or seven completed, I contacted Dan's
mother and she liked them. There were several collages in process
and I finished them, then I wnt one step further. I determined
to do twenty-two collages for each of Dan's years on Mother Earth.
It didn't stop there. I made an appointment with Art
Divas Gallery in Taos to show my 'safeari' portfolio. The
gallery owner liked what she saw and agreed to give me a show.
I told her that I wanted the show to be in July of 2003 because
it marked the tenth year after Dan's death. With a bit of rearranging,
I got the date I wanted and asked Kathy Eldon if she would like
to come. She said 'Yes".
Dan and I will continue to travel together. My goals
after the July show are to get funding for the traveling exhibit
of Dan's work to be shown in Taos and to do a 'collage journaling'
with a local group that caters to youth between the ages of 14
and 25 called ECO.
A percentage of all my sales from the show and my
website will be donated to the Creative Visions Foundation that
helps those youth in our world who aim to make a difference.
Perchance my efforts, too, will make a difference.
Dan is with me every step of the way!
Back
to top |
