Color, nature, flowers, and chance all contribute to my stimulus to paint. I love not knowing what will happen when combining different colors and techniques. This is my force to go further. Trying new ways is very important…always experimenting. All these things give me great freedom with my work and forges me onward to discover something new and exciting!
Everyone sees something different in my work. In that way they make the painting theirs. It’s a personal journey for me and you.
– Gerry Sacks
After living in a coastal community on Long Island for 30 years, my husband and I recently relocated to Connecticut. I attended New York University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Art History.
I have always been creative and chose to explore many types of creativity during my life thus far. I love color and texture and desire arranging them in different ways. Different materials speak to me and lure me in for exploration.
Many years ago I was an avid knitter, just knitting by feel, rather than directions. I frequented a shop where the owner tie-dyed all of her yarns, and I was so anxious to get home and start using them. I knitted a line of clothing with removable parts so as to be worn in different ways. I also knitted combining different yarns randomly, similar to painting with the yarns, creating colorful and interesting sweaters.
I then took it a step further and started working on knitting machines, enabling me to create different pieces not possible by hand. One machine had a computer on it, allowing me to knit what I drew and fed into the computer. I created knitted paintings and all sorts of clothing and accessories.
I then moved by the ocean. Being outdoors is very important to me, so I took an interest in gardening. I’d always loved flowers but knew very little about them. After working at several nurseries with talented garden designers, and taking workshops and courses I got the hang of it! I not only became an avid gardener but my creative talent enabled me to learn the design process and after a period of time I developed the confidence to go out on my own. Working outdoors designing gardens was a blissful job.
During this period, I was attracted to Sumi-e painting, or Chinese brush painting. I always loved watercolor and was attracted to the fluidity, simplicity of brushstroke and its discipline and meditative quality. I found some classes and started a new journey, which parlayed into two decades of new artistic exploration for me.
Upon my move to Connecticut I was ready for a change, something that is very important to me. Coming across some videos showcasing acrylic pour painting, I was intrigued and ready to try something new. After studying the technique by watching numerous videos, I bought materials and jumped right in. This technique offers immense freedom and unpredictability, two things I crave. Right now I am working with acrylic pour and loving it. Simultaneously, I’m continuing to explore other abstract techniques also.
Whatever is down the road remains to be seen, but I know it will probably be something new that I’ve never tried before.
Education:
B.A. Art History, NYU, Washington Square College, 1966
Parsons School of Design, NY
SUNY, Purchase, NY
Marymount College, Tarrytown, NY
The Niddy Noddy, Croton, NY
The Art Barge, Amagansett, NY
Arnold Arboretum, Cambridge, MA
Bronx Botanical Gardens, Bronx, NY
Oyster Bay Planting Fields and Arboretum, Oyster Bay, NY
Mills Pond House, St. James, NY
China Institute, New York, NY
Guild Hall, East Hampton, NY
Sung Sook Setton, Stonybrook, NY
Workshop at Huntington Art League, Dix Hills, NY
Awards:
Paul Schwartz for excellence in a juried show for Sumie Society of America 2011
Juried Shows:
West Hartford Art League; juried show 2019
Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club, NYC 2000
Gallery North, Setauket NY for contemporary textiles 1998
Mamaroneck Artists Guild, Mamaroneck, NY 1995
I have shown my work on the east end of Long Island, NYC and Westchester.
Exhibitions:
April 2023 showing at Oliver Wolcott Library, Litchfield, CT –solo show.
March 2022 Minor Memorial Library, Roxbury, CT — solo show
2022 showing at Northern Westchester Hospital… December through May
2021 2 juried shows at Kent Artist Association
2021 solo exhibit at Woodbury Library
2021 solo exhibit at Gunn Memorial Library, Washington, CT
2021 show at Sharon Historical Society
2011 48th Annual Juried Exhibition of East Asian Brush Painting & Calligraphy.
Received the Paul Schwartz Memorial award for excellence.
2010 Fragrance of Ink, Long Island, Art League, Dix Hills, NY
2009 The Catherine Lorillard Wolfe Art Club juried exhibit, National Arts Club, NYC
2008 East Hampton Town Hall, East Hampton, NY
2008 Bayard Fields Cutting Arboretum, Oakdale, NY
2007 2 showings at Crazy Monkey Gallery, Amagansett, NY
2007 Prudential, Amagansett, NY
2006 East Hampton Artist Alliance Members Show
2001-2003 Artists Woods, Amagansett, NY
2001 Bayard Fields Cutting Arboretum, Oakdale, NY
2000 Annual Exhibition of Oriental Brush Painting, Metro NY Chapter
2000 Sumie Society of America, Inc., Steinhardt Conservatory, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY
2000 Sumie Society Long Island Show, Bald Hill Gallery, Farmingdale, LI
1999/2000 East Hampton Artists Alliance, Millennium Gallery, East Hampton, NY
1999 Annual Exhibition of Oriental Brush Painting, Metro NY Chapter, East Hampton Artists Alliance, Millennium Gallery, East Hampton, NY
1999 Annual Exhibition of Oriental Brush Painting, Metro NY Chapter, Sumie Society of America, Inc. Steinhardt Conservatory, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY
1999 Guild Hall Members Show, East Hampton, NY
1999 The Fragrance of Ink, Studio 703, Port Jefferson, NY
1998 The Fragrance of Ink, Studio 703, Port Jefferson, NY
1998 Annual Exhibition of Oriental Brush Painting, Metro NY Chapter, Sumie Society of America, Inc., Steinhardt Conservatory, Brooklyn Botanic Garden, Brooklyn, NY
1995 Juried Show of Contemporary Textiles, Gallery North, Setauket, NY
1992 Main Street Gallery, Sag Harbor, NY
1991 Guild Hall Members Exhibit, East Hampton, NY
1989 Lindstadt’s Living Room Gallery, Cold Springs, NY
1989 Uncommon Threads, Bridgehampton, NY
1988 Mamaroneck Artists Guild Juried Show, Mamaroneck, NY
1986/1985 One of a Kind Gallery, Chappaqua, NY
1985 Sunday in New York, NYC
1985 Holly Dazzle, East Hampton, NY
1985 Of Cabbages and Kings, Mamaroneck, NY