ARTIST STATEMENT
Despite it being the 21st century, women still struggle against being seen as objects. Our ability to make decisions about our own bodies, double standards, stereotypes, and harmful assumptions still present obstacles for women to fully live in this world.
I create images using watercolor on paper and Aquabord as well as mixed media three dimensional pieces. Watercolor is still often relegated as a media “for hobbyist women” despite it being a challenging medium to master. This gender bias is one of the reasons I choose to use this medium.
Vintage Corningware casserole dishes are my current icon for women’s bodies and domestic expectations that still hang around from the past. This dish is very familiar to me; this “domestic object” is a personal emblem that allows me to create “tiny billboards” that represent observed images, words, and phrases that are used against women or that women can reclaim in power. I hope that these conversations and these issues that I’m presenting will become passe and outdated in the near future. However, I fear that our daughters and granddaughters will have to continue this fight for equality and safety.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Sara Drescher earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of North Texas School of Art and her Master of Fine Arts degree from Texas Tech University. She currently works as a full-time, professional artist in Texas.
In 2021, Drescher had a solo exhibit at the Museum of the Southwest titled, Reclaiming the Casserole. This exhibition was reviewed in Glasstire, Texas Visual Art News and Reviews, August 31, 2021. This was her second solo exhibition at the Museum of the Southwest in Midland, TX, and she has also had a solo exhibition at the CASE Gallery in Ft. Morgan, CO.
Her work has been recognized in juried art shows many times, and she has been the artist in residence at the Museum of the Southwest Children’s Museum, the Midland County Centennial Library, and at Elsewhere Studios in Paonia, CO. She has led popular art workshops for adults and plans to continue teaching and making art after graduation.
© Sara Drescher