Light and Layers: Susan Wahlrab's 'Garden in the Forest' offers respite (Artscope Magazine, Jan/Feb 2022)

Mark and Angie Setevdemio, founders of Creative Connections Gift Shop & Gallery in Ashburnham, Massachusetts, have known Vermont artist Susan Wahlrab since she was their art professor at Framingham State College 30 years ago. Fast forward, and they are now hosting her exhibition, “Garden in the Forest,” in their second-floor gallery space.
“We’ve been admirers of Susan’s work since we were in college,” Mark said. “We were taken with her printmaking at the time, and later her dramatic use of light and overlapping swirls of color in layered concentric circles that use an unusual visual technique of varnished watercolor on archival clay board.”
It’s a labor-intensive method that Wahlrab developed over time, requiring a good deal of patience, as layer upon layer dries before each subsequent layer is added. The result is engaging color and form on works that range in size and tone, from soft to vibrant, changing as the finished work is viewed from varying visual distances. Each work offers both a soothing yet stunning experience.
Wahlrab, who earned a MFA in printmaking from the Rhode Island School of Design, later built her reputation creating layered intaglios and monoprints that were shown in a variety of venues internationally. Always fascinated by light and color, she gradually changed mediums from printmaking to layered watercolor.
“Life often happens in a spiral rather than a straight line,” Wahlrab said. “That was especially true when it comes to my artmaking process. Experimenting and exploring the limits of watercolor led me to a new technique informed by my 35 years of experience, moving from paper to an archival clay surface mounted on hare board. I build a complex surface with layers of color, then varnish the surface so that it is stable without using glass.”
Wahlrab has always been fascinated by nature, especially as it connects with light. She strives for her work to capture the complementary energy of both light and nature, especially in various landscapes. Moving beyond large landscape pieces she often focuses now on individual flowers as representative of landscape in a meditative and metaphorical way, linking their beauty so that viewers can reflect on their own inner light.
Wahlrab’s “Garden in the Forest” exhibition derives from her artistic interest in flowers, adding to her desire to build a   garden of images that can inspire hope and provide respite in a time of pandemic. She often quotes Einstein to explain: “Look into Nature and you will understand everything.”
She said Mark and Angie’s gallery provided the exact kind of space she sought to convey a sense of warmth, space and comfort. It obviously works. A frequent patron, retired from the military with PTSD, often goes to sit quietly with Wahlrab’s work for long stretches of healing. “It’s a peaceful place,” Mark said. “People are stunned by the sheer beauty of it. It’s like spending time in another world.”
Creative Connections Gift Shop and Gallery, founded in 2016 to bring together community members and artists, has become a noted destination in the Monadnock Region of North Central Massachusetts. Located just over a 10-minute drive from Route 2, the gift shop features artisan pottery, blown glass, handmade jewelry, wearable art and more. The Setevdemios represent an eclectic mix of emerging and mid-career contemporary artists working in a wide range of styles and mediums. For more information about Creative Connections and its artists and products, visit ccgiftgallery.com. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m.