By Virginia Coleman-Prisco

Georgia O’Keeffe once observed that “I found I could say things with color and shapes that I couldn’t say any other way, things I had no words for.” Two local artists that similarly work from the heart will be exhibiting their work this month at the Norfolk Hub. Stace Dillard and Hilary VanWright’s joint art show runs through March, with the opening reception at the Hub on Sunday, March 3, from 3 to 5 p.m.  

Dillard moved to Norfolk in 2013 with her family and has been friends with VanWright since her arrival seven years ago. Their connection developed through trivia nights at the Norfolk Pub, soccer sideline activities with their children and discussions about music and art. After showing her work for the first time at the Norfolk Artist and Friends group art exhibit last summer, Dillard was inspired to have a more personal show.  She reached out to the Hub and then to VanWright, who Dillard said she wanted to include because “We are both natural [and our] work complements each other.” Says VanWright, “The fact that the Hub exists to host local artists is one of the reasons I love Norfolk. It’s always great to have support in showing your work.”

Dillard’s work mainly focuses on collages that include paper, pen and ink and acrylic paint, but she is also showing watercolor and acrylic paintings. VanWright is exhibiting pieces in her favorite medium, pastels on wood burls. She says she likes repurposing existing material from the earth and the feeling of a soft pastel in her hand.  The artists have both selected refreshing and inspiring works that are intended, they say, to connect with viewers. 

They each have creative processes for this collection that have different starting points. Dillard is inspired by music and prefers to “start with a color theme and layer on top of that using very mindful placement of mixed material. Other times I have images that inspire the work… but throughout the process I never know how it will end, which is exciting for me.” Many of her pieces are named for songs that relate in some way to them. 

VanWright credits her “graphic design work for National Geographic magazine, which has given me so much inspiration through the photographs I work with daily. In October, I directed an issue on space, and the new Webb telescope images were very influential. I’m also wrapping up a feature on octopuses. The photographs are magnificent.”  Throughout the creative process they draw from sources that inspire them to see materials, existing objects and issues in new ways.

Of course, juggling motherhood, full-time jobs and art isn’t easy. Time challenges, heavy workloads and other priorities can be hinderances, they admit, but reflect that spending time creating is just as important to their well-being.   

Dillard believes that, in her collection, “each piece is unique in its own way.” She is including some new pieces, such as “Just Like Heaven” and “Mandinka,” along with older pieces “London Calling” and “No Sleep Til Brooklyn.”  VanWright’s collection includes two new pieces, “Octopus Secrets” and “Nebula,” along with “an oldie but goodie from my first show at the library, ‘Upstream Under the Milky Way.’” Since that show, she says, she has built many more relationships in Norfolk and is excited to share her collection with new friends. 

Anyone whose heart is inspired by the works of Georgia O’Keefe, Vincent van Gogh, Kehinde Wiley and Kurt Schwitters should be sure to stop by the Norfolk Hub in the month of March to check out Dillard and VanWright’s collections.