About The Artist
Photo by Nancy J. Spiegel Rosman
About
Virginia A. Spiegel’s artwork is exhibited and held in private and permanent collections in the U.S. and internationally. She also serves as a curator/juror for mixed-media and fiber exhibitions. Her artwork and writing about art, creativity, and her adventures in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness are featured in books and magazines. Her new book is Wild at the Edges: Inspiration from a Creative Life. Her resume is here.
Artist Statement
I have circled around the Midwest (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa, Nebraska, and Illinois) for most of my life. I appreciate the distinctive landscape of the Midwest and am frequently drawn to creating long, horizontal pieces emulating the Midwest horizon line.
The fourteen trips I have taken with my sister in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness have greatly influenced the direction of my artwork in recent years. The Boundary Waters are a million acres of lakes and forests along the Minnesota/Canadian border with no permanent human inhabitants. My sister and I cherish not only the solitude and silence of the Boundary Waters, but also the wild moments that dance on the edge of danger.
The Boundary Waters series is grounded in specific locations in the wilderness, abstracted and flavored with the emotional content of our journeys. I am inspired not just by the “physical-ness” of the Boundary Waters landscape (water, rock, tree, sky), but even more what these things evoke for me: peace, freedom, an respect for Nature in all its power, a recognition of my own fleeting time on Earth.
