Join the Humboldt Arts Council at the Morris Graves Museum of Art for the monthly program, Art Talk Sunday, on November 2nd  at 2:00 p.m. Dona Blakely will discuss the work included in her current exhibition Understories.

“I remember the first time I felt beauty in the tremendous power of Mother Earth.

I was sitting in an alder tree looking out toward the Eel River although I couldn’t see it, there was too much mist and cloud and the wind was fierce.  As I clung to my wind whipped perch all I could see and feel was the squall sweeping upriver off the ocean hitting me square in the face, and at that moment I was held in the breath of her mouth stunned by the beauty and sacred power of the experience.  I was about seven years old then and that moment has been the guiding force through my work as an artist.

The paintings in the exhibition “Understories” depict my vision as stories.  Each story is hidden underneath obvious imagery but when the viewer looks closer hopefully they see a curious twist that compels them to delve deeper and discover the story beneath.   It is my goal as an artist to be a guide to the stories beneath, to the understories.” –Dona Blakely