Participant Spotlight: Pleasant Hugh Studio

Pleasant Hugh Studio is Simone Wilson, and who better to tell you about her...than herself!

Artist Statement:
I am a self-taught painter, assemblage sculptor, and gardener; I grew up in Georgia. I have unequivocally and absolutely been a scavenger and collector all of my life. As a child, it was nature’s objects that struck my fancy such as rocks, driftwood, dried up bird’s eggs and seed pods, bits of shell and bone. But, also hoarded away were pieces of colored glass, marbles, keys, and pennies flattened on a railroad track. All of these treasures were brought out often and arranged and rearranged for my own visual pleasure and then put back in their brown paper bags and cigar boxes which were also carefully arranged on a shelf in my parent’s basement. As a young adult my obsessive scavenging included larger “treasures” like broken furniture, old roof tin, architectural pieces, and other found objects.

My three-dimensional works consists of these found objects. Nothing that is potentially useful is left behind. Even recycled bolts, screws, nails, and bailing wire are used in each hand-built piece. I often use an assemblage process which yields figurative and rather anatomic works. Through this process each piece becomes a representation of someone I know, or a caricature of a personality that has struck me in some way.

I am also a painter and often combine my painted works with my sculpture, using the assembled works as a backdrop for the paintings. I take inspiration from the Southern rural landscape, the people and creatures I have known or seen, and childhood memories of growing up in the South. Therefore it seems appropriate to place my paintings amongst the objects and materials that I have salvaged throughout the Southeast, these remnants of the past. In a sense, many of my assemblage works are collaborations between myself and others I never knew but through the creative process I feel a connection to and a deep appreciation for them, their craftsmanship, hard work, and the contributions and sacrifices they made.

When painting, I also often find myself drawn to the domestic animal and vegetable world when choosing my subjects. It’s a complicated world we live in, but when I look into the eyes of one of these canine, bovine, feline, or equine friends I find solace. I also find comfort in digging in the soil, and making plants grow, and tending them. There is simplicity, wisdom, tenderness, and very often humor there that cannot be found anywhere else.

As our ever-changing, fast paced society replaces old with new, I find magic on some level by resurrecting small parts of the past and making them new through artistic expression. I am continually in awe of and inspired by the people in my life and the furry and feathered creatures and the fruits of this good earth. I want the viewer to see and maybe remember something and smile.

“My works and images are simple and true-no dissection necessary. There’s not much dialogue there…………..or maybe there is.”