Page 21 - September 2017

Home is WHere tHe Art is tHe Art of ericA fAreio
throughout human history, artists have been inspired by the grandeur and beauty of the natural environment. For those who live in Northern Arizona, it is hard to get much grander or more beautiful than our own glorious Grand Canyon. The canyon and surround- ing area has been an inspiration for artists near and far, but few have spent more time in, on and exploring the canyon and the Colorado River than artist Erica Fareio.
“Through 20+ years of living and working outdoors in Grand Canyon, I have come to realize that the cycles and patterns of the natural world can serve as a reflection for aspects of our own day-to-day living and relationships. I believe that nature can teach us how to navigate more gracefully through our own seasons and the rapids of human experience. After all, we are nature too!”
This is one of many messages Ms. Fareio wants to convey through her art. When art is able to articulate insight and wisdom, it can be a far more effective tool than words or rhetoric alone. It can open minds and hearts to different perspectives, ideas and emotions and help people to see the way all living things are connected on a very fundamental level. “Also, I am now writing more. I will sometimes write a poem or meditation to go along with the painting to better expand on a concept or idea. I am in the process of transferring my website over to more of a blog style platform where I will include these written themes with each painting. One day soon, there will be enough material to do a book that is geared towards all ages. The overall theme will focus on our inter-connectedness to each other, all living beings, including the planet which provides us life.”
Starting out with something as huge and overwhelming as Grand Canyon for her early paintings is a pretty ambitious feat. Ms. Fareio commented on how it feels to paint other landscapes and locations after focusing on Grand Canyon for so long by saying, “I now feel that there is nothing too big or complex for me to attempt to paint! I love starting a big proj- ect. I love the challenge. Now that I have really developed my own style, it translates over into any subject matter. And, it is not even necessarily my style as much as it is how I have personally come to see the world on deeper levels of understanding and feeling.”
Ms. Fareio first started exploring visual arts when she was quite young. “I used to sit in my room and draw for hours on end, practicing faces and horses. I chose challenging subject matters right out of the gate! My parents also enrolled me in outside-of-school art classes where we started learning techniques, theory and entered juried shows. By the time I got to high school, art was one of my main focuses.”
Many of Ms. Fareio’s images use hard black lines to outline shapes and features in a man- ner reminiscent of stained glass with metal between the different colors of glass. Next to the softly layered translucence of her watercolors, it has a stark outlining effect. This tech- nique lends a feeling of illustration and whimsy to the twisting twirl of clouds, the waves of water in the river’s rapids and even the shapes of rocks and rock facings in the canyon.
“I slowly developed this technique while working on the river. Ink pens and watercolors were easy to travel with and didn’t make a big mess. Over time, the technique became more complex and time consuming. All of my paintings start with rough pencil sketches. Sometimes it takes up to 10 sketches to get the depth and composition just right. When I feel I’ve got it, I will then pencil the composition to the watercolor paper. Next comes the ink lines. Then, I will start with large color washes then add layer upon layer to get detail and the illusion of movement and depth. A painting can take anywhere from 20 hours to over 300 hours, depending on size and detail.
“I will sometimes work from my own photographs for larger more complex paintings or commissions. A lot of times though, I work out of my head and heart. Photographs some- times take away from the essence of place or idea. When I can close my eyes, and visualize a place, the spirit of that place comes through more clearly. I sometimes do work on site, however if I am guiding on a river trip, there is rarely time to paint. I mostly work at home, in my studio, where it is a controlled environment, I can listen to my tunes and I have access to the internet and all my books for reference.”
by jen turrell
Like so many other artists who focus on landscapes and images inspired by the natu- ral environment, Ms. Fareio has felt pulled toward political and social commentary in her work in response to the current highly-charged political climate. She sites local activist art- ist Shonto Begay as both an artistic and political influence. She also admires his ability to show the interconnected nature of landscapes and the people who inhabit them. Ms. Fareio’s recent work titled Wetiko is the cover image for this issue. Ms. Fareio explains that the word Wetiko is derived from the Cree word, wihtikow. The direct translation of the word is: a greedy person, a cannibal, giant man-eating monster.
“In thinking about our society and the underlying cultural sickness, I thought there has to be a word for this. In my research, I came up with Wetiko. Thom Hartman talks about it in the movie, I AM. I reached out to him and he helped to point me to the right place to do further research.
“The word covers quite a concept. Wetiko is a thought form that manifests as greed, ex- cess and selfish consumption. It deludes its host into believing that cannibalizing whatever energy it can lay its hands on — humans, animals, the Earth itself, is a logical and morally upright strategy for a successful life. Wetiko is characterized by a physic starvation that leads to an insatiable hunger. It affects individuals, agencies, governments and institutions. Every time someone is seen justified in the destruction of life for profit, that is Wetiko. Every time a community or individual is impoverished so that others can be rich, that is Wetiko. Every time a privileged person uses another ‘throw away’ toy — that is Wetiko. Wetiko is now a collective disease.
“I wanted to paint a powerful image that reflected this concept without singling out any- one or any party in particular, but yes, obviously singling out the United States. We are blindly devouring ourselves and the planet, with no end in sight except for our own de- struction. None of us are completely innocent of this concept, Wetiko. Dark, yes, hope- fully so. Sometimes the feeling of doom is one of the only things that will motivate people. Beauty can have the same affect, but in times like these, we need more drastic strategies.”
While Ms. Fareio is a regularly featured artist at West of the Moon Gallery in downtown Flagstaff, her next solo show is scheduled for November. The show is titled, “Where Are We Going?” and will be up for the entire month. The theme of the show will explore the state of current affairs, both environmentally and politically. The paintings included in this show are edgier than her previous landscape and nature focused shows, and will hopefully evoke feelings of doubt and concern for the human race and the planet. Some of the paintings will directly reflect how our decisions being made now will affect our future and generations to come.
In October, Ms. Fareio will be participating in an artist’s retreat held at Kane Ranch on the North Rim. She is one of 10 local artists that have been chosen by the Grand Canyon Trust to participate in this special opportunity. The goal is to collectively and individually create a body of work that will directly speak to the community and inspire people to act on the issues that are threatening the Colorado Plateau. The work will be shown in March 2018.
“This is right up my alley and I am very excited about this to say the least! Also, I have been asked by Outside TV to be a featured guest in a series they are doing with the Arizona Board of Tourism to promote Arizona through the eyes of people with unique jobs and who are connected to the land and issues. As an artist and Grand Canyon river guide, I hope I can provide a heart-felt perspective that will once again inspire people to get outdoors and act to help protect our lands and precious resources.”
You can learn more about Ms. Fareio’s work at her new blog focused website reframinglife. com or at her artwork focused website EricaFareio.com.
www.thenoise.us | the NOISE arts & news | SEPTEMBER 2017 • 21