ELIZABETH DARROW AT THE TANYARD PARISH February 11th-28th, 10am-3pm Opening on February 11th, 5-8pm 212 South Front Street (910) 228-9222 W hile a plan

is in progress, it may be awhile before it begins to take shape. Whether it has a slow start or requires a few steps back, a project of any kind must have patience, diligence and most of all creativity. When it comes to art, local collage master Elizabeth Darrow makes the most progress when she works without a plan at all. Darrow explains: “I have a process, but I don’t have a view or a vision.” Darrow, a Connecticut native living in Wilmington since 1977, is known for her pieced-together paintings filled with playful yet powerful images. The artist admits that each piece is a work-in-progress until she signs her name to the canvas. “It’s exploratory,” she says, examining her piece entitled “Ceremonial.” “That [painting] was so many different things before it was this. That’s what makes what I do so exciting. I don’t know where I’m going until I’m there.” Having graduated from Oberlin College in 1967, Darrow has since developed a unique creative style that mixes sophisticated oil painting with elementary cut-and-paste technique. “I’ve been doing collage since the 1980s,” she says. “As of now I make color copies of my collages and they become the new scraps. My studio is just filled with scraps of paper. I can barely work in there.” Copying hasn’t always been available, however. Magazine and newspaper clippings once adorned the paintings in Darrow’s studio, but the glossy pictures quickly revealed a flaw. “Magazine scraps fade over time,” she says. “What I found out was color copies last longer.” She also discovered another benefit to the copy shop: replicas. “I can also make many copies of one image and re-use it over and over. I can do repetition.” Repeating an image is now a signature for Darrow’s pieces, which have been displayed at numerous museums around the country, including Cameron Art Museum. Works such as “Fire Sign” and “Celebration” create patterns with duplicated pictures that not only please the eye, but punctuate the message. “In ‘Fire Sign,’ the little green birds are used a lot,” she says, referencing a mostly red-and-orange painting that features burning flames. “I love finding a shape that works because then I can create a rhythm. They give the canvas continuity.” Darrow’s latest collection of story-telling masterpieces has coincidentally finished construction at the same time as a new downtown project. The Tanyard Parish, recently erected at 212 South Front Street, was built to resemble an old-fashioned brownstone and contains a handful of private residences within its elegant walls. “They overlook Chandler’s Wharf and they’re just beautiful,” Darrow says. “Deborah Butler, with Port City Properties, wanted to have an event at the vacant brownstone and asked if I would mind showing my paintings.” The event is aiming to raise money for Hospitality House, the residence across the street from the New Hanover Regional Medical Center where relatives of patients can stay for extended visits. “Debra stayed there when her mother was ill,” Darrow says. “So they are her pet charity.” Those organizing the event think it will be a big attraction for local art lovers and philanthropists alike. “Even people who are just dying to get a look inside these places can have the opportunity to walk around now,” Darrow says. “I’ll have about 50 pieces on the walls, so it will be a chance for local people to walk around and see everything: my art, the townhouse, and hopefully, their friends.”
“Elizabeth Darrow at the Tanyard Parish” will open on Wednesday, February 11th, 5-8pm, 212 South Front Street. Wine and appetizers will be served. A portion of the art sales will go toward the Hospitality House of the New Hanover Regional Medical Center. Ms. Darrow’s paintings will stay on display at the Tanyard Parish until February 28th everyday from 10am-3pm. Call Deborah Butler at 910-228-9222 for more information.