Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead Art Show

Siobhan McDonald’s art show at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Marblehead is shaped by her memories. Two large canvases, depicting images of her childhood home distorted by technology, illustrate how much stranger than real life our recollections are.  Visitors are invited to view these oil paintings along with her series of interconnected self-portraits and mandalas at an open house on Sunday, March 5^th in the church’s Stetson Gallery at 28 Mugford St.

“The themes of memory and time come up in my work over and over again,” McDonald says, describing how she drew upon a poorly functioning iPad to fracture the image of the house she grew up in. “When we try to remember, our minds change and shift things and I wanted to capture that.” She uses a mirror to craft her self-portraits. “In capturing surfaces, I try to portray what my mind thinks my face looks like, which may be different from what others see. Each mandala is partnered with one self-portrait to illustrate what is happening inside me.“

McDonald, who also lectures and teaches, reveals that art-making is a form of meditation for her, slowing down the chaotic flow of her thoughts. A graduate of Montserrat College of Art, she was the recipient of a National Endowment for the Humanities Grant, and was named a John James Audubon Scholar in 2011. Her work has appeared at the Porter Mills Studios in Beverly, First Expressions Gallery in Boston as well as at the Marblehead Festival of Arts.