Shout-outs from CityBeat & Aeqai

© The Grand Tour: One Small Step (2012)

mixed-media collage: hand-painted fashion plate (Godey's Lady's Book, Dec. 1842); 

antique maps (Guyot's Physical Geography, Scribner's, 1872;
Natural Advanced Geography, American Book Co., 1901);

 vintage illustrations (Whole Earth Catalog back cover, fall 1969; 

Harter's Picture Archive, Dover, 1978); watercolor; ink.
 8" x 11" on archival mat board. Framed. Price: $185. (SOLD)

I've been in Philly for a few days now visiting family and friends - and just found some time to catch up on things, including last week's issue of CityBeat and the March edition of Aeqai. Both include flattering - whew - reviews of Expecting to Fly.

"In Expecting to Fly, on view at 5th Street Gallery downtown, Pearce’s whimsical worlds do not disappoint," writes Alan Pocaro in CityBeat. "The mischievous characters that inhabit her small-scale works are always clever but never cloying. In addition to the many series’ curious juxtapositions and sheer visual delight, Pearce’s labels catalog the intriguing origins of her disparate source materials, a herculean task in its own right.

"A quick first take on Sara Pearce’s Expecting to Fly at 5^th Street Gallery downtown shows her a words person as well as a visual artist," says Jane Durrell in Aeqai. "And no wonder; words were her trade during her Cincinnati Enquirer years, when she reported on restaurants, books, sometimes visual arts, and was a features editor. What collages require, however, is a good eye; Pearce has it. If word play is essential in the way she shapes her work, it should be said that her words are sharp, funny and slyly pointed."

I hope you get a chance to stop by the gallery to see the show, which is on view through Saturday April 7. Oh, by the way I'll be there 2-6 p.m. on Saturday March 31 and would love to tell you more about the work - and the papers used to make it!