Darcy Berg & Bill Ellison

This month the Woodridge Library Gallery features art quilts from Darcy Berg, and a celebratory exhibit of her Uncle Bill Ellison’s acrylic paintings. Together their works make a striking display of bold black and white portraits and endearing colorful scenes from nature and life. Uncle Bill and Me, or A Relative Collaboration will be on display throughout December, with a public reception held in the lobby from 2 to 4 p.m. on Sunday, December 15.

Artist’s Statement:
The Wisconsin River and its abundance of wildlife was Darcy’s backyard during her childhood. It was only natural for her to fall in love with nature. When she was seven years old, she began sewing; when she was ten years old, she picked up her first camera. After learning the basics of her craft, she began to apply the “what if” theory. Having been granted a seemingly unlimited imagination, she began to embellish the typical to create the inspirational. 

For years her focus was on producing garments. Desiring a more creative outlet, she turned her attention to the process of creating art dolls and art quilts. Today, her quilts, dolls, garments and photography do not simply exhibit the uncompromising hand of a qualified technician, or the careful application of color theory; they are a story that intrigues the viewer and makes them want to know more. 

Darcy’s work is done in a medium of fabric manipulated by her through a series of painting and dyeing processes. She finds this analogous to painters mixing their own colors. Her hand dyed and painted fabrics inspire her as projects begin to develop. Images taken with her camera are also a source of inspiration that are directly applied to her fabrics.

Throughout her life, she has continued to use the needle and the eye of the camera to fulfill her passion to create and embellish images.