Sarah Ashe at Edgewater Gallery, Middlebury

With the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina and Tropical Storm Irene, Edgewater Gallery looks at the presence of art representative of the challenges faced by the storm’s victims, and their unwavering strength. August’s Featured Artist of the Month, light sculptor Sarah Ashe, creates a model convoy made of several floats inspired by Mardi Gras parades, and the deep pain experienced by victims, while at the same time showing their intense resilience. A former New Orleans resident herself, Ashe was deeply hurt by the tragedy. After spending a month volunteering to help survivors, she felt inspired to use materials found in the wreckage, pieces of “trash”, to display her reactions and truly bring the disaster to new life.

The convoy is lead by a “Gator” that crawls through the city, consuming roads and leveling houses. As the convoy reaches its end, a chicken lays an egg, as if to symbolize the start of the next steps toward progress and restoration. Each float (there are seven in all) displays a different challenge in, not only the city’s, but the country’s turmoil through the calamity.

Most of Sarah’s work consists of traditional Japanese lamps, themed off of seeds and objects found in nature. The texture of the paper, as well as the light’s unique way of glowing through the material, give her work an ethereal, organic quality. The August show is an interesting new turn for her, and a source of pride for Edgewater Gallery.

Featured Artist of the Month: Sarah Ashe is on view through August 31. For more information call 802.458.0098, email shawna@edgewatergallery-vt.com, or visit www.edgewatergallery-vt.com.