Natural Energy: Clay, Wood, and Color

Opening Reception

Date and Time: September 5, 2024 @ 6:30 pm
Location: Mary Anderson Gallery at Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality

Join us for the opening reception of “Natural Energy: Clay, Wood, and Color,” an art exhibition that invites you to explore the sustainable harnessing of natural resources through the captivating works of Dru Pilmer and Kevin Darst. The evening will feature an opportunity to meet the artists, enjoy refreshments, and immerse yourself in a unique blend of art and environmental consciousness.

Exhibition Details

When: September 5, 2024 – October 10, 2024
Exhibit Hours: Sun 11-2, Mon 11-2, Wed 11-2, Thursday 4-7
Where: Mary Anderson Gallery at Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality

Opening Reception
Date and Time: September 5, 2024 @ 6:30 pm
Location: Mary Anderson Gallery at Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality

Artist Talk
Date and Time: September 12, 2024 @ 6:30 pm
Location: Mary Anderson Gallery at Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality

Exhibition Overview

“Natural Energy: Clay, Wood, and Color” is not only an art exhibition but also a platform for engaging the public in a dialogue about the sustainable harnessing of natural resources. Featuring the works of Dru Pilmer and Kevin Darst, this show delves into how the energy of the natural world can be transformed into art and how these practices can enlighten our interactions with the environment. Through their visual art and artist talk, the exhibition aims to foster a deeper appreciation for natural energies and inspire actions that contribute to environmental sustainability.

About the Artists and Their Work

Dru captures the essence of sun, water, wind, and earth in her vibrant paintings that explore natural energy in color, emotion, and movement. With a couple of her paintings, she suggests natural sources of energy that, as yet, are being scientifically explored but have remained untapped. In this way, she uses art to help her viewers consider the future of sustainable energy. Each piece not only reflects the beauty and power of these elements but, as art critic Kevin Nance noted, Dru’s paintings fairly bulge “…with ideas and emanates feeling with an almost operatic intensity.”
Kevin’s work with wood and clay celebrates the intrinsic beauty and utility of natural materials. His sculptures and ceramics highlight the possibilities of using earth-sourced materials in ways that minimize environmental impact. Kevin’s practices emphasize conservation and the thoughtful use of resources, reflecting his commitment to environmental ethics.

The exhibition features sections dedicated to different natural elements and their corresponding energies. Dru and Kevin’s art allows visitors to see how natural materials can be utilized sustainably in both art and everyday objects. For example, solar panels powering part of the gallery might accompany a series of Dru’s sun-energy-inspired paintings, or a water recycling system could be demonstrated alongside Kevin’s water-themed sculpture.

“Natural Energy: Clay, Wood, and Color” extends an invitation to explore the convergence of art and environmental consciousness. By highlighting how Dru and Kevin harness natural energies in their art, the exhibition encourages visitors to consider how they, too, can contribute to environmental sustainability. This show promises not only a feast for the eyes but also food for thought, inspiring greater awareness and action towards harnessing natural energy in harmony with our planet.

Thursday, September 5, Opening Reception 6:30-8pm
Sunday, September 8, 11am – 2 pm
Monday, September 9, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, September 11, 11am-2pm
Thursday, September 12, 6:30 pm Artist Talk featuring Dru Pilmer and Kevin Darst
Sunday, September 15, 11am-2pm
Monday, September 16, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, September 18, 11am-2pm
Thursday, September 19, 4pm-7pm
Sunday, September 22, 11am – 2pm
Monday, September 23, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, September 25, 11am-2pm
Thursday, September 26, 4pm-7pm
Sunday, September 29, 11am-2pm
Monday, September 30, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, October 2, 11am-2pm
Thursday, October 3, 4pm-7pm
Sunday, October 6, 11am-2pm

Place: Mary Anderson Gallery
Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality
101 St. Anthony Dr.
Mount Saint Francis, IN 47146

Kevin Darst

Kevin, a native of Louisville, moved to Southern Indiana in 1995. He began his study of Ceramics in the late seventies at Western Kentucky University and later at University of Louisville under Tom Marsh. He had a fulfilling career in Graphic Design for the next 30 years and taught clay sculpture and woodcarving at the Waldorf School. Upon semi-retirement Kevin rebuilt his kiln, and began creating clay forms , wood sculptures and tables. Creative Energy is spent at a cabin in his woods and a studio at Mount Saint Francis.

Meet The Artist

Dru Pilmer

Dru Pilmer has always been an artist, at an early age drawing highly imaginative charming scenes of dinosaurs playing with people. She  grew up in Mississippi, but was born in Rhode Island, the introverted youngest of five kids, daughter of a Naval Fighter Pilot and a former UofCA Berkeley fashion design student. Both her parents were also artists, poets, singers, and supporters of the Arts and Civil Rights. Artists and crafters pepper her ancestry, as well as Colonial New England immigrants, a frontier doctor, and Scottish Iowa farmers. She credits all these influences for her artistic inclinations, a deep love for science, nature and the Earth, social justice, and challenging herself.  

Pilmer’s artistic growth grew as she took an unexpected second parallel path less traveled by—one into a professional acting career which included a Masters degree, singing, dancing, an intense post graduate study and performance of Shakespearean plays.  

A similar combination of factors generated Dru’s deep interest in natural energy, resulting in the sgrafitto markings in her paintings:  her study sound waves for her Linklater Voice teacher training; her struggles to heal from profound energy loss during her lengthy bout of Lymes’ and autoimmune diseases; and an avid scientific interest in particle physics. 

As her scientific and experiential energy knowledge grew, she continued to work as a fine artist, garnering portrait and figure painting commissions during her theatre studies and acting career travels, that took her to almost every state in the U.S. By the time she was chosen (designated) to complete intense training with voice master Kristin Linklater and world-renowned Shakespeare & Company in Massachusetts, Dru was “seeing” abstracts in her mind. Compelled, she began to paint them, finding a larger language of expression to tell stories. 

Whether she is painting abstracts, expressionistic flowers, colorful machinery for corporations, or portraits in her studio overlooking the glacial hills of Southern Indiana, her style is best described as lyrical, energetic, and bold: 

“Dru Pilmer’s paintings capture a thrilling mix of art meets science. The colors in Ms. Pilmer’s art world swirl and vibrate with compelling movement. She uses her imaginative insight to interpret unseen energy that pulsates in our natural world, inviting us to view the world in an electrifying manner. I found her art to be incredibly refreshing.”  Julie Lamb, Louisville.com   

“…highly dynamic, richly colored, densely packed acrylic paintings fairly bulges with ideas and emanates feeling with an almost operatic intensity.”  Kevin Nance, Arts Connect, Jan. 2023. 

Her art is in over one hundred private, public, and corporate collections in New York, Chicago, Massachusetts, Los Angeles, Utah, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Florida, North Carolina, South America, Canada, and Scotland. 

Opening Reception
Thursday, September 5th, 6:30 – 8pm

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Artist Talk
Thursday, September 12th, 6:30 – 8pm

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Exhibit Dates and Hours:
Exhibit Runs: September 5th – October 10th

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