Chance Meetings

Last evening I walked into Crossroads Art Center to resume teaching classes after taking off the month of May.  I had been in earlier to drop off some supplies and noticed a school bus in the parking lot, plus a young couple hauling in some quite random objects, not even connecting the two.  I assumed the couple was setting up for a workshop and simply said a courteous "hello."  When I came back for class I learned, (by asking - I am curious, or nosy, depending on who you ask) that the woman had come in to Crossroads after a chance discovery of the gallery to ask if perhaps there was a space where she could paint.  and there was, thanks to Jenni Kirby owner of Crossroads and an empty classroom. 

I stopped briefly and chatted with the artist shortly before my students arrived.  I found out she was from Australia and traveling from San Francisco to New York, before I had to go teach.  I was able to resume our conversation this afternoon when she returned. 

The young lady is Hayley Welsh.  and this is her website.

And this is why she is in Virginia.  And this is where she is headed.  
I spent a while asking her all sorts of questions, but why try to remember it all when she has it perfectly well described on her own pages?  Follow the links above when you are done here.  

The school bus parked in front of Crossroads Art Center.

Hayley is from the U.K. living in Australia with her partner Andy, who is also traveling with her.  Both are artists and they are touring the U.S. in a short school bus from the west coast on their way to an exhibit of their work in New York.  Hayley is charming and soft-spoken, seemingly serenely confident that all will happen as it should even if the method of "getting there" is unorthodox.  Her work is intriguing.  She's even left a bit of it behind along the way.  Today she was back at Crossroads, tables and easels filled with her paintings on found objects. Her name and website grace the back of the vest she wore that reminded me of a long chamois cloth.  Hayley was more than willing to talk about her work and had great praise for the photography of her partner, Andy, whose work is fascinating 3-D visions mounted in old toy viewfinders.  

a table full of work in progress by Hayley Welsh

On the tables I saw a skull with horns covered in drawing, a trash can lid, road signs and old prints all altered with her signature creatures that are mostly large eyes, some with ears or legs. She explains these representatives of positive or negative thoughts here. I loved the way she incorporated her creatures into the old prints and paintings, as if they had been a part of the original all along.  (an aside here :  Hayley takes time to research any art she purchases to be sure it is in public domain so that she is not infringing on copyright law before she repurposes it.  That alone was enough to make me a fan for life!)  In other pieces the creatures float or hang out or take over the original object - like this charming piece on a yield sign.

photographed with permission, copyrights to the artwork belong to Hayley Welsh

I am ever and continually amazed at what life brings, if only we take time to pay attention to others and listen to our curious selves.  What if I had not bothered and simply passed by this stranger - what I would have missed!  

I love that Hayley and Andy have packed up everything they own, traveled to another continent on a temporary visit and planned this crazy adventure for the love of their art.  I love that they happened to land in the parking lot at Crossroads Art Center and on a whim asked if Hayley could paint inside while in the area.  Who does that?  Because of happenstance, kismet, karma, who knows?  I met this creative young lady who graciously chatted with me about her trip and her art, about searching for the right vehicle to travel, live and create in, about gathering items and painting for their show along the way.  Even more, I loved finding out once home and perusing her websites that she has written and illustrated two books and already at her young age is a well-received exhibiting artist.  Hayley's enthusiasm for her art and her travel is tangible.  Getting to meet her was my good fortune.