THERE’S STILL LIFE: ASSEMBLAGE ART FROM NATURE AND SHARED MEMORIES BY S.E. “CAY” CAYLEFF
ON EXHIBIT: SEPTEMBER 17 - SEPTEMBER 29
OPENING RECEPTION: FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 20 FROM 5 - 7 PM
Artist bio:
S.E. Cayleff’s assemblage art celebrates the beauty of found objects from nature and humanity. One-of-a-kind mixed media assemblages reflect her life-long love of animals, human history, and in some cases, her humor and social commentary.
Her studio, WILD THINGS, captures the natural and animal beauty central in her designs, emphasizing the deep connection between nature and humanity through many mediums–assemblages, mobiles, and paintings.
In her creative process, she gathers relics from both the natural world and the relics of society, highlighting how these objects preserve our memories and create stories. She culls the woods, beaches, mountains, deserts, and streets scavenging nature’s gifts: naturally-shed antlers, feathers, wood, bones, glass shards, rusted metal, and stunning ocean wash-ups. She also seeks architectural and industrial remnants and objects of daily life.
Prior to devoting herself full-time to her art, Cayleff was a university professor in Women’s Studies at San Diego State University (33 years) and the University of Texas Medical Branch (4 years). She was a committed LGBTQIA social justice activist at the universities and a mentor of inner-city youth; she was a scholar and author of six books, one of which was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize (Babe: The Life and Legend of Babe Didrikson Zaharias).
