Catching up with Christy Tremblay
When asked to give an update on my past year, the word reminisce comes to mind - and all of the past years seemed to gather into this one.
We moved from Fort Moore (formerly known as Fort Benning) and made our way to our new home on Fort Meade in Maryland. Naturally, I set up my art studio and began the familiar practice of exploring and finding new inspiration. But this move felt different and after ten moves in more than a decade, I found myself reminiscing on the days gone by - the places I lived - friends I met - family I have missed. My art didn’t feel as fluid as it should and although I still painted, it couldn’t be forced and I had to lean into whatever it was that was on the horizon.
Fort Meade is in an area of its own, as most Army Posts are- and at times can feel secluded from culture and the activities that give me life.
I do feel fortunate to have the historical waterview city of Annapolis just down the road, where I find inspiration from this charming Navy town on the Chesapeake Bay. And Washington D.C and Baltimore within thirty miles in opposite directions for city experiences. museums, and of course the spring cherry blossoms in D.C.
With one daughter now in college - thousands of miles away and the other in high school, paving her way, I use my time differently than when they were young - but still have a desire to create and to find inspiration through the place I am.
We moved to Maryland in early summer with hot humid days that we filled with unpacking and settling in, a little exploring, and making memories together, before we helped our oldest daughter move back to college. Fire flies lit up the nights, as we walked with our dog Bear, to the neighborhood nature preserve - Burba Park Lake. The summer melted and blurred with memories of our past and we talked of places we had lived and how we could all be together again - one day and where might that be. And a year passes so quickly and I am drawn to the memories and want to remember the places and moves and everything that came along the journey…and thus my memoir was born -
"Embrace in Place," is a memoir of my life as an artist, traveling the country and overseas - through my moves as a military spouse with my husband, two daughters, and always with a chocolate Labrador Retriever by our side. My art has been the constant through the uncertainties of military life and it keeps me grounded throughout each move and carries me along.
This book commemorates my journey and experiences of each new place I have lived and the art I created, inspired by the history and environment of each location. “Embrace in Place” is currently in the process of being edited and formatted for a print on demand hardcover coffee table book. Updates for the release date will be posted to my social media sites.
Another exciting art venture within this past year was my collaboration and art licensing with R. Riveter (hand bags made by military spouses). Each year R. Riveter collaborates with one artist in “The Makers Series” - a celebration of creativity, featuring different artists exploring ways to incorporate various mediums and creativity into their American Handmade products. Each collection is a small batch of one of a kind products.
The two paintings in the collaboration are very special and it was so exciting to see them printed on the Wilson bag and scarf that adorned the bag.
“Destin on the Horizon” is an original mixed media painting (acrylic paints, oil pastel, and paper) it measures 22 x 30.5 inches and is inspired by trips taken to Destin, Florida, while living at Fort Moore in Columbus, Georgia (formerly known as Fort Benning) and my love of the color palette and textures of the ocean. This piece is painted on Korean mulberry paper (hanji) which is made from the inner bark of the mulberry tree and the mucilage from the roots of Hibiscus manihot, which aids in holding the pulp fibers together adding strength and durability to the paper.
I purchased this particular piece of mulberry paper, while living in Pyeongtaek, South Korea at Camp Humphreys in 2019 to 2021. My favorite local art shop called Dream Depot in Paengseong (near Camp Humphreys) was a shop where I could find many of my acrylic paint colors, canvases, and papers. I loved shopping in this quaint second story store and always wished that I could have a conversation with the Korean Store clerk. She was usually there on my visits and was always so helpful. I loved how she would gently wrap my hanji papers - rolling them so carefully and tying a ribbon around to secure them. I brought a stack of these beautiful papers back to the U.S.A. with me, knowing that I would want to paint on them for future pieces.
The original painting, “Destin on the Horizon” hangs in the R. Riveter flagship store in Southern Pines, NC and the second piece in this collaboration, “Journey Within” was printed on the scarf that embellishes the Wilson Bag. This piece is from my “Blur” series, painted in Fort Meade, MD, where I currently live. It is very layered and textured with my favorite blue hues and is inspired by my deep emotions of yet another move and recreating my creative space and community. “I’ve been here before, so many moves. What number of art studios is this? I can’t recall. The word BLUR comes to mind…maybe a new series”…
