"Bluejay" Gerrie McManamon

"Bluejay 3/5" Gerrie McManamon

Size: 10" x "12", Framed

Medium: Print

Value: $100

Gerrie McManamon has always been an artist. She grew up making things - sewing dolls, coloring, drawing, etc. She studied art her first semester in college, but ended up being a German/Russian teacher, after studying abroad in Germany.  She’s used art throughout her teaching career, by designing lessons that allowed students to visually demonstrate their learning.
She taught in Toledo and Columbus Public Schools for a combined 27 years.  As she neared retirement, she found herself with more time to create. She began taking classes in life drawing, printmaking, ceramics, mixed media, online and at the Cultural Arts Center of Columbus.
Painting portraits has been a focus for the last 2 years.  In March of this year, after receiving a GCAC grant, She was able to create paintings for a solo exhibition, “Assemble the Musicians” at 700 Bryden Road. This consisted of a series of paintings of local musicians.  
Currently, she has been working on mixed media collages. Particularly, small ones of birds. These works are inspired by her position as an artist in residence at the Grange Insurance Audubon Center.
Her relationships with people and nature are her inspiration.  In her paintings, she strives to show her subjects personality. Although she lives in an urban setting, there is a lot of wildlife in her neighborhood. This often comes up her my artwork. She feels fulfilled as an artist when the viewer has an emotional connection with her work.