Pages from the South Africa Sketchbook (part 1)
Sketching along the rocky coast along the Garden Route, Hermanus, South Africa.
Dreaming of Spring
The Orchid Room at Longwood Gardens always makes my heart sing. And, now after a fall workshop in orchid care led by Beth Davis of Waldor Orchids, I too, have beautiful orchids in various stages of bloom in my home!
Time Will Tell
'He said, "In the midst of hate, I found there was, within me, an invincible love. In the midst of tears, I found there was, within me, an invincible smile. In the midst of chaos, I found there was, within me, an invincible calm. I realized, through it all, that in the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, within me, there's something stronger-something better, pushing right back."- *attributed to Albert Camus, French author and philosopher.
In the wake of the November 2024 Presidential Elections in the United States, we may all find ourselves challenged to find and choose love over hate, calm over chaos.
*Please note that upon further research I learned that “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer" is genuinely from Camus, found in his essay Return to Tipasa from Lyrical and Critical Essays. The rest of the quote above however, no such evidence is found other than a photo seemingly taken from a page of a book shared on the internet.
One in Eight
One in Eight was created in response to a breast cancer diagnosis after a routine mammogram. The name refers to the statistic that, in the United States, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Amid a whirlwind of appointments, tests, surgery, and the emotional upheaval that followed, the studio became a sanctuary—a space to process this initiation into a sisterhood that, for me, held an even deeper resonance when I tested positive for the BRCA 2 gene mutation.
Riversong II
Riversong II was inspired by the Wilmington Riverfront for an exhibition at The Delaware Contemporary titled Riverfront 2020. In this piece, I sought to reflect on all that has come before and all that will pass beyond the horizon line, exploring the limits of what the eye can see.
Summer Daze
2024, Watercolor crayons and pencils on artboard, 11”x14” $250 US
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Towards the Light
Towards the Light, 2018, Monotype on synthetic non-woven paper, Image size: 11.75x11.75”. Paper size: 16”x16”. Unframed
Released (# 1-4)
“Two things can happen to a person who lives on an island, either the shores confine them of the infinite horizon releases them.”- Sign on the wall at Waialua Bakery, Haleiwa, HI.
Released #4, 2024, Watercolor pencils and crayons with collage on artboard, 8”x10” ©NanciHersh
(leaving the) Nest #4
(Leaving the) Nest #4, 2015, Charcoal, acrylic, spray paint on paper, 22”x30”.
Roots and wings. Feathering the nest. All metaphors for home and family. The first an aspiration for parenting, which serves as a gentle reminder when the very same toddlers we couldn’t get out of our beds are now young adults who may need gentle promptings to call or visit. An inevitable evolving of growth and change, but one that can tug at our heart strings none the less. The second came to mind when I recently had the opportunity to put my finger in a small hummingbird nest that a friend had found. So soft and downy, a lovely home for Hummingbird babies long gone.
I created this drawing several years ago from shadows cast from a welded nest sculpture I created at a weeklong Marshall Bridge workshop with Stan Smokler. The rusted steel foraged, twisted, and heated to form a nest atop a pillar of found railings long ago abandoned.
Entangled ethereal shadows that convey the beautiful and impermanence of our lives.