Hope is the central theme of a new exhibit by Monroe photographic artist Cindy Blanchard of Monroe, Louisiana. She is the featured artist for April 2011 at the Ouachita River Art Gallery. Titled Relentless Heart, this show is a mosaic of images, including scenes of New York City, scenes of local children playing, and vaious interpretive imagery. The exhibit explores the windows of hope which open the walls of desperation we have all felt in the wake of September 11, 2001. With a decade filled with disasters and attacks, walls go up, people withdraw into themselves, but hope pierces these walls. In the aftermath of tragedy, in the wake of awful things, hope is still standing. Blanchard's exhibition blends frames of urban reality, surrealism, and the pure joy of children at play. The montage evokes hopeful insight into the resilience of the human spirit; the images form a touching pastiche built of contrasts. Cindy describes herself as a reluctant artist. “Photographic art is very personal to me, and about things I hold dear on a very intimate level. I had the inspiration for this show while looking through images of a photo session in a preschool. Seeing the children happy and intent allows me hope and encourages me to press on in the face of adversity.” Cindy knows the story behind each photo, a story born from a life that has been varied and exciting, filled with challenges and the character to surmount them, filled with a love for a life filled with hope. “I think the children are fearless and fanciful. It occurred to me that it would be uplifting to show that, combining the children's images with other signs of life after this difficult decade. The images of the kids say that hope is there. With just those images, some might look and say, how cute, and overlook the deeper possibilities. I think these are brought out by viewing the mix of images. In a way it would be nice to include other elements, such as sound and motion, which are missing in photographic art. It becomes more individual as the images must evoke that interplay from within the viewer: sounds of laughter, giggles and smiles, migratory races from one spot on the playground to another, the raw hope of childhood; all these things spring easily from the memory. In the context of the other images, it reminds that we heal, we rebound. Life is relentless hope. Life is living.” “Relentless Heart” may be viewed in the month of April at the Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information. Saturday, April 2, 2011
Cindy Blanchard, April Artist-of-the-Month
Hope is the central theme of a new exhibit by Monroe photographic artist Cindy Blanchard of Monroe, Louisiana. She is the featured artist for April 2011 at the Ouachita River Art Gallery. Titled Relentless Heart, this show is a mosaic of images, including scenes of New York City, scenes of local children playing, and vaious interpretive imagery. The exhibit explores the windows of hope which open the walls of desperation we have all felt in the wake of September 11, 2001. With a decade filled with disasters and attacks, walls go up, people withdraw into themselves, but hope pierces these walls. In the aftermath of tragedy, in the wake of awful things, hope is still standing. Blanchard's exhibition blends frames of urban reality, surrealism, and the pure joy of children at play. The montage evokes hopeful insight into the resilience of the human spirit; the images form a touching pastiche built of contrasts. Cindy describes herself as a reluctant artist. “Photographic art is very personal to me, and about things I hold dear on a very intimate level. I had the inspiration for this show while looking through images of a photo session in a preschool. Seeing the children happy and intent allows me hope and encourages me to press on in the face of adversity.” Cindy knows the story behind each photo, a story born from a life that has been varied and exciting, filled with challenges and the character to surmount them, filled with a love for a life filled with hope. “I think the children are fearless and fanciful. It occurred to me that it would be uplifting to show that, combining the children's images with other signs of life after this difficult decade. The images of the kids say that hope is there. With just those images, some might look and say, how cute, and overlook the deeper possibilities. I think these are brought out by viewing the mix of images. In a way it would be nice to include other elements, such as sound and motion, which are missing in photographic art. It becomes more individual as the images must evoke that interplay from within the viewer: sounds of laughter, giggles and smiles, migratory races from one spot on the playground to another, the raw hope of childhood; all these things spring easily from the memory. In the context of the other images, it reminds that we heal, we rebound. Life is relentless hope. Life is living.” “Relentless Heart” may be viewed in the month of April at the Ouachita River Art Gallery, 308 Trenton Street, West Monroe. When you shop at your local gallery, you not only help our economy by keeping your money in the area, you also save on taxes and shipping. The gallery is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Paintings and photographs by gallery members can also be seen at ORAG’s extension gallery located in the lobby of Ouachita Independent Bank/Bankers Mortgage Plaza at 18th and Louisville in Monroe. Call 322-2380 for more information. 
Cindy Blanchard, April Artist-of-the-Month
Rebellion of the Twins, photography, by Cindy Blanchard, ORAG April 2011 Artist-of-the-Month.
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