Warbell (from the POISONED WORLD series), mixed media on wood, 47″ x 48″ x 3″, 2006, painting © 2006-2009 by Cathy Wysocki. All rights reserved.
Cathy Wysocki’s pieces fill the main gallery of the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque. Gripped: Excerpts from Poisoned World does exactly that. The works of art, many three-dimensional, come at you from the walls, grip you by the shoulders and shake you out of whatever state you might be. They collectively caution you to never deny nor forget Suffering in the world today.
Cathy Wysocki paints discomfort and dark worlds, twisted and refigured. Like a visionary chronicler of the times, her expressionistic and surrealist imagery is dramatic & disturbing, conveying a beauty in the horror portrayed.
~Spring/Summer 2009, volume 14, issue 1/2, Harwood Art Center
Struck by the raw power and originality of her work, we were curious to know more about Cathy. Who is she, what has been her journey as an artist, and what moves her to produce the art that she does? We sent Cathy a list of our most pressing questions, and she wrote back with answers.
Nineteen Questions with Cathy Wysocki
Q. How long have you been painting?
A. I have been painting — doing mixed media work — for 30 years.
Q. How has your work evolved over time?
A. I think my work has evolved over time through my expanded use of media and text within my paintings and the growing complexity of the imagery, but more importantly, I have gone from a more personal mythology, let’s say a micro-cosmos, to a more universal, world view, a socio-political macro-cosmos.
Q. Who are your influences?
A. Living in the world is THE influence. But if you want to know who…key influences…I’d say foremost would be the Buddha because of how the teachings have illuminated my path in the world. Then I would say my husband and friend for 29 years, Wayne Hopkins, who is an incredible painter and printmaker — dedicated and always pushing the edge. He has been an enormous supporter of my work/vision. Also, my brother, Michael, had a very strong influence on me during my high school and college years, introducing me to a bigger world and a way to freedom for my creativity and ideas, setting me on my path.
Q. What living artists do you most admire?
A. Sue Coe, Louise Bourgeois, Neo Rauch, Anselm Kiefer, Thomas Hirschhorn, Lee Bontecou. Unfortunately, there are many more dead artists that I admire/connect with, such as Edward Kienholz, Leon Golub, Jörg Immendorf, Francis Bacon, Philip Guston, George Grosz, Otto Dix…well…all the German Expressionists, the Surrealists, and Art Brut artists: Adolf Wölfli, Martín Ramírez, and Carlo Zinelli, to name but a few!
Q. Describe a typical day.
A. An ideal typical day is waking up at 5 a.m. to read a Buddhist text while I drink a cup of decaf coffee. Then practicing sitting meditation for 50-60 minutes. After which I walk my dog for 45 minutes, come home get the caffeine brewing, get the music pumped up, and start working — stopping later to put on more coffee, have toast/breakfast, then back to work until about 3pm. I am much more productive in the earlier part of the day.
From the POISONED WORLD series, El Bruto, mixed media on wood, 59″ x 72″ x 8″, 2009, Unrelenting, mixed media on wood, 61″ x 72″ x 3″, 2009, and Enough, mixed media on wood, 50″ x 63″ x 7″, 2008/2009, paintings © 2008-2009 by Cathy Wysocki. All rights reserved.
Q. What drives your art?
A. Initially, my art is driven by my intuition and imagination, but that is factored into living as a sentient being in a world of suffering.
Q. What messages are in your art?
A. Currently, my series of work is called POISONED WORLD and it is about the three poisons in the world referred to in Buddhism — greed, hatred, and ignorance — and from them the consequences that abound and devastate. It is my hope that my work can bring a startled awareness to such issues as war, shameless consumption and waste, complacency, self-absorption, and to inspire reflection, compassion, and action.
Q. Who are your favorite writers?
A. Right now I am reading 2666 by Roberto Bolaño and I think his writing is unbelievably great. Idiosyncratic, insightful, dense, sharp, witty, dark — all characteristics I love in a writer. Other favorites are Franz Kafka, Thomas Bernhard, Kurt Vonnegut, Gogol, Dostoyevsky, Flannery O’Connor, Kenzaburō Ōe, and Ajahn Chah and Ajahn Buddhadasa for Buddhist writings.
Q. Favorite foods?
A. All things vegetarian.
From the FLOWERS, ROYALTY, THE COSMOS, & MORE series, Count Rade and Princess Ula, mixed media on canvas, 24″ x 18″, 2002, and Magnolia, mixed media on canvas, 18″ x 14″, 2001, paintings © 2001-2009 by Cathy Wysocki. All rights reserved.
Q. Where do you go for inspiration?
A. That depends on the series I am working on. As for the current series, POISONED WORLD, my inspirations are found in observing the consumer culture around me, the devastation of our planet, and the sadness, anger, conflict, and injustice in our society. To compound and intensify that inspiration I read books and articles, as well as watch documentaries on such topics as corruption and corporations; the former Bush Administration; the Iraq and Afghanistan wars; genetic engineering and food; human, animal, and water rights. Music is also a big inspiration — Tom Waits, Bob Dylan, Perfect Circle, John Lennon, Leonard Cohen, The Kronos Quartet, Messiaen’s Quartet For The End of Time. So I guess you could say my work is the bare bulb shining the light within the depths of the darkness.
Q. You’ve been told your work has an “Outsider” quality. Do you consider yourself an Outsider artist?
A. I would say I am a self-taught artist. The art classes I took in college were free-form, I didn’t have any technical training in painting, drawing or sculpture, and I just followed my own vision, did my own thing in my own style, often obsessively. I was not, and am not now, concerned with art trends or commercial viability.
Q. Do you feel inside or outside the art scene (New York City, San Francisco, etc.) and does it matter where you are relative to that scene?
A. I definitely feel outside the art scene here in New Mexico. It does matter because I would like to get the work out there — to broader audiences, more responses, more dialogue — which could be New York, Los Angeles, Mexico City, Berlin. Who knows where my audience is?!
From the CORPARBOREAL series, Corparboreal 26, mixed media on wood, 14″ x 9″, 1999, and Corparboreal 16, mixed media on canvas, 36″ x 32″, 1998/1999, paintings © 1998-2009 by Cathy Wysocki. All rights reserved.
Q. What are the pluses and minuses of living the artist’s life?
A. The plus of living an artist’s life is the freedom to create and express your visions. That plus is so huge it is plural! As for a minus: having to generate an income!
Q. What is your favorite city?
A. I don’t think I have a favorite city. I loved San Francisco when I lived there many years back and I love New York City for all it has to offer culturally. Vienna also left a very strong impression on me as well. I need to travel more!!
Q. If you could live anywhere, where would you choose and why?
A. I don’t have a specific place at the moment, I am in search of it, but I do know there would be an ocean or sea nearby, lots of art museums and galleries, and some great vegetarian restaurants and cafes!
Q. How old were you when you knew you wanted to be an artist?
A. Early on, around the age of four, I had a very rich internal world — active imagination in thoughts and words. However, up through junior high school I didn’t really express myself visually; it was in words and speech. In high school I found the freedom, invention, and originality in visual expression. It became a necessity.
Q. Did your family support your chosen vocation, and if so (or not) how did that affect your path?
A. No, they did not support me being an artist. Perhaps that gave me a stronger drive, subconsciously seeking their approval or support? Regardless, I knew what I was meant to do. Doing something else for their sake would be a false life.
From the BIRTH, DEATH, & REBIRTH series, Coming or Going, What’s the Difference, oil on wood, 48″ x 48″, 1991, and Altitude Without Dimension, oil on paper, 44″ x 30″, 1990, paintings © 1990-2009 by Cathy Wysocki. All rights reserved.
Q. Where do the themes in your work come from?
A. Earlier on I mentioned where my current body of work derives from, but some past series have dealt with such issues as the cycles of birth, death and rebirth inspired by the deaths of both of my parents; a series called CORPARBOREAL, images of tree beings inspired by all the walks with my dogs in the woods of New Hampshire and Massachusetts; and a series of paintings with short tales that I wrote called FLOWERS, ROYALTY, THE COSMOS & MORE. It sprung from finding a collection of old fruit packing labels, and it was about compassion, generosity, right choices. Those are a few examples.
Q. What comes next? Or are you still steeped in the current themes?
A. Yes, I am still currently immersed in the POISONED WORLD — not that there won’t be some toxic offshoots that may metamorphose into another body of work!
About herself, Cathy writes: I was born and raised in northwest Indiana. With great excitement I departed to the West Coast for college. First to Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles for a few years, then I transferred to San Francisco State University for a change and to get my BA. My time in California was transformative, clarifying my personal vision and actifying my presence in the world. This was in the late 70’s.
A friend of mine suggested a move to Boston to get studios. Another change. I figured I could always get back to San Francisco. Well, my friend never got there, but I ended up in Boston and the environs from 1980 until 2003, another transformative time, solidifying and strengthening my creative discipline.
In late 2003 I moved to New Mexico. Yet another change in location. New Mexico is fine, but I feel another change in location coming within about 10 years. California?
During my time in San Francisco until the present in New Mexico, I have always worked in my studio and exhibited.
I have had several solo shows, most recently in May, 2009, at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque, NM. I have also exhibited extensively in the Northeast and Southwest in group shows at museums and galleries. Recent group shows I have exhibited in: “Mass Consumption,” Mesa Art Center, AA; “Binational,” Museums Of Art in El Paso, TX and Juarez, Mexico; “Cautionary Tales – A Visual Dystopia,” 516 ARTS, Albuquerque, NM; “Originals 2007,” Harwood Art Museum, Taos, NM.
Cathy’s latest show, Gripped: Excerpts from Poisoned World, closes today at the Harwood Art Center in Albuquerque. However, you can keep apprised of Cathy’s works by following her on Flickr.
I didn’t have a chance to elaborate in my email to you, Cathy, on the impact your show had on me when I saw it at the Harwood. A punch in the gut. But in a “I needed that” way. How easy it is to slip into complacency. Your works shook me out of it.
You write in the q/a above that your hope is to inspire reflection, compassion, action. Sometimes the suffering is so great, so painful, it is natural to want to turn away, to not allow it to sink in. And your pieces speak to suffering at large, such as the pieces (not shown here) about the Siberian tiger shot in the San Francisco zoo or the shopper killed in a Walmart stampede. (Both can be seen via the Flickr link in the post.) It reminds me of the many times I’ll not be able to watch the news or even documentaries about what’s happening to nature or the environment on account of pollution and destruction. Or, my God, the little boy whose homeless mother killed him here in Albuquerque just last week because she didn’t want him to live without a home like her, and she did this after being turned away for help.
It is all so painful to reflect on, and yet we must. Given how hard it is to take in all the suffering, my question is, do viewers of your art respond in the way you hope they will?
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I’ve been following Cathy’s work since I met her several years ago, and I must say it’s some of the most powerful imagery I’ve seen in a long time. They most certainly make me stop and reflect on issues I would rather not think about. I don’t know if it’s possible to walk through a room of Cathy’s work – especially this latest “Gripped” series – and not come away at least a little undone by the imagery and what that imagery actually represents.
Cathy says her goal is to inspire reflection, compassion and action. I have been inspired and I hope others will take a good look at this body of work and come away moved as well.
Phyllis Baker
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I have no idea if they respond in the way I hope they do -unless they tell me or I see some action they have taken.
It certainly is so painful to see/ look at/ hear about the sufferings of others, but if their suffering is so great, can’t we all take on some of it to alleviate the burden- in whichever way we are able to?
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thanks, Phyllis- it means so much to me to know that I can make such a deep connection
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Cathy, it’s a pleasure to have your work featured on red Ravine. I keep scrolling down the page and each time I see more and more detail. I like the way you think. Yes, why can’t we all take on some of the suffering of others in whatever way we can to help alleviate the burden. It does seem like a human quality to want to come to people’s aid in times of need. At the same time, many don’t want to really look at the gore or the suffering in the flesh, to face what’s really going on around us through greed, war, consumerism. Your recent work seems to broach the subject head on.
I appreciate that you’ve allowed us to post your work over time. Many artists only want to post their latest work. But I am always intrigued by how an artist moves from Point A to Point B. Looking at the series of your work: BIRTH, DEATH, & REBIRTH series, CORPARBOREAL, FLOWERS, ROYALTY, THE COSMOS, & MORE series, all the way up to POISONED WORLD, I really get a sense of the journey. It seems like each stage builds on the other. And you can see how you moved from the themes in the micro-cosmos to a more universal world view or socio-political macro-cosmos.
I have a couple of process questions for you:
1) Your recent work is mixed media. Are you still working in oils? And how do you decide what materials to add to your collages? Do you use what is around you in the studio? Or are they more carefully planned by theme?
2) How does your practice of sitting meditation for 50-60 minutes each morning affect your work?
3) How to you chose the scale of your work? Is it relational to the themes you are working with? And what’s the largest piece you’ve ever painted.
4) Just out of curiosity (an optional question) what initiated your move to NM in 2003? And what differences do you see in living East or West.
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QuoinMonkey, first off- thank you again for asking me to be on red Ravine-
It is a pleasure & a whole new experience being on the web!!!!!(like what I am doing right now!) and I like being able to show a bit of my works’ history.
as for your inquiries:
I still work with oils & collage- mostly on wood panels- as for materials that I collage- sometimes, as in war imagery, I use images from old army books I bought from thrift stores- or copy images of weapons, other war paraphernalia-victims of war— the text and writing usually come from notes that I jot down in my journal/notebook- so i do search out materials – images & text that is applicable for a particular series- not that what I collage will still be visible by the time the piece is finished!
… how my sitting meditation affects my work…..trying to be more mindful about working on paintings that I think are my visions & my work, but at the same time knowing there is no ME or MINE- living in the world is a challenge, no doubt about it! But making my actions have meaning beyond something selfish- that is ongoing work!
as for the scale- that seems to evolve intuitively- this series is overall the largest & most overtly expressive work, but in the past, I have done installations & perfomances that take up much more space – more of a small room size scale, but the wall work that went with it was much smaller. I just never know!!
Regarding my move- needed a change- weather was horrendous- snowstorm after snowstorm & I don’t ski!
The differences- more laid back in the Southwest, more energetic, edgier in the East- I need to be laid back sometimes, but I am more inclined to the edgier, energetic lifestyle.
Thank you again, QuoinMonkey, for your in-depth inquiries!
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Cathy, in comments on another post [LINK] here on red Ravine, QM quoted memoirist Patricia Hampl, who in an interview talked about writing memoir. About the book, Hampl said: …the problems I faced were what to leave out, what to keep in. And to make sure I wasn’t just reminiscing. I think that’s a waste of a readers’s time. I really feel that memoir needs to be the quest literature of our time — something has to be at stake. There has to be something that you need to know, you had to find out, lay to rest, you have to correct, whatever it is, there has to be a need of urgency. That was what I was looking for throughout.
I immediately thought of your work when I read this. Although Hampl was talking about writing, it applies to any form of creative expression.
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Cathy, thank you. Seems like the meditation grounds you and provides clarity. I wanted to comment on a couple other things. I’m struck by the way your latest work moves out of the frame of the canvas. Just noticing that. Like breaking structure; it fits with the themes of your work. Then there was your comment about music influences. Do you listen to music while you work? Or is it quiet?
And the last thing was your book list. It’s always fun to see what artists are reading (and what other writers are reading as well). I see 2666 by Roberto Bolaño on your current radar and what I read about the novel seems to fit with your themes. I saw that in 2008 he was posthumously awarded the National Book Critics Circle Award for Fiction for 2666. It’s funny because I didn’t know his work and just read about him in: Beyond Neruda: Linking Three of Latin America’s Best Poets – Quarterly Conversation http://bit.ly/kfk5q Then I checked out the link to the interview with him in this post which is full of gems about writing.
Your authors swing from darker themes of struggle and death to Buddhism which (speaking for me) helps to hold the notion of dark and light, birth, struggle, death, where a kind of wholeness emerges right here, right now. Do writers have a big influence on your art?
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ybonesy, that’s a really good point about the Hampl quote on memoir applying to Cathy’s work. Really great connection. Seeing Cathy’s work and hearing about Patricia Hampl’s process have made me think even more about those questions, that sense of urgency.
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QuoinMonkey, YES, I definitely listen to music while I work- sometimes, I start out with the news on public radio- then move into music- laying out 5 CDs at a time- sometimes building to a crescendo- be it jazz, blues, classical ,or contemporary rock & roll/folk–depending on if I want lyrics & what those lyrics may be about- war, injustice, sadness, pain, activism- & then I chose – or rather we( my husband & I share a studio -, but we are very compatible regarding the mood in the studio-)
I wouldn’t say writers have a big influence on my art, rather I search out writers that are in sync with my mode of thinking at the time-I can identify with them– that way I can slip right into their writing—for example, when I discovered Kafka in college I couldn’t believe how I felt so akin to him/his writing. I even carried a picture of him in my wallet for several years & told people that he was my father!- then rereading his work now, it is still so much a part of me- Discovering Bolano was a real treat- I love how his mind worked.
ybonesy…yes, the URGENCY!!
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I was just looking at the pieces from each series and noticed in moving backward through time that your pieces from POISONED WORLD have so much writing and use of numbers as compared to other series. Did you start incorporating numbers later, or did you just happen to pick earlier pieces that didn’t have numbers.
Do the numbers generally signify something?
Also, when do you know when you’re done with a series? And does being done relate at times to some personal or external event?
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WOW…my first impression
I like the idea of laying out the music…letting in it’s influence.
I enjoy reading biographies of artists that I admire, who have had successful careers, and it’s amazing how many find their own path…their turning point…through the influence of music.
I believe you would enjoy Wassily Kandinsky’s book:
“Concerning the Spiritual in Art”.
Keep striving for that bold individualism. It’s exciting to see…
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Cathy. Your work overwhelms me–it always has, but this new series is so painful and meaningful. My thoughts and fears and cares run with yours and I admire that your are able to visually put them out.
It’s true NM cannot begin to cope with what you want to say. It is slow here and it is easy to become lulled by the beauty and quiet. Good and Bad.
Thank you for showing us what is is so difficult to see.
Love and Peace. Katrina
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ybonesy,
it’s true the recent work has a lot of text incorporated- the series before had the text as separate stories- as for numbers…..current work related to war casualties-body counts, numbers injured, numbers imprisoned………the work that led into this had number for other symbolic reasons…some examples: 5 precepts in Buddhism, 5 senses, 4 Noble Truths, 4 directions
as for being done with a series…when the fire is gone-when I feel I’ve used up what was in me to convey about that particular theme/idea/subject.
katrina,
thank you for your thoughful & insightful feedback—-yes, I felt like we should have been involved with some sort of art forum because your work touched on similar issues, but from an opposite perspective. Where was the art critic/writer who could have seized upon such an opportunity to generate a debate about these perspectives in the art community??
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Wow, what amazing work. It’s so interesting to see the visual product of a theme, and also to see Cathy Wysocki’s other work too. I’m glad she listened to her inner leanings rather than succumbing to her family’s wishes. A talented woman.
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Christine,
Hi, thanks so much for your feedback. I really appreciate this opportunity to bring my work to a larger audience, especially of writers, as yourself.
Thanks again!
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The artwork looks beautiful. I am always taken by color and there is no lack of it in her work. Awesome!
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Cathy, before this post moves from the top spot on the blog, I did want to thank you for being a guest artist with us. I received several emails from people who told me how much they were moved by your works. “Comment!” I encouraged them, but people can be shy about doing so.
I also thought of you when I was listening yesterday to Amy Goodman’s Democracy Now program on the way home from work; it was on Dr. Tiller, who was gunned down in his church. I think the reason I thought of you was that I appreciated that you give voice to what it is that moves you, what you believe is right and wrong. I plan to do a portrait of Dr. Tiller.
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ybonesy & QuoinMonkey, thanks to both of you for featuring me on this wonderful blog! The whole layout and the questions were very impressive. Several of my friends commented on these aspects.
yes, i heard some of yesterday’s Democracy Now program- glad to hear that you are doing a portrait of Dr. Tiller- there was also a great interview on Fresh Air on KANW yesterday w/ Dexter Filkins- a reporter for the NEW YORK TIMES – he was talking about Afghanistan & the denial of rights to women & girls & how he was moved to help them- It was really moving- He has a book out called FOREVER WAR- dealing with his coverage of both the Iraq & Afghanistan wars- I am going to check it out
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I met Cathy in a sleepy little town in New Hampshire several years ago. Her work is filled with passion, morality, and social responsibility. The talent just jumps right out at me! I have to remind myself to breathe!
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It has always been the artists (the painters, the writers, the musicians, the actors, etc.) who have awakened public consciousness to the suffering and injustice in this world, whether it’s Michael Moore, Otto Dix, Wilfred Owen, Charles Dickens, Alice Walker, Harriet Beecher Stowe, the Dixie Chicks, Käthe Kollwitz or the millions of lesser known yet still powerful voices who dare to challenge the status quo. For centuries the creative imagination of courageous, gifted artists uninterested in money or fame has managed to illuminate obscure truths and open our eyes to reality by exposing the hypocrisy and cruelty of the times.
Thank you, Cathy Wysocki, for being one of those creative voices which, through their art, promote awareness and the need for compassion, tolerance and justice in the face of the corporate-induced paralysis and indifference of contemporary society and thank you to Red Ravine for recognizing and publicizing the contribution that Cathy has made through her brilliant, vibrant images.
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Thank you, Laura, for your generous comments regarding my work…. your insightful thoughts and for viewing this post in depth!
please pass it on to those who would appreciate it and to those who would wouldn’t……
cathy
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[…] – September 2009 Bob Chrisman – August 2009 Louis Robertson – July 2009 Barbara Rick – June 2009 Cathy Wysocki – May 2009 Teri Blair – April 2009 Lesley A. Goddin – April 2009 Bob Chrisman – March 2009 Elizabeth […]
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[…] interviews with Cathy Wysocki on The Harwood Blog and Red Ravine. You can keep apprised of Cathy’s works by following her on Flickr. […]
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Hail from Merrimac MA!
Steve
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STEVE!!
hey, hope you check back to read this-
wayne & I have thought of you recently—tried to look you up & couldn’t find anything-
here’s our email: hopsocki@earthlink.net
drop us a line- hope you are well!!!!
cathy & wayne
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cathy – it is paula gerstenblatt – tried to email you at the earthlink address but it came back. let’s get in touch!
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[…] Read interviews with Cathy Wysocki on The Harwood Blog and Red Ravine. […]
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How can we get in contact with Cathy? Theres no email on her flickr.
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My parter is in love with your work Cathy. I would love to buy her a piece for her birthday, but have not been able to find out where to buy a piece. Her birthday is several months away and would like to know what price range they sell for? This is if you sell your work?? I really hope you do. She is amazing to me and would love to do something special for her. Please let me know one way or another, it would be greatly appreciated.
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Karina, perhaps you could get in touch with Cathy Wysocki at one of the following links. I see that she had a recent show at the MCLA Gallery in Massachusetts. She also has a Flickr account (LINK) where you might be able to write to her on Flickr mail. Good luck!
Wayne Hopkins and Cathy Wysocki at Gallery 51 (LINK)
Strange Soup
Wayne Hopkins and Cathy Wysocki
MCLA Gallery 51
51 Main Street
North Adams, Mass 01247
March 29 through April 22
Open Daily 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
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Karina,
thank you for your interest in my work as a special present for your dear partner.
strangely enough I happened to look on this sight after a very long time and saw your inquiry about getting a work for your partner’s birthday- Yes, I do sell my work- here is my email address: hopsocki@verizon.net–
drop me a line
I look forward to hearing from you & hope we can work out something.
cathy
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Cathy, thanks for dropping by and adding your new contact info to this post. Now I will be able to direct fans of your art to the correct email address! Hope you are well. Was so great to see that you had a recent show in Massachusetts. Will email you privately as well. -QM
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Hi QuoinMonkey,
hope all is well-
I just finished putting together my website-finally!! thought I would put a link here if that was okay?
thanks!
http://cathywysocki.com/
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Hi Cathy, great to hear from you. Thanks for adding your website link so your fans can find you!
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