selected art work
Making Sense of Chaos
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Standing Guard
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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Selected Diet
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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This Too Shall Pass
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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Through with Play
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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All Wrapped Up
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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North South Divide
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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Long Journey
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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Safe Shelter
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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Juggling Act
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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Decay
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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Child's Play
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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Energy Source
15 x 20, paper collage on hot press board
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A New Day
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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A World of Green and Blue
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Dreaming
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Guarding Childhood
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Is There Forward Movement?
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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It's Hot Outside
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Let There be Light
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Odd Journey
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Patterns
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Round and Round We Go
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Some Things Last Forever
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Survival
15 × 20, paper on hot press board
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Winded
20 × 26, paper on hot press board
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Beauty
20 × 26, paper on hot press board
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Burst Bubble
20 × 26, paper on hot press board
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Debris
20 × 26, paper on hot press board
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Divided Planet
20 × 26, paper on hot press board
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Black and White and Red All Over
26 × 20, paper on hot press board
Drawing inspiration from the Surrealists—who extended the tradition of collage and automatic composition—Drahos creates intuitive and layered works that explore the tension between order and disorder. Beginning with her own photographs and thousands of magazine fragments, she arranges cut images into loosely structured compositions. The resulting series of collages brings together photographs and paper ephemera in visually dense and thought-provoking assemblages. In these works, chaos is transformed into coherence, and new narratives emerge from familiar materials.
“As in the automatic methods employed by early 20th-century artists, her process welcomes the subconscious and invites unpredictable connections,” said Ted Lind, ARTSPLACE Board Member.
Dream Like Memories
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A Moment of Piece
8 x 8", oil on board
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Life is Ahead
8 x 8", oil on board
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Anne's Dog on Blue
8 x 8", oil on board
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Bill Overlooking the Ohio
8 x 8", oil on board
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They Were Happy
8 x 8", oil on board
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Happy Moments
8 x 8", oil on board
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Working Like a Mad Man #1
8 x 8", oil on board
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Working Like a Mad Man #2
8 x 8", oil on board
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Working Like a Mad Man #3
8 x 8", oil on board
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Working Like a Mad Man #4
8 x 8", oil on board
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Working Like a Mad Man #5
8 x 8", oil on board
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Virginia
8 x 8", oil on board
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Sharing
8 x 8", oil on board
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One Perspective
16 x 16", oil on board
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My World at Six #3
10 x 10", oil on canvas
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My World at Six #2
10 x 10", oil on canvas
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My World at Six #1
10 x 10", oil on canvas
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Moved to the Back
14 x 14", oil on board
For the past four years my work has explored personal memory, home, and family history. Photographs and maps are hand cut into intricate stencils, some images requiring three or four separate overlays. These varied images are layered in single compositions to create an often dream like space of hazy memories, experiences, and places. The tension between reason and intuition, detail and spontaneity, control and abandon is evident in the process of detailed cut stencils and the unpredictability of the paint. This also manifests in the thematic investigation into identity, memory, generations, and the social structures that define us.
Needs Change
Most of any road trip consists of watching the scenery pass by. It is like a long film taken from a single vantage point with a consistent horizon line. Unlike our previous car trips the van offered a higher vantage point and large windows with a more expansive view.
With endless scenery and countless hours on the road, I again began photographing from my post in the passenger seat. The term “needs change” began to develop as the shell of an idea about changing climate and our complicated relationship with oil, as I chronicled our journey, noticing places and things that either need changing or exemplify how our needs have changed.
We all take photos to document our travels in an effort to capture a piece of what it felt like to be in that spot, at that time. We post and store our photos then never look at them again.When I returned home from each of these extended journeys I wanted to re-experience the trips. I did this by exploring the photographs in different ways keeping in mind the words “needs change”. I started by culling them into a manageable amount of images, then editing them for content and aesthetics, moving next to printing them out and enhancing them with paint and pen. The final edit consists of 100 images presented in a 4x6” format on water colour paper. These are the result of the first exercise of re-examining what was seen from the passenger seat over the three years.
More than Black and White
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![Moving into Sleep]()
Moving into Sleep
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![Trying to Stay Warm]()
Trying to Stay Warm
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![Finding Love Late in Life]()
Finding Love Late in Life
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![Trying to Stay in the Sun]()
Trying to Stay in the Sun
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![Small Clarice]()
Small Clarice
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![She is Always Brave]()
She is Always Brave
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![Clarice is Agile in Her Dreams]()
Clarice is Agile in Her Dreams
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![Clarice is an Aged Beauty]()
Clarice is an Aged Beauty
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![Afternoon Sun]()
Afternoon Sun
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![Always a Lady]()
Always a Lady
This series of paintings of Clarice was originally painted as a personal exploration. Their intention was to hold onto the memory of a loved companion who would be moving on soon. Clarice is always the picture of grace and composure in person and as portrayed in the paintings. She proved to be an excellent model, holding a still pose for up to ten minutes, always having free time to model, and working within budget. As drawings of Clarice evolved into paintings, the figures revealed more than just sentiment; they exhibit a quiet beauty and wisdom that celebrate her old age.
links and more information
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Secord Gallery is one of the longest established galleries and custom framing shops in Atlantic Canada, with roots dating back to 1979 at the same location.
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Reviews of theatre and art in Nova Scotia and beyond.
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Gallery West in an online art magazine.