Signature 9 Gallery in downtown Roanoke was the setting March 4 for an art exhibit with an unusual twist – it featured a husband / wife team both uniquely talented to treat exhibit-goers to an evening of art and music. Meg Feldman, local artist, and a recent graduate of Hollins University, introduced a collection of pieces that were well-received by patrons who eagerly purchased many of the offerings on the opening night.
Meg’s husband David, an accomplished cellist who plays with the Roanoke Symphony, performed throughout the evening while folks mingled and enjoyed Feldman’s exhibit, along with the other offerings featured at the Gallery.
Feldman was pleased at the enthusiasm amongst the crowd, saying “I really didn’t expect this – most of the smaller pieces sold almost right away.” She added that she was “amazed at how positive people were about my work; it’s a really great start for me.”
She purposely priced them affordably, acknowledging “I have so many friends interested in art but they don’t have a lot of money.” She and David are both in their early twenties.
Feldman has worked part-time at Signature 9 for some time; she was introduced to the gallery through her connection with Sandi D’Alessandro, one of the “9” artists and former Cave Spring and Hidden Valley High School art teacher. Mrs. “D,” as students affectionately refer to her, has high praises for Feldman, saying that when a student “excels beyond your expectations it just puts a smile on your face.” D’Alessandro quickly gets serious, adding that while “Meg is a talented realist, she also has a wonderful understanding of the abstract, which can be harder than realism because you have to rely on strong compositional skills, as well as principles of drawing. Meg’s work just illustrates that sophistication.”
When asked to describe her current focus, Feldman says that people would describe the pieces as “abstract paintings, or collages, using mixed media.” She uses a lot of recycled materials, coveting in particular those that belonged to people she knows, like the old address cards that belonged to her grandfather. She adds “I find that the old magazines and music, from the 60’s and 70’s collage really well.” She admits “I am not done with that idea of memories yet; I would like to explore it a little more.”
Looking a bit to the future, Feldman is looking to develop new ideas but already observes “the older I get and the more I work, I’m finding there is meaning to my work…that I don’t necessarily think about when I’m doing it.”
Feldman has been mentored and encouraged by teachers and professors in particular along the way, including D’Alessandro, who “literally dragged [her] to Hollins when they just opened their new art building to meet Bill White,” a professor there. Feldman has also been working closely with Katherine Devine and is currently an assistant to oil painter Alison Hall. Hall is a big fan; she invited Feldman to spend a summer with other students in Italy focusing on painting. That trip ended up being a turning point in Feldman’s perspective on art and her potential to pursue it as a career.
It turns out the strongest influence on Feldman was not an artist, but a musician, her husband David. She is extremely supportive of his endeavors, saying that, “David is an amazing teacher who really loves his work.” She recalls that “in college I was studying art as a default – I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it. When I met David and saw his work ethic and passion for music, it completely changed my perspective.” She believes that if it weren’t for him and his strong support of and belief in her, she “would not be pursuing art at this point.”
Feldman says that both she and her husband, native Roanokers, are hoping to be able to stay in the area and that they have noticed that “the arts community seems to be really flourishing here – there is great potential; we are finding that there is more opportunity for artists here.”
In one of those “life coming full circle” moments, her mom, Dana Graninger, recalls that at “career day” in kindergarten, young Meg proclaimed that “I want to be ‘a’ artist.” Graninger recounts how the same teacher “that she [Meg] hadn’t seen since grade school came through the door” at Meg’s senior art show at Hollins, telling her former student that “I always knew you’d really do it [art].”
Now Feldman knows, too.
For more information including upcoming exhibit and performance dates visit: Feldmanstudios.net.
By Cheryl Hodges [email protected]
