Artist Statement
Fairy tales, folk tales and myths have always fascinated me. I believe they speak to our Jungian collective unconscious. I have always particularly adored animal tales, which bring out human foibles in anthropomorphized format. In my watercolors, I seek to illustrate those animal tales in as realistic a way as possible, as if it really were possible to keep boots on a cat, or for a grasshopper and an ant to converse. I actually do quite a bit of research to choose as authentic an environment as possible, whether it is what our collective unconscious believes a troll should look like, or what sort of spider would live in Jamaica, which is the American source of many of the Anansi tales.
To produce each painting, I start with a detailed pencil drawing based on photographs. I then ink it using technical pens of varying thicknesses. After the ink has set, I erase the pencil and paint it, then I write the accompanying story, based on as many sources as possible. Some, like Aesop’s fables, are merely a paragraph or two; others can be quite long. I write more for adults than children, because I believe we all can still learn from these tales.
–Lisa Hertel
About the Artist
Lisa Hertel is an artist from a long line of artists. Lisa’s art is mixed, both 2D and 3D, in a variety of media. She is willing to learn and try anything new. A potter since the age of seven, she makes a variety of ceramics, including wheel work and sculptural items. She loves to draw, and does both pencil work and intensely detailed pen-and inks; she also paints, mostly in watercolors, and does wire sculpture. She often combines media, such as adding watercolors to the pen-and inks, or using glass in her pottery. Recently, she has begun doing encaustics. She has also learned blacksmithing, glass blowing, paper-making, stained glass, and glass fusing. She offers classes in her studio at Western Avenue Studios in Lowell, which is the largest art colony on the East Coast. After 25 years as a pharmacist, she quit her day job to pursue a career in art. Her other passions include speculative fiction and volunteering; she helps run literary science fiction conventions and curates an exhibition of art at the Essex County Probate Court. She has been an Andover resident for 25 years. Visit her website.
Reference Display Case – Wool Works by Vicki Murphy 
Vicki Murphy’s love of working with wool was a graduated process. It began with knitting, felting and rug hooking but her preference these days, and where she gets most creative, is with wool applique. After years of pursuing her hobby, she has a huge stash of wool and yarn and finds that working with wool is the best kind of therapy, especially during long cold winter months in New England.