Some of Schempp's work
Gay Schempp
Written by Varda Bajpai
September 28, 2021
Gay Schempp is a woman with a passion for art, and her crows remind the world of everything we have endured.
Recently, I had the pleasure of attending a demo organized by the Avon Arts Association: a local organization that works to support artists in Avon, Connecticut by hosting meetings where artists can discuss their techniques in combination with providing scholarships and resources for artists in the area (linked here: https://www.avonarts.org). The speaker for the night was Gay Schempp, who is an art teacher and skilled artist. Schemmp's artwork was displayed, and everyone had an opportunity to see her wonderful craftsmanship. She had created masterpieces out of materials ranging from scraps of paper to more traditional watercolor, with each piece being better than the last. Several paintings were even created from colored wax, and it was inspiring to see her level of skill and care that went into every inch of the artwork.
Schempp also enraptured the audience with the story of all of the struggles she had faced during her life. From an accident that had threatened her ability to create art to the recent COVID-19 crisis, Schempp had faced it all with great conviction. When she lost her ability to paint in an accident, she turned to teaching in order to continue with her practice. And when COVID-19 completely upturned her life and isolated her from her studio, she turned back to pen-and-ink drawings—an art form she had not practiced in years. Schempp journaled her life through these sketches. Due to the quarantine that had been placed on the entire state, Schempp was unable to leave her house and practice her art in her studio. Thus, she developed a habit of sketching at least once a day. And the subject matter of these sketches?
Crows.
Every day, Schempp and depicted the world's reaction to the COVID crisis through the image of a crow. One sketch showed a crow "exercising at home" through workout videos, which became a popular practice during the crisis. A few sketches represented the toilet paper crisis at the beginning of the first quarantine through the images of crows hoarding the resource. Others showed crows observing or imitating humans and their changing behavior due to the virus. And as the entire world shifted and changed around us, one thing remained constant: Schempp's crows. These crows had been constant throughout her other works too, and her ability to observe them from her home only improved her illustrations.
Schempp's pen-and-ink sketches quickly became a hit on her Facebook page. In fact, Schempp mentioned that her Facebook supporters had often gave her an incentive to continue her daily sketches because they looked forward to seeing them every day. Seeing her sketches made it abundantly clear why they had grown so popular. Her crows juxtaposed with the humanity of our reactions to the crisis while simultaneously reminding me of everything we had endured. Day by day, Schempp's sketches began to grow in quantity until she had made enough to compile an entire book— and that's exactly what she did. Her sketches had become an excellent reminder of the past few months and all of the changes that the world had gone through.
"I had been creating a book," she said, "and I didn't even know it".
Quarantine 2020 Through a Crow's Eye can be purchased at this link: https://www.gayschemppencaustic.com/new-products/quarantine-2020-through-a-crows-eye
View other works by Gay Schempp: www.gayschemppencaustic.com
Contact Gay Schempp at:
860.379.1592
Mailing Address:
857 East Wakefield Blvd
Winsted, Ct 06098