Debra Sue Solecki created this self-portrait when she felt her voice was being suppressed.

BY SHERI TRUSTY

CATAWBA – Debra Sue Solecki’s artwork is built in layers. Paper, acrylic paint, found objects, and drawings are incorporated into her work bit by bit. Layers, she said, help tell the story because most stories are not linear. So it is not surprising that Solecki’s self-portrait, “Rise from the Silent Abyss,” is an emotional collage that expresses elements of her thoughts, feelings, and intent in distinct fragments throughout the work.

Solecki said she is represented by both the woman and the butterfly in the piece, and the large eye was copied from a self-portrait she painted decades ago. She created “Rise from the Silent Abyss” when she was feeling stress over the state of the world but didn’t have a place to express her worries without being judged for her views.

When she creates, her emotions have a place to rise above the suppression, just like the woman bursting through the glass in her painting. The face in the corner is also trying to break free.

“The woman is rising above the glass that’s holding her down, and there’s a face in the rubble. The artwork is pulling them together because they’re both being suppressed into silence,” Solecki said.

When she began the self-portrait, Solecki didn’t have the whole concept in mind. As she worked, her emotions found a voice on the canvas.

“Sometimes, as an artist, I don’t even know what is going to come out until I start the process. Sometimes, painting makes feelings and thoughts appear on the canvas that I wasn’t even aware of,” she said. “Sometimes as an artist, I can’t speak how I’m feeling. This is how I express myself – through my artwork. Art is another way of communicating.”

Solecki said the finished work tells a story that every viewer may not understand. Each person that sees her art processes it through their own lens of emotion and experience, and they may not relate to the story the art tells.

“Every artwork makes a connection at a personal level. It draws our emotions into it,” Solecki said. “That’s why people connect with some art and not with others. When you’re drawn to an artwork, you’ve found a connection with the artist’s thoughts.”

Those thoughts materialize and find fuller definition as she creates a piece.

“I might start with a concept, but as I start to paint, I realize there’s a deeper meaning,” she said. “Sometimes, my feelings are in my deep subconscious, and this is how they come out. In that way, every painting I do is a self-portrait in some form.”

Solecki recently retired from a 35-year art teaching position in Strongsville, and now she lives on Catawba and is a fulltime artist. She is a resident artist at The Arts Garage (TAG) in Port Clinton, where “Rise from the Silent Abyss” and other works are on display. TAG is located at 317 W. Perry St. in Port Clinton. Admission is free. For more on Soleki, visit www.artworkarchive.com/profile/debrasueart.

Editor’s note: This feature on Debra Sue Solecki is part of the “PORTRAIT OF PORT CLINTON” series that highlights local artists. Artists interested in being featured in the series can learn more here: https://www.thebeacon.net/hello-local-artists/.