Red Dot Project

Rosalyn Gaier’s art prints feel like they spring from the natural world.

Abstract designs done in colors that layer up and entwine seem to take their inspiration from earth, sea and sky. And Gaier sees to it that she does as little as possible to harm those natural resources.

Gaier, who lives and works in Solon, is one of 15 artists featured as part of the PNC SmartHome at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History.

Curated by RED DOT Project, the SmartHome artworks support sustainable living. To be considered for the SmartHome, the art had to address the environment in one of three ways:  earth-friendly materials, sustainable processes or content and imagery.

Gaier, for instance, has adopted gentler materials and techniques to create her collagraphs (prints produced from collaged plates) and etchings (prints produced from metal plates). The collage materials she uses to make her collagraphs are often wallpaper and fabric samples donated by admirers of her work. Such repurposing enriches her art even as it saves a little landfill space.

Sustainable practices “give me peace of mind,” Gaier says.  ”I can concentrate on creating rather than be distracted by the worry over deleterious effects of fumes from etching grounds and solutions or solvents. Learning new low-toxic habits for the printmaking studio takes some getting used to, but the positive results of good stewardship both personally and on the environment as a whole make sense to me.”

For Gaier, art is all about the ever-present human search for beauty and communication.

“The arts make our lives shine with expression,” she says. “Each artist offers her or his unique dialogue. Likewise, each viewer ‘hears’ what an artist says from a unique perspective. What appeals to one viewer may not appeal to another, but the dialogue needs to continue.”

Artwork: Two Measures of Forte with Peculiarities, Rosalyn Gaier