Paintings from the Silk Road

“Morning Solitude” by Sandra Place.

Sandra Place of Santa Fe, New Mexico and summer resident of Egg Harbor will present an exhibit of pastel paintings, primarily figurative and market scenes, inspired by her travels in Uzbekistan in May, 2012, at Base Camp Coffee in Sister Bay. The exhibit opens June 15 and continues until August 15, with a reception and artist talk on July 11 at 4 pm.

Place traveled for more than two weeks in Uzbekistan, from the Ferghana Valley in the east to Nukus, south of the Aral Sea in the northwest, visiting major cities along the ancient Silk Road including Tashkent, Khiva, Bukhara, Samarkand and points between, on a trip organized by the Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe. The tour focused primarily on the art and textiles of the region and also included visits to many historical sites, mosques and other ancient structures, craft workshops and local markets.

Several paintings from her travels will also be featured in the invitational exhibit “Artists on the Road” at the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, from July 26 – Sept. 15.

Place supports Medecins Sans Frontieres, an organization that works to treat and prevent the spread of tuberculosis in impoverished Karakalpakstan. She will donate 20 percent of her proceeds from the sale of paintings to the organization for this work.

Place is represented locally by The Paint Box Gallery, Ephraim, and Clay Bay Pottery, Ellison Bay. She also teaches workshops in pastel and acrylic at The Clearing in Ellison Bay, as well as privately.