Rochester’s Muck Duck Studios last month showcased “Sparks Over Time: A Journey of Inspiration,” a collection of works by community organizer and social worker Elizabeth Rossi.
Rossi’s description of the event in part reads “to be engaged in creative practices means that we can re-envision the meaning of our purpose and the way we can exist within the world no matter the circumstances. My community work is also part of my creative practice where I cultivate spaces that enable participants to access this part of themselves.”
With displays of acrylic paintings, areas for participants to share their thoughts on the work and conserve, and spaces for children to draw and feel comfortable, Rossi’s work means more than just the art she presents. It is a reflection of the environment she’s worked to curate throughout her life.
Rossi grew up in Rochester and studied at New York University,
“And in New York, it’s a different kind of art scene. There’s almost like this high, there’s so many people who come to (the city) to follow their dreams,” she says.
Despite the community of artists and opportunities in New York City, Rossi felt she wasn’t honoring the commitment she had to her own creative self.
“I’m a youth worker, a workshop facilitator, and a consultant. And so I put a lot of my professional energy into that and treated art as if it was a hobby on the side,” Rossi explains.
Understanding that her relationship with her creativity needed mending prompted her to return to Rochester and to herself – ultimately inspiring the title of her showcase.
“In reshaping the way I see my creative process, especially in the past, it was such a difficult thing for me to create. The art that I was able to create, I see sparks that made it through all of that,” Rossi says. “They wanted to live and they wanted to emerge and they wanted to be seen.”
Much of Rossi’s works revolve around relationships and their impact on her personal journey. She is quick to honor the many individuals who have directly shaped her creativity. Rossi fondly recalls her parents’ support and encouragement, and art teachers and youth workers who also played a role in her development.
She details how Ms. Robin, a youth worker she first met during her time at the local YMCA, encouraged her to paint murals that would promote fundraisers for the youth center during Kwanzaa.
“I painted all the things for the sales to do fundraising. … I think (there were) 15 murals at the YMCA,” Rossi says. “Those were my original art forms, (and) the elders and parents and people were just so supportive of me.”
It’s that support that has defined Rossi’s process of healing—from her experience as a woman of color to her perspective as a community and social worker.
“I think oftentimes we’re able to find reflections of ourselves mirrored in other people that allow us to say, ‘Oh, that’s me,’” she observes. “I thought that was an ugly part of me. But when I see that person, I don’t see ugly. I see someone who survived. … I see perseverance. I see resilience. By having that compassion for someone else reflected back to you, it allows you to have compassion for yourself.”
One of the pieces Rossi details is from her Barcelona series, where an individual looking outward is embraced by another with colorful wings against a teal backdrop. The two are connected not only in a physical embrace, but also through expression that can only be achieved through connection, the artist believes.
“When you truly honor your own internal voice, or honor the idea that is meant to come from out of you, it touches people more, and people can feel it more. And in that way, I think that there’s a magic that’s happening across space and time,” she says.
Narm Nathan is a Rochester Beacon intern, a senior at the University of Rochester and a member of the Beacon Oasis Project’s inaugural cohort. The Beacon welcomes comments and letters from readers who adhere to our comment policy including use of their full, real name. Submissions to the Letters page should be sent to [email protected].
Thank you for coverage of and articles about the arts in Rochester.