HONESDALE, PA — Nancy Wells’ solo exhibit at the Wayne County Arts Alliance (WCAA), titled “State of Being: The Art of Nancy Wells,” kicked off with a well-attended opening reception on July 21.

The exhibit runs through Friday, September 1.

The WCAA was founded in 2003, and in this, their 20th anniversary year, the Damascus-based artist extraordinaire was honored with the arts alliance’s first one-woman exhibition in the newly renovated first floor main gallery.

The body of work of Nancy Wells, once described as a “proto-feminist,” spans printmaking, sculpting, fiber arts, painting, digital interpretations and the creation of one-of-kind dolls, images that tend to haunt the subconscious.

The work displayed in “State of Being: The Art of Nancy Wells” is primarily figurative in form. On the topic of what creativity means to her, Wells was quoted, “It is the ultimate experience one can have in life… It is the state of being where you are one with everything; you are the river flowing, the wind blowing, the flowers blossoming.”

“I am primarily interested in the process because that is where my energy is most alive. I feel totally connected to what life is at its most intimate core,” added the dedicated mixed media artist and poet.

Wells’ remarkable solo show explores her inner vision of creativity through a thought-provoking assemblage of mixed media collagraphs, watercolors, conté drawings and sculptures, along with examples of her own print process. That process is described as “Alumigraphs,” and is based on the vintage foil art technique called Foilographs.

In addition to being exhibited extensively in the local and metro area, her 21st-century works have been shown in Alaska, Puerto Rico, Russia, Germany, Brazil, Sweden, Spain and Korea.

According to Jay Hostetler, co-curator of the WCAA galleries, Wells has been a valued member of the WCAA for 15 years, and “the variety of mediums she has mastered throughout her career as an artist and teacher is remarkable,” he said.

“We felt it was important to showcase Nancy’s extensive commitment to the arts community as a path forward to our new ground floor gallery space,” he continued. “Most interesting is Nancy’s approach to creating artwork for which she doesn’t let the process lead her, but an intuitive sense or ‘primal energy’ in her words, that results in intense and dramatic artwork.

“It was truly a perfect homage to Nancy Wells,” said Hostetler of the opening reception.

The Wayne County Arts Alliance is located at 959 Main St. It is open Thursdays through Sundays from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., and 11 a.m. till 6 p.m. on Fridays.

For information, call 570/729-5740 or email WayneCountyArtsAlliance@gmail.com.