Wavy Glass Windows photographs by Linda Bryan
Through August 2022
Wavy Glass Windows - Memories, Isolation and Light
Photographs by Linda Bryan
On display at the CVMC Art Gallery through August 2022
Artist Statement
I live in a 200 year old house in a rural village in Vermont. My father grew up here. This house still has the original, handmade glass windows, full of streaks and swirls and bubbles. The glass imperfections are evident on both the outside and interior spaces— they warp objects and cast unique shadows.
Light comes directly through the windows during the late fall, winter and early spring, when the angle of the sun is low on the horizon. This can be a difficult time of year, because the daylight hours are shorter and sunlight is often hidden behind clouds. For me, the long dark winter can easily cause depression so any light that comes into the house is a reprieve. I followed sunbeams as they move through a room or stare, mesmerized, as the sun sparkls off the frost covered panes.
I’ve been photographing the windows for years, but the isolation of the pandemic gave me more time indoors to reflect on the past and family history. I am a keeper of family memories—boxes of photographs, crinoline dresses, old books containing handwritten names of relatives I have never met. I photograph these objects as the light made it’s journey across the walls. While there was often a feeling of melancholy for loved ones lost, I created new stories and memories with my camera. The returning light made me appreciate the time I get to spend in this old house I call home.
Linda Bryan is a photographer whose works is rooted in the natural environment and familial spaces. Working with a range of photographic mediums, from vintage cameras to digital, Bryan explores the relationships between sense of place, time, longing and personal relationships.
Bryan’s photography has been exhibited in solo shows including: Deeper than Blue, Quimby Gallery, Northern Vermont University, VT, ‘Blue x2’, Two Rivers Printmaking Studio, White River Junction, VT, and ‘Tarpentry’, Studio Place Arts, Barre, VT. Group shows include Unique: Alternative Processes, A.Smith Gallery, Johnson City, TX. Juror: Jill Enfield, and ‘Summer Open’, Juror: Katherine Hart, Interim Director, Hood Museum, AVA Gallery, Lebanon, NH. “A Newbury Portrait,” a book documenting a community in a rural town in VT, by Bryan and Chris Esten, was self-published in 2013. Her work has appeared in print and online publications including: The Hand Magazine, Vermont Art Guild, Light Leaked and Don’t Take Pictures.
Bryan received her BFA in Studio Arts and an MFA in Photography, has taught digital and darkroom photography at the college level as well as workshops in alternative or vintage photography processes. Between degrees, Bryan honed her craft while working as a printer and film processor at a professional photo lab.
Bryan’s work is softly saturated with implied narrative, leaving room for personal interpretation. “I’m looking for connection and curiosity, for surprise and serendipity, ” says Bryan, “I seek the places and moments often overlooked.
If you are interested in purchasing one of Linda’s photographs, please contact her directly: lindasbryan@mac.com.
For more information about THE GALLERY at CVMC please email Maureen O’Connor Burgess, Curator, at moetown52@comcast.net.