Jo Mackenzie Artist Statement: Capturing Moments and Paying Attention

What do you remember most? Small moments. Little snapshots stored away as images in our heads that are personal and private but have meaning for us individually. Finding these moments to capture requires paying attention to images throughout the day that might otherwise pass by unnoticed. Looking each day for things to be thankful for started as a game. I would suddenly announce to a member of the family “Look at the light on the garden this morning.” At least once during a day I would notice something and write it down later that night. The lesson generalized and became a family joke. All I had to do was get a certain look on my face and my husband and daughter would roll their eyes and say, “Uh oh, she’s having a moment again.” When my daughter was three or four we had a spring thaw that is common in Vermont and the basement quickly filled with water at an alarming rate. Things were floating as we got a pump set up. I was in the blackest of moods when my daughter looked up and sang out, “Mommy, we are having a moment!” Making art for me is about capturing a moment. One single instant to be grateful for. Being lucky enough to see something noteworthy and rather than file it away, try to bring it to life to share with others.   Jo Mackenzie’s work has been exhibited in many places, including: New England Watercolor Society; Southern Vermont Arts Center, Manchester, VT; Very Special Arts Organization, Washington, D.C.; Shelburne Farms, Shelburne, VT; and Best of Vermont, Bennington Center for the Arts, Bennington, VT.