Artist Statment
Work in Progress
I have always been fascinated with fairy tales. The characters, the places they take us to, and the lessons they teach us. Each fairy tale can stand the test of time. The stories can be told a thousand times throughout centuries and we can listen, see it, feel it again and again. The “Once upon a time” may note a beginning, but any fairy tale has a sense of ambiguous time and place. We share these timeless stories in a timeless space.
I am obsessed with time, I always have been. I am a highly organized, driven, and passionate person who never has enough time. Not enough hours in the day, not enough time to exist, not enough time to love this life, and everything in it. When I first started painting I thought a lot of my subjects were fairy tales. But I wasn’t describing any fairy tales or stories that existed. I struggled for a long time to figure out exactly what it was in my artwork that carried the theme of fairy tales, mythology, and horror stories that I loved so much. I wasn’t just illustrating a story that existed, I was trying to illustrate the door to the story, the time stop, the rabbit hole. The place where it begins. Where we know that whatever art I have created is just a moment in time, a piece of a narration that moves you forward. You don’t need to know the entire story because that isn’t what my artwork represents. It represents a moment when we start to see the universe and we step away from the construct of time.
My subjects are mainly alien-like flora and fauna that are wrapped up in their environment. They’re transforming as their story is being told. Sometimes I have very distinct reasons and representations of a particular animal. The white rabbits are a constant homage to the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. If ever there was a character that felt so close to home it would be Alice. Her journey is into a world where she is the only constant surrounded by chaos and madness. Her only guide is a creature that is constantly late and running out of time. I myself grew up surrounded by a household that was chaos and madness. If I didn’t have the anxiety to drive myself out of one moment in time the next it would have cost me my survival. It was always about moving into the next safe moment I could. We create what we know and I have always tried to capture this panic of time in a sort of time freeze. Birds in midflight, unicorns with trees growing out of them, vines wrapping around ankles. What I draw and paint has always been about this private timeless space where the chaos begins. I want my audience to feel like they just stepped through with me.
Danielle Pebbles
Artist Bio
Danielle Pebbles is a southern California transplant that now calls the Twin Cities home. She received her BFA in Drawing from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design, after exploring possible futures in Illustration and Fine Arts Studio and spending time studying the field (and learning Portuguese!) in Brazil. She chose her focus in Drawing, as she believes it holds the foundation for a wide variety of mediums, allowing her to transfer her skills to any discipline she may choose to pursue.
As well as working on her own artwork, Danielle is the brainchild behind a group of collaborative art shows in the Twin Cities. These shows embrace the whimsical side of creation, catering to an audience of artists and people alike who have a flair for fantasy lore. The Unicorn Art Show is centered around the majestic magical creature, while the Gods and Monsters event showcases the culture of horror and storytelling. In addition to these shows and many more she is involved in, Danielle is also a Core Member of The Conspiracy of Strange Girls, a Make-a-Wish art mentor, and a sub-head volunteer for the annual Convergence art-related convention. She also brings the beauty of art into the physical world as an aerial arts performer and instructor. She also fosters and volunteers through MN Pitbull Rescue.
Danielle’s biggest drive as an artist is to motivate her peers to create artwork and offer them a place to display their talents. She believes that there is an inspiring force of artists of all mediums in the Twin Cities, and that they should be showcased in the spirit of community and collaboration.