Victoria Long Mowrer

I have work on display at the lovely The Urban Arts House, 430 W. Orange St. Lancaster, PA

I am there most First Fridays, by chance and appointment. Please use the Contact form to set up a meeting

A Life of Wonder, Wanderings & What If

I believe beauty has the power to heal. I also believe curiosity is a wonderful compass, questioning authority can be a healthy habit, and some of life’s best adventures begin with absolutely no idea where you’re going.

I got an early start. Growing up an only child on my grandparents’ farm in rural Pennsylvania, I had acres of fields, woods, and barns to explore. There was always something to investigate, from the chicken coop to the springs feeding the pond. I was endlessly fascinated by the natural world and somehow sensed that everything was connected.

The farm provided an early lesson in questioning convention, too. I witnessed my grandfather being excommunicated from his Mennonite community for purchasing a television. A television! That experience left me with a healthy skepticism of authority and a lifelong tendency to ask questions rather than simply accept the answers.

Curiosity has been my compass ever since, occasionally leading me down some rather unexpected paths. I’ve painted, printed, photographed, sculpted in clay and stone, designed gardens, arranged flowers, played in a gamelan orchestra, owned a counterculture café, and worked as a professional chef. I’ve never been particularly good at choosing just one thing.

An experiment pressing flowers into encaustic art led to an invitation to Japan as part of the cultural exchange surrounding the Nagano Winter Olympics, where I spent two weeks sharing my work and teaching classes.

And then there are the gourds. Ah, the gourds!

For more than half my life, these humble, oddly charming members of the plant kingdom have been my muses and companions. One inspired The Dreaming Gourd, an illustrated folk tale about stars, community, love, loss, and reclamation. The story began as an oral performance delivered while perched atop an enormous gourd during my one-woman show, Restlessness and Reverie. Clearly, I’ve never been afraid to take my work—or myself—out on a limb.

I love exploring new materials and techniques, but experimentation doesn’t mean anything goes. I’m particular about composition, balance, and proportion. Some of this is intentional; some is instinctive. I suspect I inherited my visual sensibilities from both my parents, each in their own way. My mother loved beautiful things and had a wonderful eye for color, while my father had the sculptor’s eye, an uncanny ability to recognize form, balance, and subtle visual nuances in just about anything. Between them, they gave me a way of seeing that continues to inform everything I create.

Nature is the great love affair running through all my work. I’m fascinated by its details, ingenuity, and interconnectedness, and increasingly alarmed by how carelessly we’re treating our planet. Through my art, I hope to spark curiosity, encourage closer looking, and remind us that we’re part of something much bigger than ourselves.

After years of wandering and experimenting, I’ve found my way back to Lancaster, Pennsylvania, where some of my best stories are being unearthed as I plow the fields of my past.

These days, I’m itching to spend more time with natural pigments, plants, sticks, stones, and grasses. I’m also exploring the possibilities of making my own brushes. I have no master plan, and that’s just fine by me.

I’m still that little girl on the farm, turning over stones to see what’s underneath, delighted by whatever I might discover next.

Be Brave and Believe.

Artist’s Statement — The Art of Noticing

My artwork is a way of communicating my feelings and perceptions about the things I encounter, both seen and unseen. I look for joy, wonder, and awe in whatever crosses my path, first for myself and then, through whatever medium calls to me, to share with others.

The natural world is my greatest inspiration and an endless source of fascination. I’m drawn to its textures, patterns, colors, peculiarities, and mysteries. I have a particular fondness for things that might otherwise be overlooked or discarded. A found object can hold a history, a personality, or an entire story waiting to emerge.

I love bringing together natural materials, unexpected treasures, and bits of personal history, allowing them to suggest what they might become. Sometimes I begin with an idea; other times, an object seems to introduce itself and take me somewhere I hadn’t imagined. A squirrel-chewed walnut becomes an egg. A piece of bark becomes a fish. A discarded swizzle stick becomes a storyteller’s hat. And suddenly, there’s a story!

I move freely among mediums, embracing experimentation and the surprises that come with it. Yet composition, balance, and proportion remain essential to my process. I enjoy the tension between the intentional and the intuitive, between knowing what I’m doing and allowing something unexpected to happen.

I’m increasingly concerned about the condition of our planet and the disconnect between people and the natural world. Through my work, I hope to encourage a closer look at the things around us, awaken a sense of connection, and perhaps remind us that we are participants in this remarkable living world, not merely observers.

Ultimately, I want my work to invite curiosity, stir the imagination, and offer a little beauty along the way. If something I’ve made causes someone to pause, smile, wonder, or see an ordinary thing in an entirely different light, then something wonderful has happened.

Be Brave and Believe.

The Mowrer Family Farm, Iva, PA

Gallery

Autosave-File vom d-lab2/3 der AgfaPhoto GmbH

Encaustic, handmande paper, plant material 8x10

(iPhone 11 Pro) I can barely believe I captured this moment with my iPhone. San Diego. 2020

(gourd, flax, encaustic, found objects. 24x 24x9") - This piece was a challenge to name. Evolution of the soul via birth - the natural outcome of the rest of the activities that the series is comprised of. Resurrection is often associated with the cross. I basically liked the way those two pieces of wood looked and created a natural cross and the gourd hung there "just so". The rest of my contemplation about just what it was saying and what to call it came after that visual fact. I created this series over the span of about a year. There was no exact intent in mind. All the pieces were created independently of one another with no concept of "I am creating a series". It was after about 6 pieces were complete, all unnamed at that point, that I realized the connection. It was then that names appeared. <a href="/artwork/">Read More</a> — (gourd, flax, encaustic, found objects. 24x 24x9") - This piece was a challenge to name. Evolution of the soul via birth - the natural outcome of the rest of the activities that the series is comprised of. Resurrection is often associated with the cross. I basically liked the way those two pieces of wood looked and created a natural cross and the gourd hung there "just so". The rest of my contemplation about just what it was saying and what to call it came after that visual fact. I created this series over the span of about a year. There was no exact intent in mind. All the pieces were created independently of one another with no concept of "I am creating a series". It was after about 6 pieces were complete, all unnamed at that point, that I realized the connection. It was then that names appeared. Read More

(gourds, iron, chip carving, pyrography, dye, forged iron, encaustic. 14x12x7) Flirtation is often when the cycle begins! Sculptor Gregg Leavitt, Berks Co, PA had a hand in the creation of this piece. NFS

Tempra & Acrylic on paper.
Rhinebeck, NY 1999.
4.5' x 8.5' - Yes, I was crazy. I was not sure who I was most of the time but I knew I was changing. The most interesting thing in this piece is that I did not know when I painted it that I was growing cancer cells in my breasts. Eventually I had a bilateral mastectomy. — Tempra & Acrylic on paper. Rhinebeck, NY 1999. 4.5' x 8.5' - Yes, I was crazy. I was not sure who I was most of the time but I knew I was changing. The most interesting thing in this piece is that I did not know when I painted it that I was growing cancer cells in my breasts. Eventually I had a bilateral mastectomy.
[three_fourth_last]

(gourd, found objects, acrylic, dye, found objects - 1' x 1' x 7' )- A large mask/wand.

(encaustic, plant material, made paper) This piece all began with a banana peel. The rest just happened. :) — (encaustic, plant material, made paper) This piece all began with a banana peel. The rest just happened. 🙂

From an in situ installation at the home of Dr. Patricia Levin, Lampeter, PA. Ms. Levin collects textiles and this piece is a take-off on a "Crazy Quilt".

(encaustic, made paper, plant ,material) All of the works listed as Japan were part of a cultural exchange presented in conjunction with the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1997. I was fortunate to have my work chosen and extremely fortunate to have been invited to Japan to teach my method of preserving plant material using wax (encaustic). The work was purchased and remains in Japan. There were a couple of things that really piqued their interest. One was the method I used to create the work and the other was that my style was very minimalist.
(encaustic, made paper, plant ,material) All of the works listed as Japan were part of a cultural exchange presented in conjunction with the Nagano Winter Olympics in 1997. I was fortunate to have my work chosen and extremely fortunate to have been invited to Japan to teach my method of preserving plant material using wax (encaustic). The work was purchased and remains in Japan. There were a couple of things that really piqued their interest. One was the method I used to create the work and the other was that my style was very minimalist.

See my newest work on Instagram.

“The Dreaming Gourd’s design …

lends its appeal to a wide range of readers, from youngsters to busy adults seeking succinct, eye-opening life inspections.”

—Midwest Book Review

The Dreaming Gourd is a modern fable about working together using our natural resources in creative ways. Readers of all ages will enjoy this inspiring illustrated story.

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