| Friends of the Pittsboro Memorial Library is pleased to present
“Petrified Forrest” by Chatham artist, Forrest Greenslade. Best known for
his whimsical animal sculptures and paintings, his new series presents an
excursion into the mind of a much more serious artist. Greenslade’s highly
stylized, sculptural treescapes are created in modeling paste and tarnished
metals on canvas. They depict remembrances on canvas of special woodland
places. The exhibit runs through Sept. in the Reeves Gallery at The Pittsboro
Memorial Library. Forrest Greenslade, educated as a molecular biologist, spent his working life as a scientist and organizational executive. Serious business has now been replaced by ventures into creative, playful expression. Greenslade offers an explanation, “Strange creatures began to inhabit my mind, and manifested themselves in art”. He creates art that feels to many as rather naïve, even childlike. Playing, it seems is what Forrest does best. Whether his creativity leads to whimsical sculptures, which he calls “ Forrest Dwellers” or takes him on a journey to a “Petrified Forrest”, his work shares common threads. They display the delight and playfulness of creating art, his unique scientific experimentation of materials (metal, concrete, clay or canvas receive innovative coatings and patinas producing color, texture) and Greenslade’s life-long love of nature and nature-inspired mythology. His studio is open by appointment and during the Chatham County Studio Tour. 
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