Cauldron

Issue date: 5/15/07 Section: A & E

Media Credit: Lauren Weiner Beds and dreams provide the backbone for Rogers latest exhibit at Xnihilo Gallery.

The first thing I noticed about artist Kelly Rogers as she walked into Taft Street Coffee was that her shirt, like the paintings in her exhibition, was covered in birds. As we sat on the floor in the open area of the adjacent Xnihilo Gallery and sipped our soy lattes, Rogers' eyes would occasionally wander and her voice would trail off as she fell into the memories of her work.

Her exhibition, titled "You Made Your Bed, Now Sleep In It!" features paintings of beds abstracted into various thematic surroundings such as longing, restoration, and departure. The majority of the paintings are similar in form, with identical beds and background-to-foreground ratios. What makes each painting unique is the atmosphere in which the bed exists.

"The bed represents that which you meditate upon," Rogers explained. "And there are different ideas and symbols that surround the beds. The colors and the paint are the emotions." Rogers drew birds, airplanes, and other symbols on tracing paper and pasted them into the paintings to represent transient ideas, such as dreams.

Rogers' subject matter is based upon her own dreams, which she has been recording since age 12. She is also inspired by people she has met in her travel experiences, which are quite extensive for a 28-year-old.

Her first painting of this series, "The Bed of Travel," documents her travels through Europe and Africa by including newspaper articles she would clip on trains. Many of her paintings include text, which she feels is appropriate because her dreams are documented in writing.

One of Rogers' favorite paintings in the series is "The Bed of Memory," which she said is based upon a recurring dream she has had since she was small child. The dream involves a rabbit grasping for a paint can that is just beyond his reach. All the elements from the dream are drawn on tracing paper to suggest their evanescent quality.

Almost every painting was covered in birds. "That comes from a dream I had in 2004," Rogers said. She explained that the dream was in three scenes, the second of which showed the desolated land and the sky filled with birds. "That dream has never left me," Rogers said.

As probably most artists would say, Rogers finds an outlet in her art. "My creations are little journeys I take toward healing, and God has directed them all," Rogers said. She finds art to be a form of worship, often writing Bible verses or prayers and hiding them underneath the layers of her work.

Rogers currently lives in Brazoria, Texas, where she is a full-time artist. In the fall she will be attending the University of Florida in Gainesville to study art and medicine. "That's what I want to do now," Rogers said. "I want to be an artist but I also want to work with people in need of healing."

Xnihilo Gallery is located at 2115 Taft Street and Rogers' exhibit will be there through June 10.

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