Emma Masley

My mum, Emma Masley - 1943~2006

"Fascination with nature's patterns and forms has always dominated my work.

Many of my images are visual memories of journeys - images of beds of hemlock needles, rippled reflections of water pools, swaying patterned bark of aspen trees,
fossilized forms of leaves, birds, and insects.

Through these personal investigations, I have discovered traces of marks and carvings on tactile surfaces. This element of human presence has intervened with nature and has created anthropomorphic transformations.

The motifs in my work are transformed when I combine printmaking techniques to layer color and texture. These translated images are incorporated into my work through a variety of printmaking techniques.

The layered colors and textural veils create an aura of mystery." ~ Emma Masley

My mother, Emma, worked in a variety of mediums - she was not only an abstract painter and printmaker, but she also created extraordinary abstract 3-dimensional constructions (as you can see above) using foam core board and other materials to create texture and detail.

Emma was always inspired by and drawn towards nature, similar to her artist father, Walter Gasowski. She and Walt both shared a fascination with birds. One of her favorite bird prints is featured below. This piece is titled "Requiem."

For 20 years, our family had a summer cottage in Chalk Hill, PA (Fayette County), which is very close to Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater. It was in a community called Deer Lake. My mother and I would spend entire summers at the cottage - she would paint, sketch, and create while I would be riding my bike and swimming in the lake. Emma produced so much during those summers, but she also made sure to find time to ride her bike, as you can see below!

She and my father would entertain family and friends at the Lake, and she would create watercolor paintings of those get-togethers with the lake in the background. One is featured below. Emma always experimented with color. She had an extraordinary sense of color and design. In her oeuvre, one will find very intricate, organic forms, incredible detail, and carefully layered textures.

Her travels inspired her, particularly her annual trips to London with my father, family, and Chatham students. Actually several of her 3-D constructions are titled after songs from the musical, "Les Miserables." Her trips out west, to Cozumel, Mexico and to Santa Rosa de Copan, Honduras also inspired her. I remember how intrigued, excited, and fascinated Emma was when looking out of the window on the plane to San Pedro Sula, Honduras, and spotting the coral reef in Caribbean Sea. She immediately began sketching.

The sketching, creating, processing, painting, experimenting with color and different mediums, pulling of prints never stopped, even when she was battling Stage IV pancreatic cancer. During her fight of nearly 2 years, she mostly turned to charcoal and colored pencils and constantly drew her cancer, releasing it onto the paper.

A huge part of my mom's life was teaching, mentoring, guiding, supporting, encouraging, and helping her students. Even though Emma was a part-time, adjunct professor at Chatham, she worked like a tenured full professor and dedicated so much time and energy to Chatham, the art department, and the students.

Not only did radiant Emma have a powerful impact on students,
but she truly touched the lives of everyone she met and instantly made people feel good about themselves.

She was a genuine soul
a gift
a gem beaming with energy and color
never will she be forgotten
always will she be loved and cherished.

Never without a beautiful hat and a welcoming smile, Emma graced the world on February 2, 1943
and transitioned into the spirit world on May 15, 2006.

Forever loved
Forever missed
and
Forever celebrated.