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PANAMA CITY — Personal struggles brought Malinda Adams to the canvas for the first time, and personal growth keeps her painting.
The Panama City Center for the Arts is exhibiting her work this month in the Higby Gallery. An opening reception for Adams, as well as new solo shows by artists Caitlin Dillon and Sara Pearsall, will be from 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 6, at the Center, 19 E. Fourth St., Panama City.
Originally from Sarnia, Ontario, Adams came to the U.S. in 1999. A permanent resident on the way to becoming a citizen, she moved to Panama City in 2004 when her daughter was 9 months old. Her first career was as a church musician and singer, and she only started making art about five years ago.
“So here’s where my story gets sad, but yet I’m not ashamed of it and I’m proud of how far I’ve come,” Adams said. “At the end of 2014, my ex-husband asked me for a divorce. … He was also very abusive and I didn’t recognize it then, but for years I’d been a victim of domestic violence. I used to make excuses that it ’wasn’t that bad,’ but he nearly took my life twice.”
In January 2015, feeling depressed, she struck up a conversation with an old friend from high school on Facebook and poured out her anguish.
“This friend had also had some extreme emotional events in her life and was seeing a wonderful counselor who strongly encouraged art therapy,” Adams said. “I’ll forever be thankful for that single conversation.”
Her first paintings were done with 50-cent craft paints and cheap canvas. For a few hours while she painted, the world and the hurt faded away, she said.
“Between painting and God, I found Malinda again,” she said. “When I paint, even music fades away, and that’s saying something for a musician.”
FINDING HER STYLE
Adams grew up on the Great Lakes, so water has always been an influence.
“I don’t like when I can’t see what’s under me and always had this silly fear that some monster was going to rise from the deep and eat me,” she said. “But I’ve always found peace by sitting on the shoreline or being on some creek. Running, moving water just calms me, so I’m always drawn to painting it.”
Her current style altered in recent years because of another major life event — remarrying in May 2018.
“While on our honeymoon, I met a mixed media artist who used paper in an interesting way that I’d never seen before, and her work gave me the inspiration to explore mixed media,” Adams said. “I’m also a seamstress, and so I decided to explore this mixed media idea with fabric instead of paper.”
Her first mixed media piece was made with a remnant of the vintage wedding dress she had redesigned for her ceremony. She uses Gesso as a primer as well as a glue to hold materials to the canvas.
“It’s messy, fun and probably not good for me, but my hands, arms and elbows get absolutely covered in Gesso, and I love every moment of my unorthodox, finger painting creative process,” Adams said.
SOLO SHOW
Adams has participated in group exhibitions at the Center for the Arts in the past, but this is her first solo show.
“This past year, after the hurricane, I began doing a collection called ’What Once Was,’” she said. “I was saddened that all my favorite stomping grounds weren’t the same, so I began going through old photos to find those places and paint them so that I and others could remember them as they once were.”
Having her own exhibit validates her work, Adams said, considering that she’s self-taught and feels like a perpetual student.
“All of us struggle with confidence at times and I’m not any different,” she said. “We all wonder if we are good enough, skilled enough, talented enough or educated enough.”
WANT TO GO?
What: Malinda Adams art exhibit
Opening Reception: 5-7 p.m. Friday, March 6
Where: Panama City Center for the Arts, 19 E. Fourth St., Panama City
Admission: Free
Hours and details: visit PCCenterForTheArts.com, email info@pccenterforthearts.com, or call 850-640-3670
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