THE ISLAND ENTROPIC

An entropic system is defined by the presence of disorder.  There are thousands of
exchanges and an infinite number of possible actions contained within that single system.

The Mayo Island Studio Collective embodies the spirit of entropy.  On the second floor of an old
WPA-era warehouse sitting on a tiny island in the middle of the James River, we work beside
each other in largely open studios.  Our goals, our media, and our processes are diverse, but we
share an electric airspace.  The energy and inspiration resulting from this shared space, shared
acquaintances, shared interests, shared admiration, and physical proximity or creative friction is
the alchemy that propels our work beyond previously established horizons.

Of the ten artists included in this exhibition, seven are currently working on that little island,
and three have moved on, though only in a physical sense (once an Islander, always an
Islander).  For the artists at Mayo Island, there is always a sense of flux, and of growth.  A casual
conversation on the loading dock-turned-front porch morphs into collaboration.  Someone gets a
teaching job in a new state.  We leave for a three-month residency and ask our studio mates to
water the plants until we return.  A new body of work begins, generating infectious energy.  While
some won’t return to the warehouse in the middle of the river, the door is left open to welcome
additions to our studio community. 
 
The creative entropy of our island continues to spread.