Bihl Haus Arts presents “Texas TRIPtych,” an exhibition of Texas river-themed works by Elizabeth Rodriguez. It opens with a reception from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, March 5 at the gallery, with music by Claude Butch Morgan.The exhibition continues through April 2.

The idea for Rodriguez’s exhibition is from the unexpected result of the artist’s desire to escape the Texas heat by spending a day at the river.

“For several years now, I have been trying to get to know Texas a little better, especially her many rivers, creeks, lakes and shores,” Rodriguez said. “It had been years since I'd been to the Guadalupe River. I used to go all the time; I would rent a tube and float down the river. So I packed a snorkel, a towel and my watercolors, and off I went .”

After finding a nice spot on the river, Rodriguez put her snorkel on and plunged in. The first thing she saw underwater was a perfect heart-shaped rock. After that, she kept going back to find more. At first, she only looked for hearts, but then she started collecting other shapes, like squares, circles and triangles.

“I occasionally found a fossil, too. Then I started collecting rocks with holes, rocks of various colors, and those that resemble a nose, an eye or a finger,” Rodriguez said. “I’d always wanted to do a mural out of stone. With that in mind, I acquired quite a collection, and loved every moment. Yes, I took the hearts of many Texas rivers, but I gave them mine in return.”

When she wasn't collecting rocks, the artist was taking pictures or doing watercolors en plein air. “Texas landscapes are kind of spiritual, even medicinal and as diverse as my paintings: some are out of focus interpretations, concentrating mostly on the arrangement of color, and others are carefully realized studies,” Rodriguez explained.

Rodriguez’s experience of collecting rocks and her exploration of rivers and lakes form the basis of “Texas TRIPtych” which features small triptych paintings of Texas rivers, creeks, lakes, shores, landmarks, and landscapes in watercolor and mixed media, paired with cairns, rock sculptures of varying shapes and sizes composed of the rocks collected at the site of the painting. Some triptychs are housed in repurposed drawers of an antique wooden apothecary--one side of each drawer forms shelf for the corresponding cairns.

Email: kellenkee@swbell.net