Low relief sculptures by artist Florence Johns Vezie are displayed at the Village Gallery of Local Artists. Florence’s garment line has been shown throughout her long tenure as a member of the gallery. Now she is excited to present to the public a whole new side of her creativity and talents.

Florence’s delightful sculptures appear to jump off the canvas with striking color, texture, and imagination. Her use of bright metallic paints emphasizes light and illuminates the depth of her work. She began work on her present collection called “By Intentional Design” in 2019. Mostly favoring landscapes, Florence freely explores other subjects such as florals, butterflies abstracts, and even dancers.

Working mostly with tissue and other forms of paper, Florence softens her materials before molding, shaping, and applying them to canvas with acrylic medium. Sometimes she uses various fabrics, finishes, and molding materials to her canvases as well. Florence doesn’t want to limit her options for materials and says “I want to leave myself open for experimentation.”

Florence worked from a young age as a seamstress and garment designer of her own fashion line “It’s a Flo’s”. Staying true to her love of the colors and textures of fabric, it was a natural transition for Florence to expand her creativity to sculpting on canvas.

Florence relocated to the Verde Valley from Florida in 1989 and has enjoyed living in the area ever since. She has thrived in spirit and grown as an artist in the three-plus decades she has been here. She adamantly says “I love it here and will never leave this beautiful Red Rock Country!”