Cultural Center of Cape Cod

“CarbonNATION” on view at the Cultural Center of Cape Cod’s Ocean Fever/Resilient Sea Exhibition through April 25.

| Sarah Connell Campbell
CarbonNATION, watercolor, 12×12, 2026

Inspired by the essential work of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, The Cultural Center of Cape Cod issued a call to local artists to create art that evokes the impact of climate change on local environments. I found myself fixated on the impact of carbon dioxide on our environment and took the opportunity to play with type and color. CarbonNATION was one of three works I submitted to this juried show, which is on view until April 25, 2026.

Reception on Friday, April 10, 5-7pm.

My work for this prompt is based on a photo I took in Woods Hole in 2023. I’ve always loved the colors, life and movement in this photo and was glad to find a reason to paint from it.

Woods Hole shoreline. Copyright 2023 Sarah Connell Campbell

The other two paintings I submitted that aren’t in the show are:

Carbon Footprint, watercolor, 8×8, 2026

and

Exhaustion, watercolor, 11×15, 2026

The Cultural Center in Yarmouth, MA, is a beautiful space in an old bank building and always worth visiting when on Cape Cod.

Cultural Center of Cape Cod, Yarmouth, MA

“Deconstructing Me” Accepted to the Unfinished Woman Exhibition at the Cultural center of Cape Cod, October 9-November 3, 2025.

| Sarah Connell Campbell
Deconstructing Me . Watercolor + collage, 2025

This special series of events, “The Unfinished Woman – Who Am I Beyond the Roles that I play?” is inspired by Joan Anderson’s Book series, A Year by the Sea. This art show “honors a profound and often overlooked chapter in a woman’s life—the quiet moment after the roles of partner, best friend, volunteer, or caretaker begin to fade.”

Although I’ve created art of some kind throughout my life, I took up watercolor in 2017 as a way of expanding my skills while also hoping that my adult autistic son, who loves to draw primarily with markers, might also be interested in watercolor (spoiler alert: he’s sticking with markers). But I fell in love with watercolor partly because I was fortunate enough to find a teacher, Kat O’Connor, and a talented group of painters who have guided and inspired me.

I started out hoping to create work I thought others would consider proper watercolor, and while I still create traditional work, I’ve also reconnected with the artistic style that defined my youth, which leads me to explore all the memories that go with that. Now I’m rebuilding my artistic vision and my inner life.

This collage piece depicts my journey through media, styles and subject matter through the years as I work to break free of my own expectations and create work that celebrates who I am now while valuing the people and experiences that got me here.

I’m thankful that the Cultural Center of Cape Cod presented an opportunity for me to review my work and make something out of my paintings that have snippets that I love but were flawed in other ways – saving the good parts and cutting out the rest is a valuable process.