Priscilla Foley earned a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and an MA from the University of Rhode Island. She turned to collage as a result of her experience as a teacher. Because students frequently had difficulty getting beyond the representational, she asked that they select a work of their own creation, tear it into pieces, and then reassemble it. This process helped them to focus on design rather than representation and to use the altered subject matter as a springboard for the imagination.

Urban landscapes and water birds are two main themes in her work. In their natural habitat, water birds have beauty and grace, even a bit of the comedic, as any bird watcher will attest. Capturing good photographic images can be an adventure leading to swamps, marshes, ponds, inlets and rocky coastlines.

During the ’80s, Foley also began to observe urban landscapes as a reflection of our quixotic, changing culture. Viewed from the road, a multitude of signs and directives compete for our attention. Their visually noisy presence seems to push and pull at our willingness to value and experience competing ideas, products, services, assurances, and life styles. Standing amidst the signs and against a relief of traffic lights and utility poles are buildings of vastly different age, purpose and design. Signs, lights, and structures slide by the viewer’s eye in a linear progression of scenes. These scenes provide opportunity for, as well as a challenge to, the artist who must select from the chaotic mix those parts that present a meaningful vision.