MY STORY

Pouring, or fluid painting is equal parts thoughtfulness and accident. It is the unusual and perfect marriage of science and art.

Welcome to Modern Pours in the heart of Rocket City, where deep south and deep space collide. Creator-painter Sherry Fanning, born and based in northern Alabama, captures the mystique of non-representational art. With a background in knitting, weaving, paper-craft, and beading, Sherry celebrates texture, emotive color, and unintentional design.

She mixes paints and chemicals from part to part through a process similar to cooking from a recipe. These unique combinations then react in surprising ways. As the paint is released from an inverted container, a master composition flows across the canvas, unstoppable and irreplaceable. No two pours are alike. Design variables include each color's body weight and opaqueness, viscosity, gravity, liquid conditioners, water, heat, various lubricants, and the occasional balloon. 

ART AS HEALING

“Fluid painting is marked by flow,” Sherry says. “It’s about fluid dynamics and tilting your whole world, or just the canvas in front of you, to create the new and wonderful.” 

After years of suffering from depression and mood disorder, Sherry’s creative endeavors have helped provide balance and contentment. What may seem like a messy hobby that yields unexpectedly beautiful artwork is primarily a part of the healing process. 

Wife of Dr. John E. Fanning, Regional Chair of Internal Medicine at UAB-Huntsville, Sherry lives and breathes healing art in her studio or in serving and “loving on” family, patients, students, colleagues, friends, and neighbors. 

In recent studies published by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), art therapy has been proven to help recover from depression or trauma. Findings include a reduction in flashbacks and nightmares. Coping with difficult experiences or managing feelings such as grief, survivor’s guilt, and shame are also benefits of art used for healing. The art created as a result acts as a catalyst for positive change. This creative process has also proven to foster brain connectivity, leading to healthier brain function.

“I’ve always leaned toward the creative, or what my family likes to call ‘bright and flashy.’ And I’m so grateful whenever someone takes the time to enjoy my pieces. Even the broken pieces. The best part of all this... I’m still learning, still improving, and healing,” she says. Sherry loves to teach and talk about art almost as much as she loves the creative process. She believes that anyone can be an artist. Anyone can appreciate beauty. And all of us create.