Gainesville artist Lorelei Esser remembered in new book

V. Jane Windsor (right) discusses The Sustainable Spirit with Grant Huchingson, manager at The Lynx. Photo by Seth Johnson
V. Jane Windsor (right) discusses "The Sustainable" Spirit with Grant Huchingson, manager at The Lynx.
Photo by Seth Johnson

After five years of compiling and composing, V. Jane Windsor launched “The Sustainable Spirit: The Art of Lorelei Esser” on Wednesday to honor the Gainesville artist who assembled art from discarded materials. 

The book launch, held at The Lynx, coincided with Esser’s birthday on Oct. 2 and ended a series of events to commemorate her. Windsor said nearly all of Esser’s work is privately owned, but the public can view a gallery of her art for a limited time at the Black C Gallery (201 SE 2nd Place, Ste. 111, Gainesville).  

Windsor has worked to honor Esser’s legacy since her death in 2020. Using 31 volumes of journals as material, Windsor launched a Substack and website to disseminate her words and display her art.  

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The cover of The Sustainable Spirit is one of the last pieces Lorelei Esser created. Courtesy Tom Miller
Courtesy Tom Miller The cover of “The Sustainable Spirit” is one of the last pieces Lorelei Esser created.

“The Sustainable Spirit” had to happen, Windsor said. Using professional shots of Esser’s sculptures, doodles and journals, the book walks through her life as an artist, activist and designer for the Hippodrome State Theatre.  

On the cover is one of the last pieces Esser created, a potentially unfinished self-portrait.  

Before Esser’s death, Windsor said she created and presented a small book of her work. Esser looked over it and kept saying, “So much is missing,” Windsor recalled.  

Windsor said that comment kept ringing in her mind when compiling “The Sustainable Spirit.” But even so, she had so much material to work through that it took five years.  

“I was constantly making decisions about what to use, and that’s why it took so long,” Windsor said. “There was so much work. This is only a small amount of what I had to choose from. I had files and files and files of things to choose from.”   

Windsor said she plans to continue promoting Esser’s work with a second book that focuses on her writings.  

For more information, you can visit the Substack here or Esser’s website here

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