The idea for my new body of work was born during a figure drawing course I took last summer from the Ringling School of Art and Design in Wild Acres, NC. During the session, I collaged two previously drawn figures onto new surfaces. I loved the fresh start, but no ideas flowed for where to go next, so the two starts…
If you are looking for art that is fresh and special this spring, an event will be held soon that includes the work of three fresh OCAG artists: Cathy Kiffney, Luna Lee Ray, and Rebecca Neigher. Cathy Kiffney explains: "Four years ago I approached Luna Lee Ray with the idea of a small spring show. Although I did not know her…
Three OCAG artists are participating in an upcoming show at the Chapel Hill Gallery of Art on Franklin Street. Here at what each says about their particular path while making their art... Eduardo Lapetina notes: "The steps I go through are unpremeditated and unplanned. I might apply two or three layers this way, and then as shapes and forms emerge, a direction…
Center/Gallery thrived in the heyday of the Women’s Art Movement. Most active from 1977 through 1984, it was the NC Triangle’s response to Feminist Art, a center for creative energy, public statement, and enthusiastic expression of women’s experience. Even though it no longer has a physical space, many of the group of supportive peers has kept the spirit of the space alive. It…
Honoring the Past and Present Members of the Carrboro Branch Library Art Committee Over the past eighteen years the artist run Carrboro Branch Library's Arts Program has shown the work of over 1,750 local visual artists in over 60 exhibitions, won two Frances B. Reid Awards from the Friends of North Carolina Public Libraries, and won a national award from the…
Having a Featured Artist show at the Hillsborough Gallery of Arts is an opportunity to present a new body of work. I love to work in series using different themes, and for my new show I have continued with my theme of Women in the World, using idioms as inspirations. This year I have brought more global influences into the mix. …
I began using maps in my artwork several years ago when I was trying to solve the dilemma of painting a toucan's large beak and keeping it interesting. I decided to collage an antique map of the toucan's homeland underneath the bird, and I was thrilled to find a picture of a small section of a South American map drawn in the 1600’s.…
We each have emotional work in our lives, "soul work" you could call it. Along with the play involved in any creative work, my soul work finds its way into my painting; struggles caught in images. In considering a theme for the new work in my current show, the idea of home seemed to capture the pieces that were developing…
Perhaps because of my scientific background and my lack of formal training as an artist, I have taken many risks and explored new techniques in my work. My textural surfaces are built with paint; many layers of paint built up one over the other. I don’t use modeling paste or other fillers, just paint, straight from the containers, mixed right…
Born Nerys Wendon Williams, I was raised in North Wales, and Welsh was my home language and I learned English when I was eight years old. My formative years were spent at a Welsh language school with a high level of cultural education. It had a close community where the Welsh language chapel sought to reinforce the culture. My grandfather, an accomplished…