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Friday, November 25, 2011

The Art of Memory

In preparation for our December show, The Art of Memory, fellow artist and friend Robert Hale and I were each asked to shed a little light on the origins of our work. I thought I would share what I had to say here on Creative Fits, since it pretty much explains what's behind all my work.

"Growing up in Mississippi, in a family of story tellers and writers, I dig deep into my Southern roots and memories for inspiration for my art. I remember, as a very young child, being so driven to create, that I went to the street and collected broken bits of colored glass, constructing my first piece of mixed media art on a scrap of old cardboard. Anything I could find became fodder for my creative fits. Dried flowers, torn tickets stubs, tattered lace, scavenged letters, and maps ripped from an old atlas all found their way into the layers of my collages and paintings.
I began teaching children's art classes at seventeen, and realized in college that I wanted to work with students with emotional and learning difficulties. As a special educator, I've used art as a therapeutic tool, helping my students to understand that each of us is responsible for our own healing, and that we are all capable of creating the reality we've imagined. Through artistic expression we can touch the creative awareness within us, allowing us to perceive our connectedness to all things and to direct our energy toward a deeper level of consciousness and constructive channels of purpose.
In these paintings are the souvenirs of my memories: images from my childhood, glimpses and traces of the places I’ve been and the people I’ve known, layered and marked with the symbolic calligraphy of a secret language. The art of memory."

This is one of the new pieces for the show. It's based on memories of a recurring dream of the ocean and seashells washed in by the tide. I'll be spending the rest of my Thanksgiving holiday finishing up a few more paintings which I'll share with you here. In the meantime, I hope that you had a lovely Thanksgiving and made many happy memories of your own!

Water Music I

Water Music I 16" X 16" acrylic, ink, and oil crayon for Paint Party Friday

16 comments:

Bren Graham Thebeau said...

What an amazing piece, love the colour combinations.
And can I just say, beautiful piece on your life with art. You were born to do what you do and you knew it!

Tracey FK said...

great colour, movement and texture in this... I really really love it xx

carol l mckenna said...

Great post and awesome painting ~ very creative ~ thanks, namaste, Carol (Share the Creative Journey) Happy PPF ^_^

FLO said...

Hello Kathy,
I just visit your Blog and your web site. I love your colors and the amazing atmosphère (excuse my bad english :))

Netty said...

Loving the colour, movement and texture. Smashing piece of art. Happy PPF. Have a great weekend, x

Hybrid J said...

An amazing piece of work ... :)

Joni Nickrent said...

Beautiful...love the energy and colors!

Ayala Art said...

Nice! The black shape catches my eye, and the colors are sweet.

EVA said...

Lovely! Great colours. I wish I could do abstracts like this... and so nice to hear your "story".

FLO said...

Katty, I have seen photos of your art studio, he's wonderfull and I really love the décoration!

This Moment said...

So beautiful, Kathy! I LOVE your new bright yellow background--so beautiful and cheery!!!

Jill

JKW said...

I hadn't thought about 'memory' art. I just saw at the Mancuso World Quilt show, memory quilts (2 weeks ago). Interesting. Blessings, Janet PPF

Daniele Valois said...

thank you so much for sharing this information. I came from quite the opposite background, and I think I am working on my inner child. This is wonderful!

Carole Reid said...

Thanks for telling us your memory. Teaching at 17!
My mom hated going for walks down back alleys with me (still does) because I would pick things up off the ground (still do) and wonder how I could use it.

Mandy said...

this is wonderful...i love the colours you have used...xxx

Marit said...

Do you know the (classic) music piece 'Wassermusik' (watermusic) by Handel??? My mother used to play it all the time. Your painting brought back good memories! Sorry I haven't visited you in a long time - I'm in the middle of launching my first (printed) magazine and days are rather hectic over here... Hope you are doing fine dear!