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"Forms and Figures"
Mary Blackwell-Chapman and Mitzi Shewmake

May 1 - 26, 2012
Reception: Sunday, May 6, 2 - 4 pm
Meet the Artists at the Gallery Hop: Friday, May 4, 7 - 10pm

Artworks Gallery presents a two-person exhibit entitled, "Forms and Figures" with ceramic sculpture by Mary Blackwell-Chapman and Mitzi Shewmake.

Mary Blackwell-Chapman has created ceramic figures that are expressions of fairy tales - Rapunzel, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and others.  Blackwell-Chapman has previously explored myths, the Goddess, Storyteller pots, and the epic of Gilgamesh.  She states: "This series concerning the oldest of oral storytelling traditions is a continuation of this work. With each piece, she is trying to capture one aspect of the tale, a perspective, that is not a straightforward re-telling, but that expresses some of the fantasies, anxieties, delights, and wisdom of the tale".  

Ms. Blackwell-Chapman earned a BA in English Literature from Goucher College in Baltimore, Maryland, and an MA in Motion Picture from Northwestern University in Chicago.  Her works are in collections in Virginia, West Virginia, Washington, D.C., North Carolina, Georgia, and France.  She has exhibited annually since 1993 in juried and nonjuried shows in North Carolina.   

Ms. Shewmake's sculpture uses  clay and a surface bonding cement over styrofoam. She states: "The forms come first and then I have used color to enhance the forms. One of the two reliefs has to do with the Earth and the other makes a political statement about current life". There are also three ceramic pots included in the exhibition. 

 Ms. Shewmake has a  MFA from the University of North Carolilna at Greensboro, a  BA from George Washington University, and attended the Cleveland Art Institute,  the Art Students League in NY and studied privately with sculptor Alfeo Faggi. She is the former Director of Diggs Gallery, Emerita Professor of Art, Winston-Salem State University, and founding member of Artworks Gallery. She was the Sawtooth Center for Visual Art Artist of the Year with Ed Shewmake. She received two sculpture relief commissions at Wake Forest University and created a relief sculpture at the NC School of the Arts.

 

Click on image for a larger view.
Mary Blackwell-Chapman, "Rupunzel", ceramic, 15" x 9"
Mitzi Shewmake, "Forest Pot", terra cotta clay, 7 1/2" high