Hattiesburg City Hall Exhibit

Our City Hall in Hattiesburg has a rotating exhibit of artwork, sometimes using paintings of historic buildings from their permanent collection by outstanding local artists Dinnie St. John and Beverly Dennis featuring historic buildings. Patty Hall of the Hattiesburg Arts Council asked me to display my fiber art during the months of September and October in the main floor hallway and in the upstairs office hallway.

Gallery Point Leflore

A new gallery in Greenwood, Mississippi, Gallery Point Leflore, accepted fourteen of my works to display in their gallery. This gallery opened July 31, 2009, and has been an exciting addition to the revitalized downtown section of Greenwood.

Quoting from their website, "Gallery Point Leflore focuses on contemporary Southern art with a wide variety of both folk and fine arts in multiple media and styles. The gallery takes its name from the geographical site in Leflore County where the Tallahatchie and Yalobusha Rivers meet to form the muddy Yazoo River. The symbolism spoke to us as it represents individuals who meet to form a bold union greater than the sum of its parts."

Explosion at the Paint Factory

My exhibit at the Cottonlandia Museum in Greenwood was very well-received, and twelve pieces sold. What an honor to learn that Explosion at the Paint Factory was purchased by the board as part of the museum's permanent art collection. This piece was made several years ago and remains one of my all-time favorites. My sadness over not having it any longer is heavily outweighed by my joy in knowing that it has a home where many people can enjoy it. I consider it a great honor to have my work in this outstanding collection.

Visual Arts Fellowship from Mississippi Arts Commission

Share my joy over this exciting news! I was awarded a $4,400 Visual
Arts Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission to be used for
further development as a fiber artist. The press release in the Hattiesburg American is quoted below:

Martha Ginn receives Mississippi Arts Commission Fellowship
(Jackson, MS) – Martha Ginn of Hattiesburg has been awarded a $4,400 grant from the Mississippi Arts Commission (MAC).
This grant is a portion of the $1.5 million in grants the Commission will award in 2009-2010 and will be used to further her development as a fiber artist. The grants are made possible by continued funding from the Mississippi State Legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.
“The individual artists across the state continue to offer their talents to prove the value of the arts in Mississippi. Their creation of art and participation in local events and activities helps to insure the economic success of their community. The Mississippi Arts Commission is proud to support their efforts,” said Malcolm White, Executive Director of MAC.
Martha Ginn creates original fiber art pieces, combining traditional quilting techniques with non-traditional materials and methods, often blending fabric with paint, layering, and extensive surface stitching. The fellowship is to be used to support the artist’s professional development or the creation of new work. She is active in South Mississippi Art Association, Pine Belt Quilters, Mississippi Quilt Association, and the Area Development Partnership. Her work has been exhibited at the Lucile Parker Gallery of William Carey University, the Mississippi Arts Commission Offices, and is currently on display at the Cottonlandia Museum in Greenwood, Mississippi.
The Mississippi Arts Commission is a state agency serving residents of the state by providing grants that support programs to enhance communities, assist artists and arts organizations; promote the arts in education and celebrate Mississippi’s cultural heritage. Established in 1968, the Mississippi Arts Commission is funded by the Mississippi Legislature, the National Endowment for the Arts, the Wallace Foundation, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Mississippi Foundation, Donna & Jim Barksdale, the Phil Hardin Foundation, the Mississippi Endowment for the Arts at the Community Foundation of Greater Jackson and other private sources. The agency serves as an active supporter and promoter of arts in community life and in arts education.

Exhibit at Cottonlandia Museum, Greenwood, MS

The Cottonlandia Museum in Greenwood, Mississippi, is one of the Mississippi Delta's best-kept secrets! It chronicles the history of Leflore County with special emphasis on the cotton industry, but it also houses fascinating artifacts which tell the history of the area, including one of the largest collections of historic trade beads known. The town and county are named for Greenwood Leflore, a Choctaw chief, planter, and Mississippi State Senator.

A fine art collection includes works by Theodora Hamblett, Marie Hull, William Dunlap, and many others. It is my honor for 35 pieces of my fiber art to be displayed from July 9-August 27 in two rooms of this charming museum.

Heavenly Bodies, Sycamore Leaf, Ghost Flower, Butterfly Crossing, Sun Print on Damask
Black & White Series: Rose Garden and Falling Ginkgoes
In the Beginning, Pyrotechnics


Pyrotechnics, Mariposa, Leaf Shadows, Wisteria & Fern


The Elements Series: Water, Fire, Earth, Water

Angel Trumpet (foreground), Finding My Way, Fish Eyes, Purple Mountains

Cabin in the Woods (collaboration with Mary Nell Magee)

Opening Reception table with Jennifer Whites, Art and Education Coordinator, and Mary Safarik, Education Outreach Coordinator, with the "green" decorations made from recycled materials. The vibrant colors were chosen to coordinate with the bold colors of the fiber art.

Mississippi Magnolias, Color in Chaos, Tropical Paradise (collaboration with Mary Nell Magee), Island Tree

Artist talk describing techniques and inspirations

Crazy Patch Sunflowers, Bird's Eye View

Dave Freeman is the Interim Director of the Museum; Hildren Streeter is in charge of maintenance and also helped us hang the show. The museum is located at 1608 Highway 82 W in Greenwood. Open every day; phone 662-453-0925 for hours.

Mississippi Arts Commission Display April-June

While my solo exhibition was on display at the Lucile Parker Gallery at William Carey University in January-February, Malcolm White, executive director of the Mississippi Arts Commission, saw it and had his assistant, Candice Thomley, call and invite me to show my work in the Gallery of the MAC office in Jackson. The MAC is the official agency for the arts in Mississippi and is housed on the 11th floor of the historic 16-story Woolfolk State Office Building, 501 N. West Street, a half block from the capitol. What an honor!
The display space in their office consists of five free-standing double-sided black wooden panels. On four of the panels I hung larger works, while on the remaining six I placed from two to four pieces. The works will be on display from April 6-June 25, with a closing reception on June 25 from 2:00-4:00 p.m. All state employees are invited to attend.

The Elements Series: Earth, Fire, Air, and Water

The Wellness Center Pool (Institute for Wellness and Sports Medicine, Hattiesburg) and photo inspiration.

Mary Nell Magee and Elaine Magee helped me hang the exhibit.

Artist Talk at Solo Exhibit

About 50 people attended the Artist Talk on February 3 at the Lucile Parker Gallery to hear about my path from traditional quilter to contemporary fiber artist. Of course, the question was asked, "How long does it take?" I had to admit that I rarely work on one piece at a time from inception to completion, so my answer would have to be a wild guess. When the joy is in the creating, the length of time required seems insignificant.

The exhibit came down February 11 and I will eagerly anticipate my next opportunity to show a body of my work. I have been invited to display in the gallery space at the Mississippi Arts Commission in Jackson from April 6-June 25.

Quick Draw Benefit for AIDS Services Coalition

Twenty-four artists rose to the challenge of producing a piece of art in an hour's time (plus 15 minutes to frame it) as a benefit for the AIDS Services Coalition in Hattiesburg, MS, last Sunday afternoon. South Mississippi Art Association sponsored this second annual event. Ticket holders milled about the huge Bottling Company (the 100-year-old former Coca-Cola bottling company remodeled as a lounge) enjoying food and drink as they watched the artists at work. John Wooten's steel drum and singing provided great background music. As he kept the artists posted on the remaining time on the clock, his music added a psychological boost. Beautiful island music in the early part, becoming more fast-paced the closer we got to the ending bell.

Artists worked in oil, watercolor, pencil, and--ta-da--fabric. We were allowed to bring a beginning rough sketch to begin our project. I had fused my fabric elements onto the background piece and layered it with batting. I brought the threads and Neocolor II crayons I needed to embellish the piece, along with my table and Janome 6500 and scissors and a few pins. The finished piece fit into an 11x14 frame and brought $200 at the live auction. The event is definitely not for the cautious and intimidated--a great way to help us gain confidence in our decisions and creativity. The visitors enjoyed asking questions and watching the artwork take shape. It was interesting to hear "Oh, that's the way you do that!"

Show Publicity

The local newspaper, the Hattiesburg American, devoted 3/4 page in the 1/18/09 Sunday paper to three photos and captions about the show--pretty exciting! The invitation piece, Regenerating Fire, sold, breaking up the four elements. However, it was so much fun to make that I just might repeat it.

Successful Show Opening

A cold and windy night did not keep a large crowd from attending the Opening Reception. There were 39 pieces in all--two full-size quilts from my hand-quilting days displayed along with quilts for the walls down to 5x7 framed pieces. My quilting friends and my art association friends had to come, but even my tennis friends came! What a rewarding and humbling experience for me to be able to share my passion with friends, university faculty, staff, and students, and art lovers from the community. Many people were surprised to see the variety of techniques and materials displayed, when their expectation was to see handwork like they remember their grandmother making.

Chatham Meade, curator and director of the Lucile Parker Gallery, is pictured with the Kitchen Garden series--thread-painted vegetables and a large appliqued pumpkin.

Solo Exhibition

The Invitation:

Lucile Parker Gallery

William Carey University

presents

Martha Ginn:

Mississippi Fiber Artist

January 15-February 11, 2009

Opening Reception

Thursday, January 15

5:00-6:00 p.m.

Regular Gallery Hours

Mon-Fri 1:00-4:00 p.m.

or by appt. 601-318-6528

Chatham Meade, curator and director of the Lucile Parker Gallery, said, "Mrs. Ginn and her work with fiber materials truly enhance the Hattiesburg community as well as the art world of Mississippi. Her work includes both nontraditional art pieces which are her original design as well as more traditional quilt pieces. Her work includes the use of transparencies, metallic threads, and other fiber related materials not traditionally used in fabric pieces. Mrs. Ginn's work celebrates the beauty of Mississippi by creating art from the forms, shapes, patterns and colors of leaves, trees, flowers, land forms, celestial bodies, and other natural objects in a way that is truly unique to her and of her own design and creative innovation."

See

http://www.wmcarey.edu/AboutWCU/GalleriesandCollections/1149/LucileParkerPhotos.shtm for photos of works from the exhibit. Following the current exhibit will be solo exhibits by Tommie Rodgers of Laurel, MS, and Chatham Meade of Hattiesburg, MS.

Edgar Allan Poe's birthday

January 19, 1809-October 7, 1849. Quilters and fiber artists are commemorating the 200th anniversary of this mysterious poet's birth by creating postcard-size pieces (4"x6"). These will be submitted for display online and later donated to Collage Mania, a fundraiser for the American Cancer Society, coordinated by Virginia Spiegel. Virginia's previous efforts have raised more than $165,000 for the ACS through her Fiber For A Cause projects (The Collage Mania link is: http://www.virginiaspiegel.com/CollageManiaCall08.html.) Reading about Poe's life and his work has been a delightful excursion! Wikipedia is a goldmine of accessible information.

My piece is created on a white antique linen napkin with Poe's name, birth/death dates, and R.I.P. penned with a Sanford permanent pen. The raven is appliqued black satin with black and purple/blue/green variegated polyester threads. His eye is a yellow fabric circle (like the beak), with a gold sequin, a black star, and a white seed bead. The heart is red felt.