Paintings , ceramics pair for Miller Gallery show
Laura Greer Holladay ’ s encaustic painting .
Two Mississippi-based artists , Laura Greer Holladay and Byron Myrick , will share Meridian Community College ’ s Miller Art Gallery space with their encaustic paintings and ceramics , respectively , for the exhibition which continues to March 31 .
Holladay , a native of Meridian , creates encaustic paintings where a mixture of beeswax , tree resin , color pigments , and heat are used . She explained that the ancient medium is currently experiencing a resurgence in popularity . “ Many of my paintings have an ethereal , dream-like quality about them . I paint mostly from my own dreams or from memories of places I have been . In my studio , I often paint what I refer to as atmospheric paintings ,” Holladay said . Her passion for art and nature reaches deep . “ I remember as a child , lying in the grass and staring up at the clouds , feeling the wind and trying to make objects form the cloud shapes floating by . I believe this is when my passion to create art first began ,” she said .
At 12 , she started painting oils and later studied art and design at the University of Alabama , majoring in interior design .
“ I have used traditional methods in my encaustic paintings , but I have also explored modern techniques as well . I ’ ve done some
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photo encaustic work where I fuse layers of wax and pigment over my original photographs . I have also created some photo transfer paintings . This happens when I fuse a photocopy of an image into the wax , adding color as I go ,” Holladay explained .
Myrick ’ s ceramics are from a series he named “ Quilted .”
“ The series is influenced from two directions . The first is a fascination with reconstructive archaeological findings of vessels seen in museums ,” he said . “ The second is the quilt , a part of the Southern heritage constructed from many parts to a whole , as functional as well as a decorative object .”
Myrick spends most of his time working and creating in his Moselle studio . He noted his ceramic pieces are thrown on the potter ’ s wheel and by hand . They are later bisque fired and carefully broken .
“ I never know exactly how this is going to turn out . Then I lay out the shards and assign color , pattern , texture and marks to each piece . The shards are then glazed and fired using Raku or post-firing reduction . This technique further enhances the surface and colors of the shards . The piece is then put back together using a strong epoxy . The results are vessels that are unique in appearance ,” he said .
Agreat place to
GROW !
OPEN HOUSE MARCH 7th 5-6 P . M .
Registration begins same day
PreK-3 through 6th grade After School Care available
2700 Davis Street • Meridian , MS 39301
601.482.6044 www . stpatrickcatholicschool . org
www . meridianstar . com
OF HOW FAR WE ’ VE COME AND HOW FAR WE ’ LL GO !
mcmmeridian . org
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