Mica craft gallery opens “Works in Black and White – Members & Friends” exhibition, May 27-July 24

Press release:

Mica, the contemporary craft cooperative gallery in Bakersville, NC, invites you to our current exhibit entitled “Works in Black and White – Members & Friends”, that runs from May 27 to July 24, 2017. We will keep our doors open until 8 pm, and offer light refreshments on the first evening of this exciting show, Saturday, May 27th. Please join us!

All the Mica members and several invited guest artists were asked to create work using only black and white. For some artists, limiting themselves to such a restricted palette was a challenge, but, as is often the case, limitations can generate profound creativity.

Lisa Joerling, whose humor infused work is always a showstopper, appreciates a theme to get her rolling. “First I daydream about the color and think of all that falls into that, usually in the form of animals. Then it’s off to find a punch line to tell me what the creature is up to. I believe the punch line lead comes from my years of bartending; if you could get ’em laughing, you had them and they always came back for more.” Lisa says…her works often make her think of The New Yorker cartoons, “One shot, one image that tells a story, such fun”. For this show, Lisa does not disappoint with pieces entitled “Prisoner of Love”, “It’s not all Black and White” and “Sister David Was Proud of Her Bad Habits”. You can only imagine!

Pam Brewer’s animal inspired work is very different but no less engaging. Her piece, “Mother’s Call”, wrestles with the age-old dynamic of balancing masculine and feminine. In Pam’s words, “When I learned that black represented the feminine, the void, the mystery, I was so alarmed and yet inspired. It felt like a call to action, to make manifest the perfect balance of black and white, to bring to light the intelligence of nature, and its perfection. It was a call to honor the divine feminine, AND the divine masculine. As “Mother’s Call” appears to be always in the act of balancing, so are we”.

Claudia Dunaway delved into the black/white challenge through labor-intensive processes to create her elegant pieces. “Drawing and etching are so seductive with their black and white lines and contrasts of light and dark, but to work on a hard two dimensional surface seems so intimidating. Much less so to draw and etch through damp clay with black and white slips. Of course, with clay nothing is strictly black and white. All the better.”

The works of these three artists represent only a small portion of the art on display, which includes works in clay, wood, painting, textiles and mixed media. Participating are Mica members and four guest artists including Margaret Couch Cogswell whose signature black and white creatures of whimsy will have a special place of their own.

You will find Mica at 37 N Mitchell Avenue in Bakersville, North Carolina 28705. The gallery is open Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Sunday from noon until 5 p.m. (828) 688-6422 and micagallerync.com.