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Pastel artist featured at Court Street Gallery through October
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Published: September 9, 2009
Iredell Museums will present the pastels and collages of Betty Powell, of Wilkesboro, at the Court Street Gallery, 134 Court St., Statesville, from Sept. 18 through Oct. 30.
Betty Powell has dedicated the last 25 years to making and teaching art. Inspired by the North Carolina landscape, Powell utilizes the vibrant, rich, pure color of pastels to express what she calls, "poetic elements of atmosphere, knowledge, feeling, and inspiration." A lifelong learner, she is fascinated by the world around her and believes that, "as you go out into the landscape and not only look, but also listen with your heart as well as with your ears, the landscape will speak to you. The importance of the landscape is its grandeur and power."
In contrast to her pastels that evoke the essence of the landscape around her, Powell's collages are influenced by her imagination and intuition. Combining paint with printed fabric, paper, and yarn as well as other found items, Powell's collages employ the same bold use of color to create a magical world filled with mystery and prove that her imagination is just as powerful as the landscape that surrounds her.
Powell received a bachelor's degree in art education from Appalachian State University. After working as a visual art educator in Wilkes County Schools for many years, Powell focused her attention on creating artwork, pursuing a Masters of Art degree, and studying with many well-known pastelists including Wolf Kahn and Charles Basham.
She is currently represented by Hawthorne Gallery in Winston-Salem, and Pura Vida Gallery in Asheville. An active member of the all women composed art group, Art Mix, Powell has received numerous awards throughout the years including Best in Show and 1st Place in Paintings at the Wilkes Art Gallery's Northwest Artist's League Juried Competition. Powell's pastels, paintings, and mixed media collages are included in private and public collections across the South including, Wachovia Bank, Bank of America, Wilkes Regional Medical Center, and Yadkin Valley Bank.
The opening reception will be held in conjunction with the Downtown Statesville Art Crawl on Friday, Sept. 18, from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. The reception is open to the public, free of charge. The Gallery is open to the public free of charge Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or by appointment.
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