Once & Again: Alterations at Piedmont Arts in Martinsville, VA

(Above:  A Selfie beside the exhibition signage at Piedmont Arts.  Click on any image to enlarge.)

Since returning from my four-week art residency at Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge in Mississippi, I've been busy, busy, busy.  This included loading up the cargo van with all the artwork selected for my solo show at Piedmont Arts in Martinsville, VA and delivering it. Steve and I drove there and back on Sunday. I was super excited to see the signage and took this selfie.

(Above:  Two photos with Bernadette Moore, Director of Exhibitions.  The picture on the left was taken the day Steve and I dropped off the artwork.  The picture on the right was taken five days later at the reception!)

To be totally honest, I was a bit worried when Steve and I unloaded the artwork into the provided space.  I couldn't quite wrap my head around the dark walls and the high contrast of downward pointing spotlights.  Yet, I didn't say anything.  Of course not!  After all, it wasn't up to me to install the artwork.  Bernadette Moore, Director of Exhibitions, has been installing shows at Piedmont Arts for the last sixteen years.  She knows the space, the area audience, the lighting, where the studs in the walls are, and exactly how she envisioned the exhibit.  I knew to trust her ... and honestly, I really like to see how someone else hangs my work.  There's almost always something new and wonderful that happens when an artist doesn't insist on total control.  I looked forward to Friday night's reception ... to see how Bernadette would install the artwork.

(Above: Once & Again: Alterations at Piedmont Arts.)

I couldn't have been happier!  The show looks fantastic.  The lighting is excellent.  Everything about this display is wonderful.  I am in deep debt to Bernadette and the entire staff.  The reception was great and lots of people attended.  Steve and I arrived early enough to capture a few photos before the space got crowded. 

Many of the pieces in this exhibit were created during the pandemic.  Other than social media, they hadn't been seen outside my house.  None of the altered cross stitched pieces have ever hung on a gallery wall.  The series called Sue's Environmental To Do List was photographed and then boxed.  Until now, it has never been out of the box.  

Some of the work has been in a "virtual show" but not in front of "real eyes" in an "in-person" event.  Some of the work has been in a show but not alongside all the other pieces that I envisioned as a "solo show".  These facts made Friday night almost miraculous ... like finally coming out of the pandemic!

I was also so pleased to see several of my Found Object Mandalas hung "on point".  I really think they attract a lot of attention in this orientation.

I was also stunned to see Second Marriage ON THE WALL.  It had been in a smaller show in Charlotte but was deemed too heavy to hang.  It was on a low pedestal leaning gracefully against a wall.  Although that was a unique presentation, it looks more like my intentions when hung!

Piedmont Arts is located in the magnificent Schottland Estate which was donated to the organization in 1981.  After a 1995 capital campaign raised $3.5 million, the structure was renovated and expanded into a full-fledged museum with a $1 million endowment.  Another wing was added by 1998.  The main entrance is on the ground floor.  The gallery space is just up a wide staircase (or an elevator, of course).  The staircase also provides additional linear feet for artwork ... including Sue Goes to the Protest and other pieces!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was also pleasantly surprised to see some of my White Collars installation suspended from the ceiling. This has been a wonderful experience.  If in the area, the show is up through May 13, 2023.  I posted a video on You Tube. Click HERE to access.