April 2013

Lark & Key Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Features Works by Vicki Sawyer & Paula Smith

Lark & Key Gallery and Boutique in Charlotte, NC, will present Wit & Whimsy, featuring paintings by Vicki Sawyer and pottery by Paula Smith, on view Apr. 5 through May 31, 2013. A reception will be held on Apr. 5, from 6-9pm. Both artists exhibit a playful, lighthearted quality in their work. Inspiration comes from the natural world – flora and fauna.

Vicki Sawyer’s delight for appreciating little things came early in life. As a small girl her grandfather taught her how to identify the plants on their walks in the woods. Her mother’s childlike joy in even the simplest things taught her to be visually aware. From her dad she received a love for birds.
Sawyer’s path led her to a degree in art after which she worked as a graphic artist, a doll designer and eventually muralist. Most of her murals focused on birds, insects, animals, grasses, and wildflowers. Painting these murals gave her an opportunity to display the images she loved as a child. On a walk one day she thought, “If birds could build nests, then they could make hats.” This whimsical notion became the inspiration for Sawyer’s bird and animal portraits.

Sawyer lives in Franklin, TN, and paints on canvas now instead of walls and ceilings, but her goal has not changed. She hopes to move people with her art - with feelings of peace, joy, and often humor.

Paula Smith was involved with art at an early age and has continued to immerse herself in the arts throughout her life. She began taking classes at the Kansas City Art Institute before leaving high school and finished with a degree in ceramics before moving on to receive her MFA at the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana.

Most of Smith’s career in ceramics has been focused on narrative sculptural work - telling stories through the use of female imagery, including the torso, the archetypal house form, and the vessel. Smith is also interested in the use of Milagros, or miracles in Spanish, and their symbolism. Milagros are small charms of various body parts, sacred hearts or other objects of importance to daily life.

These ideas are also incorporated into Smith’s functional pottery, along with more organic references such as wood, flowers, leaves and animal imagery. Smith’s love of life and playfulness is evident in her interpretation of these elements. She currently lives in Rock Hill, SC, and is a ceramics instructor at CPCC in Charlotte, NC.

For further information check our NC Commercial Gallery listings, call the gallery at 704/334-4616 or visit (www.larkandkey.com).

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