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August Issue 2007
Tryon Painters & Sculptors in Tryon, NC, Features Works by Verlie Murphy
Tryon Painters & Sculptors are proud to present the encaustic paintings and pen drawings of Verlie Murphy, from Aug. 11 through Sept. 1, 2007, in Gallery Too located in the lower level of the Tryon Fine Arts Center in Tryon, NC.
Murphy, a graduate of Kendall College of Art & Design, Grand Rapids, MI, lives and works in Saluda, NC, and is currently the Director of Publicity for the Tryon Painters & Sculptors. When not busy in her studio, Murphy is teaching classes and workshops at Gallery Too. During the summer she works with the 21st Century Builders Club teaching children in grades 1-5 at Polk County Middle School and also at the Tryon Arts and Crafts (Harmon Field).
A hearing loss at age five (after a high fever) went undetected throughout Murphy's youth because she could so easily lip-read. She began wearing hearing aids at age 25 but, still heavily depends on lip-reading to communicate effectively.
Due to having lived "in the realm of my imagination" for so many years - Murphy loves patterns and textures and finds her compositions within them. Although some work has bits of realism most of the time the viewer can be intrigued with the story behind the work. "It is my hope that as I convey through encaustic (wax) my love of art and nature, that the viewer will have experienced an awakening of their imagination. Images are hiding within the molten wax - waiting for discovery," adds Murphy.
Also a member of the Guild of American Papercutters, Murphy has developed a papercutting stencil design process that can be used for quilt blocks. Just like papercut snowflakes no two are ever the same. Teaching this process to those aged 5+ allows the students to create very individual imagery and of course a personalized color scheme. Some have used the process for individuals with ADD who need to practice focusing and patience. A teacher in Bay City, MI, is using it to teach Geometry. The artwork is colored in with Gel pens and extremely colorful when finished. Several will be on exhibit in this show. A few of these designs are finished in wax.
Murphy's work can be found in numerous corporate and private collections throughout the States and also in British Columbia, the Czech Republic and England. She is currently represented by TP&S, Saluda Fine Arts, Saluda, NC and Tryon Arts and Crafts.
A former gallery owner in Manistee, MI, Murphy and two friends will be opening a gallery in September on Hwy. 176 in Saluda.
For further information check our NC Institutional
Gallery listings, call 828/859-8322 or e-mail at (artistverlie@
yahoo.com).
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