Works by Jo Marie Brotherton, Renee Mathies, and Cheryl Prose
January 5-26, 2018
Works by Jo Marie Brotherton, Renee Mathies, and Cheryl Prose
Opening reception: Friday, January 5, 5:00-9:00 PM
Exhibition hours are Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM – Please note, the Emporium is closed on Monday, January 15.
Jo Marie Brotherton, Renee Mathies, and Cheryl Prose are all recipients of 2017-2018 Bailey Opportunity Grants.
Jo Marie Brotherton has been passionate about glass her entire life, and the fascination has gotten more intense. The orb is the unspoken visceral shape to which humanity is drawn. Held, it allows the viewer to have ownership in the exploration of visual absorption. Her work forces the viewer to engage in rotating it to explore. In creating a finished piece, there is a peace coupled with challenged anxiety when she is sitting at the flame. Both have drawn her into pushing herself and her work.
Renee Mathies is a glass and metal artist that loves to play with fire. She is a member of the International Society of Glass Beadmakers, the Smoky Mountain Firecrackers, and The Creative Hands Street Team which is an East Tennessee group of Etsy sellers. She loves to sell her work in person at shows because it gives her a chance to show people the craft and work it requires. Her media include handmade glass beads, acid etched copper, forged copper, and bronze and sterling jewelry components. Every piece comes out unique. Teaching glass beadmaking (lampworking) and metalsmithing have become her passion.
Cheryl Prose will display encaustic wall art, handmade books, artist jewelry featuring wire work, lampwork beads, and mixed metal. Prose is a bookbinder and mixed media artist. She is a co-founder and coordinator of the Knoxville Book Arts Guild. She frequently serves as a studio and instructor’s assistant at Penland School of Arts and Crafts, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts, and John C. Campbell Folk School. Her work has shown in numerous group exhibits in Knoxville and Lenoir City as well as Shelby, NC and Asheville, NC. Her work is published in Eco Books: Inventive Projects from the Recycling Bin by Lark Press. She has worked as an assistant binder at The Gilded Leaf Bindery: Fine Bookbinding and Restoration in Maryville since 2013. For more information, visit www.gildedleafbindery.com.