Artists: Vera Smiley & Karen Woodward

Opening date: 3/25/2022

Closing date: 4/24/2022

Reception date/time: 

Artist Reception: 3/26/22  @ 4-6 PM

Artist Talk: 3/27/22 @ 2 PM

 

About the Exhibit

 

Vera Smiley:

I make art that helps people experience ordinary moments of their lives as beautiful and remarkable.

With my figurative ceramic sculptures, I use vivid colors, aligning patterns, and dynamic lines to celebrate every moment of our lives as unique and valuable. Our values, actions, and emotions define and shape us. My sculptures offer a metaphorical representation of our best lives.

 

Karen Woodward:

Each portrait contains a “window” that the viewer can peer directly into the eye or mind of the subject.

This window reveals a three-dimensional thought scape to suggest that the portrait might actually have

thoughts, ideas, and dreams of its own. Although it cannot be seen directly from the front, each piece

contains hidden sculptural elements that can only be viewed from an oblique angle. I imagine these

sculptural elements serve to indicate the presence of a subconscious mind. Additionally, the LEDs

contained within each piece fade through a colorful spectrum of hues to suggest the ever-changing

the mood of humans.

 

About the Artists

 

Vera Smiley:

Vera Smiley (b. Almaty, Kazakhstan) devoted herself to what is called “Connection Beyond Words” – the universal language of human emotion through sculpture, clay prints, time, and place.

 

Vera was born and grew up in the Soviet Union before it collapsed and turned to art as means of creating her world where she would not belong to politics or be limited by anything.

 

She earned a BFA from Kazakh State Pedagogical University at the faculty of Fine Arts, in Almaty in the early nineties. Vera has traveled to more than 35 different countries and lived on three continents. She extensively attended master classes in different places of the world. 

 

Vera has participated in exhibitions at The Museum of Arts of the Republic of Kazakhstan and had her solo exhibitions in Almaty and Astana, Kazakhstan. She also participated in international shows in Moscow, Russia, Puerto la Cruz, Venezuela, and Toronto, Canada. When Vera moved to the United States, she received multiple awards in local juried shows. She also participated in a show at Red Dot/Spectrum, Miami, FL, coinciding with the Miami Basel. 

 

Vera Smiley currently lives and works in Austin, TX. She owns and manages “Vera Smiley Art Studio,” teaching private and group ceramic classes. She is a member of the Texas Sculpture Society Group and she serves on the board of directors.

 

https://www.artsvera.com

@smileyvera

 

 

Karen Woodward:

Karen Woodward is a mixed media artist specializing in the creation of glass sculptures.

Karen lives and works in Austin, TX, where she maintains a private studio at Canopy

Austin.

 

Karen received her BA in Art History from the University of Texas and her MFA in Sculpture from Washington University in St. Louis in 2000. Prior to moving to Austin, Karen was faculty at Craft Alliance Education Center in St. Louis, MO, where she was chair of the Glass Department. Karen has been a studio art instructor for over 10 years and has taught all levels of glass sculpture to both children and adults. She has served as an instructor for several studio art courses including foundry casting for bronze, centrifugal casting for jewelry, as well as 2 and 3D Design.

 

Karen has exhibited her work in numerous venues both nationally and internationally.

Her work has been featured in several publications including the Corning Museum of

Glass New Glass Review, the Urban Glass Art Quarterly, LAMMAGA Magazine of the

Kobe Lampwork Museum, and Glasss4 Book of Lampworkers. In addition to gallery

exhibitions and art fairs, Karen also received a public art grant to create a neon and

glass installation for the City of St. Louis, which was part of an urban revitalization

project on the Delmar Loop in University City. This work was also featured in the Urban

Glass Art Quarterly.

 

When Karen is not in the studio or participating in art-related activities, she enjoys

spending time with her family and an assortment of feathered friends.

 

https://www.karenwoodwardstudios.com

@kewoodwa