Margaret Nicole Blevins Exhibit

Margaret Nicole Blevins is the Leeds Arts Council’s featured artist in August.  The public is invited to the opening reception on August 5, 2018, 1:30-3:30 pm, to view her beautiful paintings.  Admission is free.

Born in the deep south, Margaret Nicole Blevins was raised in a traditional home whose ideals centered around knowledge through inquiry and extensive travel, which cultivated a spirit of empathy and observation. Margaret obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of Montevallo and a Master of Fine Arts from the Memphis College of Art.  Exploration of ideas, cultures, and people continue to inform her life, art, and creative process.

Inspired by her travels, Margaret became interested in a single idea and how it fit into her global outlook. This idea was simply, home.  What was it?  Where was it?  Who was it?  As an adult living back in her childhood home, these questions seemed especially relevant.  For a child, home is something tangible:  a pink house nestled by a creek, surrounded by sweet gum trees.  But the word “home” could no longer remain concrete and the adult mind demanded a new definition.  Instead of being the foundation that held days together, “home” became a symbol for shared ambitions.  It still holds a permanence in life, but is altered from a geographical place to a transcendent one.  No longer is it a physical part of life’s chronology, but a liminal moment, a threshold, a portal, through which one can pass when in need of rest or resurgence.

These large paintings serve as illustrations of this new idea of home:  golden archways that carve themselves into the fortresses of the psyche, standing tall, as new beginnings, as well as studies in pink that become compilations of humanity and divinity, existing in transcendent compositions.  The process of painting becomes part of a sacred rite, a journey towards sanctification, carrying home as a talisman and guide.

Ms. Blevins’ art will be on exhibit through September 8, 2018.  You may view examples of her work at:  http://www.margaretnicoleblevins.com/

The Arts Center is located at 8140 Parkway Drive, in downtown Leeds.  The gallery is open during events.  In case of inclement weather, call the center at 205-699-1892 to confirm opening hours.

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