Upstate artists Judy Martin and Carol Story have diverse creative processes and media, yet they have found they can further their artistic expression by combining their work for a joint exhibition, “Fashion and Fusion: Making and Merging Art” set for Sept 3 through 28 in Gallery II of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg.
An artists’ reception will be held from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 19, as part of Spartanburg ArtWalk. The reception and exhibition viewing are free and open to the public. The 30 pieces in the show will be offered for purchase with prices ranging from $30 to $650.
“To fashion something is to give it shape, form and character,” says oil painter Story. “Fusion is a merging of diverse elements into a unified whole. Both are creative processes that Judy, a fused glass maker, and I exercise as artists. We not only do this individually, but we have found further expression in combining our work for this exhibition.”
The exhibit will include about a dozen of Martin’s fused glass bowls, platters and decorative panels along with 16 to 18 of Story’s most recent paintings, ranging from her typical mountain and marsh scenes to her fascination with farm animals.
“We want to show that the fusion of diversely fashioned works of art in a setting can complement each other, adding to their vitality and beauty,” Martin says. “We want the visitors to get joy in seeing a fusion of color, texture and shape that display imagination and ingenuity in a beautiful way. This exhibition points out the diverse ways color and shape can be fashioned in 2-D and 3-D media. Also, how they can be used together to complement each other for decorative purposes.”
This is the women’s first joint exhibition. Both say they recognize the privilege of exhibiting at ACS, where Martin has been a member since 2018 and Story since 2015. They also have worked together on the ACS management board for several years.
“I feel blessed to be a part of such a warm, encouraging group of artists,” Story says. “In addition to being inspired and challenged, I have developed strong friendships with people I would not have known otherwise. I can rent studio space to display my work, serve on the management board in ways that promote the arts in our community, and share what I have learned by teaching painting workshops.”
Martin, a self-taught glass artist whose home studio is a creative workshop for glass, paint and kilns, has been playing with glass about 20 years, moving from stained glass to 3D fused glass, experimenting with various vitreous paints incorporated in or on the glass before firing. “Inspired by nature, calm and color, I find working with fused glass challenging but satisfying,” she says.
She operates a business, Artistic Glass Fusion, and attends juried art festivals along the east coast, including Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Georgia and her home state of New York.
Story, who describes herself as “a representational painter in oils,” says, “As a speaker and writer, I try to portray through a visual language what I see around me, especially in nature. I continue to be amazed at how much there is to be learned about composition, color mixing and blending reality with imagination. More than a hobby, painting has become a part of my daily observing, filing away ideas, and making time to practice this craft.” She adds that she only has been painting in her “grandmother years,” and has taken classes and workshops to get to the point of accomplishing a bucket-list item – displaying her work publicly. She has participated in juried shows in Spartanburg and Anderson.