Catherine Murray --- Stepping on the Mortal Coil

This coming Sunday, June 20 we'll host Catherine Murray, artist and chair of the Department of Art and design at ETSU. It was my good fort,une to serve on a committee with Catherine and discover what a lively, intelligent person she is. Here's what she sent regarding her presentation:
"Stepping on the Mortal Coil"
Even before the ongoing crisis due to the malfunctioning oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico,my recent art work was informed by both the acceptance of inevitable change and the recognition of preventable damage wrought by human activity on the natural environment.

Recent trips to northern Scotland and to Iceland impressed me not only because of the breathtaking beauty of these places, but also because of the revelation of the brutality that was involved in their settlement. Currently environmental damage created by human activities is evidenced at an alarming rate not only in the Gulf, but also in these northern and remote places; migratory birds and other animals are suffering, unable to reproduce in sufficient numbers, due to warmer waters, and their food sources are dying as well.

As an artist, it is a challenge to infuse issues like this into the work without becoming didactic or preachy; I am trying to work with my concerns about the environment in a way that is true to my aesthetics, and true to my concerns about this fragile world.

I will show images of, and give a brief explanation about, some of my art from the last few years.

And about Catherine:

Catherine Murray received her MFA in Sculpture, University of Montana, Missoula, MT. and the BA Sculpture, with High Honors, Portland State University, Portland, OR. She was awarded residencies from the Scottish Sculpture Workshop, Lumsden, Scotland, from the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, Otis, and from the Ucross Foundation, Ucross, WY.
In November, 2009, she had a solo exhibition, Stepping on the Mortal Coil, at Sechrest Gallery, High Point University, High Point, NC.
Recently, her work has been featured in group exhibitions including, in 2009, From These Hills, Contemporary Art from the Southern Appalachian Highlands, William King Center, Abingdon, VA.; Metamorphosis, group sculpture show. Vadim Bora Gallery, Asheville, NC: the Kingsport Sculpture Walk, 2009-10, Kingsport, TN;
Expositions in Glass: Outdoor Sculpture 2009, Courthouse Galleries at the Portsmouth Museums, Portsmouth, VA, and Tanasi: Northeast Tennessee Artists, at The Reece Museum, ETSU.
Catherine has taught sculpture and design at ETSU since 1995; in 2008 she became the chair of the Department of Art and Design.

Please join us. we'll be delighted to see you. The presentation starts at 9:45. And as always, loving childcare is provided.