Women on the Edge artwork a thing to see

The Women on the Edge Art Show exhibit is an exercise in mindfulness as people are invited just to be with the artwork.

Notice the details and your reactions to the artworks featured in the pictures that accompany this column. Give yourself time to be with the art, focusing on those works that speak to you.

These artists have spent years exploring their chosen mediums. Seek out these “Women on the Edge” and connect the artist with the art. And remember in their inventiveness, they create “Without a Net.”

Here is what they say about their work and talents:

• Paula Lay: I’ve been painting for 12 years, and with the passing of each year, my appreciation and reverence for all living beings has increased. The time I spend with animals reinforces my belief that dignity, intelligence, joy and courage are not qualities found solely in humans. They are qualities found in all creatures.

• Linda Manning: I don’t like to be static in my work. I experiment and I push boundaries. The ability to try something new holds me to clay as my chosen art form. It’s a journey I’m on, and it’s fueled by curiosity and adventure. In this series I’ve chosen to work in the raku process. Using bare clay with no glazes to add pattern or color, instead I paint with fire, smoke, temperature and time. The raku firing process has been around since the 1580s. One of its main characteristics is removing the clay piece from the kiln when it is at its firing height.

I see clay as a metaphor to life. It’s not just what I do that will determine an outcome. It’s a journey through the risks and the rewards, the learning and the understanding that will eventually show me a result for that moment.

• Nancy Yarbrough: Over the past few years my glass on glass, kiln-formed artwork has become more abstract. Painting in this manner lets me create more of a feeling rather than an object. I strive to share the joy the creator has given in the colors, textures, shadows and reflections in creation. Usually, I have a sense of what I see in the piece but enjoy letting the viewer determine what it means to them. Often it’s just a feeling invoked by the painting that makes the connection between art and the viewer.

• Virginia Floyd: Floyd met her husband while in college. He served in the Air Force, and for the next 20 years she did not live in Texas. While her daughters were growing up, all artistic talents were devoted to making a home for her family. They were fortunate to live two years in northern Italy in a town filled with historic buildings with art, statues and murals and visited Rome, Venice and Florence. The beauty that surrounded her everyday life filled Virginia with joy. During this time, she was able to take her first formal oil painting class. The still-life painting she created in that class remains her husband’s favorite. If you’ve traveled to Florence, you can witness, again, the golden atmosphere of the Tuscan countryside in Virginia’s paintings.

• Riki Yarbrough: When I create a mixed media piece, I’m usually bringing a problem to the canvas and committing myself to a process that will require submission in each layer. Being quite aware of my over-analytical and perfectionist tendencies, I just have to begin by laying a foundation of marks, words, and even images that don’t always make sense, trusting that order and truth will come in the process through building layers.

If I stick to the process, what is flat and unmoving will eventually show depth, rich color and meaning. Every piece I create is truly a sojourn God takes me through to find surprising purpose in the perceived mess. Each piece tells my own story of that surrender.

Women on the Edge runs through May 22 with an opening reception from 2 to 4 p.m. on Saturday, April 30 at the Kerrville Arts and Cultural Center, 288 Earl Garrett St. in Kerrville. For information, call 830-895-2911. Some of the artwork created by the women featured in this column also is on display in Boerne at Gallery 195, the Carriage House Gallery and The Dienger.

HCCArts Calendar

HCCArts Mini Workshops

A few spots remain to be a part of HCCArts Mini Workshops.

• April 30: Maren Phillips’ Intro to Drawing, 10 a.m.-3 p.m. in the comfort of The Classroom at the AgriCultural Museum and Arts Center, 102 City Park Road, Boerne. Cost is $99 plus $5 supply use fee. Call Paula at 210-269- 8349 to register. Discount with membership. For information, visit www.hccarts.org.

• May 1: CatDog Ceramics, Naked Raku/Horse Hair Workshop, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Call 210-264-1653 to register!

• Unbound Botanicals, Opens May 4, featuring work by Paula Owen. Studio Comfort Texas, 716 High St., presents a solo exhibition of mixed media works with an opening reception on May 7. Owen retires soon from her position as president of Southwest School of Art in San Antonio. For more information, visit www. studiocomforttexas.com.

HCCArts Art AfterHours, 2022 Series 3

Tuesdays, 7-9 p.m., in the comfort of The Classroom at the AgriCultural Museum and Arts Center, 102 City Park Road, Boerne. Cost is $35 each session, discount with membership. Class descriptions and limited registration available at www.hccarts.org/workshops.

• Silk Painting, May 3 and 10: Practice the technique of Serti. A resist is applied to silk cloth and dye is applied across the surface resulting in bold colors and patterns. The addictive process of the wicking color produces a unique silk habotai scarf.

• Metal Tape Embossing, May 17

• Quilling May 24

Call to artists for 10th 

Boerne Art Waddle

May 13-14, a festive outdoor art show and sale held in downtown Boerne. Artists of every medium are encouraged to participate. We accept painting, drawing, photography, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry, poetry, performance, music and writing. For event details, visit www.boerneartwaddle.com.

Memorial Day Concert

Sunday, May 29, 7 p.m., a holiday performance from the Boerne Concert Band at Boerne Main Plaza. Patriotic classics under the direction of Larry Schmidt will be performed to honor and remember members of our Armed Forces, including American Overture, Bullets and Bayonets March, American Civil War Fantasy, The Homefront, The Marches from 1941, Flight of Valor, Armed Forces Salute and America the Beautiful. Attendees are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for comfortable seating. In case of inclement weather, the concert will be in the Boerne High School Auditorium. For information, visit www.boerneconcertband.com.