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Six Maryland Artists Inspired by Homer's "Odyssey" Exhibit at St. John's Mitchell Gallery

          FOR RELEASE: December 8, 2009
          CONTACT: Patricia Dempsey, 410-626-2539
patricia.dempsey@sjca.edu

Meditations on sojourns abound in everything from colorful beadwork and glass to black ink on paper in “The Wine Dark Sea: Works by Joyce J. Scott and Friends,” on display at the Mitchell Gallery from January 17 to February 26. This is a collaborative exhibition by six Maryland artists, all women, all inspired by the timeless journey in Homer’s “Odyssey.” The Opening Reception and Family program, which includes a tour followed by a hands-on workshop, will be held on January 24 from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.

“An odyssey is a search or sojourn. It needs tools to accomplish its goals,” says Baltimore-based artist Joyce J. Scott. “These tools can be practical, easily toted and gathered. Or they can come from a more ethereal site.” Scott invited five fellow artists from Baltimore, Ellen Burchenal, Linda DePalma, Oletha DeVane, Leslie King-Hammond, and Patti Tronolone, to present their works at St. John’s Mitchell Gallery in “The Wine Dark Sea.” These six artists, who often call themselves “the Girls of Baltimore,” collaborate regularly, most recently creating works under Master Printer Curlee Holton, who is director of the Experimental Printmaking Institute at Lafayette College in Easton, Penn. and currently an artist-in-residence at Maryland Institute College of Art.

“The Wine Dark Sea” includes two- and three-dimensional works in mixed media; many are vibrant pieces based on folk art, the African-American tradition, and pop-culture. The works are eclectic and thought provoking, woven by a common thread–  a wandering sojourn, the journey of the creative process.

Among Scott’s works on view in “The Wine Dark Sea” are a series of lithographs, including “Scorned, He Implodes” (2000) and “Soul Erased” (2000). Some works, such as the monotype and collage, “Remembering” (2001) are somewhat subtle in their reference to social issues. Others, such as “Candidate Obama” (2008), an assemblage of found objects composed as a screen print, are more direct. Scott is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art and for more that three decades has exhibited widely at major museums and galleries, and is active as an art educator.

Scott’s fellow artists also present works that are visionary and deeply felt, hewn in a wide range of media. For example, DeVane’s monoprint “Blackbird (Singing in the Dead of Night)” (2009) depicts Harriet Tubman’s harrowing sojourn. “For DeVane,” says Scott, “the imagery of sojourn refers to Harriet Tubman. Harriet Tubman is a Maryland native, a sojourner in her own right. She is emblematic. Her ship was her feet and the breeze was the call for freedom. Each artist in this exhibit fashioned their own works, discovering their own answers.” DeVane is a mixed-media artist, whose work has been featured in numerous solo and group exhibitions.

Exhibit- Related Events

January 24 Opening Reception and Family Program. Art Education Lucinda Edinberg will lead a tour of “The Wine Dark Sea” followed by a hands-on workshop from 3:30 to 5 p.m.

January 27 Art Express. Art Educator Lucinda Edinberg will give a lunchtime tour of “The Wine Dark Sea” from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m.

February 4 Book Club. Join Mitchell Gallery Book Club members for a tour of “The Wine Dark Sea” followed by a discussion of “Thomas and Beulah”, a collection of poems by Rita Dove from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. For information and registration, contact Kathy Dulisse at 410-626-2530 or kathy.dulisse@sjca.edu

February 7 Gallery Talk. Joyce Scott will give a lecture on “The Wine Dark Sea” exhibit at 4 p.m.