| Betty Bivins Edwards |
|
| Betty Bivins Edwards |
|
BETTY BIVINS EDWARDS Art Exhibit at Theatre Macon; dates are May 14 - 23, 1999 during performance hours.
| "PAINTING MACON---PERCEPTION OR REALITY" |
It has been said, "There is no reality, only perception."
Many people are familiar with my watercolor scenes of Macon. Others know my 3-D quilts and large works like " The Policy Man " at Macon's Museum of Arts and Sciences. This exhibit is an opportunity to present two very different ways of viewing Macon.
I grew up on a peach farm near Haddock, Georgia. I have lived in Macon for 25 years, so I have a deep love for the South, but want to shake my head in disbelief at times over the contradictions I see in our society. For the past 15 years I have been creating work that is about the dichotomy of living in the South. On one hand I create work that is pleasing and celebrates the beauty of the South. On the other hand, I create work that explores what is beneath the surface of the Southern façade.
I began painting in watercolors many years ago. These works have now become the foundation for the large acrylic paintings. I enjoy painting the historic areas and people going about their daily activities. As I work on the watercolors, I find myself searching for interesting patterns, shapes and colors. At the same time, I delete the unnecessary clutter and junk that is in much of our landscape. I edit and change things, using and breaking the rules one studies in art classes. I record my perceptions in the watercolors.
Conversely the acrylic paintings become a way for me to explore what I see as reality. I use the unreal to explore the real. By working with distorted shapes and skewed perspectives, I confront the viewer with the chaos and contradictions I see here. These larger works become a way of exploring the Southern psyche. -Betty B. Edwards May 8, 1999
Contact Roben Weitz at the Macon Arts Alliance for more info about the show. |
Betty Bivins Edwards
656 Forest Hill Rd.
Macon, Georgia 31210
(912) 477-6798
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Born: October 5, 1946. Milledgeville, Georgia
Married, Two Children
EDUCATION
1995-1997 Wesleyan College; printmaking .
1983 Oxford University, Oxford England: The Art and Literature of the
Medieval Ages, Summer program, University of Oklahoma.
1980- 1985 Wesleyan College: painting, sculpture, printmaking, and papermaking.
1967 Georgia College: B.A. major-Math, minor-Art
EXPERIENCE
1996 Juror, Hamblet Award for Senior Art Majors, Vanderbilt University,
Nashville Tennessee.
1990 Artist in Residence, West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia
1988-1997 Instructor, Wesleyan Center for the Arts, Wesleyan College:
Painting and Drawing.
Panelist for the Georgia Council for the Arts Grant Selection Committee,
1988-1990.
1981- 1991 Instructor, Pegasus Program for the Gifted, Mercer University:
Painting and Sculpture.
1981-1997 self-employed
1967-1973 Instructor, Math and Art, Jones County and Carrollton Public
School Systems.
GRANTS AND HONORS
1996 Georgia Council for the Arts, Artist Initiated Grants.
1991 Georgia Council for the Arts, Artist Initiated Grants.
1987 Georgia Council for the Arts, Artist Initiated Grants.
INVITATIONAL EXHIBITIONS
Spectrum Auction, Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, Tennessee. 1996
"Classically Southern," Governor's Office, Georgia Council for the Arts,
Atlanta, Georgia, Olympics, 1996.
"Global Focus for Women in Art and Culture," Slide presentation, Beijing,
China, 1995
"New South, Old South/ Somewhere in Between" Winthrop University, Rock
Hill, South Carolina, February 12-April 2, 1995.
"Women's Work-Five Macon Artists" The Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon,
Georgia, February 10- April 30, 1995.
"On the Lighter Side" Four simultaneous exhibits of Five Sculptors, Arts
Experiment Station, Ashburn, Georgia, November 1994
"Sculpture in Public Places" Greenville, South Carolina, April 1- April 30,
1994.
"Non-Functional Craft" City Gallery at Chastain, Atlanta, Georgia Nov. 19,
1993- Jan. 8, 1994. Fiber Art
"Table Service Sonata" Springfield Art Association Gallery, Springfield,
Illinois, Sept. 11 1993- November 14 1993. Sculpture
"Peaches" The Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia, June 5, - July
5, 1992. Fiber Art
"Quilts for Context" Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, Alberta,
Canada, Aug. 8, - Sept. 29. 1991. Fiber Art
Works included in "The Definitive Contemporary American Quilt" The Bernice
Steinbaum Gallery, New York, New York. Traveling Exhibit. Fiber Sculpture.
Grand Rapids Art Museum, Grand Rapids Michigan, Oct. 29, 1993 - Jan. 9, 1994.
University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, Aug. 15, -Oct. 15, 1993.
Southern Ohio Museum and Cultural Center, Portsmouth, Ohio, June 1-July 1, 1993.
Center for the Arts, Vero Beach, Florida, Apr. 24, -June 20 1993.
Phyllis Rockman Gallery, Madison, New Jersey, Feb. 14. - Apr. 10, 1993.
Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas, Jan. 2- -Feb. 1, 1993.
Washington State University Museum of Art, Pullman Washington Nov. 2, -
Dec. 18 1992.
University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, Sept. 1- Oct. 21, 1992.
The Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia, July 24 - Aug. 30, 1992.
Brevard Art Center, Melbourne, Florida, May 15, - June 10, 1992.
North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, Mar. 18 - Apr. 29, 1992.
Rahr-West Art Museum, Manitowoc, Wisconsin, Dec. 28, 1991- Mar. 1, 1992.
Trenton State College, Trenton, New Jersey, Nov. 13, - Dec. 11 1991.
Felicita Foundation for the Arts, Escondito, California, Aug. 28, - Oct.
31, 1991.
The North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, North Dakota, Mar. 21-Apr. 19,
1991.
Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies, Banff, Alberta, Canada, Aug. 8, -
Sept. 29, 1991.
The Fine Arts Museum of the South, Mobile, Alabama, May 1 - May 30, 1991.
Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, New York, Dec. 1, 1990 - Jan. 3 1991.
"Thorns Crackling in the Fire" Allied Arts Center, Milledgeville, Georgia,
1990. Paintings, Fiber and Sculpture
"Georgia Council for the Arts Acquisition Program" Atlanta College of Art,
Atlanta, Georgia, 1989. Painted Construction.
" LaGrange National" Lamar Dodd Art Center, LaGrange, Georgia, 1989.
Painted Construction.
"Eighth Annual Juried Exhibition" (Georgia and South Carolina) Gertrude
Herbert Art Museum, Augusta, Georgia, 1989. Painted Construction.
"Tenth Regional Art Exhibit" Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, Madison,
Georgia, 1988. Painted Construction and acrylic paintings.
"American Herstory: 200 Years"Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, Georgia,
1988. Traveling Exhibit. Paintings
Metropolitan Dade Community College, Miami, Florida.
University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina.
Mary Vinson Memorial Library, Milledgeville, Georgia.
Dance Gallery, University of North Carolina, Charlotte, North Carolina.
University of Tennessee, Martin, Tennessee.
"South Georgia-North Florida Artist's Exhibit" Abraham Baldwin College,
Tifton Georgia, 1988. Fiber Sculpture.
"Landscape: Fact and Fantasy" The McIntosh Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia, 1988.
Painted Construction.
"Mardi Gras Exhibition" Dekalb Council for the Arts, Decatur Georgia, 1988.
Painted Construction.
"Carrollton Collects" West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia. February
2, 1987. Fiber Sculpture.
"Spotlight on Southeast Crafts" University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida
,1986. Fiber Sculpture.
"Carrollton Regional Juried Art Show" Carrollton, Georgia, 1986. Fiber
Sculpture.
"Eighth Regional Art Exhibit" Madison-Morgan Cultural Center, Madison,
Georgia, 1986. Painted Construction.
"Sixth Annual Juried Art Exhibit" Gertrude Herbert Art Museum, Augusta,
Georgia, 1986. Fiber Sculpture.
"LaGrange National X" Lamar Dodd Art Museum, LaGrange, Georgia, 1985.
Fiber Sculpture.
"Regional Art Exhibition" Madison-Morgan Art Museum, Madison, Georgia.
1985. Fiber Sculpture.
"Thirteenth Annual Coca-cola Show" Elizabethtown, Kentucky, 1985. Fiber
Sculpture.
EXHIBITIONS
"Landscapes of Domesticity," Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia, February,
1997, Two Person Exhibition. Montypes.
Private Showing of Quilts, President Bill Clinton and Dignitaries, Macon
City Auditorium, Macon, Georgia, 1996.
Embroiderer's Guild of Ameria, National Conference, Callaway Gardens, Pine
Mountain, Georgia, 1996.
"Food and Ritual in the Southern Experience" West Georgia College,
Carrollton, Georgia, 1996.
"Food and Ritual in the Southern Experience," Henderson Fine Arts Center,
Henderson Kentucky, 1995.
"Food and Ritual in the Southern Experience" North Georgia College,
Dahlonega, Georgia, Sept. 28, - Oct. 29, 1992. Solo Show. Fiber Sculpture.
"Food and Ritual in the Southern Experience" The Museum of Arts and
Sciences, Macon, Georgia, July 24,- Aug. 30, 1992. Solo Show. Fiber
Sculpture.
"Food and Ritual in the Southern Experience" John Marlor Art Center,
Milledgeville, Georgia, May 14,-June 14, 1992. Solo Show. Fiber Sculpture.
"Eccentric Narratives: Looking Southern" The Waterworks Fine Arts Center,
Salisbury, North Carolina, Apr. 27,-June 5, 1990. Painted Construction and
Acrylic Paintings..
"Eccentric Narratives: Looking Southern" West Georgia College, Carrollton,
Georgia, May 21, - Apr. 20, 1990. Solo Show. Painted Construction and
Acrylic Paintings.
"Looking Southern" Mercer University, Macon, Georgia, 1988. Solo Show.
Painted Construction and Acrylic Paintings.
"Eccentric Narratives: Andy Nasisse, David Cedrone and Betty Edwards"
Ringling School of Art and Design, Sarasota, Florida 1988. Painted
Construction and Acrylic Paintings.
Dedication of Sculpture for Georgia Council for the Arts Grant, "Momma
says, 'She ain't home Policy Man' " Museum of Arts and Sciences, 1987.
Painted Construction.
Augusta College, Augusta, Georgia 1987. Solo Show. Painted Construction and
Fiber Sculpture.
"Looking Southern: Betty Bivins Edwards and Tarlton Blackwell"
Chattahoochee Valley Art Association, LaGrange, Georgia, 1987. Painted
Construction.
"Growing Up Southern" Berry College, Rome, Georgia, 1986. Solo Show. Fiber
Sculpture.
"Growing Up Southern" Mercer University, Atlanta, Georgia, 1986. Solo Show.
Fiber Sculpture.
"Growing Up Southern" Macon College, Macon, Georgia, 1986. Solo Show. Fiber
Sculpture.
Inaugural Exhibition for the Dedication of the Georgia College Fine Art
Building, Milledgeville, Georgia, 1986. Solo Show. Fiber Sculpture.
"Growing Up Southern" West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia, 1985. Solo
Show. Fiber Sculpture.
"Growing Up Southern" Wesleyan College, Macon, Georgia, 1985. Solo Show.
Fiber Sculpture.
SELECTED AWARDS
1986 Best in Show "Sixth Annual Exhibition" Gertrude Herbert Museum,
Augusta, Georgia. Mixed Media Construction.
1986 Best in Show "Eighth Regional Art Exhibit" Madison-Morgan Cultural
Center, Madison, Georgia, 1986. Painted Construction.
1984 Best in Water color "Winter Arts Festival" Middle Georgia Art
Association, Macon, Georgia. Watercolor.
PUBLICATIONS
Adventures in American Literature a textbook anthology, "Sunday Dinner"
included as an example, Athena edition, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, Inc.,
1995.
WORKSHOPS/LECTURES
Guest Speaker, "My Life, My Works," Vanderbilt University, Nashville,
Tennessee, 1996
Guest Speaker, "My Life, My Work," Henderson Community College, Henderson,
Kentucky, 1995.
Guest Speaker, "My Work As a Woman Artist," Columbus Museum, Columbus,
Georgia, March 1994.
Guest Speaker, "My Work As a Woman Artist," Mercer University, Macon,
Georgia, May 1994.
Featured Speaker, DeKalb College Teacher's Retreat, Amacolola State Park,
Dahlonega, Georgia. September, 1990.
"Teachers in Education: My Work as an Artist", The Waterworks Gallery,
Salisbury, North Carolina. April 1990.
Featured Artist, the Eleventh Conference of the International Association
for the Fantastic in the Arts, Fort Lauderdale, Florida,1989.
Participant, National Sculpture Conference: Works by Women, Cincinnati,
Ohio. March, 1989.
Guest Speaker, "A Celebration of the Arts in the South: Featuring Raymond
Andrews and Betty Bivins Edwards" Macon College, Macon, Georgia. April,
1989.
Guest Speaker, "International Conference on Wit and Humor in Literature and
Visual Arts" West Georgia College, Atlanta, Georgia, November 8, 1989.
COLLECTIONS
The Columbus Museum, Columbus Georgia
The Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, Georgia
King and Spalding, Atlanta, Georgia
Coca-Cola Art Museum, Elizabethtown, Kentucky
Texprint International, Macon, Georgia
YKK International, Tokyo, Japan
West Georgia College, Carrollton, Georgia
Southern Bell, Macon, Georgia
John Marlor Art Center, Milledgeville, Georgia
Merrill Lynch, Macon, Georgia
Mr. William A. Fickling, Vale. Colorado
Charter Medical Corp., London, England
ABC Banking Company, Moultrie, Georgia
Theile Kaolin Company, Sandersville, Georgia
Holland Dairy Industry, Holland
Aetna Insurance Company, Macon, Georgia
Cotton Association, Georgia, South Carolina and North Carolina
Joan Mondale
Rosalynn Carter
COMMISSIONED WORKS
University of Georgia Press, Jacket cover, Alone Among The Living, Athens,
Georgia, 1994.
Pastoral Forum, Cover, "Everybodies Church Representing Everybody's Jesus,"
Vol. II/2,Winter 1993.
"Macon Magazine" Cover May-June 1992.
Christmas Card, Texprint 1985-1995.
Christmas Card, YKK Zipper Company, 1987
MEMBERSHIPS
Southern Graphics Council
Phi Kappa Phi
Southeastern College Art Council
American Craft Council
Georgia College Alumni Association
Middle Georgia Art Association
Nexus Art Center, Atlanta, Georgia
Women's Caucus for the Arts, 1987, 1988
GALLERIES
McIntosh Gallery, Atlanta, Georgia
Ocmulgee Arts, Macon, Georgia
SELECTED REVIEWS
Atlanta Journal and Constitution, "Southern Fried Quilts Give Food For
Thought," Rheta Gremsly Johnson, February 23, 1996.
Macon Magazine "Museum Shows Five Women Artists," Skip Corson, January/
February 1995.
Newsday , "Sequins, Feathers, Paper, Nails: Neo-Quilts" Karin Lipson,
February 11, 1994.
The Macon Telegraph "Quilt Exhibit Weaves Quite a Spell" Charlotte Beeler,
Macon, Georgia, July 31, 1992.
The Macon Telegraph, "Sharp-edged Humor Shapes Soft Sculpture by Local
Artist Edwards" Dan Maley, Macon, Georgia, June 12, 1992.
The Union Recorder, "Large Art" Steven Sears, Milledgeville, Georgia, June
12, 1992.
The Southern Quarterly, "Betty Bivins Edwards' South: Rooted loyalties and
converging opposites" Dr Dorothy Joiner, Vol. XXX, November 1, 1991.
Art Papers , Dorothy Joiner, January/February 1991.
Banff Craig Canyon "Quilt Exhibition Provides a Wealth of Detail" Mark
Morris, Banff , Alberta, Canada
Chicago Tribune "Quilt Free" Suzanne Slesin, Chicago, Illinois,January 20,
1991.
Monthly Crafts/Design Art Korean Edition, Vol. 2:36 1991.
Catalog for "The Definitive Contemporary American Quilt" Virginia Avery
for the Bernice Steinbaum Gallery, New York, New York. 1990.
The Charlotte Observer "2 Artists' Similarities Stop at Georgia State Line"
Richard Maschal. May 29 1990.
The Salisbury Post "Two New Shows at Waterworks" Salisbury, North
Carolina. April 26, 1990.
West Georgian "Edwards Exhibit" Lisa Hayes, Carrollton, Georgia. April 4, 1990.
Macon Telegraph and News "State Grants Fund Artworks" Macon , Georgia. July
21,1990.
Proceedings Vol. IX International Association for the Fantastic in the
Arts, "Betty Edward's Soft Satire" Dr. Dorothy Joiner, Fort Lauderdale,
Florida. 1989.
LaGrange Daily News "LaGrange National Presents Work by 120 Artists" Dee
Brown, LaGrange, Georgia. April 19, 1989.
Columbus Ledger/Enquirer "Art Show Bares the Bizarre, The Beautiful" Judy
Sheppard, Columbus, Georgia. March 31, 1989.
Tampa Tribune "Artists' Works Tell Strange Tales" Joanne Milan, Tampa,
Florida. November 27, 1988.
Catalog for "American Herstory: Women and the American Constitution"
Atlanta College of Art, Atlanta, Georgia.1988.
Macon Telegraph and News "Macon Artist One of Three Georgians in National
Women's Exhibit" Sally Shearer, Macon, Georgia. February 19, 1988.
Macon Telegraph and News "Local Artists' Show in Madison" Sally Shearer,
Macon, Georgia. June 24, 1988.
Catalog for "Eccentric Narratives" John Graham, Ringling School of Art and
Design, Sarasota, Florida. November, 1988.
Art Papers "Review" Dr. Dorothy Joiner. March-April 1987
WMAZ-TV "Betty Bivins Edwards" 22 minute documentary made under the
auspices of the Georgia Council for the Arts and the Macon Museum of Arts
and Sciences, Macon, Georgia. January - June, 1987.
Macon Magazine "State of the Arts" Paige Calvert, Macon, Georgia. Summer, 1987.
Catalog for "Fifth Annual Carrollton Collects" West Georgia College,
Carrollton, Georgia. February 2, 1987.
Catalog for "Southeast Crafts" American Craft Council, Southeast region.
February 2, 1986.
The Athens Banner Herald "Morgan Art Exhibit Worthwhile" Cynthia
Bickley-Green, Athens, Georgia. June 21, 1986.
The Union Recorder " Local Artists Included in Madison Exhibit"
Milledgeville, Georgia. July 8, 1986.
The Commuter "Local Artist Displays Southern Work" Cindy Yeaza, Macon
College, Macon, Georgia. April 4, 1986.
The Macon Telegraph and News "Southern Themes Become Butts of Artists
Satire" Danny Gilliland, Macon, Georgia. April 6, 1986.
The Augusta Chronicle "Augusta Best of Show Award won by Macon, Georgia
Artist" Augusta, Georgia. September 28, 1986.
The Macon Telegraph and News "LaGrange National; A Unique Exhibit" Diane
Mead, Macon, Georgia. January 13, 1985.
Macon Telegraph and News " Exhibit of Quilts Contains Some Craftsmanship"
Diane Mead, Macon, Georgia. January 13, 1985.
The West Georgian "Exhibits Feature Soft Sculpture" Carrollton, Georgia.
October 30, 1985.
The Macon Telegraph and News "Experiences of Women in the South Depicted in
'Growing Up Southern'" Jeffrey Day, Macon, Georgia. August 30, 1985.
The Macon Telegraph and News "Local Artists View Christmas" Skippy Lawson,
Macon, Georgia. December 25, 1984.
