February Guest Artists-John Beall & Karen Meredith

Hirdie Girdie welcomes 2 guest artists for the month of February: Woodturner John Beall & Oil artist Karen Meredith. Be sure to attend our ARTIST NIGHT “meet and greet” Thursday February 6 from 5-8 pm. Check the website https://hirdiegirdiegallery.com/ for any changes.

John sculpts wood by using a technique called segmented wood-turning. The technique of basket illusion is to design and then draw a pattern of the piece on graph paper. Once this is done, segments of wool are cut and glued in rounds to form the shape of the piece. The lathe is then used to turn the rings into the shape of the design. Horizontal beads are then turned into the piece. After vertical lines are draw, a wood burning tool is used to form the thousands of individual small beads. The beads are painted with India ink to mirror the original design. When completed it give the illusion of being a woven basket. Over the years he has received many awards and has sold pieces at various art shows and galleries.

Karen is an award winning artist oil painter who is inspired by light and color and it is their dynamic interplay that creates beauty and interest in her visual world.  She can find her favorite images outdoors, either in sunlit spaces or moody shadows.She is enamored with Florida’s local scenes, especially the dynamic clouds that decorate the skies. When she is not able to paint outside she uses reference photos or pulls together items nearby to create a still life scene, usually involving flowers, for which she has become known. Karen is a member of several national and local organizations.All the artists at Hirdie Girdie are from the Sanibel/SWFL area, please give us your support by viewing us on Facebook and/or Instagram! https://www.facebook.com/galleryhirdiegirdie/ & https://www.instagram.com/hirdiegirdiegallery/