Stacy Tabb – You Are What You Eat

This exhibition round includes works provided by Stacy Tabb which will be on view in the First Floor Main Gallery from May 29 – July 27, 2024.  Lowe Mill A&E invites patrons and art lovers to join us for Open Studio Night, a building-wide experience when our over 150 studios will be open to the public.  The evening also includes receptions for all seven of our gallery spaces. This series gives the public a chance to meet and interact with visiting artists and discuss their work as it is on display and available for purchase. Come out, enjoy a pleasant evening, and maybe you’ll find that special piece of art that speaks to you!  The Open Studio Night reception is Saturday, July 27 from 5-7 pm.

 

About the exhibit:

The “You Are What You Eat Series” is comprised of multiple species of creatures, each depicted containing their primary food source in place of their scales, feathers, shells, and fur. They were drawn using pencil on paper then transferred to carving blocks via carbon paper. Each was carved and detailed using sharp woodcarving gouges, then inked and printed on fine, archival watercolor paper using professional oil-based relief ink. Select prints were then highlighted using watercolor paints. 

The series is very much inspired by Scandinavian and Pacific Northwest styles of folk art, where all negative space is filled, and perspective is very subjective. Geometric shapes take the place of shadows and highlights, and key elements, such as the lightning bolts and mayflies, and are echoed throughout the series. Later pieces contain elements that pay homage to the indigenous cultures that share space with the animals’ native habitats.

 

About the artist:

I was born in Huntsville, AL, and began drawing and painting from a very early age. My formative years were spent in the cities and deserts of Saudi Arabia, as I traveled with my family. We explored the art, landscapes, and wildlife of over two dozen countries in a series of journeys over multiple, very influential years. Greece and Egypt were my particular favorites, and have definite influence in my artwork. 

In my university education, I studied graphic design, drawing, and printmaking. My artistic training and professional career have explored every medium, from digital design to technical drawing to website design, and now back to printmaking. 

In 2001, my husband Daniel and I packed our two small children off to Florida, then spent the next 20 years observing and photographing the diverse wildlife and landscapes. My drawing style is typically very realistic, so I sought to push that limitation by delving into various artistic styles, such as the very stylized world of folk art. I always start from a standpoint of realism in my drawings, then work backwards towards the stylized: the pelican *must* be recognizable as a pelican, after all. 

In returning again into printmaking, I’ve learned to have a clear path, and know what I want to accomplish from the outset; one cannot just add a shadow with a slightly darker blend of pigment, or lighten up an area with a bit more titanium white. In printmaking, everything must be planned from the start, whether it is positive – in the case a shape or pattern that gets inked – or negative – in the case of a space that is carved out and will not take ink. These work together to form highlights, the lowlights, and the entirety of the piece, and there’s no turning back once carving has started, so the plan must be solid. 

Back home now in North Alabama, with the kids all grown up, we live on an ex-hay farm we’re converting into a fruit and nut orchard, and making as much art as possible. 

 

To find the the gallery in Lowe Mill A&E, click MORE INFO below (Tickets are NOT required.)