Collage specialist Atti Knox and acrylic mastermind Tricia Mayers presented several impressive and different pieces side-by-side in an artist’s reception on March 2, hosted at downtown Augusta’s Sacred Heart Cultural Center.
As folks sipped wine and avoided the yellow spring pollen, attendees enjoyed artistic works of art featuring detailed landscapes, food, animals, interesting people and complex emotions – such as grief and trust.
Knox, a native German who moved to the U.S. many years ago, leads an therapeutic art collage retreat in Arizona to help others heal and grow. Her retreat and different journeys are often what inspire different stories and ideas for pieces, said Knox.
“It has a lot to do with the work I’m doing at the retreat center. A lot of people come for self-discovery,” she said. “I let them do a collage about their inner critic, and the outer masks they have to survive day-to-day life.”
From seeing her art, Knox said she hopes everyone is able to take away something unique to them, and where they are personally at in life right now. For her, art is all about the journey, and not knowing where or how the collage will turn out in the end.
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Painting her whole life and being self-taught, Mayers said she hopes viewers are able to develop an appreciation for local and southern scenes from seeing her work.
While some of Mayers paintings were inspired by certain photos of the Savannah River or beautiful architecture, she also said many of her landscapes were especially fueled by her love for the lowcountry in Edisto Island, where she and her husband have a beloved home.
“The photograph has to inspire me,” she said. “It has to be one that I’m really interested in … the composition has to be good.”
Despite the endless hours she spent preparing her paintings, right up to the night before the showing, Mayers said she was relieved and thankful to know that she could relax in the fulfillment of successfully completing various pieces for the center’s show.
Although she admits they are not her specialty, Mayers’ collection also featured three abstracts – one of which was named after Stevie Nicks’ lyric “dreams unwind.”
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“I don’t do many abstracts. I find them very difficult even though everyone else finds them very easy [to make],” she said. “I’m always trying to turn them into something … the thing about abstracts is they can be interpreted however you want it to.”
Widely accredited and fellow artist Lillie Morris, who is best known for her abstract pieces, said her favorite part of walking throughout the exhibit was discovering the story behind each creation.
“There’s a story behind each one … I think knowing that or at least perceiving that makes the work more intriguing to me,” she said. “Just figuring out what the artist was maybe trying to say through her work.”
While she loved admiring Mayers’ remarkably realistic depictions, she also admired Knox’s distinctive collages, or “paintings made from paper.”
“Some of it’s playful, but there’s an underlying sense of seriousness behind it as well,” she said. “With [Mayers’] work … I work in acrylic myself, and it’s not easy to make an acrylic painting look like an oil painting, but she manages to do that in a number of the still life works. I’m very impressed. It shows a real mastery of the media.”
Morris thinks the overall gallery exhibit shows off how both artists signify extremely different, but equally important disciplines.
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“You have a great diversity here,” she said. “I mean just the diversity within [Mayers’] work alone is just really incredible – from landscape to still life and abstract. It’s worth coming to see.”
As someone who is very food conscious, Morris was heavily interested in Knox’s “Vegetarian” collage, because she felt it was a nod to the important ecological role food plays in everyone’s lives.
“That was one thing that spoke to me in the piece, but I also love the colors and the composition – I kept being drawn back to that one over and over again,” she said.
Although the cultural center is known for showcasing a number of local artists, such as Mayers, Morris believes it is important for audiences to know that artists – no matter where they are from – should be supported by patrons.
“We’re all artists. Doesn’t matter whether we live in Augusta or Atlanta, or Greenville, South Carolina or even across the ocean,” she said. “We’re all creatives and we should all support one another. Support local artists of course, but also support artists in general … allow them to be seen outside of the scope of ‘local artists.’ When you’re an artist you hear that term a lot.”
Located at 1301 Greene St. in downtown Augusta, Knox and Mayers’ works will be displayed at the Sacred Heart Cultural Center’s Art Hall until April 28.
Liz Wright is a staff writer covering education, lifestyle and general assignments for The Augusta Press. Reach her at liz@theaugustapress.com
