Culture
Nature Photography Exhibit At OU-Zanesville
By: Christine Shaw
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Carrie "Butterfly" Turner, a local artist from New Concord, will display 21 original full-color photographs on canvas during June and July at the Ohio University-Zanesville Campus Library.
Turner is a mixed-media artist who focuses on 3D collage, found object sculptures, and vibrant colorful photographic portrait art.
She strives to achieve her artistic vision through the use of found objects like bottle caps, trash, and treasures she finds on the sidewalk.
"I see the world in snapshots," she said. "Everywhere I look I see a photograph. I think that's the true sign of an artist or an artist at heart. Most people have that inside of them…it just needs to be cultivated. I am always trying to push my art to be as creative as possible."
Turner started her art education at a young age, doing creative projects with her mother. Art was always her favorite subject in school as well. She became Art Club Secretary her Junior year in high school, then President of Art Club in her Senior year at John Glenn High School.
She has taken numerous courses in art at the college level and received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in marketing from Ohio University.
Since college, Turner has gone on to develop a healthy and fruitful resume of her achievements. She works under the name "Butterfly", a name she received from supporters of her art, because of her love for butterflies.
"We are always growing and changing, ugly to beautiful butterflies," she said.
In 2008, she was chosen as one of 100 Zanesville artists to complete a seven-foot vase for the "Vase in Place" project in Zanesville. She designed the piece, an explosion of multi-colored circles on a black background, to be visible from a distance and bring color and pop art to the environment in which it was placed.
The vases were auctioned off with proceeds going to support local art groups (read more about the project at www.zanesville.org).
In 2010 and again in 2011, Turner was one of 24 artists chosen to create a recycled art sculpture at Fountain Square in Cincinnati. Her art is featured in private galleries in Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Austrailia.
Recently, she has continued experimenting with found objects; recycling "trash" into art, 2D/3D collages, mixing traditional acrylic techniques with 3D collage, wax on canvas, item repetition to create a strong visual image, watercolor on Yupo synthetic paper, and portraiture.
2011 saw the inception of "Butterfly's Art" and the acquisition of her studio space in Zanesville at Tower Studios in Zanesville. She hosts monthly events on First Fridays at her studio, exhibiting the art and creations of local artists as well as her own work.
As an active and inspirational artist she is heavily scheduled for events throughout the remainder of 2012.
Turner’s exhibit will feature a collection of nature images in vibrant colors, which is a translation of the artist's view of the world as she sees it.
An opening reception will be held on Friday, June 8, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. where visitors can meet and talk with the artist. 50% of the profits from sales will be donated to the Muskingum County Animal Shelter.
For more information about the exhibit, visit Ohio University-Zanesville’s library art exhibits link: http://ouzanesville.org/art/. The artist is also on Facebook at www.facebook.com/artbybutterfly.