ENTERTAINMENT

Sisters create triptychs for Arts Center show

STAFF REPORTS

Joye Ardyn Durham may have closed up shop at Gingko Tree Gallery, but she has certainly not gone away. For the next month, the accomplished photographer will share gallery space at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts  with her sister, fiber artist and Lexington, Kentucky resident Jan Durham. Their exhibition runs through Sept. 1.

There will be an artist’s reception from 6-8 p.m. Friday, July 28 to celebrate the opening of the show and the talent of sisters who both have well-established reputations. Both artists said their parents encouraged them in their artistic pursuits. They were surrounded by creativity during their upbringing, which kindled a passion to take their work to a higher level, a passion they have both pursued their entire adult lives.

Photographer Joye Ardyn Durham, left, joins forces with her sister, fiber artist Jan Durham for a gallery show at the Black Mountain Center for the Arts.

Photo editor at the Laurel of Asheville magazine, Joye is an award-winning photographer who has been published in a wide range of mediums world-wide including magazines, billboards, postcards, brochures and more. She focuses her lens on an equally broad spectrum, including nature, wildlife, landscapes and portraiture. She has experimented with light and time-lapse and now, for this show, flattened tea bags.

Joye Durham will display experimental work, such as this photograph printed on a tea bag and the treated with encaustic wax.

Joye’s more traditional photographs will also be included in the show, as will some triptychs created by the sisters together. Also to be show will be a series of felted vessels and wall hangings from Jan.

Jan Durham’s fiber art includes a wide variety of wall hangings and several large vessels, such as this one that measures over 12 inches tall.

Jan Durham works primarily in wool and is an avid dyer. Her work is on display in Lexington-area galleries. She has participated in group and solo shows throughout the Lexington region.  She works the fiber from roving to the finished piece, adding beads, embroidery and stitching. Several years ago she was introduced to encaustic and more recently took up painting, all of which will be evident in this show.

The Black Mountain Center for the Arts is at 225 W. State St. in the old City Hall. The Upper Gallery is open Monday–Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more, call 669-0930 or visit BlackMountainArts.org.