Missouri is a beautiful state. As I write this, snow and ice are on the ground here in Ava, MO. I think this is a great time to work in my studio. As a former art teacher these “snow days” were my personal opportunity to be creative, and today will be one of those days! I plan to spend part of the day working on a watercolor painting that is in progress, and later I will trim a few wheel thrown pots, then carve them to make each one special. Later I need to work on a graphic logo design on the computer. Household chores do not exist on a creative day! Even time ceases to pass when I am in my creative world. I feel so fortunate to have this gift and the opportunity to use it.

Ava is a small town with a nice network of artists and we love our time together. I exhibit and sell my work along with my artist friends, but the real joy for me is when I am in my zen-like state working on my art. I love each piece as I make them, and they are special and unique to me. Interlaced and overlapping designs are a particular interest to me as they relate to string theory, personal relationships, and the memory of my Mother’s knitting.

My art patrons are another gift to acknowledge, for they all see something worthwhile in my work. They are willing to pay for a one-of-a-kind piece, and appreciate the skill, the message and the love I put into each artwork.

Life is Good! Seize the Day! Joie de Vivre!

Artist’s Statement

Carolyn’s art is evolving and is shaped by the life she leads and the time in which she lives.  Our lives are made up of many threads of contact with people, time, and place. This artist feels that art is a spiritual and scientific discipline.  Spirituality, string theory, mirror neurons, and the concept of overlapped and interlacing elements are themes the artist has been exploring and may be visible in her artwork. 

Wallace’s history is filled with images of her mother knitting.  For years her mother would take a strand of yarn and weave it into an article of incredible beauty.  Like her mother’s knitting, Carolyn visualizes her life as a meandering thread that overlaps the life threads of others in a design of beautiful complexity.

The 21st century is a time when knowledge is expanding in every direction, and the strands of knowledge overlap with our spiritual life threads.  Add the ribbons connected to history and you may begin to visualize the intricacy Carolyn Coffey Wallace is expressing in her work.

This artist has spent thirty-one years as an art teacher, and has often been asked by students to define the term “artist” and what it takes to choose art as a career.  Her response is that an artist is one who must create, and will forgo things others value (like sleep, food, relationships) in order to experience this altered state. Carolyn feels that art should be considered a vocation instead of a career.  Artistic abilities have been given to many, but these gifts do not come without a price. We pay with intense, lonely hours of work that others will never see, and with a vulnerability that allows us to be hurt.  If we are given an artistic gift, (large or small, it does not matter) then the artist should serve it.  Even without a clear vision, trust the process of creation.  It is worth it, because each creative act is a spiritual communion.  Each artwork is a gift to the world, and a stepping stone on our way to enlightenment. Artists risk it all and spit sparks of creative brilliance into the dark, trusting the gift, and hoping all the while to illuminate the sky. 

Carolyn Coffey Wallace
Route 1, Box 530
Ava, MO 65608
417-683-2939
e-mail Carolyn Wallace

 

Home | Artisans | Membership | ArtSmart | Contact | Featured Craftsman | Mission | Links | Members Only