Satterfield is Artist of the Month

Arkansas clay artist Barbara Satterfield will present her exhibit, "Call and Response: Coil Constructions by Barbara Satterfield," at University of the Ozarks as part of the Artist of the Month series.

The exhibit will be on display in the Stephens Gallery from Nov. 10 through Dec. 12. There will be a recpetion to meet the artist from 6-7 p.m. on Nov. 17 in the gallery, located in the Walton Fine Arts Center.

Satterfield, who resides in Conway, said she loves the pace of rolling, stacking, smoothing and shaping clay coils.

"I especially enjoy testing how high, wide, asymmetrical and thin-walled I can make each piece," she said. "It's a challenge that requires me to focus my understanding of the medium to accommodate the gravity, humidity and timing that affect a successful coil-building process."

Satterfield said the inspiration for her work is the natural world.

"I feel that I'm stretching my ideas over imagined frameworks, called to interpret the diverse and purposeful forms that fascinate me: nests, seeds and pods, stones, sticks, roots, fungi and those that fly, creep and slither," she said. "What I create is my response, rooted and nurtured by my process. My artwork encourages me to observe closely, interpret creatively and share ideas about my connections with nature. This exhibit invites visitors to do the same, in the hope that we all will take time to renew our relationships with this resilient yet fragile planet."

Satterfield has exhibited work in regional and Arkansas group shows and juried competitions for over 30 years, including the Arkansas Arts Center Delta Exhibition, Arts and Sciences Center for Southeast Arkansas, Fort Smith Regional Art Museum, Historic Arkansas Museum, The Galleries at Library Square, Fenix Gallery Fayetteville, and the South Arkansas Arts Center and others. Her artwork has received awards, has been recognized in the media, and is in private and public collections. Her work and her practice has been featured in video presentations sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Center (A/MFA) and the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

Satterfield earned her BA in theater from Hendrix College, a BFA in studio ceramics from the University of Central Arkansas, an MFA in studio ceramics at The George Washington University in Washington, D.C., receiving the Bernard Glassman Prize, and her MA in museum studies at the same institution. She taught art museum studies as faculty in the UCA Department of Art and directed UCA's Baum Gallery of Fine Art for 10 years after which she has shared her expertise by conducting art workshops for teachers and agencies, managed statewide art exhibition tours, and served at the officer level on the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts and the Committee of One Hundred to Benefit the Ozark Folk Center.

She and her husband, Jim Volkert, have four children and seven grandchildren spread from the east to west coasts and in between.

Topics: Art