Fine Line Designs Gallery Announces Exhibit IV

Ceramic dress by Stephanie Evans.

The storytelling works of Door County artists Stephanie Evans and Pamela Murphy will play off one another in Fine Line Designs Gallery’s Exhibit IV, which runs through September 6.

Stephanie Evans creates characters out of clay much like a writer crafts characters and themes with words. To create these stories, Evans says she shows her viewers garments (mainly the dress form) worn and used by her characters.

“Clothes are functional, but they also express the individual,” says Evans. “I use clothes, the most outward part of a person’s appearance, to tell what might be a complex or more complete life story.” Evans says there is an energy that a person leaves with every garment and object worn, and “it is this energy that I hope one finds in my dresses.” Besides her ceramic dresses, Evans has also infused the same amount of texture, depth, and energy into a series of wall tiles for the Fine Line show.

“Downwind Run” by Pamela Murphy.

Pamela Murphy found her inspiration for her oil paintings through old photographs she would find at garage sales. “I could understand how they ended up there – if someone is unable to remember, the people in the photographs become strangers,” Murphy says. Not wanting these memories to end up in the trash, Murphy began collecting these photos and eventually began using the figures from the images as her “models.” These models are placed on a textured canvas, which Murphy creates by sanding and scraping layers of paint off the canvas. Murphy likes how the distressed surface of the canvas complements her subject matter. Murphy’s focus for the Fine Line show is a mix of her favorite subjects – children, bathers, and boats.

Fine Line Designs Gallery, located on Hwy. 42 in north Ephraim, is open daily from 10 am – 6 pm and on Sundays from 10 am – 5 pm. For more information call 920.854.4343 or visit http://www.finelinedesignsgallery.com.