About

Early exposure to modern dance, live theater, fiber & ceramic arts were seminal in my art making evolution.  After receiving degrees in painting & printmaking, I worked and traveled extensively throughout North Africa, Germany, France, Spain, Portugal, United Kingdom and Eastern Europe.  

Spanning four decades, the first two were centered on studio artwork and the second two on public artwork.  My inspiration for art making has always been sourced from art that tells the story of place and community by tracing humankind’s imprint and illustrating nature’s silhouette.  Environmental, historical and cultural experiences have further informed my creative voice. 

PUBLIC ART

As an artist,  design team lead artist, planner and advocate for great public spaces, I have designed site-specific, integrated artwork that has emphasized collaboration with architects, scientists, engineers, communities and public agencies.  Site observations, research and forged relationships inform my approach, expression and direction of site–integrated artwork.  

My public art installations are incorporated into a wide variety of environments including justice and medical centers, libraries, parks, universities, airports, schools, and other transportation facilities nationwide.  Mediums of bronze, stainless, painted steel, light, architectural glass, stone and tile are carefully selected to fit the project at hand.

I have accumulated extensive experience working in multiple community outreach environments such as, city council briefings, neighborhood community meetings, municipal design commissions and review panel presentations.  My four years served on the Seattle Design Commission, Office of Arts & Cultural Affairs, Public Art Advisory Committee and Sound Transit Light Rail Review augment my public art experience and reinforced my passion for environmental stewardship and advocacy for memorable public spaces.

STUDIO WORK

My seminal studio work was ceramic sculpture that utilized mold-making, slip-casting, hand-building, and over-firing objects.  Forming the same shape repeatedly while testing the material’s boundaries, context and configuration resulted in endless installation possibilities.  

Traveling in Mexico in the 80’s revived my interest in the fiber arts.  In turn, I created a series of high relief wall constructions “Icons, Vestures & Yokes” and “Industrial Amulets”.  My “fiber” took the form of “contemporary artifacts” such as metal, wood, wire and other industrial discarded or recycled materials. Collaborating with industry and sifting through rural, suburban and urban communities’ discards and transforming them into art became my approach and led to my 1st public art project in 1994.

Now, two decades later, I am returning to the studio to tell a more personal story.  I am unraveling and tracing family histories not through DNA or ancestry internet services, but through forgotten voices, gathered memories and reams of documents and photos left after my mother’s death in 1996. 

Presently, my studio storeroom is filled with materials, discarded in the early 90’s when recycling was in its infancy.  My intension is to deplete that collection and source my family archive by creating art that references “Corroborating Evidence” in memory of Beverly Jean Beyette’s unwavering search to discover her heritage.