ArtPrize September 19 - October 7, 2012 | Grand Rapids, MI
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Artist information
Paula Bowers
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Education
BFA
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JOY
JOY
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Paula Bowers

Artist bio

Paula J. Bowers was born in Fairfax, Virginia in 1955. She grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After attending Lake Forest College, she graduated with a BFA in Textile Arts from the University of Michigan in 1977. In the continuing pursuit of artistic studies, she has traveled to more than a dozen countries in Europe and half dozen countries in Central and South America, as well as to Africa. She currently lives in Grand Rapids with her two daughters and works as the Michigan Territory Manager for Scott Group where she helps guide clients through the design process in selecting fine custom wool carpets for commercial and residential use.

Paula's works of art can be found in numerous commercial collections including, Steelcase Corporate Development Center, The Fetzer Institute, Spectrum Hospital, Farmers/Foremost Insurance, Western Michigan University Gilmore Theater Lobby and others nationally. She has been commissioned for many private residential pieces as well.
About the work
Title: Joy

Art form: 2-D, 3-D

Medium: Hand Felted Fiber Mixed Media

Year created: 2011

Description of work: Joy is the highest form of emotion. It's the magical sense evoking everything is a possibility. Joy springs from the appreciation of the gifts within each moment. It allows us to attract and create our present and future moments to the highest possible extent. Even if you haven't exactly what you want in life, acting "as if" and focusing on the feeling of joy helps fulfill your desires.That sense of expansion makes it seem as if this was already a reality.

There really isn't a day that goes by where joy doesn't enter into my life, even if it's in the most unexpected way. This piece sprang from that place in my heart. Using vibrant, jewel toned wool fibers, hand felted with shimmering threads of silk, I created the base for multiple objects in glass, metal, wood, feather, and recycled symbols generating subtle energies. Covering the piece are opalescent, transparent and opaque layers of mica rock, prompting the viewer to look beyond the illusion of the surface to find JOY emerging.

Height: 4 feet
Width: 4 feet
Paula Bowers is showing at:

Grand Rapids Public Museum Grand Rapids Public Museum
272 Pearl ST NW
Grand Rapids, MI 49504

Venue location

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