Mumford and Hudnall 2013

Works of Elizabeth Mumford and Katie Hudnall
September 22 - November 1, 2013

The works of two artists with Indiana connections, Elizabeth Mumfordand Katie Hudnall, are featured in the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries September 22 - November 1, 2013. Elizabeth Mumford, a painter who now lives and works on Cape Cod, grew up on a farm near Griffin, Indiana. Katie Hudnall is a sculptor and woodworker who teaches at the Herron School of Art at IUPUI in Indianapolis.

Ms. Mumford's exhibit, entitled, "Painting My Own Back Yard" presents narratives of her memories of growing up in Indiana and of her current home on Cape Cod. Ms. Hudnall's exhibit, "Moving Parts", features intricate wood pieces are complex and elaborate sculptural forms, held together in a precarious looking manner, seemingly on the verge of collapse, but never quite collapsing.

On Sunday, September 22, 1:30 - 4:00 pm, there will be a reception in their honor will at the McCutchan Art Center/Pace Galleries. Both artists will be present, and from 1:30 - 2:00 pm, Elizabeth Mumford will conduct a gallery talk, where she will discuss several of her paintings in the show. Refreshments will be served and the public is cordially invited to attend.

Elizabeth Mumford
Elizabeth Mumford grew up in Indiana on a farm in Posey County near Griffin. Even while at her first job teaching in Hawaii, she returned every summer for art classes in New Harmony. In 1976 she moved back to the farm and taught art at Evansville Day School until 1980, when she went on to graduate school at Tulane University.

In 1983 she move to Hyannis Port permanently and began painting full time. After receiving degrees in art from Smith College and Tulane University, she chose to develop her own style, drawing upon early American and other folk styles. She had been exploring this approach while living in Hawaii and Indiana, but now, painting full time allowed her to really focus on Americana. She also began incorporating a border with text and a design in the corner. This evolved into her signature black border with red text and bronze stenciled scallops in the corners. This summer, Liz is experimenting with a pale blue border with text and other designs than the bronze scallop.

The text often is the beginning of the piece. Liz draws from a wide variety of sources: Poor Richard’s Almanac, American Folk sayings, 18th and 19th century poetry, and even sea chanteys, although those usually have to be edited. Her favorite medium is oil on panels, wood or Masonite. Many of her images have been made into prints and cards, jig saw puzzles, needlepoint, and one is used in the Cape Cod Potato Chip bag design.

Liz has also returned to her first career of teaching. She taught Art History for several years at Cape Cod Community College as an adjunct faculty member. Currently, she teaches Drawing and Art History at the Cape Cod Museum of Art in Dennis.

Her original works can be found at the Oak and Ivory in Osterville, Massachusetts; the J. Todd Gallery in Chatham , Massachusetts; the Christina Gallery in Edgartown, Massachusetts;  and the Mystic Seaport Maritime Museum, Mystic, Connecticut.

Katie Hudnall
Katie Hudnall is an artist, an assistant professor of woodworking at the Herron School of Art at IUPUI in Indianapolis, and this fall’s University of Southern Indiana Department of Art Visiting Artist.  She earned her MFA in 2005 from Virginia Commonwealth University in Furniture Design and Woodworking, and her BFA in Fine Arts/Sculpture in 2001 from the Corcoran College of Art and Design, Washington D.C. She previously held the post of Assistant Professor and Head of Furniture Design/Woodworking Program, Murray State, fall 2010 - spring 2013.

Katie Hudnall is on the Board of Trustees of the Furniture Society and has been a contributing artist at the EMMA International Artist Collaboration Big River, Saskatchewan, Canada. She was awarded an Assistantship at Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Artist Residencies at Anderson Ranch Art Center, Snowmass, Colorado, and the Windgate Wood Residency University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her wood sculptures have won awards in juried exhibitions such as the Raphael Prize Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh; Honorable Mention, LEAP Award Society for Contemporary Craft, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania; Best in Show, Sleight of Hand Exhibition Gallery 5, Richmond, Virginia; and a Purchase Award,35th Annual Toys Designed by Artists Arkansas Art Center, Little Rock, Arkansas. Her work has been included in numerous shows and publications, including Studio Furniture: The Next Generation,Transformation 7: Raphael Prize Finalist Exhibition, 500 Cabinets, andFine Woodworking: Design Book Eight.

Ms. Hudnall states, “My pieces are metaphors for our relationships with one another. The imperfect edge of one piece fitting perfectly against the imperfect edge of another, pieces whose function suggest protection but offer no real security, and everything seemingly on the verge of collapse, but never quite collapsing. I am tapping into the delight that comes from seeing something work that shouldn’t, the hope that comes from a thing endlessly repaired, no matter how many times it has broken, and the beauty in something textured with imperfections and then worn smooth through use”.