The Claydies show opened Sunday, Oct. 2, at Tryon Painters and Sculptors’ (TPS’) new gallery on Maple St. in Tryon. The show will continue through Nov. 3.
The Claydies are seven women who sculpt with clay every Thursday morning at the TPS clay studio.
Gwen Bailey is a local interior designer who has created the interiors of many homes in the area and she continues working in her field. Bailey produces figurative sculptures made of red earthenware or self-drying clay.
Claire Carey began her life in clay as a potter before turning to sculpture. Her pieces range from the abstract to the realistic, from floor pieces to tabletop to the wall.
For most of her life, Jeanette Comer has been active in the performing arts, especially music. She has worked in pen and ink illustrating her published books. However, she is relatively new to sculpting and continues to refine her skills.
Betty Johnston is a portrait painter and a sculptor working in acrylics and clay. She has a studio at her home where she can go daily to create her own ideas or work on one of her many commissions.
Beverly Pickard owned and managed an art gallery in downtown Saluda for a number of years, where she sold her own work and that of others. Her clay pieces are primarily figurative.
Jan Romine is known to the community as one of the “Sisters Going to Seed,” a garden plus shop in Tryon that closed a few years ago. Romine and her sister still create flower arrangements for special events in the area. Her clay pieces focus on the figurative.
Lalage Warrington has been creating visual art since her camping days and has gone on to become a sculptor in many mediums. She currently teaches at the Chapman Cultural Center in Spartanburg, S.C. She has done many portrait commissions; her latest is a bronze on display in Spartanburg of the founder of the Spartanburg City Foundation.
The Claydies invite the public to visit their studio on Thursday mornings to see the artists at work. Coffee and snack will be offered.
– article submitted
by Claire Carey