Meridian Community College alumna Deborah Thompson will be the featured artist at the next Miller Art Gallery show which is set to begin Monday, Sept. 28.

The opening reception gets under way at 4:30 p.m. in the Miller Gallery, which is located in Davidson Fine Arts Center in Ivy Hall.

Thompson resides and maintains a studio in St. Augustine, Fla. She lives with her husband, Dudley Baringer and remains an active participant in the lives of her two children, Zachariah and Aslyn.

The Mississippi native has a diverse background, which began as a medical illustrator/graphic design artist upon graduation from Belhaven College in Jackson, where she earned a bachelor of arts in art degree.

She offers expertise in two and three dimensional (construction) drawing, illustration for publication, graphic art and related areas of commercial design, mural painting and continued experience teaching art. She recently intensified her study and practice of Yoga, by receiving her certification in Hatha Yoga. She is presently teaching “Power Vinyasa,” which resonates through her practice of art.

As a studio artist, Thompson’s experience includes solo, combined artists and juried exhibitions throughout the United States. Her many affiliations within the artistic community, include, current membership and award recipient with the Florida and National Chapters of the Color Pencil Society of America. Her participation in juried exhibitions has resulted in numerous awards and recognitions for her construction drawings as well as her earlier two-dimensional works.

The use of her time is never questioned when viewing Thompson’s work. The inspiration for her work begins with archetypical studies and a fascination with sacred imagery. “The zen of producing art should be as enlightening as the finished product,” she said. The repetitive motifs of each drawing help her in the interpretation of this process.

Her work over the past 20 years demonstrates the desire to expand beyond the confines of a two-dimensional parameter. She invites the viewer into a world of two-dimensional drawing, which has been cut, folded and layered. This allows her nurturing of an idea to evolve whole.

The Miller Art Gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Friday by appointment. For more information, contact John Marshall at 601-484-8647.



ARTIST STATEMENT



DEBORAH THOMPSON



The ancient and mystical tool known as “labyrinth”, has been used for hundreds of years to help prepare ourselves for the “transformation of human personality in progress” and accomplish a “shift in consciousness”.

The process of these relief drawings, are my labyrinths; calculated and somewhat subconsciously revealed as patterns, symbols, and repetitions surrounding an archetypal figure study. They lead a purposeful path, from edge to center and from center to edge. The cutting, folding, and manipulation of each component in the drawing, help me in the interpretation of this walk (more commonly known as the “process”).

Through the rhythm of the walk they emerge whole, by unveiling the conception, gestation, and birthing of a truth that transcends intellect.