Criss Cross 2013

Exhibit features works by Meridian Museum of Art 2014 Bi-State ‘Best of Show’ winner Anne O’Hara

    The 46 drawings and mixed media exhibit currently showing at Meridian Museum of Art is one not to miss, MMA Executive Director Kate Cherry said.

    “We are so pleased to show these exquisite works by Anne,” Cherry said in reference to artist Anne O’Hara, whose exhibit “Hidden Treasures” will be housed at the museum through Nov. 28.

    “Her work stands out and is one of the reasons why she won ‘Best of Show’ in last year’s Bi-State Competition,” Cherry said.

    “Hidden Treasures,” according to a statement released by O’Hara, is partly inspired by the Baha’i writings. O’Hara said the series attempts to convey – through ambiguous nature-based images – the idea that people are made up of many layers that are often not apparent at first encounter.

    “The time she puts into each piece is massive because each drawing has so much detail and time,” Cherry said. “Her use of charcoal and watercolor in the works is quite different from what one normally sees.” 

    A native of Cheltenham, England, O’Hara attended the Gloucestershire College of Art, where she received her diploma in art and design. She came to the United States in 1966, to study at the San Francisco Art Institute, where she received a master of fine arts in sculpture. Additional study was done at San Jose State College, where she received her teaching credentials. She is a National Board Certified Teacher.

    “Hidden Treasures” features works reflective of O’Hara’s artistic explorations dating back to 2008.

    “At this time, I was a full-time art teacher and mostly produced my own work during summer vacations,” the artist said. “That summer, I made some of the shadow boxes and began exploring the ‘Hidden Treasures’ theme. The 3-D objects in the designs are based on shapes seen in the drawings that make up the backgrounds. I was trying to bring the drawings to life and in so doing, got excited about using beads of various kinds as decorative elements in the pieces.

    Later that year, O’Hara was awarded a fellowship from the Surdna Foundation in New York. This allowed her to travel to various cities to study contemporary art and also to attend a workshop at Oxbow in Michigan, a branch of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Art production was also required.

    “I continued to make shadow boxes, this time on a smaller scale,” O’Hara said. “The designs for these were generated from sketchbook drawings, and now almost all of the elements became 3-D. These pieces were focused again on the ‘Hidden Treasures’ theme, which through the use of gems and beads is very evident.”

    She said her students were always an inspiration, and it was from studying some of their drawings that she decided to work with charcoal. In 2011, she began the drawings, first using traditional black charcoal and later changing over to tinted charcoal. In addition to her media, O’Hara said her source of imagery also changed.

    “No longer was I using images based on abstract drawings, but now I employed the camera and Photoshop to generate ideas,” she said. “These drawings are obviously nature-based, but are not straightforward renditions of flowers, leaves, and trees etc. They contain ambiguities manifest through the layering of images. As I draw, and they develop, more unexpected objects seem to appear and the viewer sees things that are not readily apparent at first glance. This, I hope, causes the viewer to look even harder and see even more ‘hidden treasures.'”

    O’Hara shared the following about the Baha’i Writings:

    “In the Baha’i Writings it says: ‘Regard man as a mine rich in gems of inestimable value. Education can, alone, cause it to reveal its treasures, and enable mankind to benefit therefrom.’ And ‘The purpose of the one true God, exalted be His glory, in revealing himself unto men is to lay bare those gems that lie hidden within the mine of their true and inmost selves.'”

    O’Hara said these statements guide her in life and are important inspirations for her drawings.

    “They are especially relevant to one who is a former educator,” she said. “I learned that it was important to search for the good qualities in people and not to dwell on the negative. Sometimes, one has to dig down beneath the layers to find the treasures that will almost assuredly, be hidden below.

    “The ‘Hidden Treasures’ series is motivated by this sentiment. In keeping with the human experience, an in-depth study of the drawings should take you to another place,” O’Hara said. “It is my hope that through the beauty of nature the pieces will make a connection both visually and spiritually with those who see them, leaving spirits uplifted and curiosity kindled.”

    Now retired, O’Hara has received several awards during her teaching career, the most notable being a Surdna Fellowship in 2010, to study contemporary art and to produce new work. In 2011, she was selected as Mississippi Art Educator of the Year and in 2007 and 2012 was the Mississippi School of the Arts Teacher of the Year. In 2000, the Metro Jackson Mississippi Chamber of Commerce chose her as an Outstanding Metro Teacher.

    For the last nine years of her career, she taught in the Visual Arts Department at the Mississippi School of the Arts in Brookhaven. Previous experience included teaching in the Jackson Public Schools Academic and Performing Arts Complex, Jim Hill High School’s International Baccalaureate program and Milwaukee Public Schools. Additionally, from 1996-2003, she planned, and directed the Mississippi Museum of Art’s summer program “Kaleidoscope”, Art Adventures for Creative Kids, in which she also taught.

    In 2013, O’Hara was awarded an Artist’s Fellowship from the Mississippi Arts Commission. Her drawings have been accepted into the Meridian Museum of Art’s Bi-State Competitive exhibition both in 2013 and 2014 (when she was awarded “Best in Show” in 2014). Her work was also selected for the 2014 Mississippi Invitational at the Mississippi Museum of Art. She was recently informed that one of her drawings received an honorable mention in a competition sponsored by The Artist’s Magazine, which could be published in the December issue.

    O’Hara celebrated her 47th wedding anniversary this year. Her husband, Bruce, is an associate professor of art at Tougaloo College. She has two children and two grandchildren and a very large dog named Sadie.

     Meridian Museum of Art is partially sponsored by the city of Meridian, Mississippi Arts Commission, The Phil Hardin Foundation, The Riley Foundation, The Community Foundation of East Mississippi and Rea, Shaw, Giffin and Stuart, CPAs.