Artist Couple, New To LG, Featured At Saturday Soiree
Art Connections Gallery welcomes two of Fayette County’s newest residents and artists as part of the featured show “The Fabulous Four” in October. Maggie and Mike Fuller have just moved from Galveston to their new home in La Grange. They bring with them a clay art studio and a wealth of talent. The public is invited to meet them at the opening reception on Saturday, October 10, from 4-7 p.m. during the Second Saturday Soiree.
Mike explains the move to the area, “My wife and I have always love Central Texas and recently moved to the La Grange area after forty years on Galveston Island where I practiced and taught at the School of Medicine at the University of Texas Medical Branch. I’ve three children who live in the Austin and Houston areas.” His ceramic work portrays the growth and development of life forms throughout their growth period or life.
His work as a psychiatrist over the last four decades has reenforced this fascination and has greatly affected his ceramic interests and art.
Maggie has been involved in art and creating since childhood becoming a teacher teaching elementary students including art. She has painted, made paper and fiber art, and jewelry but finally “came home” to working in clay.
Maggie says, “My inspiration comes from a wide assortment of things. They have varied over the years: ancient art, myths, architecture, and literature; medieval art, architecture and illuminated manuscripts; Mary Magdalene; microscopic sea creatures, coral and nudibranches (sea slugs); organic forms found in the natural world; abstract forms distilled down from real objects.”
Maggie and Mike will be featured along with two other artists: jewelry designer Karla Mock from Galveston and painter Susan Sheets from Spring.
Many who have come to the gallery are familiar with and love Susan’s lush paintings of horses, cattle, and flowers. She will be showing a body of work created during the COVID-19 pandemic, a time that was difficult for many artists yet was found to offer more time to create and explore new techniques and subjects.
Susan explains that time, “For the first time in my life, I had all the free time I always wanted to paint; but I couldn’t go in the studio. I did not want to paint about COVID-19. I was not inspired by the experience.
“Finally I decided I could paint whatever I wanted; just topics that made me happy. Just as simple as that! Thus, began my recovery.”
Karla is one of the newest artists discovered by the gallery and has already been shown to be a popular choice of jewelry collectors.
The beautiful stones set in sterling silver show a mastery of her craft as well as an eye for color and design. “The stones I use are my inspiration. Mixing and matching stones until I get a beautiful combination is how I create my pieces. The more unique the material, the more exciting and inspiring.”
The gallery will again have the reception in house after having such a fun time during September’s Art Stroll and Second Saturday Soiree.
The artists will be present, Colin Guerra will entertain on the guitar with blues and pop tunes, and all will be socially distanced with masks required, repeated sanitization of the gallery surfaces, monitored attendance in the gallery and foregoing wine and cheese (sadly).
Art Connections Gallery hopes that many in the community will come to welcome the two new neighbors as well as the other featured artists.
Art Connections Gallery
Second Saturday Soiree, October 10, 4-7 p.m.
123 N Main Street, La Grange, Texas