MY PERSONAL ARTIST STATEMENT
I'm a self-taught artist and strongly believe that everyone is given the gift of creativity when we're born. We're all presented with different opportunities to develop our creativity (some more advantageous than others), and we use the gifts we're given in different ways. I find inspiration in nearly everything. I could not imagine having a life without creativity involved. Drawing, painting, mixed media, photography, clay, lampwork (making glass beads), weaving, and beadwork are some of the classes & workshops I've taken to try & improve on the skills I do have. There is so much tragedy and uncertainty in the world today. Art is especially important to me in dealing with everyday stresses. It's therapeutic & relaxing, & certainly cheaper than a therapist! We can lose ourselves and transcend our sorrows when we create, and truly be in a better and more peaceful world of our own making.
BIOGRAPHY: PATRICIA GRIFFIN BRETT
I was born in the country, on my grandfather's farm, in North Carolina. Before I was a year old, my father joined the newly formed U.S. Air Force and moved my mother and me to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. After spending time in Florida, our growing family moved to Virginia, lived there until I was seven, and then moved to St. John's, Newfoundland. After a tour there, we moved back to Virginia, where we stayed until moving to Oslo, Norway when I was a teenager. We lived in a beautiful mountaintop village called Sandvika, which overlooked a fjord. While in Norway, I learned to ski, ice skate, and speak a little Norwegian, and also had the chance to visit Sweden, Finland, and Denmark.
From the time I was a very small child, I have loved creating things with my own hands and taught myself to draw at an early age. I learned to sew and embroider from my mother and grandmother, who also taught me to crochet. While living in Norway, I taught myself to knit and learned the Scandinavian technique of knitting from our next-door neighbor.
I once dreamed of becoming a fashion designer and used to spend a lot of time drawing designs for clothing. Nowadays I paint, do photography & various types of beadwork, beadweaving, and make jewelry. I also combine fiber and beads, and I love mixed media. In the past few years, I've discovered how to make art on my computer & taught myself as much as I possibly could. I use a stylus & tablet for painting & am learning how to better use my design programs. So, now I'm taking lessons in Photoshop Artistry & creating mixed media through that.
I've sold my work through various shops, restaurants, and galleries for the past 30 years and am a former member of The Bead Society of Southeastern Virginia, the Tidewater Artists Assoc., The Isle of Wight Arts League, the Suffolk Art League, and the VA. Watercolor Society. I served on the board of the Smithfield Cultural Arts Center for several years, where I had a working studio and taught summer art camps for youth. I've also taught privately, at bead shops in the area, and at art retreats.
Exhibitions:
Smithfield Cultural Arts Center, Smithfield, VA
The Hermitage, Norfolk, VA
The Smithfield Bakery, Smithfield, VA
Riverview Gallery, Portsmouth, VA
The Pagan River Shoppes, Smithfield, VA
Morales Art Gallery, Nags Head, NC
Arts Kitchen, Suffolk, VA
Seaside Art Gallery, Nags Head, NC
Suffolk Art Museum, Suffolk, VA
Nansemond Suffolk Academy, Suffolk, VA
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