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FINE ART<br />
Light through the glass — Guardians by Deb Williams<br />
BY STAFF REPORTS • RIVER ARTS DISTRICT, ASHEVILLE<br />
The Asheville River Arts<br />
District’s Mark Bettis Studio<br />
& Gallery will present<br />
a solo exhibition of stunning<br />
thought-provoking glass art<br />
by local artist Deb Williams<br />
entitled “Seen and Unseen:<br />
Guardians in Glass.”<br />
Williams takes the highly subjective<br />
concept of who and what<br />
a “guardian” can be – in our<br />
relationships, in our dreams and<br />
spirits, and our everyday lives,<br />
and runs with it artistically.<br />
The artist notes in the many<br />
homes she has shared with her<br />
husband over the years, each<br />
one has had a symbolic guardian<br />
at its entrance, whether it’s a<br />
dragon, tree, or sculpture.<br />
A recent project led her to think<br />
even more deeply about the symbolism and varied<br />
meanings of guardians. “In our current home,<br />
we’ve been working on a large sculpture to put<br />
at the entrance to the property. I started thinking<br />
about other people and their ideas of guardians<br />
or protectors. It seems we all have them, consciously<br />
or unconsciously,” she says.<br />
A natural inquisitor, Williams posed the question<br />
“What does the word ‘guardian’ bring to<br />
mind?” as she and fellow artist, Mark Bettis,<br />
conceptualized this show. The works that inhabit<br />
the exhibition illustrate just how many types of<br />
guardians watch over us: those rooted in imagination,<br />
earthly, and heavenly. Williams’s take<br />
on translating these ideas into a cast and fused<br />
glass offer up a wild and varied cast of characters,<br />
from gracefully grounded pink flamingos and<br />
ethereal angel’s wings to a dramatic life-sized<br />
horse head – and who knows what else.<br />
Williams’s joy is evident in her fluency with a<br />
diverse array of glass techniques.<br />
These include Pate<br />
de Verre, a kiln-heated<br />
method that utilizes molds,<br />
an organically-inspired naturalistic<br />
cast glass process,<br />
and even a “deconstructed-reconstructed”<br />
glass<br />
approach in which she<br />
reinterprets and reassembles<br />
shattered glass. She<br />
also creates pieces using<br />
mixed media.<br />
Though a good portion<br />
of her work is influenced<br />
by the world around her<br />
– the mystery of a mountain<br />
shrouded in mist, the<br />
brilliant sparkle of a moving<br />
stream, the delicate translucence<br />
of a fallen leaf – it also<br />
uses symbols and kaleidoscopic color to impart<br />
meaning, humor, and memory.<br />
Deb Williams, “Spirit Guide,” <strong>2019</strong><br />
IF<br />
YOU<br />
GO<br />
Seen and Unseen: Guardians in Glass<br />
The show opens with a reception on the<br />
evening of <strong>September</strong> 21, 5:30-7:30 pm at<br />
the Mark Bettis Studio & Gallery, located at 123<br />
Roberts Street in the historic WEDGE building,<br />
the heart of Asheville’s vibrant River Arts District.<br />
Visitors will be able to enjoy and purchase pieces<br />
from this evocative exhibition should they desire,<br />
from <strong>September</strong> 21- October 5. Light hors d’oeuvres<br />
and refreshments will be served.<br />
Following the evening reception, guests can<br />
access the exhibition during the studio’s business<br />
hours, which are Monday through Saturday, from<br />
10-5pm. For additional information on the show<br />
and the Mark Bettis Studio & Gallery, please visit<br />
www.markbettisgallery.com or contact Bettis at<br />
(941) 587-9502 or markdbettis@gmail.com.<br />
VOL. 23, NO. 1 — SEPTEMBER <strong>2019</strong> | RAPIDRIVERMAGAZINE.COM | RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE | 9
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