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Betsy Morris
Subject: Botanicals and Natural History    

Presented in vitrines as intriguing and unidentifiable artifacts from an indeterminate place and time, new works by Betsy Morris alter natural objects such as roots and branches with sublte touches of encaustic and metallic pigment.  Paired with these three-dimensional works are her series of tonal, sepia-colored botanical photographs that have been subjected to digital processes to further evoke a sense of time, mortality, decay and issues of preservation. 

Betsy Morris

Betsy Morris, former Washington University art professor and now full-time faculty at Meramec College , has focused on the realm of botanicals in her work since studying with the painter Jack Beal.  Her work has expanded from paintings and drawings to include the powerful media of photography.  Interestingly, she has utilized current digital imaging processes to create mysterious and subtle effects in her photographic prints that call to mind the work of pioneering photographers such as Julia Margaret Cameron.

Jim Ibur
Subject: Embedded

An ambitious and unusual exhibition opens tonight featuring large-scale ceramic works installed in a surreal gallery environment involving seven tons of sand.  I hope that you will drop by to see James Ibur's new work.  Attached above is an image of the monumental work Spike.  Although the installation evokes multiple associations, overall the suggestion is one of being undersea on the ocean bottom. 

Jim Ibur has a national presence in the ceramics scene and now teaches full-time at Meramec College . 

Jim Ibur