Jann Ferris - Freefall into Grace Opening
Friday, April 13
From 7 PM to 9 PM
for the opening of
Freefall into Grace
an exhibition of drawings by Jann Ferris
The Attic Gallery
1101 Washington Street
Vicksburg, MS 39183
For a few years Jann Ferris has been making hundreds of drawings of fanciful figures and hiding them. Last month the series was exhibited at the Mississippi Museum of Art, and now the Attic is proud to bring this amazing collection home to Vicksburg.
Come meet Jann and see Freefall into Grace.
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When the work was shown last month at the Mississippi Museum of Art, Betsy Bradley, director of the museum, wrote the following:
If one were to ask Jann Terral Ferris her medium as an artist, she might respond that she is a textile artist, a jewelry designer, even a master teacher or visionary arts education reformer; and all of these are true. She would probably not identify her medium as pen and ink drawings. She calls these drawings her "doodles," because they really are.
The wonder of this work lies in its origins. One expects a great artist to produce a masterpiece with all the intensity, rigor, and mania that define western masters. These drawings, however, demonstrate the ongoing, ever-present joy, beauty, and magic working in Jann Ferris' soul, brain, and fingers. Often drawn while talking on the telephone, in meetings, and in conversation, these drawings demonstrate an almost subconscious magic that celebrates the human form at its most glorious--when dancing or reflecting or laughing, costumed with artistic precision and displaying the confidence and vibrant celebration of being. And they fascinate the viewer because they reflect an activity that is universal: we all doodle. But we don't all care enough about the subject, about its expression, about who it is becoming to commit to it with such precision, such love, and such joy.
Viewers who know Jann may be surprised to see these works, surprised that they exist, because of her mastery of so many other forms. Those who know her, however, will not be surprised by their quality, their exuberance, their integrity, their beauty, or their joy--not surprised because these are the traits that define their creator.
Betsy Bradley
