Shows runs November 6, 2013 – January 14, 2014
November 16, 2013, 2 p.m.
Collins Memorial Library, Tacoma
Camp Stories, an exhibit of work by two Northwest native artists, Gladiola Flowers and her daughter Jennifer Kennard, will be held at the Collins Library at the University of Puget Sound in Tacoma from November 6th through January 14th. Designer and visual storyteller Jennifer Kennard draws upon her mother’s narrative artwork and a journal recounting her youth during the Great Depression. Based upon her mother’s recollections of her rustic family life on Puget Sound, Kennard chronicles the colorful stories in a series of paper constructions and artist books.
With little training, Gladiola Flowers (1927–2013), was compelled to pursue her artwork as a means of reconciliation for the profound loss of her mobility as a result of Multiple Sclerosis. Over the course of one month, she worked diligently to record her happy childhood memories of the family Camp in a daily journal, and completed a series of thirty-two drawings in a style best described as outsider art. This remarkable set of visual stories came to light only after her recent death in January 2013, and this will be the first public presentation of Gladiola Flowers’ artwork since it was originally produced in 1983.
Kennard is a graphic designer, educator and book artist and writes on typography, lettering and book design topics for her blog, Letterology. She will discuss the inspiration and motivation behind Camp Stories in a talk on Saturday, November 16th at 2pm at the Collins Library on the University of Puget Sound Campus.