Modern Muses exhibit to celebrate female artists this fall

Six talented women of diverse backgrounds and diverse artistic styles will be featured at an exhibition entitled Modern Muses: Inspiring Creativity. This unique show will run from September 3 to November 15. The theme will also be the focus of the annual For the Love of Art fundraising event on November 2, 2019. 

A panel discussion led by Ann Bothwell of KERA including Katherine Wagner of the Business Council for the Arts and the artists will be held on October 7 at 6:30 p.m. at the ArtCentre. To register for the $25 per person event, click here. The exhibition will also feature free Brown Bag Lunch and Discussion opportunities on September 18 and October 16 from 12 noon to 1 p.m. at the ArtCentre. No reservation is required. To view the invitation, click here.

The featured artists include the following:

Mirtha Aertker is a sculptor and ceramist. She calls Dallas home, but has been fortunate enough to have lived all over the world. She believes that studying and mastering the art of raku firing was pivotal to her success in working with other media, as it encouraged her to expand her body of work. Mirtha's father also bestowed upon her his love for glass, which has taken her on an exploration of fused glass painting and casting. Mirtha's current work is heavily influenced by pre-Columbian cultures and her muse, Frida Kahlo. She is best able to express herself through ceramics and assemblage. Therefore, most of her current creations incorporate ceramics, painted glass, encaustic paintings, and welded steel.

Shafaq Ahmad was born in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. She holds degrees is Fine Arts from Virginia Commonwealth University and TCU in Fort Worth. She designed art glass for Barovier and Toso Czech Republic for eight years. Presently, she works as a multimedia artist using photography, painting, printmaking sculpture, digital images and mixed media on site installations. Ahmad has participated in many solo and over 70 group exhibitions throughout the world. Her work is part of permanent collections at the Sharjah Department of Art and Culture in the United Arab Emirates, the Museum of Geometric and Madi Art in Dallas, Mercedes Benz Daimler Financial corporate headquarters and other institutions. Her works have also been featured in many art publications.

Missy Burton is a multifaceted artist who uses photography to create expressive imagery that consistently explores the effects of social influences on human rights. Her work has been exhibited in the Dallas/Ft. Worth area and is incorporated in private collections across the USA. She is a native of Tulsa, OK and currently lives and works in Dallas, TX. Burton is represented by Framed Gallery in Cleveland, OH.

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Gabrielle Casteneda Pruitt was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and raised in Oklahoma. A self-taught artist, she learned from studying photography books collected from the library and formalized her education with classes at Brookhaven College and Collin College. She has also studied with numerous noted photographers and other artists, and has earned a reputation as an inspiration to emerging photography students whom she showcased in her own gallery. Her works have been shown in numerous exhibitions. She continues to offer services for the everyday image-maker including giclee printing, photo restoration and photography for digital submission. Her works are currently being shown at Craighead Green Gallery in Dallas where she was selected for the New Texas Talent XXIV exhibition. 

Jennifer Seibert's work has been featured in exhibitions at the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, Heritage Auction House, among others. She has won awards from nationally recognized jurors, from the producers of PBS, the 48-hour film festival critics, and has been awarded competitive grants and sabbaticals to attend residencies home and abroad, all while showing nationally and internationally with her paintings, drawings, and installations in a variety of respected galleries. Two years ago, she started Seibert Studios and has created a thriving small business creating commission works to help others remember their ephemeral moments. She was a tenured Professor of Art at Eastern Michigan University for 10 years before returning home to raise her family. She has been a Professor of Art at Collin College since returning home.

Evita Tezeno spent her developmental years in Port Arthur and Beaumont, TX. Tezeno received a B.S. in graphic design from Lamar University. Her art both reveres and celebrates traditional values reflected in her culture and recollection. Her painting "Big Band," which depicts a female singer accompanied by a trio, became the official poster of the 1999 Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. In 2008, she was featured in Dennis Forbes' book "Studios and Workspaces of Black American Artists." Her art has been recognized and honored, and is widely collected including by Denzel Washington, Star Jones and Susan Taylor.

For the Love of Art Event will be held November 2, 2019. Mark your calendar now for the ArtCentre's popular "For the Love of Art" event to be held at Collin College's Spring Creek campus Conference Center. Sponsorships are available (check the ArtCentre Website at www.artcentreofplano.org.) Individual tickets go on sale September 3.