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By Lacy Denny
Editor
RedHawk Reporter

The art of Patricia Greene, currently displayed at Martin Methodist College in the Gault Fine Arts Center’s Barton Gallery, offers multifaceted, thought-provoking installations. Her work uses materials ranging from silk, wire, seeds, feathers, plumbing parts, even an ostrich egg – all of which are recycled, reused or found objects. Greene believes the reuse and recycling of materials in her artwork represents a process of healing and rebirth.

“It is the transformation of objects into a new identity," she says.

Greene’s exhibit is a display of her healing process when she battled breast cancer after being diagnosed in 2009. Her creative process served as a therapeutic practice, and much of her pain and trepidation was translated into her unique creations.

The exhibit, which continues through Friday, Jan. 4, includes a 12-piece installation called “Hatching" that symbolizes incubation and rebirth. The 12 nest-like sculptures are suspended from branches, and the shadow cast by each piece is an intentional portrayal of Greene’s creative vision. Part of the intrigue of this installation is that each nest hosts something different. Greene says this installation represents the search for a nurturing environment is similar to that of a mother’s womb.

“It is a search for rebirth, comfort, security and fecundity; a place to grow roots and where creativity can flourish. It is a reencounter with The Mother," she says, explaining that she wanted the creation to serve as an incubator of creativity and dreams.

The exhibit offers another installation called “Inside Out – Outside In." Very reminiscent of Tibetan prayer flags, this personal representation consists of 46 pieces of silk, each embroidered with a symbol.

“It was created in a moment of healing and everyday meditation. It’s a mantra to the wind, a spiritual, emotional and physical catharsis," Greene says.

The symbols were sewn during her months of chemotherapy and as explained in the description of the installation, they hold Greene's prayers for healing. The 46 pieces of fine silk and their fascinating symbols of healing cast a wall of shadows, another intentional rendering of her creative vision.

Other pieces in the exhibit include statues and a suggestive piece called “Feminine Irruption."

To witness this unique illustration of the human’s healing capacity, the Barton Gallery is located on the second floor of the Gault Center on the college’s Campus Green. Exhibit curator Bernice Davidson, assistant professor of art at Martin Methodist, invites the public to enjoy this demonstration of the creative process and how art can be used as therapy. Some of the pieces are for sale and prices can be acquired per request by contacting her at 931-363-9894.