Karen Beall

Join this intergenerational workshop and learn about site-specific sculpture and traditional sculpture all from natural materials. Spend the first two days creating “bowers” for an exciting public art project – see outline below. Sculptor/instructor Karen Rich Beall will show students how to build bowers for four different sites in Highlands. Participants will also experience a studio project – building a bird sculpture from natural materials, beginning with the construction of an armature (supporting framework).

Bowers Public Art Project - Norma Hendrix, Education Director

The Bowers Public Art Project is inspired by the amazing art of the Bower Bird who builds bowers and then decorates them with color-coordinated found objects, both man-made and natural.

Objective: to create a public art project that begins with the creation of four bowers constructed in two days in four specific locations: The Nature Center, The Highlands Greenway, The Bascom nature trail and an outdoor location on Old Edwards Inn property in downtown Highlands. The pathway will create a large circle. Once the bowers are constructed, the public is invited to “decorate” the bowers with found objects or tokens that are in the color specified for that bower.

The bower decorating will open for two weeks. Then there will be a walk that will be the equivalent of an “art opening.” The walk will be at a specified time and begin at The Bascom. It will be a fun gathering for any one interested in art, nature, walking or just curious. The hopeful outcome is to create public engagement in art and nature and to raise awareness of these special sites in Highlands.

For more information on the Bowers Public Art Project, click here to visit Bascom Community Art Projects.

Beall is a nationally known sculptor with more than 10 solo exhibits and multiple group exhibits, plus an extensive bibliography. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in ceramics from the University of Florida and a Master of Fine Arts degree in sculpture from University of Tennessee. She has worked as a studio assistant, wood restorer and circulation director for Artforum Magazine and later became the public art assistant for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. She worked for several years at the Fulton County Arts Council as the public art coordinator. Presently, Beall and husband Michael Pittari live in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, where she teaches ceramics and sculpture at Lebanon Valley College. Her work is in many collections including The Hartsfield Jackson Atlanta International Airport, King and Spalding, Atlanta, and Santa Fe Community College, Gainesville, FL.

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