May 2023 saw the Peter Bullough Foundation closing out its 2022-2023 season of artists with Scott Walker, MK Bailey, and Lena Crown. Walker hails from Brooklyn, while Bailey and Crown both came to us from DC/Northern Virginia. While Walker and Bailey work in very different mediums - embroider vs acrylic paint - and very different scales, they both work in a deliberately feminine aesthetic and make use of kitsch and pop culture references.
While in residence, we were grateful to both Walker and Bailey for hosting workshops focused on their unique styles and strengths. Bailey hosted a Color Theory workshop, teaching participants aspects of color theory and some of the science and rationale behind acrylic paint colors. Attendees made their own grayscale and color sampler, experimenting with tints and shades, as well as creating their own black color. The evening was capped by a visit to Bailey’s studios, where she was hard at work on 6 different large canvases hung across the walls of her studio. Throughout the evening, Bailey shared details from her background, beginning with her education at the University of Virginia to her years spent working in a portrait studio to her time in DC creating The Residents Collective.
Walker held a Beginner’s Guide to Embroidery workshop, showing the basic stitches he uses in his work. Attendees were given a basic sampler created by Walker on which to test out the different stitches and were able to choose colors of embroidery floss to their liking. Walker led everyone through each of the different stitches and spare cloth on which to continue to test out embroidery. Said one participant, “Scott showed me two new ways to make a knot (I have sewn professionally for 52 years!).” Again, the evening ended with a trip to Walker’s studio to view some pieces recently created and in progress.
We’re delighted to have ended the season with these two sold-out events and are continually grateful to the Marion Park Lewis Foundation for the Arts and First Bank for sponsoring this season of events!
