Red Dirt Girls & The Firm At The Sears Art Museum
The DSU Sears Art Museum is proud to present The Red Dirt Girls: Peace’d Together along with The Firm. Opening October 1st, 2021!
The Red Dirt Girls: Kirsten Holt Beitler, Jenna Mae Linewaver, Miriam Rawson, and Peg Wheeler, do get their hands dirty. They have grit, determination, and skills. As a group, they want to celebrate women’s challenges and tragedies in a way that is imbued with hope. According to Miriam Rawlings, “The most important thing is that the art speaks for us individually and collectively as women. We have messages we want to share, and this is a great way to do it.”
They feel women have an important role in shaping the attitudes of those around them, and there is a great need for uplifting and positive messages. The Red Dirt Girls have experienced loneliness, divorce, loss of their homes, friends that were untrue, life’s constant challenges and surprises—but have emerged from these daunting experiences with optimism and humor intact. They have stories to tell, examples of great women to celebrate, and canvases full of color and magic.
The Firm: Shane Christensen, Michael Schmidt, Stephen Heywood, and Brian Jensen are all MFA graduates of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. All are active in ceramics as well as teaching. Although each member exhibits individually, they have been showing as a group under the name “The Firm” for many years. The four friends share their experiences, escapades, and purpose in life and ceramics.
“The Firm have all advanced in their artform and contributed to the ceramics community as a united entity. Their love of clay presents functional ceramics, finesse of quality, detail, and craftsmanship, always with a twist of creativity.” Stated Kathy Cieslewicz, DSU Sears Art Museum Director & Curator.
The Museum welcomes a local blue-grass group, 2Red Dirt Girls who will sing at the beginning of the opening night. They have a large following and we are looking forward to their performance.
The exhibit will open with the artist panel discussion at 6 p.m. on Friday, October 1, in the Sears Art Museum, located in the Dolores Doré Eccles Fine Arts Center on the Dixie State University campus, 155 S. University Ave, St. George, UT. Immediately following the discussion, an opening reception will be held until 8:30 PM. The exhibit will be on display October 1 to January 14, 2022. The art museum is open Monday through Friday from 9AM until 5 PM and admission is FREE to the exhibit and opening events. The Museum is closed during Holidays when DSU is closed.
For more information visit www.searsart.com and visit suindependent.com for more information about the artists who will make up the museum’s programs.
