In the late 1970's, Deborah Banyas and T.P. Speer had been married for 3 years and had purchased their first house. T.P. had just received tenure as an Assistant Professor in the art department of a small liberal arts college near Cleveland where he taught drawing, printmaking and photography. Deborah was busy fixing up the new (old) house and working on a series of quilts. They both were a bit restless and longed for a more exciting lifestyle.
On advice from an old professor, T.P. signed up to do the 57th Street Art Festival in Chicago and that spring loaded up their Volvo with a stack of etchings and some card tables and headed west. They came home with $400 which seemed like a fortune compared to the modest salary of a young teacher, so they signed up and did a few more mediocre shows during the summer and started collecting knowledge from the veterans they met along the way. By the end of the year they were off on their new adventure.
Their mixed media sculptures are a true collaboration from conception to construction, born out of T.P.'s wry sense of humor and Deb's knowledge of fiber and their combined mastery of drawing, clay work, sculpture and sewing.
All works are mixed media wall pieces made from carved wood, stuffed cotton fabric, polymer clay, tooled metal and acrylic.
"Trout Mistress"
Learn more about Deb and T. P.: ArtFairCalendar.com/FeaturedArtist.
Meet them in person February 19-21 at Florida's most famous art fair, the Coconut Grove Arts Festival where they will be exhibiting for the 31st year in a row.
Comments
take a pictue, Geri.
Gee, I'm glad you were able to get out of Barry's booth and go shopping!
You are so right, Ginny. You get so busy in your own booth and unless someone is your neighbor at a show or in your media you recognize them but don't know these interesting details. I do these features partly because it is so fascinating to see how creative people put their lives together and make use of this life style. I always come away impressed with their dedication to their art and the interesting things they have done with their lives. Both of us have probably been in at least 200 shows with Deb and Terry but this story is a revelation still. Thanks for the comment.
Actually, I collect these stories at this link: www.ArtFairCalendar.com/artistsgallery