Friday, September 6, 2013

Gwen Bennett Feather Art: an Artist Profile

 


Last weekend I went to the Deerpath Art League Art Show in the Lake Forest Square, and amongst the exquisite paintings, illustrations and vibrant medias, I found Gwen Bennett.  She creates beautiful masks with vibrant, natural color feathers that she washes and steams  before using.  She told me a bit
about how she obtains her feathers and the vast amount of millinery terms there are to describe each feather and the bird from which it comes, the color, and the location on the bird.  The whole thing was fascinating.  She creates larger masks which she frames in plexiglass, like the one below:





The feathers she uses range from rooster, to pheasant, even to parrot feathers, though sadly I failed to get a picture of the parrot feathers.  They were quite beautiful and vibrant though, rest assured!  

She also had a portion of her booth devoted to masquerade style masks, which I instantly fell in love with.  I would love very much to go to a masquerade party.  You see them all the time on TV, and they look like so much fun!  Maybe one day I will do a masquerade style photo shoot and it will satisfy my interest.  Regardless, her masquerade masks were stunning:




And last but certainly not least, I loved her wall of small fascinator/hats (also I believe there may be some of the parrot feathers on one of the hats in this picture, but I can't be sure).


Each one was unique and employed her awesome feather work in a different way.  They were incredible. Each was distinct, and I could have seen wearing any one of them.  






Above all, she was a very sweet, friendly woman and I was thrilled to meet her.  Her work was stunning, and if you see that she's coming to an art fair near you, you should certainly check out her work.

I'm going to close with this fun feather fan she had at her booth as well:



Gwen Bennett is from Eureka Springs, Arkansas.

Have a lovely Friday, and I'll see you at Renegade Craft Fair this weekend!  

- The Lovely Red Fox


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