"As a Peace Corps Volunteer in Romania many years ago, I spent my time teaching at the local university and searching through second-hand stores, which were loaded with musty-smelling merchandise from Germany, Holland and other parts of Western Europe. It was like a treasure hunt for me. The gold nuggets were fabric from the 1950s: Stained tablecloths, faded curtains, and scraps of material from long-forgotten projects.
The images in the fabric tugged at my heart along with the hopeful story the items seemed to tell. It was the excitement of the images: Space exploration, scientific advances, and hope for a bright new future.
With its translucent and opaque qualities, the medium of encaustic painting is used as a vehicle to capture the images of the times." - Kimberly Curry, 2010
Kimberly Curry was raised in Southern Maine and attended Newbury College and Wentworth Institute of Technology in Boston for interior design. She now resides in Portland, Maine.
While driven toward artistic expression and appreciation all her life, she did not find her true creative voice until she coached a group of young artists in Romania while living there on a Peace Corps assignment. There, Kimberly witnessed first-hand what it really means to have a spiritual need for artistic expression, even over above-base survival, with only the barest of supplies on hand. Artists in Romania worked with recycled posters, shoe polish, and fingers when brushes weren't available. Kimberly's work within the Peace Corps was to help procure supplies and funding for these young artists, and to provide moral support for their callings and endeavors.
Kimberly is the president of the board of SPIRAL Arts, Inc. and teaches intergenerational water-color classes through SPIRAL Arts in Portland, Maine.
Futurama is up thru March 29th!
