Autumn Roe with 'Nature's Relic' (photo by David Grace)
By Gloria Oster
Gloria Oster is retired from the School of Education at King University. She is the co-chair of the A! Magazine for the Arts committee.
Iris petals dried, preserved and harvested from gardens tended by Autumn Roe’s great-grandmother, grandmother, mother and herself comprise the installation “Nature’s Relic” at the William King Museum of Art, Abingdon, Virginia. Roe’s inspiration for the work came from the 12th Foxfire book that discusses making rosary-type beads out of rose petals.
“So, I began collecting flowers to make beads with,” she states. “However, once I dried the iris petals, I could not crush them up because they were beautiful in their own right. I knew I had to preserve these petals in some way. These petals were beautiful aesthetically and for their history. Some of these irises belong to a patch that has been growing for over 100 years. This beautiful flower has stayed alive despite being dug up, split apart and replanted. Their resilience should be honored. The people who have touched these roots of the plant also made sure they were cared for, so these plants could grow into the beautiful specimens that they are today. There is a mutual respect between the irises and the people who have tended them.”
“Nature’s Relic” occupies the center of the “From These Hills” exhibit room at WKMA; thus, a viewer is immediately drawn to it upon entering the gallery. The evenly spaced, suspended chains that the iris petals are attached to provide an airy, mesmerizing effect. As the chains gently move, the shadows of the petals that play upon the floor add to the magical quality of the work. “’Nature’s Relic’ is an artwork one can engage with from many different perspectives,” Roe says. “I hope that people viewing this work of art sit silently, think about these petals, and contemplate the journey that they have taken, the hands that have tended these petals, and its relation to their own life.”
As with “Nature’s Relic,” Roe’s art typically draws upon the physical and cultural aspects of her surroundings, anchoring the work to a particular place. The pieces often take the form of constructed installations from an array of natural and found materials. Her installations coalesce to form expressive, enigmatic sites that invite the viewer to re-discover and reinterpret one’s relationship with their culture and the land.
Roe likes to tell stories through her creations and uses various mediums to accomplish that goal. “Having the knowledge of many processes helps ensure that I convey those tales in the proper way. One constant that often grounds my work is photography. I choose this medium most often because I feel the most confident behind a camera. However, being a lifelong learner and learning new ways of making is something I love doing. Constantly pushing myself to learn new processes is of deep importance in my life.”
Her career as an artist began when she graduated from Emory & Henry in 2017 with a bachelor’s degree in visual arts. But her interest in art began with her grandmother. “I spent hours with my grandmother creating fun artwork or making beautiful jams and jellies. Being around her gave me a space to be creative and gave me the confidence to explore and make things. My middle school art teacher, Jamie Hyder, was also an inspiration. She gave me the outlet I needed throughout the day. When it was time for me to decide on my major in college, I knew I wanted to be a teacher, but unsure what kind of educator. I took an Appalachian Craft course that Manda Remmen offered at Emory & Henry and fell in love with art.”
Roe continues the legacy of her teachers as she teaches art at Anderson Elementary School in Bristol, Tennessee. She was recognized in 2021 as Tennessee’s Elementary Art Teacher of the year.
Artists that inspire Roe are scattered across various mediums and history. “Ofelia Esparza is a fantastic artist who creates these beautiful works that would remind you of Dia de los Muertos altars, honoring those that have come before her. Rachel Whitehead creates casts of objects, but these casts contain bits of left behind dirt or evidence of human activity on them. Nina Kawar of Marshall, North Carolina, is a ceramist who speaks to history, change and healing. Candy Ivy is a mixed-media storyteller who creates works that tell her story of lineage and growth.”
She also draws inspiration from the work of Michelangelo. “I find his Prisoner or Slaves sculptures to impact my way of making the most. These sculptures are large marble statues but are not ‘completed.’ They have sections that still look to be rough or like the organic marble, while other sections are completely finished, buffed and polished. The finishing process only happens in marble carving after all the carving is complete because the marble will splinter or break off more than expected. This gesture indicates that Michelangelo had indeed completed these sculptures, in his mind anyway. Experts have suggested that these works were left unfinished intentionally showing Michelangelo’s emotions at the time of their creation, making this set of sculptures one of the first, if not the first, contemporary works of art ever made. These works are so powerful. I just love them.”
Roe’s advice to those wishing to establish creative careers is to find a community of like-minded people. “Join them and be ready to learn. Figure out who has been there the longest. Sit with them. Listen to them. Ask them questions. Learn from them. They have obviously figured out how to stick with this creative way of living and be happy doing it. That is the person you will learn the most from.”
Roe, a full-time teacher as well as a practicing artist, acknowledges the benefit of having a steady income, “My passion is inspiring young artists and giving them a space of freedom and creativity like my grandma gave me growing up. Being able to have a full-time job does take time away from my work. However, having a stable job has given me the freedom to create without the stress of wondering when my next piece will be sold.”
Roe’s work has been shown locally and internationally. In addition to the WKMA exhibition, Influx Online Gallery, London, U.K., and Leu Center for Visual Arts at Belmont University have exhibited her art. She is currently pursuing an MFA from Lesley University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She maintains an online portfolio at Autumnroe.com.
