 Title:
Music of the Mountains
Medium: Acrylic and
Latex
Artist: Becky Margaret
Mitchum
Hometown: Little Rock
Contributing Sponsor:
Morgan Stanley
Exhibitor: Taylors'
Contemporanea
Exhibit Location:
204 Exchange
Artist Bio: Inspired
by the rich colors and fantasies of her birth place in Papua, New
Guinea, Becky Margaret Mitchum's original designs are as vibrant
and whimsical as the artist herself. Her acrylic canvases hang in
homes in Arkansas, Tennessee, Minnesota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Florida,
and Germany.
Her hand-painted children's furniture has become heirlooms
for families across Arkansas and Tennessee, and also in the home
of TV personality Rosie O'Donnell. Ms. Mitchum's work has been seen
in the Arkansas Symphony Designer House gift shop, as well. In addition
to the quality of her illustrations, setting Ms. Mitchum's work
apart are the original poems she composes for each piece she paints.
Ms. Mitchum lives in Little Rock, Arkansas, with her husband Johnny,
daughter Olivia, a pointy-eared pup named Cody, and (last, but definitely
not least) her English Mastiff Romeo. She is a free-lance artist
and occasional violinist with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra.
BACKGROUND: born in Papua, New Guinea; graduated from high school
in Minnesota; majored in violin performance at the Conservatory
of Music in Kansas City, Missouri; holds a degree in Speech-Language
Pathology from UCA; speaks German
PERSONAL MOTTO: Love God, live slow, draw often
Artist Interpretation:
"I chose Music of the Mountains as the theme for my chair
because I wanted to describe in a creative way the restorative power
of music, and honor the Adirondack Mountains for which these lovely
chairs are named.
"Being a violinist, and having been born in the
highlands of New Guinea, music and nature have always been powerful
sources of peace and contentment for me; it seemed fitting to put
them together in a design on a chair named for a mountain range.
"My grandfather, who built his own version of these chairs, told
me that the name Adirondack derives from an Iroquois word meaning
"eater of tree bark", which has enchanted (and puzzled)
me ever since I was a child. Because of this, I knew I wanted my
design to be especially whimsical.
"Besides the name, the oldness and the vastness of the Adirondacks
inspired my mystical folklore imaginings. The mountains are only
sparsely settled, and much of the area exists in a primitive natural
state. I couldn't help but imagine the Adirondacks as the perfect
ancient dwelling place for undiscovered woodland faeries and fiddle-playing
elves.
"I used bright colors of Autumn, my favorite season, because when
I think of any mountain in its best splendor I think of the hues
of changing leaves. Colors to me are like the major and minor keys
in music: bright colors and major keys are boisterous and joyful,
while muted colors and minor keys are more introspective. The smiling
sunburst between two violins plays a prominent role in my design
because sunrises and sunsets can move the soul like music does.
"Making time to pray, listen, and reflect is an art too often lost
in our culture which prizes instant gratification. My hope is that
every person who sits in this chair will lean back into its Adirondack
arms and find rest. With eyes closed, he or she will no longer hear
cell phones, traffic, fax machines, or the whir of Internet connectivity…but
will, instead, with long pause, be able to hear the Music of the
Mountains.
"With every stroke of my paint brush this chair came alive for me
until I heard its melodies in my sleep. Make its music yours, then
rise from the chair refreshed."
"The Music of the Mountains, is hidden in this chair;
You need but quiet solitude, and then you'll hear it there.
The elves begin at sunrise, playing sweetest fiddle song;
By sunset in the evening, you will want to hum along."
-Becky Margaret
Mitchum
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