Eleanor Pigman
Artist Statement
Before I started making art with beads, I was primarily a watercolor artist. About six years ago, I accepted a job as a jewelry apprentice and was re-introduced to the world of beading that had previously been only a childhood pastime of mine. After the apprenticeship ended and the shop closed, I inherited thousands and thousands of seed beads. This inheritance greatly influenced my work.
My portraits started when Barak Obama was running for president and I was concerned that he would be defeated in the election so I volunteered my creative ideas and talents to help spread the message of change. I learned of the Manifest Hope competition calling for inspirational art in support of Obama. I was intrigued and excited and after looking at my piles of beads, thought, I am going to bead an Obama portrait.
I was one of the 31 finalists, chosen from over 1,000 pieces of art submitted to the Manifest Hope Gallery Contest sponsored by MoveOn.org members and other grassroots artists. After becoming one of the winners of this competition http://pol.moveon.org/mh/gallery/, I was inspired to create a series of beaded portraits.
My beaded portraits take time, patience and thought. They create for me an almost hypnotic feeling. I can concentrate on only one portrait. Each piece takes an extraordinary amount of time. The artistic process is complex, from the meditative quality, to extreme order and rigid intricate process and the utter elation on the long road toward completion.
Eleanor Pigman grew up in New York City. She is a certified/registered Art Therapist. She received her BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago and an MA in Art Therapy from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She lived in London, Chicago, Cape Cod, Key Largo and Seattle before moving to St. Petersburg, Florida in 2010. Her work consists of portraits and jewelry all created from various sizes and colors of beads.
See more of her work at www.eleanorpigman.blogspot.com
Education
1998 School of the Art Institute of Chicago BFA
2002 University of Illinois at Chicago MA Art Therapy
Group Shows
1998 BFA Exhibit Chicago
2009 White Street Arts Alliance Open Studio Seattle WA
2009 Bemis Spring Show Seattle WA
1998 School of the Art Institute of Chicago BFA
2002 University of Illinois at Chicago MA Art Therapy
Group Shows
1998 BFA Exhibit Chicago
2009 White Street Arts Alliance Open Studio Seattle WA
2009 Bemis Spring Show Seattle WA
2009 Art on the Ridge Seattle WA
Awards
2008 Finalist in Moveon.org Manifest of Hope Art for Obama Contest
Publications
2009 Green Leaf Press Artist interview and work
2009 Seattle Pioneer Examiner Personalities 101: Eleanor Pigman and the Seeds of Personality
2009 Art for Obama: Designing Manifest Hope and the Campaign for Change
Web
2009 The Good Time Emporium
2009 The Good Time Emporium
2009 Stuff I'd Show My Friends
