The South Arkansas Arts Center is currently hosting an exhibit entitled “Collagraph and Collage” by artists and sister-in-law duo, Katie Harwell and Kendal Blanchard.
Harwell lives in El Dorado and teaches visual art classes at El Dorado High School and SAAC.
Blanchard lives in Alabama and has spent much of her career as a teacher and school administrator.
The exhibit will be hosted by the SAAC through the end of March. Both artists have pieces with a distinctive aesthetic. Blanchard blends different materials like acrylic, charcoal and pastel to create cohesive pieces with a coastal flair, reflective of Mobile Bay in Fairhope, Alabama where she dwells.
Harwell blends vibrant and warm watercolors on a canvass, utilizing multiple materials and techniques to deliver highly textured and detailed pieces.
The blended nature of their work is also a testament of their relationship with each other. Though admittedly different in a lot of ways, it was the profound similarities in interests and life experiences that have brought them closer and closer over the years.
“I always idolized Katie,” Blanchard said. “She was in college when I met her. She has a degree in interior design and that’s also an interest of mine, so I was always interested in what she was doing. We bonded over going to flea markets together and DIY projects together.”
Though they quickly learned of their similar interests, Harwell remembers the very first time she and Blanchard met and being nervous that they wouldn’t bond. It was while she was going “steady” with her now husband — and Blanchard’s oldest brother —, Scott Harwell and venturing to meet his family for the first time.
“It was not an artistic moment the first time meeting her,” Harwell said with a laugh. “She was 16 when I went to go meet Scott’s family. When we got there, here comes his gorgeous 16-year-old sister and I was just like, ‘Oh no, I don’t even know if I can have a conversation with this person.’’’
But of course that would change over the years, as they both would go on to pursue an education and careers in artistic avenues. They also both went on to become educators and have a profound impact on students.
It was this camaraderie as sisters-in-law and fellow creatives that inspired the initial groundwork for collaborating to do this exhibit.
“We’re both teachers, and last year, both confronted having to teach virtually,” Harwell said. “I was losing my mind and it was Kendal that said, ‘instead of going crazy, maybe we need to paint. Maybe we need to hold each other accountable to sharing what each other is doing artistically.’ And that idea was my moment of not going nuts.”
The pandemic gave the pair the time to truly stick to and enact their plan.
“We couldn’t go anywhere, we couldn’t do anything,” Harwell said. “So we would share every morning what each other did. I sold a few pieces on Instagram and Facebook and after that I was hooked. So that helped to, in part, inspire our exhibit.”
Another touching commonality between the two is the grief and pain of losing their fathers; those feelings are reflected in some of Harwell’s pieces in the exhibit. She was 38 when her father died, as was Blanchard.
Both the same age when they lost a pivotal figure in their lives, sharing this hard life experience and being able to confide in one another helped to further shape their dynamic and relationship.
“We both felt each other’s losses,” Blanchard said. “Losing her father was hard for me, losing my father was painful for her. And we were able to walk with each other through it. Art was an avenue of grieving… It was a way to process all of that grief and Katie was a safe place for me. I could talk to her when I couldn’t talk to others because I knew she understood.”
“For me, the painting and the drawing was a way to feel better,” Harwell said. “It was for Kendal too… We both had to get away from our families, making dinner, doing laundry and making lesson plans for a little while and just have something that belonged to us.”
Like its art, “Collagraph and Collage” is a blend of so many different aspects of both Harwell and Blanchard, but it is also the shared interests and life experiences of the two that brings all the pieces together to make a whole and honor those that further cemented the connection between them.
“This is a way I can honor(my father),” Blanchard said. “This is a way I can connect with him and honor who he was because he was artistic too.”
“My dad was not artistic,” Harwell said. “But that honor part is a huge deal for me as well because I wanted some way to say thank you to my father for being there and literally giving me everything.”
“Collagraph and Collage” will be on display at SAAC for the remainder of March.
For more information about the exhibition or to attend the artists’ reception, contact the SAAC office at 862-5474 or visit saac-arts.org.
The exhibit reception will be hosted for small groups on Thursday, March 11 with scheduled times for viewing at 5:30 p.m. or 6 p.m. Face coverings are required for entry. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. SAAC is located at 110 E. Fifth St.