C&T Publications 50 States of Art - 2015 | Page 92

Susan Vineyard – Oklahoma Susan Vineyard wears many hats, as a photographer, digital artist and writer as well as an instructional designer, trainer and teacher. She currently lives with her husband and three West Highland White Terriers in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but she just returned from two years living in Queensland, Australia. She loved her great adventure but is happy to be home. Her education is in art, English, and technical writing. She currently works as a technical writer remotely from Tulsa to Brisbane, Australia. Susan has thought of herself as an artist, ever since she can remember, and she won many awards in art shows while she was a student and through her university years. During the years she was raising her son, she didn’t spend as much time as she wanted pursuing her personal interests, but since he has left the nest to attend the university and begin his own career, she has had time to once again pursue her passions of art and writing. She has published one novel, set in Oklahoma, “On the Dock: A Tale of Grand Lake.” Website: http://fineartamerica.com/profiles/susan-vineyard.html Here is my piece. It is called Parsley, Sage, Rosemary & Spice. I love Renaissance Faires and the rich tapestry of textures and colors and experiences and people I encounter there. Although I most often attend Oklahoma events, this picture originated as a photograph taken at the Kansas City Renaissance Faire in 2004. Recently, as I explored my old photographs, I was inspired to use it as the basis for this digital art, first removing the musician’s mustache. Yes, a mustache was part of her costume. I edited every part of the photograph and set it against a medieval painting inside an archway from the Renaissance. This was an extremely enjoyable project, and I am thankful to the performer who inspired me to create this artwork. Quick Notes: Interest in Renaissance and Medieval culture saw a resurgence in the United States in the years following World War II, beginning in the 1950's. In 1957 musician John Langstaff hosted “A Christmas Masque of Traditional Revels” in New York City. In 1971 Langstaff established a permanent tradition of Christmas Revels in Cambridge, Massachusetts. To view a small taste of the Revels visit this YouTube video: https://youtu.be/b4EdUmYt_QQ In 1963 a Los Angeles schoolteacher named Phyllis Patterson and her husband Don held the first official “Renaissance Pleasure Faire,” as a fund raising event for radio station KPFK, drawing a crowd of over 8000 people, and from this a new American obsession was born. A sound recording of the original 1963 Renaissance Pleasure Faire & May Market has been unearthed and combined with hundreds of photos and can be viewed here at YouTube: https://youtu.be/qmAs_DjQNP0 87