Bradley to Teach ‘Art with the Masters’ at Columbus Museum

Local artist Sally Bradley is set to teach Art with the Masters this week at the Columbus Museum. The class will focus on Bradley’s technique within the medium of acrylic painting. Art with the Masters is an ongoing series of lessons with local artists.

Bradley is known for her work exploring the idea of memory and restructured experiences through landscape and figures. Her recent study of the Chattahoochee River Dam project and renovation explored the idea of how man’s interactions with nature change it. This theme consistently reappears in Bradley’s work as she deconstructs images from her memory or actual scenes as she paints.

In a previous interview with the Ledger-Enquirer, Bradley described her interest in deconstructing and reconstructing experiences through painting. “I love watching this (river) landscape, but I am also interested in how we experience it and how I experience the landscape when I’m away from it,” she said. “What these fragmented paintings are about is how we hold little tiny fragments of experience in our memory. It’s never the whole thing. You never see the whole picture when you remember an experience.”

In the same interview, Bradley was clear and concise when describing her process. “I physically, literally, tear them up. I’ll start a painting and then tear these paper pieces. I literally tear them apart and put them back together in different ways.”

Bradley is a native of Columbus and began her studies at the University of Georgia. She continued training at Monash University in Australia, The Art Student’s League of New York and the Savannah College of Art and Design. She enjoys teaching and served on the faculty of Brookstone School for several years. This summer, she served as an artist in residence for Atlanta’s Serenbe community.

Bradley’s Art with the Masters class will take place on Aug. 22. According to Mercedes Parham, marketing and media manager for the Columbus Museum, over half of the seats are already sold out for the class. Seating is limited and available on a first come, first served basis. Participants should know that all supplies are included with the registration cost, and refreshments will be provided during the class by the museum.

Parham and the rest of the museum’s staff are looking forward to having Bradley as their guest instructor for the evening. “We are looking forward to seeing the creative interpretations of Sally’s presented work through our participants,” she said. For the class, Bradley has plans to work with some of her acrylic paintings in different stages of development.

Parham said that people really benefit from this type of instruction. “This format encourages free exploration of the medium with the guidance of experts like Sally Bradley,” she said.

This story was originally published August 19, 2017 at 9:59 PM with the headline "Bradley to Teach ‘Art with the Masters’ at Columbus Museum."