SISTER ACT TIMES TWO: Quilts & Paintings

Though twelve years apart in age and often separated by distance, sisters Nancy Payne Lyon and Linda Payne Atwater were both drawn to experiment in different artistic modalities from the time they were quite small on into their adult lives. While Nancy spent her life in Crawfordsville, marrying Bob Lyon and having two children; one of whom has two photographs in the exhibit which acted as catalysts for the sister's interpretations; Linda's life took her in many different directions, some of which were not exactly planned. Through everything, sisters are always sisters, so during October, they will again join hands for a second foray onto the walls of the Library's Mary Bishop Memorial Art Gallery. Nancy will exhibit quilted objects, Linda watercolors and mixed media. To add interest and excitement to the exhibit, the sisters challenged each other to interpret a single theme in their unique mediums. You won't want to miss the results of this collaboration/challenge.

Come see! Nancy's great grandmother, the family quilter, made her living by quilting after her husband died. She passed away before Nancy could take full advantage of her knowledge, but left her quilter's legacy to a most grateful Nancy. Nancy has gone through many different and creative phases during her adult life, but a few years ago began to settle on one in particular. She became interested in traditional quilting and joined Crawfordsville's Sugar Creek Quilt Guild as a charter member. She started quilting in the traditional modality, but soon began to blossom into new territory. Combining her traditional roots with new applique and art quilting ideas, Nancy began incorporating beads, baubles and sequins from family collections and is having way more fun! Come see what "fun" looks like!

In high school, Linda majored in Art, English and Math. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Social Work from Indiana's Ball State University. After working several years in the insurance industry, she returned to Ball State to major in Graphic Design, Art and Photography. A few years later, school beckon again and returned to school at Indianapolis' Indiana/Purdue University majoring in Computer Technology. At last, she felt really EDUCATED and ready to take on any challenge. After all that education and work experience, she became bored with Indiana and was ready to see the world. She moved to Heidelberg, Germany and began a new job working for the Federal Government. After being filled to the brim with new experiences, the United States began to nudge her back and she was ready to return. She is currently working for the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, Maryland and is married to Bill Atwater. Linda has three reasons for painting; first, she was born with ability she feels a responsibility to explore. Secondly, because she wants to appreciate the intimacy of the natural more by painting it and thirdly, she hopes to bring a sense of wonder to others through her paintings... She says, "I'm really a big kid at heart who wants to see how everything works. I want to know how it fits together, how it smells, tastes and feels"! So there you have it! Two branches, one family tree, each different, yet alike, sharing the sun and the limelight, hoping visitors too, will enjoy what they have to share. Do come and see!