Books, Boxes & Such:
Works in Paper By Barb Morgan
South Euclid, Ohio — 6 February, 2009 - Notre Dame College’s Clara Fritzsche Library will host “books, boxes & such,” an exhibition of works in paper by calligrapher/naturalist Barb Morgan. A biologist by training, Morgan holds a biology degree and a teaching certificate from Wittenberg University and first began exploring her artistic side through photography. A lifelong nature lover, Morgan spent years composing and cropping her shots, then developing and printing them in her at-home darkroom. Poetry is also one of Morgan’s lifelong interests, and for over fifteen years she has hosted a poetry reading group at her home. She decided to take up calligraphy as a way of sharing her favorite poems and quotations artistically. For seventeen years, Morgan has been combining her three loves - nature, poetry and calligraphy - sending out cards celebrating holidays and the seasons to over 300 friends and family members. Fascinated by books and boxes and the creative options and construction challenges they represent, she seriously began making them ten years ago. Her scientific background, with its precise attention to detail and skilled observation of the natural world, provides useful tools for expressing her creativity. Morgan often incorporates nature themes and motifs into the design of her work.
Although always good with her hands, Morgan never regarded herself as artistic. As a teen she enjoyed woodburning, coppertooling and enameling and experimented with her engineer brother’s drawing and lettering equipment, making signs for church rummage sales, etc. whenever her mother needed them. In high school and college biology classes she was required to make technical drawings in India ink and later in pencil. She also made all of the signs for the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes from 1990 to 1991 but wanted to improve her lettermaking skills. This led to her taking a calligraphy course in that same year which resulted in the creation of some signs for a watercolorist friend’s exhibit. Her work was spotted by a member of the Western Reserve Calligraphers and she was invited to a meeting. Soon after joining the Western Reserve Calligraphers she became a member of Myrlin von Glahn’s College Club calligraphy class, and where she has been working regularly on her art ever since. Since then Morgan has also attended a variety of workshops on different aspects of calligraphy and bookmaking including the annual International Calligraphy Conference, the Cleveland Museum of Art Bookmaking and Papermaking classes and the Cleveland Institute of Art Basic Workshops. She has exhibited and curated exhibits throughout the Greater Cleveland area and has had articles on several of her art pieces featured in the lettering journals Tabellae Ansatae and Somerset Studio. In spring 2008 she participated in Notre Dame College’s “Beyond the Codex: Artists’ Books” exhibit in the Performing Arts Center and in fall 2004 she curated a posthumous exhibit of the works of fellow WRC member Sandra Dixon Paley at the Clara Frtizsche Library Gallery. In addition Morgan has also presented at many workshops on bookmaking and calligraphy for both Western Reserve Calligraphers and Akron Scripts and Scribes. Morgan values the support, inspiration and friendship of WRC members and has designed covers and written numerous articles for its newsletter, The Communique. This February she was elected president of the organization.
These activities would be enough to keep anyone else busy, but they represent only a portion of the energetic Morgan’s commitments. Since 1990 she has been a member and volunteer naturalist at the Shaker Lakes Nature Center. She became a docent and since then has led hundreds of nature walks for all ages, often incorporating poetry into her walks. Her special project has been developing the “Tales and Trails” program designed to reconnect the elderly with nature, particularly those who are disabled or in nursing homes. For her work with the elderly Morgan was appointed a member of the Inaugural Community Council at Fairhill Institute for the Elderly, now Fairhill Center for Aging. In 2005 she was elected to the Nature Center at Shaker Lakes’ Volunteer Hall of Fame.
Morgan lives in Shaker Heights with her husband Bill, a professor of Sociology at Cleveland State University. While teaching at Indiana University, he was invited to spend two years in Africa establishing a sociology department at a new university. They moved the family to Nigeria, where they lived from 1978-80. While in Africa Morgan taught photography, and ran a darkroom for the Department of Mass Communications at the university and helped out in the biology labs. The Morgans make regular trips to Africa and frequently host groups of Nigerian students at their home.
The exhibit is free and open to the public and will run from April 17 through May 28, 2009. An opening reception will be held on Friday, April 17th from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. with a gallery talk by the artist scheduled for 6:00 p.m. The exhibit may be viewed during library hours: Monday-Thursday 8 a.m.-10 p.m.; Friday 8 a.m.-8 p.m.; Saturday 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Sunday 1-10 p.m. through May 8. For more information and summer hours, contact Karen Zoller at 216-373-5267. |
