Artworks Gallery is presenting a two-person exhibit by Mary Beth Blackwell-Chapman, showing ceramic sculpture and wall pieces, and Inez Ruchte, showing photos paired with quilted fabric pieces.

     Ms. Blackwell-Chapman is showing 15 ceramic wall plaques that are a series retelling the ancient story of Gilgamesh from a beautiful recent translation by Stephen Mitchell. Gilgamesh is the oldest recorded epic, written down 4,000 years ago, in the area of Mesopotamia.  It is based on the historical king, Gilgamesh, of the city of Uruk which exists today in Iraq.  This epic journey is the story of friendship and of man's longing for immortality. Each plaque is accompanied by a ceramic slab, also wall mounted, that has been impressed with lines of the Mitchell translation, from a cuneiform-like alphabet that Ms. Chapman made.
     Also included by Ms. Chapman are ceramic figures, called "Witnesses". They range in size from 6" - 19", and are inspired by ancient Mesopotamian figures, featuring large and penetrating eyes.


      Ms. Ruchte is showing black and white kaleidoscopic photographs that are paired with color fabric recreations of the imagery abstracted from the photos.