|
Cain’s pastel, ‘Learning to Fly,’ wins honorable mention
Catch the Spirit of Appalachia co-founder Doreyl Cain is a winner in the Kennedy Promotions “Best Of” book series’ “Best Of Artists and Artisans for North Carolina.” She received honorable mention for her pastel “Learning to Fly.”
An artist and writer, Cain was born in Tuckasegee and grew up drawing birds in the dirt of the mountain roads around her home. After receiving her first art award in third grade, Cain won the South Carolina state art award for teenagers, a purchase prize at Furman University and an art scholarship to the University of South Carolina.
Local artist Doreyl Cain’s pastel “Learning to Fly” received honorable mention in “Best of Artists and Artisans of North Carolina.” Cain, who co-founded Catch the Spirit of Appalachia with her sister Amy Garza, said the artwork was inspired by her childhood experiences in Tuckasegee.
Later, while living in California, she earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts and a master’s degree in biological/medical illustration. During that time she earned awards in anatomy, physiology and microbiology, and won “The Best in the West” illustration award three years in a row.
She worked in many styles of art, including storyboarding for films, and owned her own design and advertising agency, where she specialized in logo design. As a result, she won the Zellerbach Logo Design Award and other design awards.
During this time she exhibited in group and individual shows at the Smithsonian Institute, the Pentagon, U.S. Air Force exhibitions in Washington D.C. the University of Southern California School of Medicine, Los Angeles Museum of Science and Industry, Long Beach Art Museum, University of California at Irvine and in traveling art exhibitions housed at museums and galleries throughout the country.
She cofounded Catch the Spirit of Appalachia, a non-profit dedicated to honoring the heritage and creativity of all people, when she returned to Jackson County 16 years ago.
“The majority of my artwork for the past 16 years is represented by spontaneous murals that are created to my sister Amy Garza’s storytelling and to music,” she said. “These pastel murals are a delight for me and can be a source for painting wonderfully creative artwork. The words and music stimulate my imagination and paint images in my mind. ‘Learning to Fly’ is an example of my spontaneous artwork created in front of an audience – it’s painted on billboard paper.”
Cain and Garza, artist and storyteller, have led creativity workshops and performed “Heritage Alive” (storytelling and spontaneous visual art) for children and adults in schools and colleges.
“At all of their performances at Swain County Center for the Arts, children and adults were spellbound by Amy’s stories and Doreyl’s spontaneous pastel drawings,” said Eugenia Johnson, director. “The stories and the object lesson of the stories were specifically geared to the age of each audience with members of the audience invited up to participate in a ‘Can House Band’ toward the end of the performance. The performances were quick paced with singing, dancing, storytelling and large-scaled drawings. The Ammons Sisters (Cain and Garza) received a standing ovation from the high school audiences.”
Cain’s spontaneous art murals from those performances were framed and now hang permanently at the gallery of the Swain arts center. Other such spontaneous murals are housed in museums and public buildings around the state.
“The message given out to our students by the Ammons Sisters of self-confidence, respect and caring for others is in tune with the themes we use for Legislators’ School,” said Lena Richie, associate director of Western Carolina University’s Office for Rural Education. “At the end of each session, we give one of Doreyl’s drawings to one of our students to take back to their own school. It would be wonderful if all students could have the opportunity to attend one of their performances. It would leave a lasting impression of the life and culture of the mountain people in this area at the time Amy and Doreyl were growing up.”
Co-author of “Catch the Spirit of Creativity” and author of “Greatness in a Nutshell,” Cain says her books help people explore “their unique creativity and follow their dream.” She has also illustrated her sister’s historical fiction books (“Retter,” “Cannie” and “Sterlin”) about growing up in the mountains.
“Preserving our Appalachian heritage is so important,” says Emma Miller, a Smart Start early learning specialist. “Projects by the Ammons Sisters have contributed to that end and brought a message of harmony. They’ve enriched the lives of young children and their families in this community who will benefit from a stronger relationship to their roots.”
Cain and her husband, Jerry, continue to design logos and brochures for business, a line of inspirational greeting cards and matted artwork.
Cain’s winning pastel, “Learning to Fly,” represents the artist herself and how she viewed her mountain childhood.
For more information, visit Catch the Spirit’s Web site, www.mousetrax.org, or call 631-4587.
|
