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Art of the Family
In honor of Bishop Shamana's retirement, the Episcopacy Committee asked the Rev. Jeff Kunkel to curate an art exhibit for Annual Conference Session called, "Art of the Family." This exhibit will feature artwork from Bishop Shamana, her mother, Charlene Martin, and her two sisters, Pat Boyd and Sylvia Walker. The exhibit will be just off to the side of the plenary session area and will be available for viewing throughout Annual Conference.
During the Bishop's Retirement Celebration on Friday evening, June 20, we will recognize participating members of Bishop Shamana's family and offer a special blessing of the exhibit and this family of artists.
The Crocker Art Museum in Sacramento has loaned us valuable display materials for this exhibit.
Bishop Shamana's artwork is inspired by ancient myths, stories, and cave drawings, many of them from Africa. She uses gourds as her basic art material – selecting, hollowing, carving, decorating, and titling each gourd piece. Her work often includes found objects: beads, fabric, carvings, etc. from her travels in Africa. While she is creating her art, Bishop Shamana is especially aware of God as the Supreme Artist, and how artmaking and faith-making go together.
Bishop Shamana is also an accomplished musician. In preparation for retirement, she is adding a music/art studio onto the Southern California home she shares with her husband, Walter Woods.
Charlene Martin, the Bishop's mother, lives in Los Angeles and still is an active artist. As a young woman she attended Frank Wiggins Art School in Los Angeles. Her favorite medium is collage, a way of piecing together fabric, paper, paint, and found objects into one image. Her artmaking has been an inspiration to her whole family!
Pat Boyd, Bishop's Shamana's sister, lives in Pasadena and worked much of her life as a physician's assistant, from which she now is retired. As an artist she has created jewelry and wearable art, but after a trip to Kenya she became interested in working with gourds and sharing images of the life she'd seen on the African plains. She describes her gourd work as "figurative sculpture"; her work has been featured across the country in galleries and festivals. Her website is www.gourdsculpture.com.
Sylvia Walker, Bishop Shamana's other sister, also lives in Pasadena. She graduated from the California Institute of the Arts in Los Angeles and has worked as a freelance illustrator in a variety of mediums, including watercolor, pencil, and acrylic. Her work appears in magazines, children's books, and private collections. Sylvia's work often features positive images of African American children. Her website is www.sylvialwalker.com.
We give thanks to God for this family of artists among us!