About the Artist

a. faith is a storyteller and multimedia artist. Her studio is her playhouse where she creates sculptural commentaries that enrich her spiritual and creative life. Composing assemblage and sculptural pieces made out of materials she has accumulated over time (thank you to weekly visits to Coiner’s Scrap Metal Yard, and scavenging in various cities including Quetzaltenango, Guatemala—“I actually got it on the plane!!”), faith constructs objects to create imaginative narratives steeped in inventive—sometimes humorous—storylines to create soulful compositions.

She began in childhood as a quiet, sensitive child who found solace in the magical stories that she created in her brain. Reading became a passion, along with Broadway shows where she saw Zero in Fiddler and Barbra in Funny Girl (WOW!), and always loved Hollywood musicals. She was also influenced by television commercials which inspired her to create comical illustrated parodies. The Three Stooges, Soupy Sales, and collections of Mad Magazine were a constant source of inspiration, and the young faith decided she would become Olive Oyl when she grew up because she loved the cartoon characters sense of style. Of particular note, faith found exquisite joy in visiting the Marcel Duchamp exhibit at the Philadelphia Museum of Art as a teenager, where she maintains solid memories of the awe created by the white painted stool with the bicycle wheel mounted on top, and, of course, the walled urinal.

As a teacher with an English degree, faith was thrilled to share a love of reading and storytelling with her students.  She dramatized stories by using accents to the delight of her students—they really loved her Elvis impressions! She encouraged them to spend time in their daily journals, writing found poetry, collaging, sketching, and doodling to make emotional connections to Virginia History and Literature. It was electrifying to give her students opportunities to create and stretch their creative outputs, urging them to take risks—not to mention how much fun they all had!

After several massive life changes that included a divorce, becoming an empty-nester when her beloved daughter Sarah left the house to fulfill a brilliant career in New York City, and retiring from teaching in the mid-90s, faith found herself with an energetic passion to move on and explore her artistic potential in new directions. Making art became the undeniable remedy for expanding the narrative itch that had been living inside her since childhood.

Originally from Philadelphia, faith has been living in Charlottesville, Virginia for over fifty years. Though she lives in the South, she remains a child of South Philly with her continued love for Tasty Cakes and cheese steaks. She has been an artist in residence at the McGuffey Art Center for over 25 years, and her work has been showcased in galleries in New York City, Baltimore, New Orleans, The Presidio of San Francisco, the Art Institute of Chicago (auctioned piece), Richmond, and in various galleries in Charlottesville. She is currently writing her autobiography with the help of her constant chihuahua companion Moishe.