 |
|
|
This work by Bayda Asbridge is among those in “Eclectica” exhibit on display at the Lamar Soutter Library through the end of August. |
Educator, multicultural advocate and multimedia artist Bayda Asbridge is the Lamar Soutter Library’s next Artist in Residence. Her exhibit of fiber and brush painted works “Eclectica” will be on display in the library through Aug. 31. This is Asbridge’s second exhibit at UMass Medical School.
Asbridge’s international upbringing is reflected in her art: She was born in Syria, raised in Kuwait, educated in Syria and Vermont, and resided for many years in England, where she taught Arab culture and English as a Second Language. When she took up Japanese Saori weaving in 2012, she felt that her life and art had come full circle as a woman whose culture is famous for its textiles and crafts, and fiber art has since become her principal form of artistic expression.
A lifelong artist and art student, Asbridge has explored various media and forms including basic drawing, figure drawing, painting, pottery, crafts, calligraphy, sculpture, print making, origami, papermaking, photography, collage, mixed media and Chinese Brush painting. In 2011 she was awarded the Frances Kinnicutt scholarship with which she traveled to England to study mixed media with Lydia Bauman, a well-known British artist.
In addition to creating her own art and collaborating with other artists, Asbridge teaches at the Worcester Art Museum, is an Arabic-English interpreter for UMass Memorial Medical Center and teaches English as a Second Language to adults.
