Micki Currie
Fiber Arts — “Cranberry Alpaca Lace Shawl”
Micki Currie does not have to go far for her supply of luxurious, fine alpaca yarn. Ten years ago she joined her daughter on a small alpaca breeding and fiber farm in Missouri. She knits many of the handmade products sold at fiber fairs and online through the enterprise, Alpacas d’Auxvasse, and bakes cookies for tour groups. A retired chemist, 85-year-old Micki started knitting as a child — “back when everyone knitted” — and knitted socks for World War II troops. Now her knitting “keeps me going and it makes me feel useful” she said. “I can’t sit still and do nothing.” Once a year she does an elaborate project like her winning lace-patterned shawl, which took about 600 hours to complete and nearly 1,400 yards of yarn, which her daughter dyed.
Ernestine Medley
Painting — “Matthew 6:26”
Ernestine Medley, 79, has drawn or painted for as long as she can remember. “You get this feeling and you’ve got to do it,” she said. “I’m happier when I’ve got something going on.” Her artistic endeavors include fiber arts, and she usually has multiple projects under way. “It’s something I look forward to doing,” she says of creating art. “Sometimes I can’t wait to get back to it.” A self-taught painter, she has never painted the same painting twice — except for “Matthew 6:26,” which takes its title and subject from Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount. A second, smaller version was intended for her sister, who died of brain cancer. Ernestine later donated it to a church bazaar. Inspired by an image she’d seen in a puzzle catalog and her love of painting birds, Ernestine enjoyed the challenge of painting Jesus’ hands in the piece.
David Butts
Sculpture/3-D – “Acanthus Leaf Mirror”
Creating something beautiful from a piece of hardwood helped David Butts get through a difficult family situation 30 years ago. “It was a kind of therapy,” he said. After crafting a walnut cane for his father, he began making other objects. He whittled away lots of wood and time as he shuttled two sons to various activities. As he acquired more tools and started taking classes, he progressed to making elaborate, heirloom-quality relief carvings. “I find it very fulfilling to do this type of art,” said David, who owns an engraving business. Taking nearly 1,000 hours to create, “Acanthus Leaf Mirror,” made from butternut hardwood, is one of the most elaborate pieces the 65-year-old has made. A common Mediterranean plant frequently stylized in art, acanthus foliage is depicted in Greek architecture and is on the dollar bill.
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