May & June 2011

Free reception Sunday, June 5, 2011, 4-6 pm


Two Chatham Artists Guild members who revel in intense colors and abstract forms will be featured at the Carolina Brewery in Pittsboro for the months of May and June. Down to Earth and Out There II will feature paintings inspired by the cosmos by Joey Howell and large, knitted textile work by Karen Tiede.

Joey Howell says of his loose, fluid paintings of nebulae and galaxies, “I am inspired by images like those from the Hubble Space Telescope, but rather than copy the images of galaxies and nebulae in a photorealistic way, I prefer to introduce some level of abstraction and intensification into the work, to enhance the sense of space and create a feeling of aliveness. I want to convey my belief that these objects are the living, evolving organisms of our universe.”

Karen Tiede’s knitted rugs are made from 100% post-consumer upcycled fabric (used clothing) which is washed, machine-dried, sliced to ribbons and wound into balls. She has given over an entire room to the processing and storage necessary to stockpile the inventory it takes to knit an interesting rug. “Not long after I started this little project, I decided I was going to knit 100 rugs and see what happened, knowing that I would learn something along the way and that it was impossible to predict what it was that I would learn. They continue to get better,” says Karen. The color and texture combinations she brings to her creations are dynamic: sometimes mysterious, sometimes energizing, sometimes soothing, and the pieces can be used as either rugs or wall hangings.

The show will be hanging for the entire months of May and June, with a lively, food- and beverage-filled reception at the Brewery next month, Sunday, June 5th from 4-6p.m.

Visit Joey's web site for more information about the show and Joey:


Visit Karen's web site for more information about her: