Park Circle Gallery is showing a November exhibition by artists Torreah “Cookie” Washington with special guest artist and Washington’s cousin Wayne Copeland. The show thematically revolves around honoring family through various materials.
Washington is an award-winning fourth generation needle worker and curator. In the exhibit at Park Circle Gallery, Washington will showcase a collection of old favorite works along with never-before-seen fiber pieces, including dolls, quilts and baskets.
Washington said her aim is to present these works as a celebration of her personal and artistic journey.
“This exhibit has been birthed during one of the most difficult periods of my life. On Oct. 2 of last year, my mother made her transition after a lengthy illness. Watching your last living parent leave this world is stunning and heart wrenching. And Jan. 6 of this year, I lost my baby brother after a valiant fight with two aggressive cancers. He was 59,” Washington said.
“This past year, I have been exploring other kinds of textile art, creating rag baskets from my mother’s and brother’s clothing as well as other found scrap fabrics. I have started to take up this craft for two reasons: It connects me with my ancestors and gives me a way to memorialize.”
Washington added she’s looking to “keep alive the skills of yester-year” by “honoring needlecrafts taught to me as a child and creating beautiful new things, from items that are old, worn out or no longer needed.”
Washington invited her cousin Copeland as a guest artist in the exhibition to display his works in pen and ink, pencil and acrylic alongside Washington’s fiber pieces.
Based in Durham, N.C., and raised in Washington, D.C., Copeland said he grew up fast and experienced many harsh realities in life at an early age. He said he has found a way to transform his hardships from pain and anger into beautiful works of art and is excited to share his work in a gallery setting for the first time.
“This is one of the first shows that I’ve been able to participate in, and so I’m both nervous and excited,” he said. “I’m hopeful and prayerful that this is going to be my first of many. This is a new beginning to a very old end for me. In the future, I know I’m going places, and I pray that it’d be through the medium of my art that takes me there, because that is my greatest love.”
Washington said she is excited to support her cousin in his artistic endeavors.
“He has been back for the last five years, and he has hit the ground running in pursuing his art. I hope that by sharing Wayne’s art with the larger community, it may remind us all to be more conscientious of the biases we have towards people like him and give him a chance to thrive as an artist.”
The exhibition is on display at Park Circle Gallery through Nov. 30. The artists will host
an opening reception from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Nov. 17. Admission is free.
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