Thursday, February 15, 2007 - THE SEWANEE MOUNTAIN MESSENGER
SAS Gallery Features New Work in Copper
New work by G. Sanford McGee is on view at the St. Andrew's-Sewanee Gallery through March 9. All are invited to a reception for the artist on Thursday, March 1, 5 to 7 p.m.
The works on copper in the "Tea House Series" began two years ago when McGee was commissioned to create a piece for a Japanese tea house in Connecticut. McGee explains that, "a tea house is a place built specifically to house the tea ceremony. This ritualized process of preparation, making and receiving tea, was brought to Japan from China in the 10th century and became an integral part of Zen Buddhism practice."
A lifelong naturalist, McGee is a native or Beersheba Springs, Tenn. He taught secondary school for 18 years. After teaching in Manchester, Tenn., he taught at SAS from 1981-1987. At SAS, he taught biology, headed the science department, began the SAS Earth Day tradition and led the development of the "Sense of Place" Senior Lecture series, now a hallmark of the school.
McGee's former students would not be surprised that he is working with nature, both as his tools and as his subject matter. Specimen collection for the herbarium was a central part of each lab course. As an educator then and an artist now, he is known for his enthusiastic illustrations of how "everything is connected!"
McGee will offer a demonstration on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2 to 3 p.m., in the SAS Gallery. His Large work, "Rubicon Frieze," is in progress throughout the exhibition and will be used to show both the results of the etching process and how it is initiated.
The SAS Gallery is open 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and by appointment. For more information visit www.sasweb.org or call 968-0210 ext. 3151.