Artist Spotlight | Sherry B. Ways
Sherry Burton-Ways, a Washington, DC-based art doll and mixed media artist, creates straight from the soul. Ways is a self-taught emerging artist. She was born in the "City of Brotherly Love", Philadelphia, PA and raised in rural upstate New York, her imagination and artwork began to evolve slowly. She began working with cloth dolls four years ago after participating in a doll making workshop with notable Washington, DC textile artist Francine Haskins.
Her mixed media work consists of creating meaningful images by bringing together the figurative form of One of a Kind (OOAK) mixed media dolls into a two dimensional textural form on canvas, watercolor paper or other surfaces as part of a collage. In her work, Ways intricately sews her mixed media art dolls using advanced techniques; others are fused collage with top-stitching, painting, beading or other embellishments. Burton-Ways uses various fabrics, particularly, batiks and African fabric, as her base medium in all her mixed media work. Adding other media such as paper, yarn, Popsicle sticks, canvas pieces, wire, pipe cleaners, photography, watercolor, acrylic paint, beads, metals, crowie shells and most recently spray paint to this base.
Burton-Ways artistic style is influenced by her personal spiritual journey, racism, the feminist movement, and urban life. African and African American folk art movements are also evident in her work.
Her work have recently been published in "Black Dolls: A Comprehensive Guide to Celebrating, Collecting and Experiencing the Passion" by Debbie Behan Garrett, Doll Castle News Magazine and Soft Dolls and Animals Magazine. Recently, Burton-Ways has been asked to contribute to another book by another nationally known doll artist. Burton-Ways is a former Board member of the Ward 7 Arts Collaborative, in Washington, DC; a member of the Advisory Committee of the Honfluer Gallery in Washington, DC and also serves as a Patron member of the National Institute of American Doll Artists (NIADA).
Works by Sherry Burton Ways are included in private collections of noted Washington, DC area doll collectors such as Lucy Murray and Washington, DC Councilmember, Yvette Alexander, as well as Philadelphia gallery owner Florcy Morrisett of Vivant Art Collection.
Ms. Burton Ways has recently participated in juried exhibitions and art festivals in Honolulu, Hawaii, Washington, DC and Columbia, Maryland.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Body of Work: Thoughts and Observation Series (Mixed Media Dolls on Canvas)
For the 6th Annual Black Women's Arts Festival, I chose to use a singular female form as my point of departure to express and explore thoughts and emotions about my daily life circumstances, observations and beliefs as an African American woman artist. In addition the work seeks to describe my personal journey studying metaphyics, spirituality, race relations, gender, and African American folk traditions and how these factors influence the views of society.
Selected Works | Click thumbnail for details
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