By Staff
Busbee's exhibit opens Saturday at museum
ON DISPLAY This painting and others done by local artist Bonnie Busbee will be on display at the Meridian Museum of Art, starting Saturday. Submitted photo
Special to The Star
Oct. 14, 2001
The public is cordially invited to an opening reception for local artist Bonnie Busbee, whose exhibit, "Passages of Life," will open at the Meridian Museum of Art next weekend.
The reception will be held Saturday from 6 p.m.-8 p.m. There will be a gallery talk beginning at 6:40 p.m. Also on exhibit is "Crossroads of the Heart: Creativity and Tradition in Mississippi" from Oct. 20-Nov. 24.
Busbee got her start at an early age. "I always knew I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. When I was little I was fascinated by colors and shapes, and mesmerized by the human form. And I loved to draw."
A fourth grade teacher gave her artistic ambitions a boost when she entered one of Bonnie's paintings in a statewide competition without telling Bonnie.
The painting won first place, and with the award came the prize of a summer scholarship to the University of Louisville. "It was wonderful. It gave me a chance to use resources that I could hardly have dreamed of. I was able to paint and draw to my heart's content."
While in high school and college, Busbee, studied under Meridian artist Homer Casteel, who encouraged her to pursue a career as an artist.
After graduation from high school, Casteel chose her to receive the first place art award for her class. "That meant the world to me."
Busbee is now a teacher herself, passing on the lessons she has learned to a new generation of artists through her school, All About Art. "My life has come full circle. Nothing gives me greater joy than teaching a child how to see as an artist."
She is a charter member of Women in the Arts, a recipient of the Meridian Arts Council's "Excellence in the Arts" Artist Achievement Award, and the illustrator of the book "Heartpine." The owner of Bonnie Busbee Art Frame and Gallery, she is also a long-time volunteer on behalf of the arts.