Marga Patterson

Artist and Writer. Marga is fascinated and inspired by the ancient world, art history and archaeology. You can find more of her work here: www.margapatterson.com

Stories By Marga Patterson

Ancient

Living Memories: The Funerary Stelae of Ancient Cyprus
By Marga PattersonJanuary 20, 2021
The majority of sculpture that survives from ancient Cyprus are funerary stelae, elaborate grave markers to commemorate the dead. Possessing an almost mystical quality that is highly evocative and equally arresting, these emphatic monuments preserve a...
21st century

The Ephemeral Magic of Raw Clay: Artist Interview with Phoebe Cummings
By Marga PattersonJanuary 15, 2021
Phoebe Cummings (b.1981) is a British sculptress-ceramics artist working primarily with unfired, living clay in its raw state. She creates time-based installations that are extremely detailed, delicate, and multi-layered. Phoebe’s exquisite clay sculptures pulse with an...
Ancient

The Fascinating Ceramic Tile Art of the Anatolian Seljuks
By Marga PattersonDecember 30, 2020
The ceramic tile art of the Anatolian Seljuks dazzled with its mystical turquoise hues, fantastical creatures, and figural depictions. So, who were the Anatolian Seljuks and what inspired them to create such wildly, imaginative ceramic tiles?...
Art Travels

The Colors of the Earth and Beyond: Artist İnterview with Ulrike Arnold
By Marga PattersonDecember 17, 2020
Ulrike Arnold (b. 1950) is a contemporary German artist working with earth pigments that she gathers by hand. For the last forty years, she has traveled to all seven continents and collected earth pigments while working...
20th century

Maya Deren: Experimental Filmmaker and Voodoo Priestess
By Marga PattersonNovember 30, 2020
Maya Deren (1917-1961) was an experimental filmmaker hailed as a leading pioneer of avant-garde cinema. She was also a writer, poet, photographer, ethnographer and dancer. Her poetic and surreal, 16 mm films layered dreams and realities...
Art State of Mind

Artistic Families: Does Having an Artist Parent Seal Your Fate as an Artist?
By Marga PattersonNovember 26, 2020
Imagine growing up with an artist mother or father. Watching them create art or making work together could spark your artistic passion. And, influenced and inspired by your parents’ creativity, there’s a good chance you grow...
21st century

Pollen, Purity and Patience: A journey of creation with Wolfgang Laib
By Marga PattersonNovember 11, 2020
Wolfgang Laib (born 1950) is a contemporary German sculptor. He works with natural materials that emanate life energies: milk, pollen, rice and beeswax along with wood, stone and brass to create large- scale, site-specific installations. Laib...
20th century

Mirror Mosaics and Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian
By Marga PattersonOctober 14, 2020
Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian (1922-2019) was a contemporary, Iranian artist who became a living legend while she was still alive. Her oeuvre included multi-disciplines: drawing, painting, monotypes, textiles, collage, and large-scale sculptures. Monir is best known for...
21st century

Traversing the Unseen: Interview with Multi-Media Artist Sara Osebold
By Marga PattersonSeptember 23, 2020
Sara Osebold (b. 1975) is a contemporary, multi-media artist who creates drawings and sculptures and is based in Seattle. The artist’s work takes us on a sensory journey adding a dose of visual medicine. Mixed media drawings...
Art Forms

The Magic and Splendor of Karagöz, Turkish Shadow Puppets
By Marga PattersonSeptember 17, 2020
Evoking the imagination of adults and children for centuries, Karagöz (Black Eye in Turkish) is a popular and beloved Turkish shadow puppet character as well as the name of the shadow puppet theater in Turkish culture....