The Awards Collective was created to feature the works of artist who have received a Juror’s Award or Director’s Award in ASG’s Online exhibitions.  Myrtie Cope’s  image “Sunlight on Bare Branches“ received the Juror’s Award in the “trees” exhibition juried by Wendi Schneider.  Myrtie’s exhibition “Nature Embroidered” was featured from November 1 to November 30, 2024 and is discussed in our GalleryTalk with Myrtie.

Artist Statement

As a quilter and photographer, I have found ways to incorporate my photography into my quilting with printing on fabric and with cyanotypes on fabric. When I began to incorporate my sewing skills into my photography with embroidery on photos, it has opened up a new way of expressing my art.

The embroidery adds texture and interest to landscapes and nature photos and, on some photos, creates an abstract image. The stitches create focus on different areas of the photos; colors are added which are not in the original photo but can be imagined. Embroidering on photos requires me to look closely at the photo to decide on the type of stitches, the colors and type of thread, and any other embellishment to be incorporated into the work.  It also requires me to make sure the photo I start with is the best it can be. I continue to enlarge on the photos I select and the stitches which I use to enhance the look and feel of this project.

Bio

Myrtie Cope has been focusing on nature, landscape, and architectural photography since graduating from the photography program at Rocky Mountain School of Photography in 2008. She is honored to have photos in several private and public collections around Atlanta including the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta Airport and Emory University Hospital Tower. She has won numerous awards for her work which has been widely exhibited throughout the United States and internationally. Her winning images will be exhibited in the 20^th, 21^st and 22nd Julia Margaret Cameron Award for Women Photographers at Fotonostrum Gallery in Barcelona, Spain in 2024 and 2025. Her newest body of work, “Nature Embroidered”, was one of the projects featured in All About Photo Magazine’s Nature issue in September 2023.

She received the Denis Diderot Artist-in-Residence grant at Chateau Orquevaux, France, in 2021 and participated in a second residency at Atelier AIR in Dangeau, France in 2023. The residencies have contributed to her love of travel and have allowed her take extended trips through France which she documents in photo books and zines.

website: myrtiecopephoto
instagram: @mcopephoto

link to online exhibiton