Architecture Professor's Artwork Selected for Display in ArtFields Competition, Exhibition in South Carolina

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"Plow the Good Earth," a work created by Laura Terry, will be exhibited in the ArtFields competition in South Carolina, an exhibition of work by artists from across the Southeast that opens to the public today. The four panels of the piece each measure 38 by 18 inches, for a total width of 72 inches.

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Artwork created by professor Laura Terry will be exhibited in the ArtFields competition in South Carolina for the first time. Her piece, "Plow the Good Earth," is among 350 pieces that were selected for this exhibition of work by artists from across the Southeast, which opens to the public today.

Terry, an associate professor of architecture, currently teaches the first-year design studio — a collaborative effort between the architecture, landscape architecture and interior design programs — and other design and representation courses at the University of Arkansas. She has taught in the Fay Jones School of Architecture and Design since 1998.

"I love working with beginning students…teaching them how to master the skills of drawing and making and modeling," she said. "It's an amazing opportunity."

The Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art in David City, Nebraska, originally commissioned "Plow the Good Earth" for its "Ballad of the Farm" exhibition last May. Terry was given a host of images to look through to help inspire her piece.

One of the pictures that inspired her initial proposal for her piece was an aerial view of a farm. Terry said the photograph showed different barns for equipment and animals and some of the fields that had been plowed.

"Obviously, coming from an architecture background, I liked the fact that there was a relationship between the buildings and landscape," she said.

Another image that served as inspiration was one of a tornado taken in April 1928. "It reminds you that as much effort as farmers put into controlling the land and controlling their crops, they have no control over weather," she said. "The landscape can be changed in an instant."

Once she had gathered her images, she began to conceptualize the piece. "So, I was using all these different aspects of farming life, of the natural world, the built world, the constructed environment. Trying to combine all those into a cohesive piece was my goal," Terry said.

She proposed a four-panel display of the seasons from a farmer's perspective. The final product is 38 inches by 72 inches, with each panel measuring 38 inches tall by 18 inches wide. "I think it was important that it have that large of a presence. I really needed it to represent the scale of the landscape," she said.

Terry was able to use multiple dimensions to bring the piece to life. "In the piece, there are actually some three-dimensional printed honey bees I embedded in the painting as a reminder that, without the bees, we have a real problem in this country. Bees are essential to our food security," she said.

After the exhibition at Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art ended in September 2015, Terry contemplated what to do with the piece. "I got the piece back, and thought, 'What other venues do I have for exhibiting this piece?'" she said.

Terry has submitted artwork before to this ArtFields art competition, but this was the first time her work was selected. She said there is an extensive process for selecting works. "The jury process is difficult. You really never know what the juror has in mind. With different jurors, a completely different set of images could have been chosen," she said.

Her piece is exhibited in a venue called The R.O.B., which was a warehouse where tobacco was bought and sold in Lake City, South Carolina. It's a fitting venue, she said, because her piece is about farming. Many businesses in the city become galleries during the ArtFields competition.

"This a small town that, for one week out of the year, essentially turns into an art gallery and an art festival, and it's a really unique experience," she said.

The nine-day ArtFields competition runs from April 22-30. There will be $100,000 in cash prizes given to artists from across the Southeast. Winners are determined by votes from people who attend, as well as a juried panel of visual arts professionals. Viewing the artwork is free and open to the public. Other events in the festival may be ticketed.

Terry will attend the "Artist Talks" portion of the event on April 29 to discuss "Plow the Good Earth."

For more information, visit the ArtFields website.