How local artist Tammy Burke engage the world
The NoCo Arts and Cultural District in downtown Jeffersonville – named for its location north of Court Avenue – is a walkable and vibrant neighborhood that showcases the city’s commitment to imaginative revitalization.
Once a neglected area of car lots and auto body shops, the district currently has two museums, an artist supply store, an Arts Center where nine artists have set up their studios, a high-tech Makers’ Space, a large variety of musical and art programming, and a flurry of colorful outdoor public art – from the iconic water tank emblazoned with fantastical shapes to Picasso Pointe, a pocket park designed, in part, by children. And there is still more to come.
Once a neglected area of car lots and auto body shops, the district currently has two museums, an artist supply store, an Arts Center where nine artists have set up their studios, a high-tech Makers’ Space, a large variety of musical and art programming, and a flurry of colorful outdoor public art – from the iconic water tank emblazoned with fantastical shapes to Picasso Pointe, a pocket park designed, in part, by children. And there is still more to come.
One of the resident artists at the Arts Center, in Studio 3, is Jeffersonville native Tammy Burke.
“When I was growing up, teenagers had to cross the bridge into Louisville to find entertainment,” Burke said. “That is changing. The district’s art programs and events are now well attended by all age groups. There are visitors here every day taking photos of the district. The Jeffersonville Public Art Commission (JPAC) has also done an amazing job of encouraging the creative endeavors of children.”
This is important to Burke, who said: “Children are such spontaneous artists; they have no hesitation about making art and using their hands. They only need encouragement.”
She related a story about her own childhood to illustrate how the right encouragement can impact a child’s interests.
“My elementary art teacher from Riverside school in Jeffersonville, Mrs. Skaggs, asked the class to draw balloons. My balloons came to a point, and were different from the round ones of my classmates. Mrs. Skaggs singled me out for praise that day because I had looked at the actual shape of a balloon. It is remarkable, but that little moment ignited a spark, a feeling that I was an artist.”
“My elementary art teacher from Riverside school in Jeffersonville, Mrs. Skaggs, asked the class to draw balloons. My balloons came to a point, and were different from the round ones of my classmates. Mrs. Skaggs singled me out for praise that day because I had looked at the actual shape of a balloon. It is remarkable, but that little moment ignited a spark, a feeling that I was an artist.”
Burke began her formal art education with a BFA in painting from the Herron School of Art and Design in Indianapolis. She now identifies herself as a multimedia artist who sews, dyes fabric, sculpts in clay, produces videos and continues to paint and draw. She is currently sharing many of these talents with her community to benefit the growing arts scene in the NoCo Arts District.
The Paint Box Garden, a color theory garden planted between the district’s water tank and Arts Center, was conceived by Burke in 2020 as a living work of art, to be both visually stunning and educational.
“I noticed there were paintings of flowers on murals throughout the district, but no real flowers,” Burke said.
Burke had done projects with her students at Indiana University Southeast using color theory and decided this could work in a garden. She explained: “If we planted only red, yellow, and blue flowers – the three primary colors – the viewer’s mind and eye would blend the colors into a fuller range of tones. For example, where red flowers meet yellow ones, the viewer will also see orange.”
“If we planted only red, yellow, and blue flowers – the three primary colors – the viewer’s mind and eye would blend the colors into a fuller range of tones. For example, where red flowers meet yellow ones, the viewer will also see orange.”
Tammy Burke
Burke reached out to Bob Hill (who needs no introduction to readers of Southern Indiana Living), who brought in Karen Bryant, a gardener specializing in flowers and the owner of Bloomin’ for You, to design the garden based on the color theory concept.
“It took months of planning, visualizing, designing andworking, as well as the generous support of many, but in the spring of 2021, the garden became a reality,” Burke said.
Some of the flowers in the garden were chosen because they can be used to make natural dyes: madder (red), coreopsis (yellow), and indigo (blue). Since Burke uses natural dyes in many of her art projects, visitors to the garden also have the opportunity to learn about the dyeing process.
Since 2016, Burke has worked on numerous projects in the neighborhood. Most recently, she designed and made the costumes for a miniature horse fashion show, part of JPAC’s community kickoff party. Each of the miniature horses, from Opening Gates, wore an outfit created by Burke to represent one of Jeffersonville’s upcoming programs. One horse trotted down the runway sporting a ruff, the large white collar most associated with Shakespeare, to represent Shakespeare in the Park.
Although Burke has recently been swept up in the energy and spirit of collaborative art projects in the NoCo district, she is more well-known – by other artists – for her individual artworks exhibited in galleries.
Her work Clay Faces, exhibited at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts in Louisville (April 15–May 27, 2022) was made up of four sculpted faces, each partially hidden behind some disguise: sunglasses, long bangs, a Covid mask and an artificial smile.
Her work Clay Faces, exhibited at the Cressman Center for Visual Arts in Louisville (April 15–May 27, 2022) was made up of four sculpted faces, each partially hidden behind some disguise: sunglasses, long bangs, a Covid mask and an artificial smile.
Burke explained the piece: “We are always choosing which of our faces to show the world.”
Also on display at the Cressman Center was an untitled work, a piece of dyed silk draped over a display stand that the viewer could see from all sides. “The work is mostly about the process of learning and experimenting,” Burke said. The silk was dyed with papery onion skins and walnut hulls boiled into natural dyes. She used a Japanese dyeing technique known as itajime. This ancient technique involves folding the fabric like an accordion to pleat it into a long, thin rectangle, then clamping it with wood C-clamps before dipping it into the dye to create stunning patterns.
Burke explained the piece: “I am constantly experimenting with natural dyestuffs to yield colors that nature intended. I enjoy collecting the walnuts and other materials which are my inspiration for the work.”
Burke’s installation called Body Bags will be exhibited at the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft Triennial from August to December 2022.
“This installation grew out of the pandemic,” Burke said. The bags are 8-feet-by-3-feet, the size of actual body bags, and will hang from the ceiling in the museum so the viewer is placed face to face with them. “I am aware that they are somewhat disturbing,” Burke said, “but they are my way of bearing witness to the enormous loss of life caused by the pandemic. The installation will provide a space and opportunity for viewers to process our collective loss and to grieve, which is an important component of moving forward.” She elaborated further, “I didn’t want to sugarcoat the darker side of our times, but to use art to lift it up, to redeem it.” •
Story Judy Cato
Photos by Lorraine Hughes
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