up, a senior salesman noticed her “giſt for gab” and took her under his wing. Ulti- mately, this training also helped her learn how to market herself and her work. When Muff y wasn’t working for oth-


ers, she was working on her art. She de- cided to pursue batik, a technique she fi rst witnessed during a 1970 trip to Afri- ca with her mother. “A lot of people don’t realize how hard it is,” she shares. “It’s a much diff erent skill set than painting.” Batik, or the Japanese technique


known as Rozome, is an ancient dyeing process that involves applying melted wax to create designs on fabrics and then pushing the dye into the fabric, waxing again and repeating the process until all the colors are layered. “I like what hap- pens when you get done with it,” Muff y says. “Sometimes you don’t know the way a batik will turn out, especially when the wax cracks the wrong way.” She calls


batik “a process of happy accidents” and admits she likes the randomness of the art. “It keeps my images fresh. If I do the same image twice, it won’t come out the same.” Muff y develops her work along four primary themes — the Seminole Series, Palm Se-


ries, Tropical Series and a new Agua Series — though she is best known for her Seminole work. “I’ve always been a student of history and archeology,” she shares, explaining that she takes her own photos but also uses historical prints as references. “I have a dry sense of humor, so I look for images that have a certain irony to them.” A recent 30-day trip through Korea, Myanmar, Singapore and Indonesia with her hus-


band for their 30th anniversary taught her more about batik, weaving and dyeing. “The colors, sounds and experiences will infl uence my art in the years to come!” Aſt er years of creating paintings only, Muff y launched a soſt good lines with purses,


pillows, laptop bags and home accessories featuring her designs. These products are available at the 2 Islands Gallery in Captiva as well as on muff yclarkgill.com or by contact- ing the artist at 239-434-7006. If you want to learn how to make your own creations, Muff y is teaching a “Batique Techniques” workshop at the Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers from Aug. 25-27.


Where to See Muffy Clark Gill’s Art


Muff y Clark Gill has won dozens of awards


during exhibitions locally at The von Liebig Art Center, Florida Gulf Coast University Gallery, Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Re- serve, and Alliance for the Arts in Fort Myers. She participated in local street art festivals


for about 15 years, though she now concen- trates on exhibitions. Her work is in dozens of private and public


collections, including the Golisano Children’s Museum of Naples, Florida Gulf Coast University Academic Building 5, Baker Museum, Northern Trust Bank and the local Whole Foods Market café. One of her pieces was selected for the Top 100 Touring Exhibition organized by the National Arts for the Parks Foundation in 1997. She had a solo exhibition entitled “The 20th


Century Seminole Experience” during 2015 in the Florida State Capitol building in Tallahassee and later that year in the lobby of the offi ce of the Florida Secretary of State. This exhibition will travel to the Museum of Florida Art and Culture in Avon Park from Feb. 17 - March 30, 2017. Locally, a selection of paintings from Muff y’s


“Agua Vida” series, which features life above and below the water, is part of an exhibition called “Fiber” at the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve Art Gallery in Naples through Sept. 7. Another selection will be featured in an exhibition entitled “Water” at Rookery Bay from Sept. 23 through Nov. 9.


—This is an update of a story that fi rst appeared in the Feb 2012 issue of Life in Naples Magazine.


process that involves applying melted wax to create designs on fabrics and repeating the process until all the colors are layered.


JULY - OCTOBER 31


"THE MERMAID AND THE GOLIATH"


PHOTO BY JENNIFER ZIEGELMAIER


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