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Contact: Kim Schuette: 614.297.2314 or 800-340-6131
kschuette@ohiohistory.org
For Immediate Release: July 29, 2009
Personal Expressions of Soul! at the Ohio Historical Society
On display now through July 26 at the Ohio Historical Center is Personal Expressions of Soul!, a
new community exhibition featuring the works of artists Cynthia B. Dillard, Lyn Logan-Grimes and
Piney Liggins. The show compliments the center's featured exhibition Soul! Art from the National
Afro-American Museum and Cultural Center, which opened May 1 and runs through Feb. 28, 2010.
Consisting of 13 pieces, Personal Expressions of Soul! provides museum-goers a chance to see
extraordinary jewelry and constructions created by local artists. Collectively, these artists
create to express their personal connections to place, stage of life, transitions and culture, both
their own and that of others.
Cynthia Dillard is a bead artist as well as professor of multicultural education in the School of
Teaching and Learning at The Ohio State University. She has contributed four of her "prayer shawls"
to the exhibition. Made of glass, brass, shell, silver, bone, wood and stone beads strung on
artificial sinew, each expresses a cultural value or explores a life lesson. Dillard's works are a
strong reflection of her involvement with the people of Ghana, West Africa, where she is honored as
Queen Mother of Development in the village of Mpeasem. She has built and administers a preschool
there and is currently building a new elementary school.
Three constructions by Lyn Logan-Grimes are included in the exhibition, which she describes as
reflecting the transitions she has experienced in life. Although the Africentric look and feel of
her work is never planned, she notes that it is a thread that is naturally woven through each
piece. She calls her designs "Funque E Junk," a playful clue that she uses objects not likely to be
considered elements of art. Look for computer hardware, nuts, bolts, beads, shells and other found
pieces in her work. Logan-Grimes is the museum art coordinator for The Works: Ohio Center for
History, Art and Technology in Newark, Ohio.
Mixed media and jewelry artist Piney Liggins has six pieces in the exhibition. Liggins works from
her Columbus studio and her jewelry belies a lifelong involvement in creating. Liggins's pieces
employ brass, silver, bone, wood, stone and shells, and both the diversity of materials and their
finished forms express her passion for the natural world and the self-adornment practices of Papuan
(New Guinea) people.
A workshop led by Liggins called "Jewelry with Soul!" will be offered July 25 from 1-4 p.m. at the
Ohio Historical Center. Participants will make paper and fabric beads to use in creating a fibula
(pin). The workshop is suitable for ages 14 through adult and is free with regular admission. Call
614.297.2300/800.686.6124 to reserve a space.
Sponsors of the Soul! Project are the Gordon Chandler Memorial Fund and Small Grants Program for
the Arts of the Columbus Foundation. Community partners are the King Arts Complex and the Columbus
Jazz Arts Group.
Admission to the Ohio Historical Center is $8/adults, $4/youth (ages 6-12) and free for OHS members
and children 5 years of age and under. Museum hours are: Thursdays, 9 a.m.-9 p.m.; Fridays and
Saturdays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; and Sundays, noon-5 p.m.
The Ohio Historical Center is located at I-71 and 17th Avenue in Columbus. Parking is $4 per
vehicle and free to OHS members. For information about the exhibit, including scheduling group
tours, call 614.297.2300/800.686.6124 or visit www.ohiohistory.org.
Established in 1885, the Ohio Historical Society, a nonprofit organization, serves as the state's
partner in preserving and interpreting Ohio's history, archaeology, natural history and
architecture. It provides services in nearly every community in the state.
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