Lessons from Nature: Capturing the Moment Artist Talk with Yin-Rei Hicks and Hsiao-Ling Sweenie
Artist Talk Details
Date and Time: August 8, 2024 @ 6:30 pm
Location: Mary Anderson Gallery at Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality
Join us for an engaging artist talk where Yin-Rei Hicks and Hsiao-Ling Sweenie will delve into the influences behind their art styles and media choices. Their work captures detailed, realistic representations of nature, blending accurate details with unique artistic interpretations that often become fluid and expressive. Both artists share a passion for painting and working with clay, though their styles remain distinct. Having taught art together, their intertwined careers and lives deepen their artistic connection. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn about their creative processes and inspirations
Exhibition Overview
Exhibit Date: July 18 – August 31
Explore the intricate beauty of nature and the profound connection between mother and daughter in “Lessons from Nature: Capturing the Moment,” an art exhibit showcasing the exceptional talents of Yin-Rei Hicks and her daughter, Hsiao-Ling Sweenie.
Yin-Rei Hicks and Hsiao-Ling Sweenie: A Shared Journey in Art
Yin-Rei Hicks, a dedicated teacher at NAFCS, has spent her career nurturing the artistic talents of elementary and high school students, specializing in ceramics and painting. Her daughter, Hsiao-Ling Sweenie, cherishes the memories of their collaborative teaching experiences and the artistic bond they share. Together, they reflect a deep appreciation for the natural world and the moments that inspire creativity.
Yin-Rei’s daughters, Hsiao-Ling and Madelyn, fondly recall gathering flowers for their mother, offering them as subjects for her beloved artwork—a gesture of love and admiration for her talent. Yin-Rei’s philosophy is rooted in the instinct to record and preserve the beauty she sees, a drive that has made her a popular figure since childhood when her peers eagerly lined up to admire her paintings. Upon arriving in Louisville, Kentucky, she began painting milkweed and butterflies, further deepening her connection to nature.
Proceeds from the sale of Yin-Rei’s artwork will support the H Grant Hicks Annual Scholarship in Henryville, Indiana, benefiting a deserving high school senior. This scholarship honors Professor Hicks, Yin-Rei’s inspiration and a former political science professor at the University of Louisville, embodying her commitment to assisting local youth.
Hsiao-Ling Sweenie, raised in an environment where art was a fundamental part of life, has inherited and expanded upon her mother’s artistic legacy. Her background in teaching and being the daughter of an artist have fueled her exploration of various media, with a special focus on papier-mâché. Her work in this medium, characterized by a keen sense of color, precise craftsmanship, and boundless imagination, brings her subjects to life in extraordinary ways.
In addition to papier-mâché, Hsiao-Ling explores a plethora of art styles and media, including ceramics, painting, drawing, printmaking, pottery, jewelry-making, graphic design, and fiber arts. Through her diverse artistic endeavors, she seeks to share the joy and excitement that art has brought into her life. She aims to establish a career offering private lessons and workshops accessible to all ages, fostering a deeper connection between the subject and the artist, and enabling others to experience and express their creativity.
Capturing Moments, Celebrating Nature
“Lessons from Nature: Capturing the Moment” is more than an art exhibit; it is a celebration of the intricate beauty found in nature and the deep, creative bond between a mother and daughter. Yin-Rei Hicks and Hsiao-Ling Sweenie invite you to join them on a journey through their shared passion for art, inspired by the world around them and the moments they cherish.
Join us at this unique exhibit to witness the vibrant and heartfelt works of Yin-Rei
Thursday, July 18, Opening Reception 6:30-8pm
Sunday, July 21, 11am – 2 pm
Monday, July 22, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, July 24, 11am-2pm
Thursday, July 25, 4pm-7pm
Sunday, July 28, 11am-2pm
Monday, July 29, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, July 31, 11am-2pm
Thursday, August 1, 4pm-7pm
Sunday, August 4, 11am – 2pm
Monday, August 5, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, August 7, 11am-2pm
Thursday, August 8, 6:30 pm Artist Talk featuring Yin Rei Hicks and Hsiao-Ling Sweenie
Sunday, August 11, 11am-2pm
Monday, August 12, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, August 14, 11am-2pm
Thursday, August 15, 4pm-7pm
Sunday, August 18, 11am-2pm
Monday, August 19, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, August 21, 11am-2pm
Thursday, August 22, 4pm-7pm
Sunday, August 25, 11am-2pm
Monday, August 26, 11am-2pm
Wednesday, August 28, 11am-2pm
Thursday, August 29, 4pm-7pm
Place: Mary Anderson Gallery
Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality
101 St. Anthony Dr.
Mount Saint Francis, IN 47146
Meet The Artist
Yin-Rei Djuh Hicks
The life of Yin-Rei Djuh Hicks is deeply rooted in art and an untiring love for the beauty she finds in the delicate details of nature that surround her. She enjoys sharing this love through colorful paint strokes of a fresh flower blossom in her garden, to the textured sculpting of a lively moth on an earthy clay vase.
Though her native home is Hangchou, one of the most historic cities of the Republic of China, Yin-Rei has lived near Henryville in Southern Indiana since 1959. When she came to America to study and be near her future husband, H. Grant Hicks, in 1954, she became intrigued with the idea of being a great Western artist as a painter or sculptor. Her subjects have ranged from watercolor butterflies to oil portraits, and from traditional Chinese style with vivid strokes and calligraphy, to softer blends of colorful landscapes with a Western influence.
In Clark County, she found natural, peaceful surroundings that, in their own way, reminded her of her youth in Hangchow. Mr. Hicks also had an intense interest in nature and farm life while teaching at the University of Louisville. He helped her cultivate an interest in the plant and animal life that are American in heritage, but related in delicacy and fascination to those of her native land. “When I’m out among the trees with my sketchbook, watching a butterfly, I feel like I’ve become a part of nature,” she says. “It’s like I belong there, not an intruder at all.” They raised three children that also grew to love the beauty of the nature that surrounded them by expressing this appreciation through art.
Yin-Rei earned her Bachelor’s, Master’s, and teaching degree from the University of Louisville, and spent many happy years sharing her artistic visions and talents with her students through ceramics and a variety of other media and teaching experiences.
Now Yin-Rei is still more interested in sharing her work with others than painting just for herself. “I feel as close to the earth as a flower or weed when I’m among them,” she says. “The songs of the birds are like music. If I ever get upset about anything, I can always find refuge and understanding with flowers, leaves, and the butterflies. I want to record these precious moments of nature, to make them live a little longer.”
Hsiao-Ling Sweenie
Hsiao-Ling Sweeney was born in 1964 and always lived in Henryville, Indiana. Having grown up on a farm seeing her mother painting wildlife, her love of animals and landscape naturally found their way into her own artworks. She loves to depict creatures in their environment in many different media, whether it be sculpted or painted. Hsiao-Ling has always been drawn to depicting detailed reality of her subjects, but also now has a desire to stretch her style to become more expressive and abstracted to create a more emotional connection between herself, her subject, and also the viewer.
Coming from a family of teachers, it was a natural choice to combine her love or creating art with her love for helping young people share in this experience. This combined interest led her to pursue a Bachelors Degree in Ceramics and a K-12th grade teaching license from the University of Louisville, and later a Masters in Secondary Education from Indiana University Southeast.
Besides teaching art since 1988 in various local and private schools to students from Kindergarten to 12th grade, Hsiao-Ling has had many other teaching experiences involving preschool children, special needs children and teenagers, CFAC (gifted) classes and LVAA (Louisville Visual Art Association) summer art camps, church camps, art clubs, art workshops, Art in Speed Park Children’s art, and occasional showings at local galleries. Now, she is back teaching at Henryville Jr/Sr High where she had always planned to return.
Hsiao-Ling hopes to pursue an active career in private art lessons and a variety of specialized art workshops open to the public of any age. Having taught and found joy in so many different art styles and media such as pottery, jewelry-making, painting, papier-mache, sculpture, drawing, printmaking, graphic design, and fiber arts, she hopes the opportunity to shape her own art program will satisfy her creative urges and share the fun that art has always given her.
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