Artist Statement Black Joy "I celebrate my vibrant and colorful heritage with all its glory of patterns and textures and geometric form which innately exudes from me. My work is inspired by techniques used in batiking. When the elements of batiking are translated onto wood or canvas, there is a layering of different colors, patterns, and textures. The relationship between these three elements creates a unique harmony within the element of each design. Through the years my artwork has changed and evolved, giving me a sense of purpose and a vehicle to express my feelings and desires. My style of painting has allowed me to encompass methods of expression utilized by my ancestors and adds a modern relevance to my growth as a proud black female artist. Your visual stimulation is my inspiration. Through my work, I have created three layers of stimulation by using layers of colors, textures, and lines within each design. I'm also exploring what happens with lines and colors because the way colors change next to another color excites me. The exploration of creating a line within color and how that line within color creates a change within the color invokes pure excitement within my spirit." - Patty Talbert Artist Bio Patty Talbert earned her BFA in Fine Arts, concentrating on studio arts at UNO in 2001. Talbert then spent the summer training with MacArthur Award award winner Debra Willis, at the prestigious Smithsonian African American Museum of History and Culture. Trained in the art of Batik, under the watchful eye of the talented, late, Jamaican artist Dawn Scott. These techniques are the foundation and inspiration for her first solo exhibit in 2009 producing thirty paintings in one year. Batik continues to be the foundation of her artwork, now producing over 400 original pieces, countless exhibitions, and 2022's Most Outstanding Visual Artist at the 17th annual Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award. Patty Talbert’s self-titled North Omaha Positive Affirmation Project has been featured on WOWT & KETV. Talbert was also honored as a guest representing her art on Heartland Focus. In 2020 Talbert was one of the many artists given the opportunity to participate in Art + Infrastructure \ Omaha by Design Orbit Bus Mural Project. Talbert's Reflection series was born during the time she was awarded the Inside / Outside Fellowship at The Union of Contemporary Arts and through this opportunity Talbert was introduced to artist Rachel Ziegler. Both artists collaborated and created Northern Reflection, a permanent Mural located on the northeast corner of the Ashton building off Millwork Commons Rd. This exposure has opened her artwork up to a new world of future public art projects on a larger scale.