Local artists’ works complement traveling Smithsonian exhibit

The yellow headdress of “Queen Bee” seems to wave and flow around the head of the regal African-American woman depicted in Wichita artist Verlene Mahomes’ painting. In another painting, “Peacock No. 2,” the colorful tail feathers of the blue-and-green bird have visible pleats, like a hand-held fan.

Mahomes calls the unique technique she developed to achieve the 3-D effect in her paintings “canvas manipulation.” Its origin, she said, was divine inspiration, an answer to one of the many prayers she’s made over the decades as she creates art with what she calls a “God-given talent.”

Mahomes’ “Queen Bee” and “Peacock No. 2,” along with some of her other paintings created by canvas manipulation, are currently on display through Dec. 30 at Inter-faith Ministries, 829 N. Market.

Mahomes is one of several local African-American artists participating in the current exhibition as a complement to a Smithsonian Institution traveling exhibition. The exhibit, “A Place for All People,” comprises 20 commemorative posters that celebrate the recent opening of the National Museum of African American History and Culture in Washington, D.C.

“Our gallery is too large for just the posters,” said Carolyn Kell, marketing coordinator for Inter-Faith Ministries, “so we talked with Mary Dean from Black Women Empowered in Wichita to see if they’d like to partner with us by asking local African-American artists to exhibit. The result was pretty amazing.”

The works of more than a dozen artists – including ceramics by Frank Martinez, wreaths by Frankie Mason, pencil drawings by Ethan Dempsey and collages by Tyleciea Zachry – are part of the exhibition, in addition to Mahomes’ paintings.

Mahomes created her canvas manipulation technique as part of an assignment for an art class she was taking at Wichita State University in the 1990s, she said. Mahomes estimated she’s made about 60 paintings using the technique over the past decades, in addition to other artwork she has created in other mediums. Her work has been exhibited in various galleries in Dallas, Oklahoma City and in Wichita, including WSU galleries and The Kansas African American Museum.

Mahomes hadn’t had formal art training until she went to college at Langston University in Oklahoma, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in art. She continues to take art classes and currently is studying ceramics at WSU, through an auditing program that allows people 60 years and older to take classes tuition-free.

To achieve the 3-D sculptural results, Mahomes stretches, pulls, gathers and sometimes weaves canvas into shapes. Sometimes she develops stand-alone sculptures, like a delicate bird feeding at a flower, out of the canvas, and sometimes she creates framed paintings. She has usually worked with cotton or synthetic canvas but this year started using linen canvas, as well. “Queen Bee” and another regal-looking painting, “Lady in Orange,” in the current display were created with linen canvas.

She continues to explore and expand her use of the technique, she said.

“I like to see how far I can push the whole idea.”

This story was originally published December 16, 2016 at 4:43 PM with the headline "Local artists’ works complement traveling Smithsonian exhibit."