Abstract Work in Acrylic and Oil
After writing and teaching as an English professor for thirty years, Dr. Williams began her second career as an artist by studying under Robert Reed at the Yale School of Art in 2010-11. As a painter, Robert Reed had been Josef Alber’s colorist, and through Reed’s inspiration, Williams began a love affair with color—color in layers, explosive color, the subtleties of color variations, color shifts in different juxtapositions, and the purity of color as expression.
The theme running through all her work is the richness and power of pigment: tints, shades, hues, tones, as they work over and against each other on the canvas and in the eye of the viewer.
Encaustic Paintings
Dr. Williams’ encaustic work reveals a multi-sensory richness, as the layering process of wax on wax reinforces the multi-layered complexity of life. Her encaustic paintings allow the viewer to experience an inner illumination, by peering through the works rather than skimming the surface.
Icons
As a Fellow of Yale University, Dr. Williams exhibited a solo show in the Sarah Smith Gallery at the Divinity School, entitled “A Visual History of Devotional Folk Art,” sparking her interest in icons. The icon writer seeks, not innovation or self-expression, but a fidelity to tradition in reproducing the sacred images of the past.
Assemblages
Constructed from everyday tools and gadgets, painted forms, found objects and personal belongings, these assemblages explore the qualities of the multi-faceted American character. The assortment of sculptures reflects both individual attributes of each stand-alone figure, but also the larger context from which these “people” have sprung.