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Poetter Hall was purchased by the SCAD founders in March 1979. Classes began in September of that year.  
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The Arts

The South in beads

A piece by Nancy Hooten.

Nancy Hooten explores Southern culture in work on display at Exhibit A Gallery.

By Ally Jackson
Published: Friday, March 30, 2001

Hooten ‘paints’ with beads to convey Southern themes

Nancy Terry Hooten is a mother of three, a grandmother of five, and makes the most extraordinary paintings in which she comments on everything from the origin of species to the sanctum of marriage. Recently, I was invited to her home to discuss the body of work titled "Southern Stories," on display at Exhibit A Gallery through April 30.

As we sat down, she served green tea out of a teapot shaped like a chicken, an antique I assumed, in a gentile Southern gesture fitting of her upbringing. I found that Hooten was never short of words for her charmed life and the paths that she has followed.

The work could be categorized as "bead-painting" and the detail is acute. Displayed framed in shadowboxes or as intricate sculpture, the most stunning feature of Hooten’s work is the fine antique beads she uses as "paint." Carefully strung on copper wire or stitched onto canvas with thread, the beads bind together into surrealistic and narrative scenes.

What she enjoys most about her work, she said, is that "the beads turn out looking beautiful whether or not the subject is interesting or pretty."

Hooten moved to Savannah in 1960 in her mid-20s, where she found herself as a single mother with three young sons to raise. Refusing to give up, she forged ahead as an educator and her resume is complete with memberships on several boards including the Department of Cultural Affairs, Savannah Onstage and the Telfair Museum of Art. Hooten took to the medium of beads when she found a virtual treasure trove of seed beads while cleaning out her mother’s attic.
A bead painter now for 10 years, Hooten has never taken a class beyond her B.F.A. in design at the University of Georgia. She takes it upon herself to research and explore new techniques by looking at examples from Native American and African art.

Her work reflects a myriad of experiences that contrast between the sublime and conforming aspects of her Southern heritage. Most of Hooten’s work comments on the time when she grew up; she was very protected and consequently very controlled.

"It makes for very rich material to work with," Hooten said with a mischievous smile.

The subjects of her paintings are as varied as the books upon her shelves.

Poetry, distant continents, things that grow, marriage and divorce, dreams and a patchwork quilt of history are encompassed by the finely composed paintings.

"Tuna Fish For Sunday Dinner" draws on an incident in her childhood when she witnessed a hen laying an egg. She informed her mother of the miracle that had taken place and learned that the hen’s fate was to become dinner that evening. The young Nancy was inconsolable until finally her mother said, "Stop crying! We’ll have tuna fish for Sunday dinner."

In a witty display, Hooten furthers her anecdotes with "A Present for Hester." A cigar box, painted in beads, and by chance a subconscious link to our former president’s alleged actions, whispers disapproval of the sexual promiscuity of women. The piece uses "The Scarlet Letter" heroine Hester as an attributed example of underappreciated women.

In several of her pieces, Hooten sews beads in protest and pride for all the women who have endured hardships before her. "The One Who Came Before" is a small idol-like doll that is beaded and pierced with antique hairpins. The doll is fashioned from a variety of goddess figures and is attributed to "All the women who have gone through all that they have gone through, so our lives would be as rich in opportunities that we have today." "Get Out of the Garden" relieves Eve of her temptress entitlement by showing her in equality with Adam, proportionate in shame, as they are cast from the Garden of Eden.

Hooten’s work rings clearly from whence it came. Utilizing artists, poets and a life steeped in experiences, she works on technical and conceptual aspects. Her work is more than a collection of stories, diverse in meaning; Nancy Hooten offers images of terror and of hope.

"Southern Stories" is on display at Exhibit A Gallery, 340 Bull St., through April 30. The opening reception will be held April 3, 5-7 p.m. For more information, call 525-5180.

Jackson earned her B.F.A. from SCAD in furniture design and her M.F.A. in painting.