Feminine Nature
Artist: Arlene McCloud — Women of the Ozarks
Women of the Ozarks is a collaborative show at Ozark Beer Company featuring female artists from the Ozark Mountain region of Arkansas. Our mission is to spotlight local, female-identifying artists, to bring Northwest Arkansas meaningful art in various media, and to provide an opportunity for our community to engage with local artists, and one another. Women of the Ozarks was founded by Tram Colwin and Claire Pongonis, who are visual artists, art educators, and advocates for sharing art with Northwest Arkansas.
Our 2024 inaugural exhibition will present a collection of art from 6 incredibly talented artists working in various media, as they express their unique interpretation of the show’s theme, “Feminine Nature”.
__________
Arlene McCloud is a Graphic Designer and Illustrator located in Northwest Arkansas. She grew up in a remote region on the island of Bohol in the Philippines, and graduated from John Brown University in 2012 with a Bachelor of Science in Graphic Design and a Bachelor of Science in Illustration. She and her husband have loved living in Siloam for the last 12 years. Arlene experiments with different mediums, such as printmaking in linocut, painting with gouache, and creating assemblage art. Her style is eclectic and whimsical with a hint of dark fantasy, often inspired by natural elements and obscure flora. When she is not tinkering with a new art medium, she manages the well-loved coffee shop Pour Jons in her small town.
__________
My journey in understanding and celebrating my own femininity has led me to turn over rocks. To look at those parts which I have tried to bury within myself in order to become more palatable and useful to those around me.
I have come to believe that my femininity need not be determined by function or societal standards. It is defined by what I, as a feminine person, enjoy and find beautiful.
To me, beauty is both simple and complicated; I find it in the things which often hold two contradicting features at once.
Now I share with you a small curio of pieces which represents both the things I find beautiful in nature and the things I have mulled over in regards to my own femininity.
