MAEA Keynote Speaker 2007 Fall Conference

MAEA 2007 Fall Conference
"The Observed World "
October 19, 2007
Towson University

Keynote Speaker

Connie Hayes
A Passion for a Visual Language

Artist Statement:

The color that air feels interests me. These feelings are emphasized by paint colors that overstate the greenness of a sky, the pinkness of a building. I want to make a point of it, so I amplify the merely seen to become the felt. I love the heat that the sun gives and the chill it leaves when missing. Time, light and climate are personality traits to me. I use color psychologically for a jolt, and let the paint gesturally swim out of bounds. How many feelings does this day offer and what can I identify in paint to resonate with these feelings?

A sense of place is important to me and I like keeping a watchful eye on changes and catch moments of dense pink-grey air, clear cobalt water, tugging wind gestures and heat seared cadmium shapes.

Curriculum Vitae:

Connie Hayes holds a B.F.A. from the Maine College of Art and a M.F.A. from the Tyler School of Art, where she spent one of her graduate years in their program in Rome. Connie has maintained a studio since 1974 and supported herself through painting exclusively since 1993. She attended The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in 1989. In 1992 she was the Interim Vice-President for Academic Affairs and Dean of the Maine College of Art in Portland, Maine. Also at the Maine College of Art (MECA), she served as the B.F.A. Foundation Program Coordinator from 1991-1992, a B.F.A. Drawing Instructor from 1987 to 1992, Director of Continuing Studies and Student Life from 1985 to 1988, and Assistant Director of Admissions from 1982 to 1984. In 2003, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the Maine College of Art.