Megan Gainer’s work focuses on mending and holding things together. The Master of Fine Arts candidate often uses cloth and thread, objects common to her Appalachian heritage, her family, and her childhood.

The WVU School of Art and Design student will present her MFA Thesis Exhibition at the Creative Arts Center’s Laura Mesaros Gallery at the Art Museum of WVU, March 28-April 1.

“The tedious nature of the techniques used, usually decorative or craft-like in nature, highlight the everyday objects, some of which have become important to me based on the memories tied to them,” she said. “These objects share their history through their physical, worn appearance.

“The sense of Hiraeth, a Welsh word which loosely translates to a longing for a home to which you cannot return or may have never truly existed, runs parallel to the memories of family and personal experiences that are distinctly my own—memories I cherish, yet which become less concrete with the passing of time.”

Gainer’s interest in metalwork sparked early and she was an apprentice to artist and blacksmith Jeff Fetty in her rural hometown of Spencer, West Virginia. She went on to receive her BFA in jewelry and metals from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, South Carolina, in 2012. Along with her love of Appalachian culture, family, traditional crafts, and going on adventures, Gainer enjoys integrating blacksmithing with more delicate metalwork and jewelry techniques.

For more information, see Gainer’s website: https://megangainer.wordpress.com.

The Mesaros Galleries at the CAC are open Monday through Saturday, from noon to 9:30 p.m. The galleries are closed on Sundays and University holidays.

For more information on the event, contact Robert Bridges, curator of the Mesaros Galleries at 304-293-2312.

-WVU-

cl/03/24/16

CONTACT: Charlene Lattea, College of Creative Arts
304-293-4359, Charlene.Lattea@mail.wvu.edu

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