Art can take myriad forms, from painting and drawing to sculpting, mixed-media, and more – and Chattanooga has countless creatives devoted to these crafts. For some of these artists, however, their medium of choice goes beyond the conventional. Here, we profile five talented local artists who use the unexpected to create their art. Read on to learn more about their medium, process, and the meaning behind it all.
Ashley Delaney
“I’ve been an artist my entire life, even if I didn’t always call myself that,” says mixed-media artist Ashley Delaney. “I grew up in a deeply creative environment – watching my dad paint and build, constantly surrounded by my mom’s encouragement and materials, inheriting my great-grandmother’s sewing machine, and spending time antiquing with my grandfather. Creativity was always part of how I understood the world.”
Answering this call to creativity, Delaney began making visual art in 2021. “In many ways, it felt like something I had been holding in for years suddenly needed to come out,” she recalls. “My work evolved naturally from the things I had always loved: storytelling, reclaimed materials, textiles, and objects with history.”
Delaney works primarily with reclaimed and recycled items: “discarded textiles, found objects, repurposed paper and old books, and any kind of shiny trinket that catches my eye.” She sources her materials by frequenting antique stores and estate sales searching for hidden gems. “But honestly, at this point, a lot of materials just find me,” she adds. “Friends and family know the kinds of things I’m drawn to, so they’ll pass along fabric scraps, broken jewelry, old magazines, belt buckles, bags of coins … If it has texture, history, or a little sparkle, chances are I can find a place for it in my work.”
Delaney’s process is hands-on: cutting, gluing, stitching, and layering elements into a harmonious composition. “It’s an intuitive and tactile practice, almost like listening,” she describes. “Each piece of my art is made up of many materials, each with their own story, coming together to create something new and whole.”
“Visually, my pieces are layered and often a bit interactive – at a distance, you see the overall composition, but up close, you discover hidden details, tiny universes, little stories tucked into the fabric of the whole. That shift in perspective is intentional. It reflects how we relate to the world, to each other, and to ourselves. We’re all small parts of something bigger. When you zoom in, you see our individual textures; when you step back, you see how we’re connected,” finishes Delaney.
Cydney Parkes
Concrete may call to mind construction, but for Cydney Parkes, it’s a medium for meaningful artwork. Parkes creates large-scale concrete sculptures and installations whose sturdy material represent strength found in vulnerability and authenticity…