Gail Cheney Works

Arts on the Bayou

"The exit from one part of life becomes the entrance into another.  It often frees us to receive God’s blessings and the courage to blossom into who we were meant to be."

After 44 years as a public school teacher, college professor, school administrator, curriculum developer, writer, and educational consultant, I returned to my life-long love – ART.  Since losing a daughter in 2008, painting and pottery has not only provided me with joy but also solace. Proceeds from my work support a memorial scholarship fund for Amy at the Home of Grace and related charities on the Gulf Coast and the Delta.
For years my husband and I divided time between the Mississippi Gulf Coast and the Mississippi Delta and my work often focused on the unique and common elements of these places.  The “bayou” was a common thread, thus my decision to use the “Arts on the Bayou” name.
Although oils and pastels were my mediums of choice when I was an undergraduate student, I spent most of my rediscovering “art” time with acrylics, watercolors, mixed media, and pottery.  I continue to explore mediums, styles, and subject matter.  Quite often my painting inspiration comes from photographs that I have taken.  A neck surgery resulted in loss of feeling in several fingers of my right hand. This challenge forced me to reexamine the kind of art work I was doing and led me to an art “transition.”  I now primarily do what I call my “Transitions” work with pottery (hand built) and paintings with mixed media and alcohol inks. I love to deviate from these and create “hanging ceramic” pieces and shadowbox “fantasy” fish and animals. 
The possibilities of what to create are limitless and the support of fellow artists is amazing. Retirement gave me the time to spend with family and friends and to “be” an artist.  When someone asks me what I do, I am happy to reply, “I am an artist.”  Picasso said, “Every child is an artist.  The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up.”  Thanks to the support of the people in my life, I continue learning how to remain an artist.