Faye was born and raised in Gaston County. She has been interested in art since she was in elementary school. Every Friday was art day and each student was given one piece of art paper to create on, instead of the usual news print that was so difficult to erase or color on.
As the years past, her love for art was to draw cartoons. In the early eighties, she completed two books of illustrations and rhymes. She created her own characters of a mouse and a frog which she gave the names Thelbert and Claude.
Faye’s art took a major change in the nineties when her husband bought her a complete Lefton China Village for Christmas. She proudly displayed it and lit it up to decorate for the Christmas season, but found she didn’t feel a bit festive as she looked at her elegant china homes. She could not relate to two story Cape- Cod homes and fancy dress shops. Faye then decided to build her own village that was made of many found objects and mediums that would help her create an old farm village with tin roof homes and shaggy wood barns. On one occasion, she sculpted a cottage and a barn from plaster of paris which she named “Parker’s Cottage” in honor of her daughter. She entered it in an art show in 1995. This won her an award. One of the most rewarding times was when she was commissioned to build an old farm house that was soon to be torn down. It gave her a sense of pride because a bit of history and fond memories were preserved in her replica of “John’s Domain.” This was accepted and placed on display at the Lincoln Culture Center in Lincolnton.
Faye decided in 2004 to attend Gaston College and take some art classes. Her love for art really changed when she took a design class taught by Gary Freeman. She gives him credit for her ability to express herself in her art because he taught the fundamentals and how they were use through the years. He teaches his students to use the fundamentals to express what they feel, enjoy, and be proud of what they do.
Faye chose gourds as her canvas. She feels it is a natural canvas that has been around for centuries and has been use for food vessels and ceremonial implements, etc. She takes pride in continuing the tradition by adding a bit of modern movement to her designs. Her designs start with a pencil mark and are determined by what movement or rhythm is needed to create a symmetrical design that is atheistically pleasing on the small and very forgiving canvas. Faye’s gourds are one of a kind, and each one has a part of her life expressed in the design. She loves her work because she can tell her life’s story and no one can disagree or disapprove because they only see a gourd with intricate designs that are pleasing to the eye.
