Painting Added: Permanent Collection of the Florence Museum
Happy to announce that my painting was added to the permanent collection of the Florence Museum in Florence, SC. It was owned by Debbie Cooke and was given to the museum by her estate after her recent passing. This large painting is titled “How You Set the Table” and was completed in 1999.
From the museum: Painting Added: Permanent Collection of the Florence Museum
The vision of the Florence County Museum is to stimulate imaginations and create experiences that transform lives by broadening people’s perspectives, attitudes, and knowledge of themselves and the world.
Mark E. Flowers / Biography
Mark E. Flowers earned his BFA in Studio Arts from The University of South Carolina in 1977 and his MFA in Painting from Western Michigan University in1979. Following his academic career, he has exhibited his work throughout the United States and in Europe, and in the summer of 2010, exhibited his seventh one-person show with Hodges/Taylor Gallery in Charlotte, North Carolina. His relationship with that gallery now spans more then 29 years. Mark’s work can be found in 26 public and over 300 private collections. Throughout his career he has won numerous awards for his art in both regional and national competitions. Most recently he was named one of the 100 Art Alumni for the Centennial Celebration at Western Michigan University.
His art teaching career parallels his art making. He has taught art at the secondary and postsecondary levels for more than 34 years. While he has been a teacher of art, he has also chaired two fine arts departments and one painting department. His most recent teaching award is the Allen Zearn Distinguished Teaching Award at Mercersburg Academy.
While pursuing dual careers, he has served as a town councilman, volunteer firefighter, Little League baseball coach and president of a community recreational board. Along with his artist/wife, Kristy Higby, they have raised two sons, Carson and Morgan, who are now off learning to be artists them selves. Examples of Mark and Kristy’s work can be found on their website at www.mountainteastudios.com or on their Facebook page, Mountain Tea Studios.
Mark has spent his adult life pursuing his art, teaching what he knows, and serving his community well. He maintains a strong exhibition record and is now more committed to making art than ever before. In 2004, he and his wife purchased a hand-made log cabin just north of Asheville, NC in the community of Alexander. They spent several years renovating the cabin and just recently built a large studio on the property. They are now “commuting” between their teaching jobs in Pennsylvania and their new home. In the summer of 2014 they will be full-time residents of the creative community of Western North Carolina.
