Show at Sewn to the Sky features emerging artist

photo Carrie Pendergrass

Becoming a professional artist was never a goal for Grant Ferguson.

"I started messing around, and I really liked it," said Ferguson, who works full-time at Chattem, a Chattanooga health and beauty products company. "I was tired of watching TV every night, and I wanted to do something else."

He started creating mixed-media work on canvas as well as cut-vinyl prints, taking inspiration from things he saw in his everyday life. When he began trying to sell his work on the e-commerce website Etsy, another local artist took notice.

Carrie Pendergrass left her job as an art teacher behind to open up a small art shop, Sewn to the Sky, on Chestnut Street, and was seeking local artists to consign their work.

"I saw (a print Ferguson did of a spaceship) and loved it," Pendergrass said.

She invited him to sell his work at her store and decided to hold an opening for him. Last Friday, the two welcomed visitors to Sewn to the Sky, where Ferguson's work was displayed prominently.

His colleague, Patti Dungan, purchased a mixed-media piece called "Labor Relations."

"If you're in HR, you have to have it," said Dungan, who does, indeed, work in human resources.

She said the words "positive management leaders" caught her eye in the work, which also features a picture of a bird, a snarling dog's mouth and a clipping from an Archie comic.

Contact Holly Leber at hleber@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6391.

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