Laurel Fisher Gallery

About the Artist

Margaret Godfrey is a conceptual artist. Each painting has a story/event/idea behind it. Often one painting leads to a second, then a third and soon an entire series connects back to that first piece.

She frequently does research on topics while painting to insure authenticity. Her paintings have an abundance of symbols, which help tell the underlying story of a series.

Patterns and decorative designs flow through her body of work, connecting underlying messages.

Her pictures contain both representational and abstract styles. She is known as a pattern painter using watercolor, acrylic, ink, and collage in her creative works on paper.

Living in the beautiful McKenzie Valley in Oregon and traveling throughout the U.S and abroad, she finds an abundance of inspiration for creating art. Margaret shares her enthusiasm for art through teaching workshops and active membership in art associations.

Margaret is an award-winning member of the Watercolor Society of Oregon, the Western Federation of Watercolor Societies, the Northwest Watercolor Society, Hawaii Watercolor Society and others. Her works have been in juried shows around the United States. Margaret’s art can be found on the cover of books and she has illustrated a children’s book. Her paintings hang in private and public collections in the U.S., Honduras, Canada, and Japan.

About the show

Education! Girls and throughout the world often have fewer opportunities than boys to become educated. This issue has inspired the paintings in this “Educate the Girls of the World” series. Around the globe (including the United States) girls are reaching for an education. Education will lead to equality, empowerment, employment and self-confidence.

These paintings were inspired by an article I read in 2017. The BBC listed ten countries where girls have the hardest time becoming educated. My idea was to have many hands reaching toward knowledge, not limited to English letters and symbols. I looked at fabrics from the 10 listed countries and chose 5 appealing patterns. From that beginning came many more paintings.”

The series captures only a small number of the countries, cultures an diverse communities that have low rates of schooling among the femi population. As a symbolic painter, I have chosen a framework to talk about this topic. Each painting has fabric, pattern, or art which represents the location. Another element used in this body of work denotes the place itself with architecture, landscape, or cultural symbols. The hands call to mind children in a classroom, ready to lear All the arms are reaching for the infinity symbol, representing knowledge. Educate the Girls of the World is a series of hope.