Elle Belle Creative: The Contemporary Tribal Giftbearer...

From this artist's profile:

Pippit Carlington has been creating art ever since she was 2 years old.

At age 5 she wascomposing songs on the piano; teaching herself to play by ear. She often found herself re-designing things she saw around her, in 6th grade she constructed the class mascot; a 4 foot-tall owl sculpted out of paper mache, and in junior high she began selling various art items she had made.

Over the years Pippit went on to receive formal art training at Callenwolde Center for the Arts, The Atlanta College of Art, and Atlanta Jeweler's School and Studios.

Pippit works in several mediums;including acrylics, watercolor, drawing, clay sculpture, and jewelry. A multicultural influence is evident in her work reflecting a diverse heritage of Iroquois Indian, Hawaiian, Russian Jewish, and French Canadian.

She is strongly influenced by nature, political and social issues, and uses her art to educate the public.Two paintings from her September 11th Series appeared at a show on war at The Spruill Center Gallery. One of them titled, "It Makes You Realize What's Really Important", depicts a family comforting each other with an American flag in the background. The other shows the rescue effort at Ground Zero, "Amongst The Chaos". That series also included portraits of Osama Bin Laden and George W. Bush. Pippit says of it "This series was really an exercise in patience and tolerance. It was a difficult subject matter, but I felt it was important to document this event in history so that hopefully people would never let this happen again." The portrait of Osama Bin Laden evoked such an emotional reaction that the gallery exhibiting it in Sautee, GA. had to take it down. The gallery-owner reported that people told her it was incredibly realistic and that was why people were so deeply affected by it on a visceral level.One of the other paintings in the series, "Blessed Event" shows the resilient side of September 11th; the story of a woman who walked several miles after being separated from her car to the local emergency room to give birth to a healthy baby. Journalists had done an interview with the new mother and her husband for Time Magazine.Greeting cards and bookmarks are available of some of these paintings.

Pippit has mentored artists with mental illness in a psychosocial rehabilitation program she developed called Artvision which she operated out of her home on a shoestring budget. The project was fully self-supporting, receiving no government funding.Artists in the program received help and guidance in learning all aspects of how to run an art-based business. This prepared them to earn money using a talent they already have. Pippit has become involved in a number of volunteer efforts; including providing online support and treatment information to people with autoimmune diseases, and has donated art items to benefit the survivors of Hurricane Katrina.The artist has sold and exhibited her art at the following stores/galleries;

Star Sapphire Oz Gallery

Dragonfly Gallery

The Spruill Center Gallery

The Millennium Art Co-opAnna's WardrobeTopaz Gallery

Squash Blossom

The Work of Our HandsSimpsonwood Gift Shop

Creative Spirit

GalleryShe has participated in the following art shows;

The Sandy Springs FestivalAnnual GA.

Microenterprise Network Conference

For Sisters Only

The Spring Fling at SimpsonwoodSweet Auburn Festival