Butterfly's Art

Carrie "Butterfly" Turner, is a mixed media artist who focuses on 3D collage, found object sculptures, acrylic painting, and vibrant colorful photographic art. She strives to achieve her artistic vision through the use of found objects like bottle caps, discarded items, and treasures she finds on the sidewalk, as well as bright pops of color and repetition. Her work with found objects involves recycling discarded items into art. She uses a number of varied techniques to reclaim these objects including 2D/3D collages, mixing traditional acrylic techniques with 3D collage, item repetition to create a strong visual image, watercolor on Yupo synthetic paper, and portraiture.

Carrie started her art education at a young age, doing creative projects with her mother. Art was always her favorite subject in school as well. She became Art Club Secretary her Junior year in high school, then President of Art Club in her Senior year at John Glenn High School. She took numerous courses in art at the college level.

Since college, Carrie has gone on to develop a healthy and fruitful resume of achievements. Carrie works under the name "Butterfly", a name she received from supporters of her art, because of her love for butterflies. She has taken the metamorphosis of the butterfly to heart in creating an astounding evolution of work.

In 2008, she was chosen as one of 100 local Zanesville, Ohio artists that each completed a 7-foot vase for the "Vase in Place" project in Zanesville. She designed the piece, an explosion of multi-colored circles on a black background, to be visible from a distance and to bring color and pop art to the environment in which it was placed. The vases were auctioned off with proceeds going to support local art groups.

In 2010 and again in 2011, she was one of 24 artists chosen to create a recycled art sculpture at Fountain Square in Cincinnati. Her art is featured in private galleries in Ohio, Florida, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Michigan, Canada, and Australia.

Carrie received a Bachelor of Business Administration with a focus in marketing from Ohio University in 2001. Building on the important skills she acquired in this program, Carrie has worked tirelessly to increase collaboration among artists and to promote the art scene in eastern Ohio. 2011 saw the inception of "Butterfly's Art" and the acquisition of her studio space in Zanesville at Tower Studios with her long-time friend and art soul mate, Natasha Oliver. In May of 2012, she and Natasha joined forces with 3 other local artists: Joe Murphy, Joleen Kinsel, and Allen Deaver to create The Artist Collective, a studio space where they all worked, shared art with the public, hosted monthly events on First Fridays - exhibiting cutting-edge art and creations of local artists (as many as 15 at one time) as well as their own work, and offered classes to the public.

In April of 2013, she partnered with Allen Deaver to create a locally owned painting party company called Spirited Creations based out of Muskingum County. Spirited Creations was the first painting party company in Muskingum County and works with local wineries and bars to help the local economy flourish. It has grown to employ 4 local artists, and 4 local assistants. Carrie is the lead instructor, party scheduler, painting example creator, and supports and trains the artist employees.

She has been or is currently involved with the Southeastern Ohio Watermedia Society, ZAAP, Columbus ArtParty, Eastern Ohio Art Guild, Artist Colony of Zanesville, The Art and Artists of 614 and 740, The Artist Collective founding member, and the Zanesville Downtown Association. She has arranged and curated over 30 shows at The Artist Collective. She has displayed work in over 40 juried and non-juried shows around the state, has had 3 solo art shows (Eastern Ohio Art Guild Art Gallery, OU-Z, and Weasel Boy) and has had or currently has work for sale in Art Market 649, The Treehouse, Megyen's Yoga Room, Gemini's Eclectic Emporium, Felumlee's Timeless Treasures, and now her own solo studio in Zanesville.

Recently, she created Putnam Hop, along with Brad and Melissa Pauquette, as a way to draw attention and revitalization efforts to the Historic Putnam area. The quarterly family-oriented community event provides another local outlet for art and craft vendors to show and sell their work and a draw for businesses in the area. As an active and inspirational artist she is heavily scheduled for events throughout the remainder of 2016. In addition to painting party work, she accepts custom commission work, teaches in her studio, hosts various classes and workshops around the area, meets and assists with artists/clients on marketing consultations, volunteers on various local art projects and events, and networks artists to make the world a more artistically magical place.