Sculptors Babette Beaullieu, Maggie McConnell and Luba Zygarewicz
Local artists pushing the boundaries
Babette Beaullieu. 38
Inside Northside
A NOTABLE NUMBER OF VISUAL ARTISTS live on the northshore: sculptors, painters, photographers, film-makers, designers and fine/functional artisans. All contribute to the notion that Saint Tammany is a haven for creativity, an observation existing as early as the 1960s. Community awareness of history and culture perpetuates a sense of identity and environment conducive to the making of art. While some find local or statewide recognition for their art, others extend their practices into regional, national and international venues. Babette Beaullieu is an interdisciplinary sculptor based in Old Mandeville. Her working space is beneath her elevated home in close proximity to Lake Pontchartrain. The ambiance is unavoidable, as one might expect in areas where land and water touch. The vegetation is tropical and home to birds and other creatures that she observes from her screened porch facing the lake. As more land is developed in the area, she witnesses the disappearance of wildlife and notes that impermanence is one of the themes she explores in her organic sculptures made of wood, twigs, laminated papers and writing. In spite of the delicate nature of her materials, there is a visceral quality to these minimalistic constructs influenced by Zen philosophy. Born in New Iberia, Louisiana, Beaullieu earned a bachelor’s in fine arts from the University of California in Santa Barbara with a concentration in sculpture.
photos: CANDRA GEORGE mycreativereality.com
by Linda T. Dautreuil