Local artist Barbara Williams will present “What Rock Buildings Say About the People of the Ozarks” at 6 p.m. May 14 at the Ozarks Heritage Research Center (OHRC).

The center is located inside Missouri State University-West Plains’ (MSU-WP) Garnett Library, 304 W. Trish Knight St.

Williams, an adjunct art faculty member at MSU-WP, will discuss the strengths of the Ozarks’ people as seen through their rock buildings.

More about Williams

A native of Myrtle, Williams received her bachelor’s degree in art from Missouri State University in Springfield and her master’s degree in art from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale.

Throughout her education and adult life, the people and material culture of the Ozarks continue as a central theme of her art. Beginning as cathartic portraits of family, a slow steady pursuit of this theme has resulted in widely exhibited paintings, prints (etchings), mixed media paintings, and photographs.

In 2000, Williams began a series documenting, drawing, painting and photographing Ozarks rock buildings (native stone masonry). The result was numerous exhibits, slide presentations, magazine articles, and two Ozarks Public Television programs on the topic.

For more information about the presentation, contact Rebekah McKinney at 417-255-7949 or RebekahMcKinney@MissouriState.edu.