Hidden throughout our community are the remnants of our mining past. Some of these edifices, while easy to spot, are hard to identify as to their original use or purpose. Mining Memories and Motive Engines: The Artwork of Jim Bray, a special exhibition at the Joplin Historical & Mineral Museum, falls into this category. It will be displayed at the museum through February 28.
Bray, currently retired, was head of the Art Department at Missouri Southern State University in Joplin, where he taught watercolor, life drawing, painting and typographic design. He formerly was department chairman at Phillips University, Enid, OK, teaching graphic design, serigraphy, life drawing and watercolor.
Having traveled extensively, Jim taught and exhibited in Japan and numerous times in Sweden. There he developed a following at the Mullsjö, Folkhögskola, Mullsljö, Sweden. In 2012, he returned to Sweden to conduct a seven day watercolor painting workshop.
Bray has also exhibited in many U.S. cities including Taos, Detroit, Boulder, Kansas City, Nashville, Tulsa, Oklahoma City, Wichita, Joplin, and his hometown, Enid, OK.
As a watercolor artist, he has signature status with the Kansas Watercolor Society and National Watercolor Oklahoma Society, and has won several First Place and Best of Show awards in national competitions. At Phillips University his graphic design work repeatedly won top OCPRA honors and several “Sweepstakes Awards” at CASE conferences in the Southwest.
This exhibit transports the viewer into the past to experience what the community looked like at its peak. Mining was the area's main business, all transportation was done by rail and moved by massive locomotives. Life was good, but it was very different from our lives today.
The Joplin Historical & Mineral Museum is proud to present Mining Memories and Motive Machines: The Artwork of Jim Bray. This exhibit runs through February 28, 2019.
For more information, contact the museum at 417-623-1180 or joplinmuseum.org@sbcglobal.net .
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