March – April 2025
Gallery C
Lower Level
– Artist Reception –
Friday, April 18 • 4:00pm – 6:00pm
Layl McDill grew up in Gillette, Wyoming where she began creating at a very young age. Her early works were dollhouses, marionettes and even an entire “Smurf Village.” Layl received her BFA in Illustration from the Columbus College of Art Design, but she found it more exciting to make sculptural work and sell it through galleries and art fairs. She has exhibited her work around the country since 1994. Polymer clay has been her medium of choice using the millefiori technique and mixed media materials added. The theme of wonderment permeates her sculptures that are covered with endless details. She uses themes of animals and nature to explore the ways we interact with the environment. Her work can also be found in numerous books and publications.
Volunteer work has been an important part of her life. She currently serves as the board chair of Art to Change the World. Sharing her skills as a full-time artist with emerging artists has been her way of giving back. She encourages others to try art through polymer clay by teaching in person and virtually around the country.
Recent awards include Award of Honor 2024, Great Gulf Coast Festival, Pensacola, FL, Debbie Hart Award, 1st Place Sculpture, Golden Fine Arts Festival Colorado, Excelsior Art on the Lake 2024, Award of Excellence, Artistry Member Show, 2022, 4th place overall, Valdosta International, 2022, 2nd Place Overall, Arts North International 2021, First Place, Athletics, Art Garage 2021, Best in Sculpture, Edwardsville Arts Fair, IL, 2018 and 2019, Award of Excellence Art Splash, IA 2022 and 2019.
Stories have been a theme in my work since I began my career in 1993. I’ve created pieces with full stories built into my work and pieces that just carry elements of life’s narratives. I have also explored storytelling as a performer and as a way to engage with others. Stories are such an elemental part of our existence and I hope to create art that expresses this and leads to the creation of more stories.
“A long time ago in a kitchen in Wichita, Texas a young mother mixed up another batch of homemade play dough. She made all the colors for her freckle faced daughter and when her daughter rolled and squished this salty substance something magical happened- she began to turn into an artist.”
And THAT is my origin story. Stories help us make sense of our world and help us connect with others. My polymer clay sculptures are filled with the sensation of story. When people engage with my work I am often asked “What is this from?” because my work seems like it’s derived from fables or myths. But soon they realize the stories are all fresh and just a little off kilter.
My recent work has been based on the elements of stories. One of which is “There were even Windows in the Clouds- Chapters of Childhood”. I wanted to play with creating visualization of chapters by making different scenes on each shelf of the piece. I also examined the story structure of the Hero’s Journey in the “Infinite Story Generator”. This piece invites the viewer to imagine a character leaving their domestic existence (symbolized by a grid of many different domestic “reasons” someone might adventure out). The story flows into forests and seas and even a cave of riddles until ending at a castle- or is it the end?
In the past two years I’ve added more mixed media elements to my work. Every found object brings its own story of its history- where it was found, how I decided to make it part of my work. When others view these objects they also bring their own stories of past relationships with certain objects- they bring back memories of games played or treasures found in grandma’s junk drawer. Branching out to mixed media has meant creating larger scale pieces with multiple parts. My piece “What’s the Difference” Asked the Great Blue Heron” is 10 feet in length and invites the viewer to discover many objects they can relate to that they probably never thought would be part of a giant bird!
Stories have been a theme in my work since I began my career in 1993. I’ve created pieces with full stories built into my work and pieces that just carry elements of life’s narratives. I have also explored storytelling as a performer and as a way to engage with others. Stories are such an elemental part of our existence and I hope to create art that expresses this and leads to the creation of more stories.
Artist featured: Layl McDill
Purchase Location: Gallery C
HOURS*
Mon – Fr, 10AM – 5PM
Sat., 10AM -2PM
*Also open 1 hour before most performances.
Always Free to Attend. Always Inspiring!