ARTICLES
Sunday, August 6, 2007, article in the Houma Courier
by Thad Angelloz, Staff Writer
Arts, Columns, Weddings
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October 5, 1998 article in the Daily Comet
Lifestyles - -
by Mary Himel, Copy Editor
Excerpts from "Working Together"
Libby and Marty Ayo have been painting for more than 30 years. But when Libby, 94, broke her hip three years ago, her daughter Marty sat with her from time to time, and they began painting together.
In the past, Libby has sold her paintings but no longer.
"It looks like I don't have much time left to paint, so I don't like to sell any of it," she said smiling.
She does still life and outdoor landscapes. For still life, Libby and Marty set up their own props.
The mother and daughter team create their own scenes using props around the house. A small figurine from Germany from her oldest daughter, a small colorful mat from Pakistan and a vase which was a wedding present given to Marty is the scene of one of the paintings they have painted together.
"We just go around the house and just pick up this and that and we set up," said Libby.
"We've done about nine paintings together," said Marty. "What I decided to do was to find things around the house that had particular nostalgic meaning for me."
They have painted a still life of the old mantel clock which was a wedding present to Marty's grandparents dating back to the early 1890s. Both have painted the still life of the clock.
"I told Momma I have always wanted to paint that clock because I don't know where the clock is going to end up one day, so we put that in the still life painting." said Marty.
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January 29, 1996 Article in the Daily Comet
Enameling - Drops of paint form intricate designs on glass
by Colley Charpentier, Managing Editor
A pinprick of paint applied to glass, one tiny drop at a time. Meticulously, the drops become intricate designs and patterns which will later be fired in a kiln and bound to the glass creating permanent works of art.
This is the medium of Marty Ayo, who demonstrated her craft Saturday at the E.D. White Historic Site.
Ayo has been painting decorative enamel on glass for four years, a skill that grew from painting china.
A native of New Orleans and resident of Thibodaux since 1989, Ayo has been painting on china for 12 years. She got her interest in art from her mother who began painting at 61 and still paints some 30 years later.
Ayo took a hiatus from painting for three years to attend law school.
After completing her studies she wanted to get back into china painting and it was then she discovered enameling on glass.
Patience and a steady hand are essential, but second nature to Ayo as she describes techniques for making delicate flower petals and small swirls to the handful of people attending the Saturday's demonstration.
Her skills were self-taught, following the guidelines in a book on glass painting by Ruth Cooper. Still, she admits, she wasn't quite able to fully grasp the technique until she got a copy of Cooper's instructional video.
Afterward she became prolific in the medium and has been corresponding with Cooper sharing success and struggles.
Now Ayo is sharing what she's learned with others, providing the demonstrations like Saturday's. She is also set to provide once-a-week classes through the Nicholls State University Short Courses from Feb. 26-April 15. The two hour course will be at 6:30 p.m. Mondays.
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March, 1999 Article in
The China Decorator, by Marty Ayo
c/o Katherine Cox
29 Longmont Ct.
Hunt Valley, MD 21030
Egg Box. This was the first piece of Limoges I ever painted and what a thrill it was! My idea for the meandering strawberries came from a border design on a notecard. The strawberries were painted with yellow red, blood red, violet of iron and mixing yellow. Colors used in the leaves were chartreuse, antique green, black green and a touch of mixing yellow; outlines and veins were done with violet of iron. Flowers were done in a pale wash of gray, outlined in dark brown with centers of yellow brown and rich brown. Since there are strawberries on the inside top and bottom of the box, several firings were required. After the main design was completed, I washed the outside of the box with lemon yellow, painted smoothly, then pounced. The perfume bottle tucks away neatly in this little egg.
Treasure Chest. This little box made me think of pirates and treasure, so I decided to decorate with jewels from Jane Marcks' jewel study. I first drew the surface shapes of the box on a piece of paper and labeled the sides, fronts and backs of the pieces. Then I arranged my jewelry design lines so that the top of the box would line up with the bottom. With the pattern to refer to, I painted and fired the pearls first. Then I painted the jewels and fired the box. Next came the chain. At this point, I felt the pattern needed adjusting, so I rearranged the chain to balance with the other strands of jewels. This box also required several fires to complete.
Round Box. The scene on this box is from a book of old European designs. After the scene was completed, the outer rim on the box top and the entire box bottom were washed with yellow brown painted very thin and smooth. These areas were then pounced lightly and fired. The lattice work on the bottom was done with a pen and yellow brown paint, and completed with dashes of Roman gold. Since this box is unhinged, I decided to put a ring of raised paste and Roman gold around the scene to complete it.