![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/12\/alpman_matthews.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHUNTSVILLE, AL. – Turkish-inspired ceramic sculptures are not an ordinary find in Huntsville.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
But Lowe Mill artist and Istanbul native G\u00f6kden Alpman-Matthews is not in the business of just selling her exquisite and meticulously detailed creations.<\/p>\n
Her vision is to educate and share with people the rich history and culture of Turkey, a country that\u2019s often misinterpreted.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want people to learn of Turkey\u2019s culture,\u201d said 39-year-old Matthews. \u201cIt\u2019s not east and not west. It\u2019s a bridge with a strong history where Jews, Christians and Muslims live together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe culture is mixed, and I want people to understand and understand other people.\u201d<\/p>\n
At 19, Alpman-Matthews enrolled at Anadolu University in Istanbul to be a ceramic artist. She completed her undergraduate studies in 1993 and completed her master\u2019s degree thesis \u201cEgyptian Paste and Samples in Our Time\u201d in 1998.<\/p>\n
Since the \u201990s, the artist has done nothing but excel, including her upcoming New York exhibition Jan. 17, following her reception as the artist of the month this Friday at Lowe Mill.<\/p>\n
Expect colorfully glazed figures showing caftans representative of the Ottoman and Byzantium empires along with various mixed-media artwork such as cathedral-style pieces that incorporate tin roof shingles from her husband\u2019s childhood home in Scottsboro.<\/p>\n
Also, pay attention to the smallest features of Alpman-Matthews\u2019 artwork. In some pieces she uses a mosaic technique on clay, which she jokingly notes \u201cit takes forever to do,\u201d and the cintamani motif, a signature design element of the Ottoman court that can be found on textiles, rugs and ceramics, among others. The artist also uses Ottoman calligraphy to embellish some of her artwork, and the tulip can be seen on the majority of her work.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe tulip is a very important Ottoman symbol,\u201d said Alpman-Matthews. \u201cThe Netherlands are now famous for the tulip, but it\u2019s originally native to Turkey.\u201d<\/p>\n
The artist reception is Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. on the third floor of Lowe Mill. It\u2019s free and open to the public.<\/p>\n
Check it out<\/p>\n
Artist Reception for Godken Matthews<\/p>\n
When: Friday, 6-8 p.m.<\/p>\n
Where: Third floor of Lowe Mill, 2211 Seminole Drive<\/p>\n
How much: Free<\/p>\n
Information: Visit lowemill.net<\/p>\n
via Artist proud of Turkish heritage | al.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HUNTSVILLE, AL. – Turkish-inspired ceramic sculptures are not an ordinary find in Huntsville. But Lowe Mill artist and Istanbul native G\u00f6kden Alpman-Matthews is not in the business of just selling her exquisite and meticulously detailed creations. Her vision is to educate and share with people the rich history and culture of Turkey, a country that\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":29437,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2939],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-cultureart"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29435","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/29437"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}