NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) — A local artist with an impressive background is now getting her big break at Jazz Fest with her very own art booth.
One mural and one painting at a time Margie Tillman Ayres is making moves.
“I got a job working with the Imagination Movers, a local band on a Disney Channel TV show. I painted a lot of their sets, and then I got a job on the show ‘Treme’ on HBO,” she said.
From Disney and HBO to painting murals at local restaurants like Mister Mao, she’s even been working for Stronghold Studios, which does the art for Jazz Fest.
“I would sculpt food booth and do the sign writing on the food booths,” she said.
It’s been around 20 years since she first started working at Jazz Fest, and now, this year, she’s moved on to having her own full-circle moment.
“I’ve always dreamed of doing this for so long and now I finally got my first solo show. It feels like a huge hug from the City of New Orleans,” she said.
In return, she hopes her art feels like a hug right back.
“I play a lot with pattern and that idea of bringing joy; I’ve made a cast of fantastical creatures. I blend the line between reality and imagination. It is a reminder to look beyond what’s in front of you, almost like defiance through joy,” she said.
For Jazz Fest, she’s showcasing a few of her paintings, like ones she calls “The Sun Ladies” and “The Gator Lady.”
“‘The Sun Ladies’ is because I have four sisters who supported me my entire life and this is an ode to our sisterhood,” she said.
“I call this one Gator Lady because she embodies that moment on Mardi Gras when you see that fabulous, costumed person,” she said.
She went on to say, “This is the highest goal I’ve had living in New Orleans.”
Check out her art at Jazz Fest at the “I” tent, which is near the Gospel and the Blues tents.
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