“Montreat Mural” by James David Southerland
On December 12, 2018, Montreat Conference Center hosted a service of rededication for the “Montreat Mural,” a gift to the conference center from the family of Margaret Willcox and Wilbur Hoke Currie. This unique work of art was designed and created by James David (Jim) Southerland, Assistant Professor of Art at Montreat College and former Director of the Wilbur Hoke Currie Craft Center in Montreat. The mural is made of stoneware clay, multi-fired, multi-glazed, and lustered and features the following Montreat Motifs: Water–lake and streams; Trees–woods and forests; and Flora–dogwood, azalea, rhododendron.
The “Montreat Mural” was commissioned in loving memory of Margaret Willcox Currie by her family and originally dedicated on July 3, 1994, in the Wilbur Hoke Currie Craft Center. Today, the mural is displayed in the lobby of Convocation Hall in Assembly Inn, along with a new plaque to reflect its deep meaning and honor the artist.
Montreat was pleased to have many members of the Currie family present for the rededication, including Ruth Currie and Thomas Willcox Currie, who remarked about the significance of the mural and shared stories about their mother and growing up coming to Montreat.
[rev_slider alias=”montreat_mural”]