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 Bridget Chérie Harper
Bridget Chérie Harper, daughter of noted Elvis artist Betty Harper, left her childhood home in Tennessee and attended Arizona State University. Following one elective ceramics class, the young artist discovered a natural talent and love for ceramics and quickly switched her major.
While traveling in Italy, her embryonic interest in classical sculpture matured. Harper drew on her appreciation for the ancient, broken figures of classical sculpture as inspiration for the forms her sculptures would take. A basket filled with vials of china paints, purchased at an antique mall, informed Harper’s surface design. Her lush, detailed paintings, often depicting the human form and botanical or zoological images, have broad meanings in themselves, and also showcase the elegance of the sculptural form.
After college, Bridget continued her education independently in Thailand and Italy. Her work was exhibited all over Arizona, in California, Chicago, Philadelphia, Tulsa, as well as Beijing and in Vallauris, France.
From 1998 until her passing, she served as program coordinator for ceramics for the City of Tempe Cultural Services Division. In that capacity, she built what has been described as one of the most sophisticated community arts studios in Arizona. Bridget cultivated a community of artists and friends in and around her home studio and the Cultural Services Division studio. A friend and former co-worker explained, “Bridget created a community at the art center…. She was the force that brought together the ceramic family for all of us to enjoy and be part of…. Being around Bridget makes you want to pursue your dreams.”
It's that spirit that created The Bridget Chérie Harper Artist Scholarship Fund.
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