Earlene Hardie Cox
Earlene Hardie Cox’s career as a sculptor began later in life after a 23-year career as an international lawyer and corporate executive. As she got older, she became aware of how art can be one of many tools that can be used to combat Alzheimer's. Sculpting became a medium for her personal battle against this disease which has occurred with some frequency in her family. Sculpting not only allows Cox to use different parts of her brain but it also unleashed the creativity of her hands. Earlene Hardie Cox sculpts the human figure and is largely self-taught; the models for her work are the many people she has met over the course of her life. They are the church ladies with their hats from her childhood, the memories from having been a mother, the people she has met during her years of international travel and people from the many experiences she has had as an African American in this country. Cox states, “They are the faces of every person I have ever seen, Although, I don't always remember their names.”
Since 2008, Earlene has advocated using clay art as therapy to combat Alzheimer’s. Through her affiliation with the Westchester (NY) County Chapter of the Links, Inc. and the Clay Art Center, she created a clay art program for Alzheimer’s and dementia patients at the Wartburg Nursing Home in Mount Vernon. NY. In 2017, in recognition of her work, the Hudson Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association named Earlene an Alzheimer’s Champion. She is a juried artist at the Clay Art Center (CAC), in Port Chester NY where she has a private studio. She is also a board director and was previously treasurer of the CAC.
Website: www.earlenecox.com
Artwork Available on Artsy