Friends honor lifelong artist with exhibition in Lakeland

LAKELAND, Fla. - Two friends are honoring their close friend by displaying her creations in the exhibition "The Art of Pat Percy" at the Depot Arts District. 

"Gee and I have handled Pat's art for years, and the feeling always has been, it really needs to be in a gallery somewhere. It should not be just contained in these boxes and storage," Thelma Willis said. "We wanted it to be out there so other people could get a view of the talent that this lady had."

The backstory:

Percy's parents were vaudeville puppeteers. Percy eventually became one as well, traveling and performing with her parents. She was also a model and dancer prior to joining the Taliesin Fellowship of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation in 1957. 

"She spent nine years with them moving between Wisconsin and Arizona. The apprentices were offered the opportunity to submit renderings to the U.S. Postal Service for a Frank Lloyd Wright commemorative postage stamp. Hers was chosen, so she is the principal designer of the postal stamp for Frank Lloyd Wright," Willis said. 

Percy moved to New York City to focus on art in 1966. She learned oils, acrylics, watercolor, collages and mixed media. After moving to Polk County, she began teaching and did so for 30 years. 

Dig deeper:

"Pat was, in my mind, a true artist. She did not paint or create art in any way, shape, or form for profit," Willis said. "For her, it was the joy of art and the creative experience. Her desire to do this was what she felt she wanted to do, or it was a memory that she wanted to capture. She did feel that she could sell them because they were her creations. It was like her children."

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Percy did sell prints, and some of her original pieces ended up in the hands of others. 

"If someone walked into the gallery right now and Pat was there and said, 'I love that. I feel that. I know where that is. I've been there.' Pat would go there, because they felt it," Willis said. 

Along with her art, friends hope to highlight that selflessness as part of her legacy. They say she would teach classes to kids, no matter what his/her economic situation. 

What they're saying:

There's around 35 pieces at the exhibition, which is only a handful of the total pieces that Willis and fellow friend Nancy Gee Bugman have in storage. They hope this show shines a light on Percy's career and passion. 

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"That they would see genius, a woman that developed a really strong craft when women were not really recognized as artists," Bugman said. "We kind of think of her as one of the women in art, so if they walk away with that."

What's next:

The exhibition will be on display until Feb. 25.