Athens State is pleased to host Wise Women, featuring the artwork of Athens State student, Char Baxter. At the age of 74, Baxter is currently studying at the Alabama Center for the Arts to earn her Master of Fine Arts in Integrative Art with a concentration in Painting and Drawing.
Wise Women features mixed media artistry that explores the wisdom of women who practice love through their art. The exhibition will be on display from March 2 to May 8 at the Nazaretian Alumni Welcome Center on the campus of Athens State University.
Char Baxter’s lifelong connection to art began at age five in Iowa with a Christmas paint set that sparked both joy and a lifelong calling. She earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts in studio art from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and built a dynamic creative career as a senior artist for U.S. Army Services in Germany, a creative director in Atlanta, and later CEO of her own advertising firm, Char Baxter Communications, where she led a team developing branding and marketing strategies for two decades. In retirement, she returned fully to her artistic roots, pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree at the Alabama Center for the Arts in Decatur, Alabama and dedicating herself to producing richly layered, mixed-media paintings that combine oil, watercolor, fabric, stitching, and found materials. Drawing on classical techniques such as chiaroscuro and grisaille, her work explores themes of love, wisdom, and feminine strength, most notably in her thesis series “Wise Women.” One of her most personal pieces, “The Boy and the Blackbird,” honors her late grandson and reflects how art has helped her navigate profound grief. Through both triumph and loss, Baxter’s philosophy endures: she may not change the world, but through her art, she strives to make a meaningful difference.
During normal hours, the Nazaretian Alumni Welcome Center is open Monday through Friday from 8:30 am – 4:30 pm. For questions, please contact Museum Curator, Lisa Hoffman, at 256-233-8184.
