Contemplation on Earth, Air, Water exhibit with new works by Margaret Aycock & Courtney Lockhart

Name: Contemplation on Earth, Air, Water exhibit with new works by Margaret Aycock & Courtney Lockhart
Start: 2026-05-08T17:00:00-05:00
End: 2026-05-08T20:00:00-05:00
Location: 314 S Kenosha Ave, Tulsa, OK, United States, Oklahoma 74120

Schedule

Fri May 08 2026 at 05:00 pm to 08:00 pm

UTC-05:00

Location

314 S Kenosha Ave, Tulsa, OK, United States, Oklahoma 74120 | Tulsa, OK

Opening: Second Friday, May 8, 5-8pm
Closing: May 29, 5-8pm
Gallery hours after opening: Thursdays 5-8pm, Saturdays 1-5pm
Liggett Studio is a located at 314 S Kenosha, Tulsa, OK 74120
This exhibit blends the abstract sculptures that are inspired by Scholar Stones, and paintings which invite the viewer to contemplate the changing seasons of the creek, hay fields and forests and life.
Margaret Aycock Bio:
Margaret Aycock is a representational painter with a painterly leaning in the style of the American Post Impressionists.
She grew up in the mountains of New York, but has lived in Oklahoma since the late 70s. It was her time living in nature that continues to influence her work, the thread of which connects her artistic endeavors, civic engagement, and her daily life.
Subject matter for Margaret’s work, much of which is done en plein aire, Includes the Osage prairie skies, Tahlequah farm land, and portraits of her friends and family.
She has worked with the Tulsa Arts And Humanities Council for over twenty years, was Artist in Residence at Hillcrest Hospital for fifteen years, and taught oil painting for adults for over thirty years. She is the author of two books on oil painting, and one children’s book, “Claire Goes Foraging" which she both wrote and illustrated.
Galleries in North Carolina, Tennessee, Colorado, and Tulsa have carried her work.
Her paintings are in the private collection of Trinity Episcopal Church (a portrait of Father Stephen Mckee, and another of Father Powers). She was also commissioned to do a family portrait for the former editor and chief of the Tulsa World, Joe Worley.
Margaret Aycock Statement:
Since childhood, I have been drawn to the quiet places. Whether climbing the mountain before my home or wandering along the bank of the creek behind it. It is in those secluded spaces where I first experienced wonder, creativity, and gratitude. Today, they remain the places where I find my spark.
I am a lifelong student of the land. Under the guidance of the late Cherokee wildcrafter Jackie Dill, I began to see the "bounty beneath my feet." She reinforced what I already sensed, that we are part of an intricate connection to water, earth, and air, reinforcing my belief that we are not merely residents of this garden, but its tenders. Now, as a forager myself, I can no longer walk through the woods without actively observing. I see the abundance of trout lily, poke salet, and lamb‘s quarters; I recognize the medicinal herbs and the hidden clusters of wood ear and oyster mushrooms.
But this intimacy brings an ache. Joni Mitchell’s warning— you don’t know what you got till it’s gone —-they paved paradise and put up a parking lot—is a constant hum in my mind. In Oklahoma, I see the encroachment: massive poultry farms, the mechanical drone of data centers, and the chemical footprint of corporate agriculture. These forces threaten the very purity of the water and soil that sustain us.
When the weight of this feels overwhelming, I act. I write, I advocate, and educate. But perhaps my most vital act of resistance is to simply sit in nature with a brush and canvas. To be quiet, to be observant, and to be grateful. These paintings are the physical manifestations of those sacred moments.
Courtney Lockhart Bio
Courtney Lockhart is an emerging artist based in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Working primarily in abstract ceramic sculpture, her forms are inspired by scholar stones and nebulae, bridging terrestrial and cosmic landscapes. Born in Texas, Courtney has lived across the United States, including Michigan, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Virginia, and Utah. This geographic movement informs her practice, with each environment contributing to a layered visual language rooted in shifting landscapes.
Her work has been exhibited in regional galleries and is included in the permanent collection of the St. George Art Museum in St. George, Utah.

Courtney Lockhart Artist Statement
Throughout my childhood, my grandmother would tell me, “It is not acceptable to be less than the best you can be.” This expectation instilled in me a profound commitment to personal excellence, shaping how I approach both life and art. This practice is intrinsically reflected in my abstract ceramic sculptures, which explore growth, refinement, and the continuous process of becoming.
This commitment informs not only my approach to life but also the forms and gestures of my work. My sculptures reflect the forces, movements, and relationships that shape identity, serving as both personal inquiry and an open invitation to reflection.
Inspired by scholar stones and nebulae, my work bridges earthly and cosmic landscapes, grounding the viewer while simultaneously gesturing toward the expansive and unknown. These forms draw on the tradition of scholar stones as objects of meditation and pair it with the vastness of the cosmos, reminding us that the same elemental forces exist within and beyond us.
Influenced by the shifting forces of air and water, I exaggerate undulation and flow to create dynamic forms that oscillate between stillness and energy. Gestural moments emerge throughout my sculptures, suggesting the human body stretching, reaching, and evolving without becoming explicitly figurative. This tension between calm and intensity mirrors the internal rhythms of growth, with periods of quiet reflection punctuated by rapid transformation.
The materials and forms in my sculptures are chosen with intention and carry deep resonance. The interplay of raw and refined surfaces, solid and open spaces, and dynamic gestures creates layers of meaning that extend beyond the immediate form. Each piece is shaped through careful, intuitive hand building, holding significance that is both personal and open, inviting viewers to explore, reflect, and discover their own connections.