Azalea Festival officials unveil 2013 artwork

The signature artwork for the 2013 N.C. Azalea Festival was revealed Monday. Courtesy photo

Three azalea blossoms and a butterfly appear in Elizabeth Singletary’s artwork, the signature piece for the 2013 N.C. Azalea Festival.

A closer look reveals that the petals are made of a thousand scraps of paper. Singletary ripped apart issues of Oprah, Better Homes and Gardens and Azalea Festival programs to create the collage.

Hidden within the artwork are azalea belles, cadets, festival logos, fireworks and even a snippet of the parade route. She also included a few shreds of past festival artwork from George Pocheptsov.

Singletary says she paints with paper, an art form that she has only recently begun to pursue professionally.

Donna Cameron, president of the 2013 festival, commissioned Singletary to create the work.

They reacquainted at a funeral, and Singletary shared some photos of her artwork. Cameron met with her over coffee and asked her to create the art. After that, Cameron offered little guidance.

“I said, ‘You are the artist. You have the beauty,’ ” Cameron said Monday evening at a meeting for festival chairpersons, “and off she went.”

Singletary said she created one piece for the festival, but then decided she wanted an extra flower in the work, so she started over. Two weeks and a stack of magazines later, she had completed her work.

Singletary works a day job at the Successful Parenting Institute, does calligraphy for film studios and has art on display at the Checker Cab Gallery in downtown Wilmington.

At the meeting Monday, the festival committee also announced a Facebook tagline contest. Entrants have until Dec. 15 to submit a tag­line, which will be used in promotional materials for the festival. The winner will win VIP tickets to both concerts, a pair of seats at the Queen’s Table at the Celebrity Reception and an entry in the Azalea Festival Parade.

Mike Voorheis: 343-2205