Artist brings hand-made history collection to Merrehope

One artist from the Meridian area was getting tired of just painting, so she turned her craft into something unique.

Lee Harper, who grew up in the Meridian area, has created a series called History Bones, and the show she is displaying here at Merrehope is called Unearthing the Past. Harper hand-makes and paints dioramas that represent dark, cheeky, and outrageous stories from various centuries in history. She says she researches each scene she creates to make sure the displays and stories describing them are one hundred percent accurate. Remembering history and seeing what patterns are being remembered is something she says is important.

“Even though the stories are crazy, they’re all 100% true. History is bonkers. Its not just now. We’ve always been bonkers. There are a lot of people I do that are just amazing figures that have been completely forgotten in history that deserve to be remembered. Their stories are incredible. They can be movies. How do you decide who gets to be remember and whose laid by the wayside.” -Harper

The series will continue tomorrow and Thursday from 10:30 am until 7 pm. For more information on Harper's work or to purchase one of her pieces, visit www.historybones.com. You can also follow her on Instagram @historybones. Her email is lee@leeharperdesign.com.