January 15 - February 18, 1999
"In the interest of acquiring skill in photography as a printmaking technique I took the beginning class in Black and White Photography and the following one, Creative Photography, at Shelby State Community College.

I now work independently but continue to audit the class taught by Patti Lechman, my friend and former colleague at Shelby State where I retired as Associate Professor of Art in 1981. Her encouragement and critiqueing of my work has been indispensable to any level of accomplishment I may have acquired.

Dark and light, sunshine and shadow, sharp contrasts in black and white with considered use of tonal qualities in between are central to my photographic prints. These effects are brought about as I manipulate elements in the development process.

When I take a picture I try to see it whole. It is the coming together of all the elements in the final composition that makes any work a work of art. Someone has said, 'To see is itself a creative act.' The camera is a perfect vehicle for this concept.

Landscapes, woods, waterfalls, nature, and abstractions created from these subjects make up most of the content in my body of work. From my own years in Memphis, or in Washington, Utah, along the expressway or in Highlands, North Carolina I have found subject matter as the light creates wonders in sharp contrast making extraordinary composition. A World too large to catch but occasionally I have made a picture that works - a few from hundreds attempted. It has been and is an inspiring journey."

- Mahaffey White

While Mahaffey White may have "officially" retired from teaching art in 1981, anyone who knows her knows she will never retire from her love of art and her love for creating art.

Her formal and informal education includes a BFA from the Memphis Academy of Art, study at the Art Institute of Chicago, the McDowell School of Design in New York, the Textile High School in New York City, and the Vassar Summer Institute. She continues to educate herself thorugh her professional memberships in the American Crafts Council, the Memphis Artist-Craftsmen's Association, the Tennessee Artists-Craftsmen's Association, and the Abingdon Square Painters of New York City.

Mahaffey's work has been shown in Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas, New York, North Carolina, and Delaware. Exhibits including her work have been seen at Shelby State Community College, Marshall Arts Gallery, Memphis College of Art, Salamundi Club, Abingdon Square Annual Show, MACA Theatre, the University of Tennessee, the Memphis Brooks Memorial Art Gallery, Memphis Public Library, LeMoyne-Owen College, St. John's Episcopal Church, and the National Ornamental Metal Museum.