Sept. 10, 2014. Once again, the Watauga County Arts Council will host the Second Saturday Arts Celebration. This month’s event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 13, from 5:30-7:30 p.m.
Main Gallery and Serendipity Gallery
It took two galleries of the Blue Ridge ArtSpace to hold the abundance of works of art which were entered in this year’s open invitational exhibition, which is called “Portraits of Our Community.” The works vary enormously – from portraits of individuals (both people you know and people who are basically unknown but who characterize our community) to images of assorted buildings, pastoral scenes, images of mountainscapes and even floral arrangements. The images are as diverse as the artists themselves. Many of the artists have written a short description of how their work exemplifies community to them and these statements are posted beneath each work of art to add understanding and depth to the viewer’s experience. Artists exhibiting in this year’s “Portraits of Our Community” include: Wendy Hayek, Barbara Hinkel, Shirley Hampton, Brent Newton, Marsha Holmes, Sally Anderson, Jean Stillwell, Sondra Edwards, Vangie Platt, Marion Cloaninger, Judy Clarke, Mahala Porth, Sue Lindgren, Mary Karam, William Bass, Sandra Smack, Kay Morrow, Judy Wright, Linda Lillo Norman and Cherry Burns. You are encouraged to come by to vote for your favorites. Votes are $1 each and the winning artist will receive a very special gift donated by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff.
Open Door Gallery
Marsha Holmes carries the theme of community even further with her solo exhibition entitled “Community Journeys.” Marsha’s interpretation of the concept of community comes from many sources. She and her husband live on the H Bar W Ranch, which is located in the corner of Ashe and Watauga counties. Driving back and forth affords Marsha a chance to revel in the beautiful scenery which surrounds us every day here in the High Country. She teaches art for senior citizens at the Project of Aging. Her classes at the Lois E. Harrill Senior Center and Western Watauga Community Center in Cove Creek give her the opportunity to get to know her students and to see our community through their eyes. She also works with the Arts Council chairing the Gallery Committee and volunteering in many other ways both for the Arts Council and other parts of the community. And finally, her perspective on community is undoubtedly influenced by her four wonderful grandchildren whom she enjoys regularly. Marsha’s primary focus in her personal art includes drawing and painting in both watercolor and oils. Her subjects include the people, animals, objects and sights she sees every day in the High Country and scenes that express country lifestyle.
The Children’s Gallery
The Children’s Gallery is showcasing the artistic creations from this year’s Summer Arts Camp, which was a program of the Watauga County Arts Council in early July. The Summer Arts Camp centered around the Missoula Children’s Theatre production of The Pied Piper so the children created their own version of Hamelin Town featuring three-dimensional houses, stores and an assortment of other municipal buildings. The Visual Arts Teacher for Summer Arts Camp was Darcia Trethewey, who has taught art for eleven years in Watauga County Schools including Parkway, Cove Creek, Bethel, Mabel, Green Valley and now Watauga High SChool.
All of the galleries are sponsored by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff.
Classroom Demonstrations
Our five colorful classrooms are once again going to be filled with creative energy! Each of the five classrooms will feature a new arts adventure. The idea is to give you a new surprise around every corner but some you will want to watch out for are Pat Collins whose medium is watercolor. Pat will be demonstrating her painting style, which is known for a variety of subjects using rich, vivid color. She has exhibited her work in Florida and North Carolina, including a number of juried shows. Pat is active with the Miami Watercolor Society and the High Country Watermedia Society. And then another Pat who will also be demonstrating is Pat Grant. Pat will be teaching two workshops in the upcoming fall series titled “How to Prepare, Hang and Display Your Art” and “Landscape Painting in Acrylics.” His demonstrations will focus on what he will be teaching in these workshops. Another workshop teacher, Josie Bortz, is planning on demonstrating and sharing examples of her upcoming workshops, “Polymer Clay Masques” and “Painting Tiles in Watercolor” which will featuring painting on traditional Talavera tiles from her homeland of Mexico.
There will also be plenty of shopping in the gift shop and light refreshments. All WCAC Members are reminded of this month’s Business of the Month, which is Savory Thymes where you can get a 10 percent discount for showing your WCAC membership card. In addition to the month-long discount at Savory Thymes during the second Saturday weekend, members are also entitled to a ten percent discount while shopping in the gift shop just for showing their membership card.
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