OCTOBER 1, 2009 ISSUE
Gallery News
Downtown Boone Art Crawl
The monthly Downtown Boone Art Crawl takes place this Friday, October 2. Receptions at several downtown art galleries begin around 6:00 p.m. and continue throughout the evening. The Downtown Boone Development Association sponsors the Art Crawl. For more information, call 828-262-4532.
“Lakeside at Half Mile Inn” is Carole Usdan’s interpretation on the theme MEMORY through, from, was, is, to, and, upon, created…APPALACHIA and is featured in the Watauga Arts Council’s October exhibition.
Jones House Community Center
634 West King Street
828-264-1789
A local call for art lasting several months has come to fruition at the Watauga Arts Council galleries with MEMORY through, from, was, is, to, and, upon, created…APPALACHIA, an exhibition of regional artists juried by Noyes Capehart. A gallery reception for the exhibition takes place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. in the Mazie Jones Gallery during this Friday’s Art Crawl.
According to John Bond, Watauga Arts Council board member and gallery committee chair, 26 artists submitted work for the exhibition, which includes more than 50 pieces in oil, acrylic, watercolor, collage, mixed media, felt and photography.
“It’s a wonderful show,” Bond said. “The diversity upon the theme is what we were after and what we got. It’s really neat to see the variety of media and the range of interpretation of ideas.”
Prizes for best in show, second and third place and honorable mention will be awarded at the reception.
Upstairs in the Jones House’s Open Door Gallery will be an interactive exhibit that allows the public and the downstairs exhibition winners the opportunity to revisit the theme of memory and Appalachia by making works of art on site.
Watauga Arts Council galleries are sponsored in part by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff and Grassroots Funds of the North Carolina Arts Council.
The GreenHouse will feature works by Michelle Major, a victim of domestic violence, during this Friday’s Art Crawl. October is Domestic Violence Awareness Month.
The GreenHouse
164 South Depot Street
828-268-5022
The GreenHouse partners with OASIS and the Peace Rose Sisters to feature the paintings of Michelle Major in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month. Major will display and talk about her work at the GreenHouse this Friday, October 2. The doors will be open from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m.
Major thought she had the perfect life; she was newly married with an infant daughter, an adoring husband and a fulfilling life as an artist and high school art teacher. But in August 2008, Major’s once-loving husband nearly strangled her to death in a brutal act of domestic violence. Dragging herself to the bathroom, Major miraculously found her cell phone and called for help as her husband fled. The subsequent crime scene yielded an added horror—before trying to murder his wife, Major’s husband slashed 94 of her paintings with a butcher knife. Knowing her passion as an artist, he wanted to silence both her artistic and her literal voice.
Saving her infant daughter and herself, Major entered a local domestic violence shelter and began to piece her life back together. But she found little solace in remaining frightened, invisible and silent. Instead, Major reclaimed her artistic voice and found new power and strength. She now dedicates her voice and her art—both those original damaged paintings and her new expressive works—to the voices of all women, especially those who are victims and survivors of domestic violence.
The event benefits OASIS, the High Country’s local domestic violence agency, and OASIS staff will be on hand with local information about domestic violence and sexual assault. Learn more about Major and her work by clicking to www.beavoicearts.com.
Fiber arts by Katie Park and Lindsey Cero are the focus of the Nthº Gallery’s exhibition this month.
Nthº Gallery and Studios
683 West King Street
This Friday, the Nthº Gallery will host High in Fiber, an exhibition of new fiber arts works by Lindsey Cero and Katie Park.
The Nthº Gallery and Studios will be open beginning at 7:30 p.m. Snacks and refreshments will be available. The Nthº Gallery is located at 683 West King Street, across from the Post Office and above Loretta’s Vendetta. For more info, email nthdegreegallery@gmail.com or call 828-773-0895.
ArtWalk
611 West King Street
828-264-9998
From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m., ArtWalk will feature hand-painted Pilsner glasses by Lolita. These tall beer glasses depict such manly and beer friendly topics as football, baseball, darts, billiards, pizza, and, of course, beer itself, so visitors are sure to find the perfect glass for their favorite beer.
The artist, Lolita, got into the creative world very early in life, and after receiving degrees in fine arts and marketing she entered the fashion industry. In 2000, she used her art and business skills to begin her hand-painted glassware company.
ArtWalk also carries Lolita’s martini, wine and shot glasses, as well as decanters, shakers, flasks and bottle stoppers. A glass to celebrate nearly every occasion can be found here, whether for weddings, bachelorette parties, job promotions, milestone birthdays, travel, holidays or hobbies. Not only are they entertaining, they are also a great way to keep each glass with its user at a party.
To accompany Lolita’s glasses, Todd Rice and Jeff Walker, creators of Blowing Rock Ale, will host a beer tasting at ArtWalk. Beer lovers will be able to do a little homework just in time for Sugar Mountain’s Oktoberfest by tasting Blowing Rock Oktoberfest and Blowing Rock High Country Ale.
Blowing Rock High Country Ale offers a fresh, fruity and hoppy essence in a rich amber brew, while the Oktoberfest lager, with its autumnal ruddiness, is characterized by malt and caramel flavor with a touch of Hallertau hops.
The Collective on Depot
125 South Depot Street
thecollectiveondepot@gmail.com
The Collective on Depot will not officially be open during the October Art Crawl. Members are preparing for their November exhibit at the Turchin Center for the Visual Arts, titled Collective Dialogues, and will be out and about this Friday supporting fellow friends and local artists, Lindsey Cero and Katie Park, in their latest exhibit at the Nthº Gallery.
Turchin Center for the Visual Arts
423 West King Street
828-262-3017
Plenty of new art is on the walls at the Turchin Center, where new exhibitions debuted September 11. In Gallery B will be the posters of artist and ASU alumnus Chris Williams, the owner/operator and head designer for Plastic Flame Press based in Raleigh. Williams has been creating posters for more than 15 years and has produced more than 200 screen-printed posters to date.
SAQA: 12 Voices will be on display in Gallery A. Studio Art Quilt Associates, Inc. (SAQA) is a nonprofit international organization that works to promote the art quilt—a contemporary quilt that incorporates elements of the whole range of visual arts, including painting, printmaking, photography, graphic design, assemblage and sculpture, while retaining a relationship to the traditional folk art quilt.
The Mayer Gallery will feature a native of nearby Sugar Grove—Olivia Pendergast. She now paints full time in the Utah mountains. Inspired by a recent trip to Malawi, a densely populated, rural nation in southeast Africa, Pendergast has developed a suite of large-format, figurative paintings that will be presented for the first time at the Turchin Center.
Continuing exhibitions on display in the East Wing include Stephen Siegel: Wonderful Life and the work of Harlan Toole.
In the Looking Glass Gallery at ASU, Ben Wesemann derives contemporary art from his Christian faith in his exhibition Trust.
Looking Glass Gallery
Plemmons Student Union, ASU
828-262-3032
ASU presentsthe work of recent alumnus Ben Wesemannat the Looking Glass Gallery in Plemmons Student Union on the ASU campus. Trust will be on display through Thursday, October 15, and the gallery will be open during this Friday’s Art Crawl.
Wesemann received his bachelor of fine arts in studio art concentrating in sculpture and painting from ASU in May 2009. Through his choice of industrial materials and Christian faith, Wesemann creates large formal sculpture. He is researching and exploring how Christian art fits into or does not fit into the contemporary art world.
According to Wesemann, “The consensus of most art historians and authors is that religion does not belong in contemporary art, and that it is inferior.
“My goal is to make art that is derived completely from my Christian faith as a way of expressing my beliefs and growing with my God, but still fitting into the contemporary art scene,” he said. “I want to bring religion back into art without turning away anyone.”
Group Exhibition Killed By Blindness at Army Navy Surplus Space
Throughout the month of October, a new group exhibition will be held in the Miller Brothers Army Navy Surplus space across from Espresso News, located at 260 Howard Street.
The show is titled Killed By Blindness and will feature work from Mike Geary, Charlie Slack, Justin Lieberman, Jody Servon, Dear Rain Drop, Chris Curtain, Peter Oakley, Tim Ford, Crystal Dixon, John Olson, Greg Smith, Michael Mull, Amanda Hart and Matt Lawson.
The show will be open to the public at 5:00 p.m. on the following dates: Friday, October 2; Friday, October 9; Friday, October 16; Friday, October 23; and Wednesday, October 28. Killed By Blindness is a rotating group show and curatorial experiment that will change weekly, so come and experience new art at each opening.
For more information and special appointments, contact charlieslack@yahoo.com. This show would not be possible without the gracious patronage of Dana Willet and Fredrick Coffey.
Also at the Art Crawl:
• Local author Scott Nicholson will sign his collections of short stories and mystery novels at Green Mother Goods from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The store will also serve hot apple cider and samples of chips from Hold the Heat Raw Food Makery.
• Lucky Penny features work by women artists, including Another Feather, as well as hand-designed girls’ fashions.
• At BeansTalk, lifestyle photography by Cameron Baskin will be on display, and Coffee Street and DJ Lee Run play at 8:00 p.m.
• Footsloggers will be open until 7:00 p.m.
• Enjoy appetizer and drink specials at Char.
• The Bead Box and Grateful Grounds will feature watercolor and acrylic artwork by Stephanie Sims and a pre-made jewelry sale.
• Vidalia features drink specials during dinner.
• Bring your drum and enjoy Djembe music at The Open Door.
• At Capone's Pizza, enjoy free breadsticks with any large specialty pizza.
• Doe Ridge Pottery will open late as artist Bob Meier works on pressed imprints on large clay forms.
• The Looking Glass Gallery on King Street will be open during the Art Crawl.
• Earth Fare will feature works by John Shelton and serve appetizers from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
• Reflect on the art while listening to the blues of the Matt Walsh Band at Murphy’s.
• At Earth Fare, view an exhibition by Treva McLean titled “Fire and Elements,” and Slow Food Boone will sponsor a tasting of wines from New River Winery from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m.
• Visit the Hands Gallery from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. to view the work of the gallery’s member-artists.
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