Archive for May, 2009

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More Book Arts for the Carolinas

Wednesday, May 13th, 2009

I’ve recently received some news that the book art exhibit I told readers about in my May 7, 2009, posting – Intimate Curiosities: 2009: Southeast Association for Book Arts National Juried Exhibition, will also be on view at the Upstairs Artspace in Tryon, NC, starting June 5 and continuing through July 18, 2009. So once it finishes its showing in Columbia, SC, it will travel up I-26 to Tryon for a stay in the mountains.

I guess the folks who sent us the original information about this exhibit forgot that Carolina Arts is a two-state newspaper. If we learn of any other showings in the Carolinas – we’ll let you know.

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Sculpture in the South Takes Place this Weekend

Tuesday, May 12th, 2009

The Sculpture in the South Show and Sale (www.sculptureinthesouth.com), one of South Carolina’s premiere outdoor arts events, will be held May 16-17, 2009, in historic Summerville, SC’s beautiful Azalea Park, home to many of the town’s permanent public sculptures.

Sharon Collings Licata

This year’s group of participating sculptors from around the US include: Robert M. Allison*, Danae Bennett Miller, Susie Chisholm, Glo Coalson, Sharon Collings Licata*, Joe Collins, B.J. Coughlin, Darrell Davis, Mick Doellinger, Matt Donovan, J. Gail Geer, Jim Goshorn, Lou Greiner, Hap Hagood, Jack Hill, James Hixson, Leslie Hutto, Karryl, Julia Knight, Matt Lewis, Roger Martin*, Carl McClesky & Betsy Scott, Nnamdi Okonkwo, Scott Penegar*, Josephine Pratt*, Patricia Romero, Paul Rhymer, Karla Runquist, Wayne A. Salge, Stefan Savides, Valerie Schafer, Roger Smith, Richard Thompson, and Garland A. Weeks.

* Are sculptors who work in the Carolinas or have had past ties to the Carolinas.

Admission to the event is $5 per day, but you can receive a $1 off that price with a copy of the full-page ad for Sculpture in the South in the May 2009 issue of Carolina Arts – found on page 15. There are 10,000 copies out there.

Here is the schedule of events:

Saturday, May 16, 2009, 10am – 6pm

10am – Show opens
Be sure to stop by and visit our Gift Boutique, a gift shop filled with wonderful gift items created by participating sculptors.

Sculpting Demonstrations – Many sculptors will be demonstrating in their booths.

Dorchester II Schools Student Artwork Exhibit – View artwork created by students in association with the Dorchester II Schools Artist-in-Residence program.

Available all day – Smokin’ Coles Mouth watering barbeque & grill.

11am – Mini Sculpture Class for ages 12 and up – Sculptor James Hixon will instruct a mini class on the finishing techniques used on wood sculptures. $5 per person. Limited space. Pre-registration required. E-mail or call 843/851-7800.

10:30am – 4pm – Arts Encounters – Hands-on age appropriate (6-12) activities presented by Dorchester District II Arts Educators.

Noon – Sculpture & Park Tour – Take a short walking tour of several “Summerville Permanent Sculpture Collection” Map included in tour.

2pm – Quick Draw Begins – A fun, lively art event where professional sculptors race the clock to start and complete a work of art in one fast-paced hour while show enthusiasts watch.

3pm – Sculpture & Park Tour – Take a short walking tour of several “Summerville Permanent Sculpture Collection” Map included in tour.

4pm – Quick Draw “Live” Auction – Join our Official 2009 Show and Sale Host Brendan Clark, TV2 and auctioneer Randy Scott for the “Live” auction of sculpture created during the Quick Draw. Pre-registration on site.

6pm – Show & Sale Closes.

Sunday, May 17, 2009 – 10am – 5pm

Admission is $5 per day or save a $1 with the copy of the ad in Carolina Arts,

10am – Show Opens

Be sure to stop by and visit our Gift Boutique, a gift shop filled with wonderful gift items created by participating sculptors.

Sculpting Demonstrations – Many sculptors will be demonstrating in their booths.

Dorchester II Schools Student Artwork Exhibit – View artwork created by students in association with the Dorchester II Schools Artist-in-Residence program.

Available all day – Smokin’ Coles Mouth watering barbeque & grill.

10:30am – 3pm – Arts Encounters – Hands-on age appropriate (6-12) activities presented by Dorchester District II Arts Educators.

1pm – Sculpture & Park Tour – Take a short walking tour of several “Summerville Permanent Sculpture Collection” Map included in tour.

2pm – From Clay to Bronze – Sculptor Roger Smith will explain the lost wax process using a hands-on demonstration.

5pm – Show & Sale Closes.

Proceeds from the sale of sculpture benefit Summerville’s public sculpture program. So far a total of 19 pieces of bronze sculpture have been purchased and installed since 1999 through the efforts of this organization. Sculpture in the South promotes sculpture through education and through the creation of a permanent sculpture collection that enhances Summerville’s public spaces.

Azalea Park is not far off exit 199A of I-26 on Main Street in Summerville (Hwy. 17A). That’s a short drive from the Charleston, SC, area and less than two hours from Columbia, SC. Google and Map Quest will help you figure it out from where you live and like Motel 6 – if you’re coming from far away – Summerville will keep the lights on for you – there are plenty of hotels and motels – one five star outfit.

You won’t find many other opportunities like this in the Carolinas where you can see and purchase sculpture from so many different artists from around the country.

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Graduation Day is Here

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

Today our son Andrew is graduating from the College of Charleston in downtown Charleston, SC – our country’s first municipal college. How’s that for “old school”. And, being so old, tradition is a big thing at the College – so we’ll all be outside today at the historic Cistern for the ceremony, under the live oak trees – 90 degrees plus and who knows how high the humidity will be. Men wear a summer tux (white jacket/black pants) and women wear white flowing dresses and carry red roses. I’m trying to get away with wearing as little as possible, but I’m losing the battle – no shorts and T-shirt today.

Andrew will be the first in my family (my mother and father) to graduate in four years straight and the first of a lot of his peers, of family and friends. That’s an accomplishment these days. He didn’t want to do the walk, but we’re making him do it for us and he’ll be glad he did later. That’s what parents do.

My son is smarter than his old man, but it will take him some time to catch up to what I know. You try and save them some of the hard knocks you learn along the way, but they never listen and maybe it’s good that people find their own way in life – only problem is – some lessons never change.

Andrew has studied to be a Geologist, but we have told him – he may be one, and you might end up being a writer or a chef. Who knows what life will bring? We always told him it doesn’t matter what you plan to be, just go with the flow and try to do something you’re happy with. I studied to be an accountant.

Andrew’s mother and I are proud of him and wish him well in the future. The real hard part starts tomorrow, but today is all about celebration. And, no more school loans. Whoo Hoo!

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National Book Art Exhibit in Columbia, SC

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

It happens every month – the deadline for the paper comes and we quickly go into action to layout the paper and get it ready to give to the printer to keep on schedule so we can bring the news of the visual arts to readers around the Carolinas – on time. Next come the e-mails and phone calls from people who are just wondering if there is still time or space to fit something else in the paper. Sadly, 99 percent of the time – it is too late. Plus, you better be a very good advertiser to get me to take something out of the paper to make space for your late press release. That’s right, we do give preference to our supporters when it is possible, it’s just not always possible.

Our deadline for the printed version of Carolina Arts is the 12th of the month – every month. And, for those who seem to know nothing about publishing, that’s the 12th of the month prior to the next printed issue. That’s May 12, 2009, for the June 2009 issue. Some – a very few – still think they have the 12th of June for our June issue, which would mean people might get to start reading the paper by June 25th. It doesn’t work that way – except in their mind.

One of the items we received – well after deadline was a press release about a national book art exhibition taking place at the McMaster Gallery at the University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC. This is not that unusual in that in my experience. Colleges and Universities have a hard time getting out information about the public exhibits they present to media – other than daily media – on time. Some do a very good job, but they are in the minority. Over the years I have heard various reasons or excuses for this problem of timely notice. The biggest problem is that every office of the president of every institution seems to want to sign-off on every public press release – which takes time. Second place comes in with less than motivated professors who have been assigned the duties of managing the gallery – with no extra pay involved. Third is usually unorganized professors.

It’s really a shame because these are usually some of the best exhibitions being offered throughout the Carolinas. And, when it comes to annual student exhibits – there is less effort made to get the word out.

Enough of the soapbox rant, but I add it to make sure people know – I’m not going to be making it a habit to give exposure of shows that did not make the deadline. Also, the organizers of this book art show have done some advertising with us in the past.

And, as a final note – we include all press releases about visual art exhibits taking place anywhere in the Carolinas on our website version of Carolina Arts – received by the 25th of the month by 5pm. Again, that’s prior to the issue we are working on.

So here is the press release.

University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, Features National Book Art Exhibition


Ellen Knudson

The University of South Carolina in Columbia, SC, will present the exhibit, Intimate Curiosities: 2009: Southeast Association for Book Arts National Juried Exhibition, on view in McMaster Gallery from May 5 – 29, 2009.

Ha Ran Kim

This exhibition of book arts includes thirty-seven works from the traditions of papermaking, letterpress, bookbinding to non-traditional artmaking and self-publishing techniques, that celebrate the book as a vibrant contemporary art form.

Matt Liddle

The exhibition was juried by Bea Nettles, who has been exhibiting and publishing autobiographical works since 1970. Since that time, she has had over fifty one-person exhibitions including the International Museum of Photography at the Eastman House, the Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, and Light Gallery and Witkin Gallery in NYC. Her works have also been shown internationally in major group exhibitions. Her images are in numerous collections including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery of Canada, the Polaroid International Collection, the International Museum of Photography at the Eastman House, and the Center for Creative Photography in Tucson, Arizona. Nettles has taught photography and artists’ books since 1970 at Rochester Institute of Technology, Tyler School of Art, and the University of Illinois where she is currently a Professor.

Shawn Simmons

For further information check our SC Institutional Gallery listings, call Mana Hewitt, Gallery Director at 803/777-7480 or e-mail to (mana@sc.edu).

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Artisphere Takes Place This Weekend in Greenville, SC

Tuesday, May 5th, 2009

Artisphere, Greenville, SC’s Arts Weekend, will be held in Downtown Greenville’s Historic West End on May 8-10, 2009. The area along the Reedy River and Falls Park is an excellent location for an outdoor/indoor event featuring many visual art offerings.

The Artist Row will feature 100 artists from all over the US with works in a variety of mediums. The festival also offers the juried exhibition, Artists of the Upstate, on view at Centre Stage, during the festival and continuing through May 29, 2009. The exhibition was open to artists living within a 35-mile radius of Greenville and seeks to recognize the outstanding quality and diversity of work being generated by artists living in the Upstate region of South Carolina.

New to the festival this year is the Chairman’s Gallery Exhibition being presented in the Founders’ Room above Larkin’s on the River. This event features works from two well established galleries in the Carolinas: Jerald Melberg Gallery of Charlotte, NC, and Hampton III Gallery LTD of Taylors, SC. Both galleries have been long time supporters of Carolina Arts, so we want you to visit them for sure – click the links to go see their websites. A third gallery has been added, T E W Galleries from Atlanta, GA. I don’t know anything about them and they are from Georgia – where’s that? But, you can check them out too by clicking the link. Featured works from these galleries will be on display and available for sale on Saturday and Sunday during festival hours -  May 9, 10am-8pm and May 10, 11am-6pm.

Of course while you are in Greenville we would advise you to check out that city’s regular visual art offerings too. The galleries at Art Crossing at River Place will be right there and others are not too far away in downtown Greenville – like the Artists Guild Gallery of Greenville at 200 N. Main Street. They are a new supporter of our paper from Greenville.

I think there will be so much to see in Greenville this weekend, but we will have to miss it. Linda and I can’t go – our son is graduating from the College of Charleston this same weekend. I can’t wait for that! So you go to Greenville for us.

For further info check out our gallery institutional and commercial listings  for Greenville on the Carolina Arts website or visit (www.artisphere.us).

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Adding New Links

Monday, May 4th, 2009

I’ve finally gotten around to adding some new links to our sidebar. These are some blogs that I have been following – some daily, some off and on – depending on content and how often entries are added. Some of these are very new blogs, but I think they may become very interesting places to find info about the visual arts and other subjects taking place in the Carolinas. I hope you enjoy them. Oh, and don’t forget that blog link about walking the streets of New York City. I still think it’s one of the best blogs out there.

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