Archive for August, 2010

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Spartanburg, SC, Charter School in the Running to Win $500,000 from Kohls Cares for Kids – Do you Facebook?

Friday, August 20th, 2010

This has to be one of the most unusual request for help Carolina Arts has gotten since Teri Tynes of Walking Off the Big Apple asked us for help to win the title of Best Travel Blogger in the World. Plus, I was just up near Petoskey, MI, and we brought our son home a Petoskey stone as a gift from our travels. Don’t think how cheap – they’re not cheap and he just graduated from the College of Charleston as a Geologist, plus I also got him a Blueray disk of Dark Knight.

So here’s a shout out for help to my readers who also do Facebook – I don’t, and I guess you’ll know what it means to “like” Kohls.

Here’s the note I got from Martha Petoskey:

If you have not done so already, please vote (5 times) for Spartanburg Charter School (SCS) to receive a $500,000 grant from Kohls Cares for Kids. SCS is the only South Carolina school in the top 100. We currently are in the top 20 schools, and if we maintain this position (simply by number of votes) we will obtain much-needed funding. The direct link in facebook is noted below. Please also note that you must “Like” Kohls in order to post your vote.

Here’s that link (http://apps.facebook.com/KohlsCares/school/1371341/spartanburg-charter-school?src=SchoolBitly).

Please feel free to share this link!

For further info contact Martha Petoskey, Ph.D., Program Director by calling 864/494-0928, e-mail at (Martha.Petoskey@spartanburgcharterschool.org), or visit (www.spartanburgcharterschool.org).

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NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, is Awarded $32,497 from the NC Arts Council

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Here’s the press release we received at Carolina Arts:

Seagrove, NC – The NC Pottery Center (NCPC) in Randolph County has been awarded $32,497 from the NC Arts Council for State Arts Resources and the Traditional Arts Programs in Schools (TAPS).

The funds will be used to support several major exhibitions curated by guest artists during the grant cycle, and the Traditional Arts Programs in the local elementary school.

Linda Carnes-McNaughton, president of the NCPC board of directors said, “State funds allow Randolph County to provide quality arts programming for students and adults, while sustaining our local economy.  Last year, the NC Pottery Center provided programming for more than 11,500 citizens, including adults, youth, and children from all over North Carolina as many were day-travelers to the area. Visitors from all 50 states were represented, and visitors came from 27 foreign countries”.

A highlight of our programming is the Traditional Arts Programs in the local Seagrove Elementary School (TAPS), for fifth grade students. The two sessions taught by fifth generation potter Sid Luck of Luck’s Ware, are scheduled for fall 2010 and spring 2011. The ten-week pottery program is so popular with students, it requires registration and a random drawing for participation.

“The support of our grants program by the General Assembly during these economically challenging times demonstrates the role the arts play in our economy and our quality of life,” said Mary B. Regan, executive director of the NC Arts Council.  “Nonprofit arts organizations employ workers, stimulate commerce, generate tax revenues and help communities retain their vibrancy.”

More than 13.6 million people participated in NC Arts Council-funded projects last year in schools, senior centers, concert halls and community centers. Nearly 4.3 million of these were children and youth.

The NC Arts Council awards grant money each year to provide diverse arts experiences for citizens in all 100 counties of North Carolina. In fiscal year 2010-11, the Arts Council is expected to distribute $7,4 million in state and federal grant funds to arts organizations, schools and other nonprofit organizations that sponsor arts programs.

Exhibitions at the NC Pottery Center are made possible through the generosity of our membership, the Mary and Elliott Wood Foundation and the Goodnight Educational Foundation. These projects are supported by the NC Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The mission of the North Carolina Pottery Center is to promote public awareness of and appreciation for the history, heritage, and ongoing tradition of pottery making in North Carolina.

The current exhibit is, Pottery from the Coastal Carolina Clay Guild, on view through Nov. 13, 2010. The Coastal Carolina Clay Guild was founded in 2007 by a group of Wilmington, NC, potters with the purpose of sharing ideas and promoting the art and craft of pottery in our community. The Guild has grown to 100 members who reside in the eastern regions of North and South Carolina and are a diverse group consisting of full time, part time, and student potters.

The Center is located at 233 East Avenue in Seagrove, NC. Hours of operation are Tue. – Sat., 10am – 4pm.

For more information, please call 336/873-8430 or go to (www.ncpotterycenter.org).

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SC Arts Commission Awards 221 Grants in 37 South Carolina Counties

Thursday, August 19th, 2010

Here we go – a look at where all the money is scheduled to go. I say scheduled, as many of these groups and individuals who have  been awarded a grant may never see the full amount of their grant. Why is that? I though the people of SC had saved the Arts Commission from cuts the governor planned. Yes, lawmakers passed the buck of responsibility to the Budget and Control Board which will later call for across the board budget cuts as projected revenue falls short – which everyone knew will happen, but it made the lawmakers look good in the eyes of the public – at least those crying about not getting their continued art welfare.

I’m all for government support of the arts, I just like them to spend my tax dollars wisely. That doesn’t always happen here in SC. The Kentucky Artisan Center (http://www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov/) is a good example of taxpayer dollars spent wisely. Here’s a blog entry about that center.

Here’s the Arts Commission’s press release:

COLUMBIA, SC -  The South Carolina Arts Commission has awarded $1,278,726 to South Carolina communities, artists, arts organizations and schools for the 2011 fiscal year. Funding in the programs of Arts in Education, Folklife and Traditional Arts, General Operating Support and Subgranting will support 221 projects in 37 counties.

See the list of grant recipients by program (http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/awards/index.shtml).

“Our goal is to make the arts available to all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances,” said South Carolina Arts Commission Executive Director Ken May. “With support from these grants, schools, artists and arts organizations will administer more than 200 arts programs that benefit students and communities throughout the state. By providing funds for these grants, the SC General Assembly is investing in our state’s quality of life, the education of our young people and the vitality of our economy.”

Arts in Education grants help fund artist residencies, performances, curriculum planning and implementation and professional development for teaching. The Arts Commission awarded 65 AIE grants to schools, school districts and arts organizations for a total investment of $270,677.

Of this amount, $170,400 in ABC Advancement grants has been awarded to 31 schools and school districts that are participating in the Arts in Basic Curriculum Project, which works to ensure every child in South Carolina-from pre-school through college levels-access to a quality, comprehensive education in the arts. The ABC Project is cooperatively directed by the Arts Commission, the S.C. Department of Education and the College of Visual and Performing Arts at Winthrop University. This year’s AIE program is funded in part by the SC Arts Foundation.

Folklife and Traditional Arts grants support programs that promote a greater understanding and visibility of South Carolina’s many cultures through documentation and presentation of traditional art forms, their practitioners and their communities. The agency has awarded $11,750 in Folklife and Traditional Arts grants. Grants will fund two traditional arts projects, including a Native American documentation project in Lancaster and a traditional arts music camp in Pickens. Also funded is a Folklife and Traditional Arts Apprenticeship that will connect an apprentice with master artist to learn the traditional art form of basket making.

General Operating Support grants strengthen arts organizations that bring ongoing arts experiences and services to individuals, other organizations and communities throughout the state. A total of $940,719 in General Operating Support has been awarded to 144 organizations, nine of which provide statewide services.

Subgranting funds are allocated to local arts councils to distribute quarterly grants to organizations and artists in their regions. This program is funded in part by an award from the John and Susan Bennett Memorial Arts Fund of The Coastal Community Foundation of South Carolina. The Arts Commission has provided $55,577 in Subgranting dollars to nine arts councils from throughout the state to serve artists and citizens in 12 counties.

The Arts Commission awards other grants throughout the year, including Quarterly Project Support, Arts in Education grants and Individual Artist Fellowship Awards.

The South Carolina Arts Commission is the state agency charged with creating a thriving arts environment that benefits all South Carolinians, regardless of their location or circumstances. Created by the South Carolina General Assembly in 1967, the Arts Commission is celebrating 40 years of increasing public participation in the arts by providing services, grants and leadership initiatives in three areas: arts education, community arts development and artist development. Headquartered in Columbia, SC, the Arts Commission is funded by the state of South Carolina and by the federal government through the National Endowment for the Arts.

For more information, visit (www.SouthCarolinaArts.com) or call 803/734-8696.

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Moring Arts Center in Asheboro, NC, Features Exhibit by STARworks glass – Aug. 2 – 27, 2010 – But, That’s Not The Story

Tuesday, August 17th, 2010

On Saturday, Aug. 14, 2010, I picked up a postcard announcing an exhibit taking place in Asheboro, NC, between Aug. 2 – 27, 2010. The reception was Aug. 3, 2010. The postcard was very colorful – very attractive, but I just starred at it wondering what I’m supposed to do with it. I went to the post office because I just finished my part of our Sept. issue of Carolina Arts.

My first thought was – boy, this is late. So much for reduced postage rates for non-profit mailings. I sometimes receive a newsletter from The Randolph Arts Guild telling about exhibits – current and upcoming – it also is mailed with non-profit postage and some of the exhibits have passed by the time I receive them. In this age of the internet I’m not sure why this Guild is still sending notices of programs by snail-mail – especially to the media. They need to start e-mailing press releases.

Then I though about the fact that a longtime director had just retired from the Guild and that might be a reason for such a delay, but then I remembered a recent letter calling for help I received from The Randolph Arts Guild. I didn’t ignore that letter – I put it on the pile of other letters we have been receiving from art groups all over the Carolinas looking for help with funding.

The letter explained that the Randolph County Commissioners had decided to cut the $15,000 they usually allotted to The Randolph Arts Guild from the county’s budget. The Guild was hoping others could help them make up those dollars. In the letter, Derrick Sides, Executive Director of The Randolph Arts Guild also explained that he understood this was a hard decision to make on the Commissioners’ part where many other hard cuts were being made. This made me wonder if further cuts had been made to funding of the NC Pottery Center, but I haven’t heard anything yet – so no news hopefully is good news.

You can read the letter asking for help by Sides at this link and also see that the people of Randolph County have been donating money to make up that shortfall in funding, but more is still needed.

I looked for info on the Guild’s website about this exhibit, but found nothing and I can’t blame them – I guess they are a little distracted with fundraising. This might not seem fair to the people being featured in the exhibit – STARworks glass, but it’s the reality many are living with in the arts these days.

I checked out the STARworks glass blog, but found nothing there about this exhibit either. Here I would invoke Carolina Arts‘ Rule #2 of Publicity – artists are just as responsible for publicizing exhibits they are having at off site venues.

Here’s what I know and found out about this exhibit:

The Moring Arts Center in Asheboro, NC, is presenting an exhibit of glassworks by artists from STARworks glass in Star, NC, on view in the Sara Smith Self Gallery, on view from Aug. 2 – 27, 2010.

The Gallery is open Monday through Friday 10am – 5pm and Saturday 10am – 2pm. The Moring Arts Center, home of The Randolph Arts Guild is located at 123 Sunset Avenue in Asheboro.

For further information call the Center at 336/629-0399 or visit (http://www.randolphartsguild.com).

You can see photos from the exhibit reception on the Center’s Facebook site at this link (http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=195753&id=287794642629&ref=mf).

You can read about STARworks glass on their blog at this link (http://starworksglass.blogspot.com/).

That’s it.

While on the Guild’s website I saw other events I would have liked to mention, but not much info was being offered. In June the Guild launched the 5th Annual Downtown Sculpture Exhibition. The sculptures are sited in the Asheboro downtown area and will remain on exhibit through Nov. 2011. There are mentions of this exhibit on their Facebook page, but little details or useful info to pass along.

And, there is the Fall Festival in Asheboro, NC, held on Oct. 1 – 3, 2010 in the downtown area. Sponsored by The Randolph Arts Guild this festival is a combination of street fair, bazaar, harvest celebration and homecoming. In 2010, the parade will be on Friday, Oct. 1 at 7pm. The Festival attracts more than 350 vendors and tens of thousands of visitors and includes a parade, art & craft booths, crafts demonstrations, crafts for kids, flea market section, food booths, live music including: bluegrass, country, gospel & pop.

I’m sure the folks in Asheboro will be getting their affairs in order soon, but excuse them as I have in that they have other pressing matters to deal with, but I do think they need to start e-mailing info out to the media – as early as possible. Our e-mail address is (info@carolinaarts.com) and our deadline is the 12th of the month – prior to the month your exhibit or event starts. So info about exhibits and events that start in Oct. should be sent to us before our deadline of Sept. 12.

Now, don’t fool yourself into thinking that this last paragraph is just about The Randolph Arts Guild – it’s about a lot of folks out there in the visual art community of the Carolinas. You need to get your publicity act together – especially now more than ever.

I myself hate to even bring up the concept of more people sending me info – we don’t have room for more in our printed paper and receiving more info will just cause me more work including it on this blog or on our website. But, if you don’t send out info – it may not be taking place. What?

I mean think about the tree that falls in the forest – does it really fall if no one is there to hear or see it fall – or was it just laying there all the time?

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McKissick Museum at USC in Columbia, SC, Presents Annual Gala with Art from 60 Artists For Sale – Aug. 20, 2010

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

This is pretty straight forward – artists helping local museum by donating a portion of sales made during a gala party.

Here’s the press release:

The University of South Carolina’s McKissick Museum in Columbia, SC, will hold its 16th annual gala, Summertime… and the art is good lookin’, from 7:30 – 10pm on Friday, Aug. 20, 2010.

Tickets to the gala are $60 per person and may be purchased at the Museum office.

The gala features works by more than 60 artists who are native South Carolinians or have strong ties to the state and provides an opportunity for the public to meet local artists.


Example of work by Susan Lenz

Participating artists include: Ann Baker, Eileen Blyth, Ethel Brody, Clay Burnette, Jackie Eadon Chalfant, Stephen Chesley, Sam Compton, Craig Crawford, Heidi Darr-Hope, Colin Dodd, Joshua Drews, Phillip C. Dunn, Toni Elkins, Claire Farrell, Tyrone Geter, Mary Bentz Gilkerson, Pat Gilmartin, Bonnie Goldberg, Paul Grant, Walt Hanclosky, Mana Hewitt, Steven Hewitt, Ann Hubbard, Judy Hubbard, Tuula Ihamaki-Widdifield, Liisa Salosaari Jasinski, Susan Klein, Alicia Leeke, Deborah Lengel, Susan Lenz, Peter Lenzo, Robert Lyon, Paul Matheny, Fred McElveen, Laurie McIntosh, Gina Moore, Stephen Nevitt, Marcello Novo, Peggy Nunn, One Eared Cow Glass (Tommy Lockart & Mark Woodham), Nikolai Oskolkov, Patrick Parise, Rachel Parker, Carol Pittman, Eric Plaag, Joan Podd, Anna Redwine, Lynn Bell Rose, Renee Rouillier, David Russell, Georgette Sanders, Virginia Scotchie, Edward Shmunes, Kirill Simin, Laura Spong, Tom Stanley, Michael Story, Betsy Thorne, David Walker, Richard Wells, Mike Williams, Ellen Emerson Yaghjian, and Don Zurlo.


Example of work by Clay Burnette

Works by all of the artists will be available for purchase during the gala, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the museum.

Coordinated by McKissick’s Advisory Council, the gala is one of two annual fundraisers held by the museum to support acquisitions and public programs.

McKissick is the only Columbia museum offering free regular admission. Located on the university’s historic Horseshoe, the museum features two permanent exhibitions, a number of rotating temporary exhibits and provides educational and cultural programming. Many of McKissick’s offerings are available through grants and private funding.


Example of work by One Eared Cow Glass

McKissick is open to the public from 8:30am to 5pm, Monday through Friday and 11am to 3pm Saturdays. It is closed on Sundays and holidays.

For more information about this event or McKissick Museum, call 803/777-7251 or visit (www.cas.sc.edu/MCKS/).

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6th Annual Potters Market Invitational Takes Place on Sept. 11, 2010, at the Mint Museum Randolph in Charlotte, NC

Sunday, August 15th, 2010

What says North Carolina better than handmade pottery and bluegrass music? The Delhom Service League of The Mint Museum is gearing up for the sixth year of its Potters Market Invitational. Pottery enthusiasts come from miles around to view and purchase the best and latest in ceramic art. Ceramics for sale range from traditional utilitarian pots to studio ceramics, including jewelry. Don’t know much about ceramics? The Potters Market is the best place to learn while talking to the individual potters about the scope and vision of their creations.


Ben Owen III

The sale takes place Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010, from 10am to 4pm on the lawn of the Mint Museum Randolph, located at 2730 Randolph Road in Charlotte, NC. It will feature bluegrass music from fiddler Rose Spinks and banjo player Harry Taylor of the Glazed Over String Band. Tickets are $10 for adults ($8 after 2pm); $5 for children 5-17; and free for children under 5. Ticket sales begin the day of the event at 9:30am. The entry fee includes admission to the Mint Museum Randolph. Proceeds support The Mint Museum’s decorative arts collection. Box lunches are available for purchase from Delectables by Holly.


Hiroshi Sueyoshi

Many potters have called North Carolina home over the last few centuries. Natural clay deposits attracted potters of European descent starting in the late 18th century. Since then, North Carolina has become one of the country’s richest ceramic meccas, full of unique styles and forms. Each year, the Potters Market Invitational features 40 superb potters representing the state’s most important pottery-producing areas: Seagrove, the Piedmont, Catawba Valley and the mountains, including Penland and Asheville. Potters participate by selection on a rotating basis, giving shoppers access to a wide variety of artists from one year to the next.


Matt Jones

Potters returning this year include: Ben Owen III, Donna Craven and Crystal King. Added to the 2010 line-up are a select group of up-and-coming potters known for their distinctive work which is gaining national attention. New potters participating this year include: Jeff Dean and Stephanie Martin, John and Scottie Post, Rob Pulleyn and Hiroshi Sueyoshi.


Liz Zlot Summerfield

Participating potters for this year’s PMI include: Blaine Avery, Michael Ball, Tammy Leigh Brooks, Kyle Carpenter, Donna Craven, Jeff Dean, Stephanie Martin, Judith Duff, Kim Ellington, Steven Forbes de-Soule, Terry Gess, Bruce Gholson, Samantha Henneke, Becky Gray, Shawn Ireland, Nick Joerling, Daniel Johnston, Fred Johnston, Carol Gentithes, Maggie & Freeman Jones, Matt Jones, Matt Kelleher, Shoko Teruyama, Crystal King, Terry & Anna King, Eric Knoche, Sid Luck, Robin, Rob, Beth Mangum, Will McCanless, Phil Morgan, Ben Owen lll, Pam, Vernon, Travis Owen, Jennie L. Keats, Shirl & Jim Parmentier, Jane Peiser, Ronan Kyle Peterson, John & Scottie Post, Rob Pulleyn, Amy Sanders, Akira Satake, Ken & Connie Sedberry, Jenny Lou Sherburne, David Stuempfle, Hiroshi Sueyoshi, and Liz Zlot Summerfield.

With North Carolina’s central role in American pottery and growing international reputation, the Mint Museum Randolph devotes special efforts to documenting the history of North Carolina ceramics through its historic ceramics collection. The 6th Annual Potters Market Invitational is presented by the Delhom Service League, an affiliate group of The Mint Museum.

For more information, visit (www.mintmuseum.org) or call the front desk at 704/337-2000.

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Gallery 412 in Florence, SC, Features an Exhibit of Fiber Works by Susan Lenz

Saturday, August 14th, 2010

Yes, this is another press release which came late – after deadlines for our August issue of Carolina Arts, but it’s no reason the artist should suffer, so here it is.

The Florence Regional Arts Alliance in Florence, SC, will open its 2010-2011 Season of its newly renamed Gallery 412 with Last Words, a fiber arts show by Susan Lenz. Currently entering its 3rd year of operation, the Gallery and Shoppe will annually feature shows that open on the first Thursday of each month and continue through the last Thursday of each month. Arts Alliance President Greg Fry indicates, “Our plan is to schedule a diverse array of artists each year, and we encourage our exhibiting artists to ‘push the box’ in terms of their artistic exploration. We hope the result will be many exciting shows for gallery goers over the next 12 months and hopefully in the years to come as well.”

Last Words will be on view from Aug. 5 – 26, 2010.

Susan Lenz indicates that despite two terrible childhood experiences with needle and thread, she fell “head over heels in love” with embroidery as an adult and dreamed of a time when she could indulge her passion as a professional artist. Finding time to pursue her passion was a virtual impossibility because she already filled every waking hour managing a custom picture framing shop that had 13 employees. In 2001, she downsized her growing business, rented space in a cooperative studio setting, and started “making art’ from bits of fabric and lengths of thread. Her years in operating a business served her well. Her new career became an extension of the existing corporation.

Long hours devoted to production were already Lenz’s normal work ethnic. Association with local artists provided her with an excellent mentor who immediately advised her to build a resume, enter shows, submit for art opportunities, and create an inventory book documenting every creation. These advantages, combined with inspiration from travel, medieval and renaissance history, and modern technology, are the core of her textile work.

In the fall of 2008, Lenz was awarded a MacNamara art residency on Westport Island, ME.  While there, she read a suggestion in Jeanne Williamson’s The Uncommon Quilter about making grave rubbings on fabric. There are family plots and historic cemeteries all over Maine. She made a rubbing and then an art quilt. She has been quilting ever since. She comments, “The ability to communicate the passage of time, the human desire for remembrance, the issues of both personal and universal mortality are reasons that will make quilting with grave rubbings one of my textile passions for a long, long time.”

As Lenz’s series developed, new ways of working the concepts came into being. Collected epitaphs became free motion machine embroidered words on sheer chiffon banners. Artificial flowers from the cemetery dumpsters brought color and actual tokens of remembrance into a physical space and transformed it into a spiritual oasis of tribute to human existence. Angelic digital images were transferred onto printmaking paper and combined with bits of lace, samples of antique handwriting, sepia photographs, buttons, keys, and other found objects. Lenz herself admits, “A site specific installation called Last Words was born and continues to inspire new work.”

Operating at 412 South Dargan Street in the emerging Arts and Cultural District in Downtown Florence, the Florence Regional Arts Alliance is the “chamber of commerce” for the artists, arts organizations, school arts teachers, and school arts programs of the City of Florence and Florence County. The Arts Alliance is committed to preserving, supporting, and promoting a vibrant arts community by providing grants to artists, organizations, teachers, and schools; by recognizing students, individuals, and businesses through a comprehensive program of awards and scholarships; by offering community programming that showcases the performing arts, the visual arts, and the literary arts; and by serving as an advocate for the arts to business, civic, and governmental leaders. All initiatives of The Arts Alliance are premised on the basic organizational core value that recognizes the arts are fundamental to quality of life, education, and economic development in today’s knowledge-based economy, an economy that will require innovative, imaginative, and creativity to address the critical issues of the 21st Century.

For further information call the Alliance at 843/665-278, e-mail to (fraa@florencescarts.org) or visit (http://www.florencescarts.org/).

Editor’s Note: Susan Lenz is also having a solo exhibition at the City Gallery at Waterfront Park in Charleston, SC, from Sept. 10 through Oct. 10, entitled, Personal Grounds. The exhibit is part of the annual MOJA Arts Festival which takes place from Sept. 23 – Oct. 3, 2010, in Charleston. The mixed media installation will feature 48 free-motion machine embroidered chiffon banners in the soaring two-story central space and a series of over 100 portraits depicting every day people and the decisions they’ve made. For further info about this exhibit contact Erin Glaze at 843/958-6484 or visit (www.charlestonarts.sc).

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Caldwell Arts Council in Lenoir, NC, Presents 25th Annual Sculpture Celebration – Sept. 11, 2010

Thursday, August 12th, 2010

Over the last couple of years I have presented several entries about sculpture exhibits, festivals, etc., – I just posted info about the 2010 Salisbury Sculpture Show, but this time I’m bringing news about a big event taking place in a community that is big on sculptures. It has been determined in a study that Lenoir, NC, has the “largest collection of public sculpture per capita in the United States”. If you can prove that statement wrong – let me know. I’ve seen a copy of the study, done in 2006, and it has some interesting numbers about cities in the US who have a thing for public sculpture.

First it showed that the city of Charlotte, NC (pop. 500,000+) and Lenoir, NC (pop. 16,700+) in 2006 had the same amount of public sculptures – 49. Not bad for a city the size of Lenoir to keep up with the banking capital of the South. Savannah, GA, (pop. 131,500+) has 57. And, Grand Rapids, MI (pop. 197,800+), a city I just drove past a few weeks ago, had 97.

Who has the most? That might be an easy guess, but Philadelphia, PA (pop. 1,517,500+) was at the top of the list with 725, followed by New York City, perhaps most people’s first guess (pop. 8,008,270+) has a mere 697. Murrells Inlet, SC, (pop. 5,510+) came fourth on the list, but that was because of Brookgreen Gardens, which is not a city and you have to pay admission to see most of their sculptures, but it’s still a great place to go for sculpture viewing.

The biggest surprise on the list was Gettysburg, PA, (pop. 7,480+) which boasts it has 431 public sculptures. I wonder what that’s all about. Could it be the national historic battlefield where the Yankees took the steam out of the Rebels during that war of Northern aggression? Maybe, but I bet there are more sculptures honoring Southerners from that battle. And, here again I would guess that most of the sculptures are on federal lands and not in city limits. But, like I said above – anyone who wants to dispute the above claim by Lenoir – let me know.

Anyway, Lenoir has so many sculptures you better watch your step so you don’t walk into any or trip over any when there. And, during the Sculpture Celebration – those numbers will easily double. So, if you’re into sculpture – Lenoir is where you should be on Sept. 11, 2010.

Here’s a press release about the Sculpture Celebration and the collection of sculptures in Lenoir:

The Caldwell Arts Council in Lenoir, NC, in partnership with Tri State Sculptors Association, announces the annual Sculpture Celebration, the longest-running sculpture event in the southeast, which will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 11, 2010, from 9am – 4pm at the J.E. Broyhill Park in Lenoir, NC.

Celebrating its 25th year, the Sculpture Celebration will feature sculptural artwork by artists from the eastern US in competition for cash prizes totaling more than $10,000. For this day, over 150 sculptures – realistic and abstract, traditional and contemporary, movable and stationary, indoor and outdoor – will adorn the 7+ acres of the J.E. Broyhill Park.

Beginning at 9am on Sept. 11, visitors may stroll through the park and enjoy three-dimensional art and live music by Sylvio Martinat’s Swing Band from 10am to noon, and the Harris Brothers from 1 to 3pm; savor hot dogs, hamburgers, ice cream, Blue Moose coffee drinks, pizza by the slice and other treats from local vendors throughout the day while children create sculptures from recycled items with assistance from members of Foothills Art Gallery. Admission to the event is free.

On Friday evening, Sept. 10, 2010, the Caldwell Arts Council will host The Blue Jeans Preview Party where sculptors, patrons, artists and competition judge Dr. Lawrence Wheeler, Director of the North Carolina Art Museum, will gather for dinner and live music followed by a presentation by the judge. The event is open to all but will require tickets purchased in advance from the Caldwell Arts Council: Tickets are $15 per person.

Registration is open to any 3-D artist up to the day of the event, and each sculptor may present up to three sculptures. For detailed information and artist pre-registration, a prospectus is available by request from the CAC or online at (www.caldwellarts.com). Cost to register the day of the event is $60; however, significant discounts are available for early registration.

The sculpture celebration started with a simple idea and a pig weather vane, which now adorns the roof of the Caldwell Arts Council at the corner of College Avenue and Norwood Street in Lenoir. Since then, Caldwell County’s love affair with sculpture has become a near obsession as evidenced by Caldwell County being home to the “largest collection of public sculpture per capita in the United States” as announced in 2006, by the NC Secretary of Cultural Resources Libba Evans.


Special Delivery by Stefan Bonitz

The pig was the first in the Caldwell Arts Council’s collection of nearly 80 publicly-displayed sculptures, most of which are outdoors for anyone to enjoy at any time of day. The Sculpture Celebration which began in 1985 has been a constant driving force in building up the area’s collection as well as creating a sculptor-friendly environment. It started small but now attracts artists and visitors from across the country.

“It’s a great show for experienced artists, but also great for the first-time experience,” Caldwell Arts Council Executive Director Lee Carol Giduz said.

According to the Caldwell Arts Council, the event’s origins date back to the early 1980s when Dr. Henry Michaux, a Lenoir native and sculpture professor at the University of South Carolina, conceived the exhibit with Sam Sturgis, a long-time director with the City of Lenoir Parks and Recreation Department. The goal was to host an event that would both celebrate sculpture and heighten the awareness about the J. E. Broyhill Park.

Bill Brown, Jr., a local artist, consulted with Michaux and Sturgis for the event. These early visionaries successfully created a partnership between the City of Lenoir, which funded the event, and the Broyhill Family Foundation, whose private donations were originally used to purchase selected works. Over the years, the list of purchase sponsors has grown to include corporations as well as individuals.


West Wind Sentinel by Mike Roig

Since the beginning of the Sculpture Celebration in 1985, the Caldwell Arts Council has purchased the 77 sculptures that may be seen around the county on street corners, in parks, public offices, schools, libraries and other public properties. Some are easy to find, standing tall along a school entrance or along a busy highway. Others are hidden treasures, part of a community-wide scavenger hunt yielding discoveries at every turn. For the adventurous looking for an outing: a map for a self-guided walking tour of sculptures in the downtown Lenoir area is available at the Caldwell Arts Council, area businesses, and the Caldwell County Chamber of Commerce.

During Lenoir’s downtown revitalization, streetscape improvements were made to include brick planters with pads for both permanent and temporary displays. A drive downtown offers bold designs, vivid colors and eye-catching pieces decorating the sidewalks. The public sculptures are provided by Tucker’s Streetscape Gallery in partnership with the City of Lenoir. The deal has been so successful, artists can hardly keep up.


Internet by Bill Stronach

“We can barely keep sculptures in our downtown,” Lenoir artist and entrepreneur Keith Willis said. “We get them in there, and we sell them.” The original idea was to display the sculptures on a six-month rotation in the downtown area. However, as each piece sells, the sculptures are replaced as buyers claim them so the streetscape changes constantly. “I think it’s one of the biggest things we have going for us,” Willis said. “I think the arts – visual and performing – when it comes down to it, is one of the key components of our revitalization efforts.”

Those efforts are thriving thanks to organizations like the Caldwell Arts Council and events such as the Sculpture Celebration, says Caldwell County native and artist Charlie Frye. He has watched both the sculpture event and the arts community grow tremendously over the years. The last five have been especially successful, he said – so successful that Frye has invested in his own art gallery on Main Street in downtown Lenoir. He hopes to see more local artists join him. “Art, in general, in Lenoir and Caldwell County, is really becoming one of our forefront attractions and amenities to offer to someone from out of town,” he said, adding that many local residents are just discovering the wealth of visual and performing arts here. “We have art on so many different levels in this town. This is not a place you can easily say ‘there’s nothing cultural around here’ like you can in some small towns. You have to try hard not to see the public sculpture.”

The Tri State Sculptors Education Association was formed in 1978 by a group of sculptors from Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina to promote public awareness and appreciation of sculpture in the region and to exchange ideas and information among its members. For further info about this group visit (http://www.tristatesculptors.org/).

For further information check our NC Institutional Gallery listings, call the Council at 828/754-2486 or visit (www.caldwellarts.com).

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A Trip Through Kentucky Adds Another Item to the List that SC has Never Done

Monday, August 9th, 2010

In July, Linda and I made a mad dash to Michigan to spend some time with a few of my high school friends, some being cousins of mine and others – just good old friends from the class of ’69 at Buena Vista High School in Michigan. And, I mean old in the literal since – as Linda often reminds me that as of this May I have entered my last days as a 50 year old. It’s back to the 60′s or bring on the 60′s – I’m not sure which.

I also wanted to visit a state that was worse off than South Carolina and California was too far.

Thanks to the generosity of our friends we were put up in some of the best (unadvertised) bed, breakfast, lunch and dinner establishments in Michigan. Without their kindness we couldn’t have made the trip. So one evening we packed up the car and made the 19 hour trip – except for one unscheduled stop. Remember, I’m in my late – very late 50′s, so we made many scheduled stops along the way. After a while it seemed like we were stopping at every other rest stop.

My friends thought it was crazy for us to drive straight through, but I explained that I do a lot of driving. In fact, I noticed that when delivering our August issue of Carolina Arts on what I call the Up the Mountain trip to Hendersonville, NC, and many stops in-between to Columbia, SC, Tryon, NC, Spartanburg, SC, Greenville, SC, Seneca, SC, Clemson, SC, Laurens, SC, back to Columbia, SC, and back home – it took 19 hours. I did three more trips that week. So, yes I could be considered a travelin’ man, but most of the time I end up back here at home base.

Traveling at night is the norm for me and since Linda has problems with thinking I’ll drive our car over the edge off the mountains – night was good for that too.

So what was that one unscheduled stop?

Since 1974, when I traveled down I-75 to South Carolina from Michigan there were signs in Kentucky that pointed out that Berea, KY, was a stop offering folk arts. Throughout the years of going back and forth to make visits, I always wondered about those signs and what may be there to see. On this recent trip up to Michigan I noticed that a new sign was also directing people to stop in Berea – it was asking people to stop at the Kentucky Artisan Center. Now that caught my attention right away. If this was a state artisan center I wondered how it would compare to the SC Artisan Center in Walterboro, SC, the Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC, or the NC Pottery Center, in Seagrove, NC.

Making comparisons is what we do. We’re always referencing things by how they compare to other things like it or other experiences. Over the years this has been a source of frustration since my early years in observing the art community in SC. Asking some people why things were done the way they are I often heard the phrase – “We do it this way because this is the way our neighboring states do things – it makes what we do relevant and consistent.” So, when I started coverage of the visual arts in NC in 1997, I started to notice that SC wasn’t doing things exactly the way our neighbors were doing things. Over the years I’ve learned more and more about those differences.

So I was curious about this Artisan Center, but when the signs also said it was a travel information center and the fact that it was about the time they may be open, I headed there. Travel centers have to open early for travelers who get early starts or for folks like me who like to travel overnight.

As I turned off the interstate at the designated exit, the first thing I saw was a large complex of buildings that looked pretty interesting and there was a sign in the sky – like the golden arches which said – Kentucky Artisan Center. Interesting! Could this be the place? Driving into the complex I could tell this was going to be an experience. And, from the moment of driving up to the complex’s parking area, which was expansive – I was not disappointed that we pulled off the highway and in fact, was impressed at every step.

This was the ultimate travel rest stop. Information, rest rooms, a restaurant, and wall to wall visual stimulation in the form of some of the best art I’ve seen collected in one place, in one of the best facilities to show off art I’ve seen in a long time. My overall impression was that someone of vision in Kentucky was able to sell that state on building an art facility that would be so impressive that anyone who stopped there would walk away with the impression that artists in Kentucky are creating excellent art and that they are supported to the max by their state. And, I got it. The center offers works by over 700 artists from throughout the state. Artists have the opportunity to jury in three times a year, and everything is for sale. And, everything is everything, including fine arts, crafts, music, literature, clothing, and specialty foods.


Stone buildings with slate roofs and fully landscaped.

It was agonizingly torturous – what a time not to be rich. And since I wasn’t, it was just a window shopping event. Plus, we had decided some time ago that any new art we buy will come from North and South Carolina, so it made the experience of not being able to buy anything a little better, but not much. And, we didn’t have one extra dime for anything but our trip. All I can hope is that some of these artists may some day move to North or South Carolina, but with support like this from the State of Kentucky – why would they?


The welcome center part – we were the first or second visitors of this day.


The exhibit area presents rotating shows.

I hope the photos I took and offer here can just begin to show how wonderful this facility was, but it can’t. You’d have to walk through this massive complex to get that feeling. And, I walked away with the feeling that once again the art community, in at least South Carolina, has been shortchanged – by the SC Arts Commission? SC Legislature? Governor? All three? But, then I’ve known that for some time now.


This is the cafe area.

Here’s what I later learned on the Center’s website: The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea, KY, is a state authority, administratively attached to the Tourism, Arts & Heritage Cabinet of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. (Another state like NC that has it’s arts agency tied to tourism – what a novel idea.) Established to celebrate Kentucky’s artisan heritage and to encourage Kentuckians and those traveling in Kentucky to enjoy artisan products and activities.

The funds for construction of the site were appropriated by the Kentucky legislature in 1998 and 2000. The development of the Center and oversight of its activity is provided by a 13-member board, the Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea Authority Board, and assisted by numerous partnerships among cabinets of state government, with city and county government, with colleges, with other organizations and agencies, and with individuals interested in the Center’s mission and goals.

The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is conveniently located at 975 Walnut Meadow Road, Berea, KY. They are situated alongside Interstate 75 at exit 77, just 40 miles south of Lexington, KY, and only 2.5 miles from downtown Berea, the “Folk Arts and Craft Capital of Kentucky.”

In this 25,000 sq. foot facility (no, that’s not a typo – it’s 25,000 sq. ft.) you can shop for Kentucky products; experience Kentucky hospitality; explore Kentucky crafts & history; enjoy Kentucky cuisine; learn about other must-see places; and enjoy full rest stop services, and an ATM. There is plenty of on-site parking, including pull through spaces for buses and RVs. WIFI service is also now available throughout the Center, and the first 15 minutes are free!

The Kentucky Artisan Center at Berea is open to the public seven days a week, from 8am-8pm, with its cafe serving from 8:30am-5:00pm. Please note that during hours the Center is closed, the public restrooms are also closed.

The Center is closed all day to observe these holidays: Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year’s Day. The Center also closes early on Christmas Eve.

Hours are subject to change; be sure to call or check this site (http://www.kentuckyartisancenter.ky.gov/) before finalizing your plans!

There is no admission charge for visiting this Center featuring all Kentucky-made products!

OK – back to me.

So, if the state of Kentucky can have such a center – why not in SC or NC?

It is really hard to make any comparison to the centers I mentioned earlier.

The SC Artisan Center in Walterboro, SC, is a retail outlet featuring works by some of SC’s artists, but that’s where any comparison ends. The SC Artisan Center could fit into the Kentucky Artisan’s front welcome center. Although it is located off I-95 in Walterboro, it is far from the highway and it’s my bet many people turn around before finding the Center.

The Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC, is part of the National Parks Service and the home of the Southern Highland Craft Guild, featuring works by artists from many southern states. It has an excellent retail shop, but tiny compared to the Kentucky facility.

The NC Pottery Center, in Seagrove, NC, is a first class showplace for pottery made by NC’s potters, but it is not a retail center. And although it is located not too far off what will someday be I-74, I-73 – it’s not just off I-75.

The Kentucky Artisan Center has it all and the art community of Berea, KY, too. Throw in Berea College and you have quite an artist colony.

Look, I’m not going to rub this in any longer, but officials from both NC and SC should make a trip to see what’s there. I don’t mean folks from the SC Arts Commission or the NC Arts Council  – I’m sure they already know what’s there and have sleepless nights about it. I’m talking about the movers and shakers in the Carolinas. Sure they can’t do anything now with the economy the way it is, but this is a look at what could be in the Carolinas.

I’ve always felt the perfect place for SC’s center would be the intersection of I-95 and I-26. There is nothing there now and it would be a great place for travelers to stop.

If you find yourself traveling on I-75 – north or south – stop in Berea, KY. You’ll be glad you did.

There will be more about our adventures in Michigan as time goes by.

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There is a Lot More to See in Salisbury, NC, Since My Travels There in the Late 1990s

Sunday, August 8th, 2010

Back in the day – 1997 to be exact, when at the time our paper called South Carolina Arts jumped the border and started coverage of the visual arts in North Carolina, thus becoming Carolina Arts – I delivered papers in Salisbury, NC. At that time, it was mostly just to the old Waterworks Visual Arts Center on Water Street – there didn’t seem to be much else there.

In the last year, my delivery trail has taken me from Davidson, NC, off I-77 across Hwy. 73 to I-85 at Concord, NC, to head north toward Lexington, NC, to Hwy 64, again crossings overland to Hwy. 220 to Asheboro, NC, and then to Seagrove, NC – the center of pottery in North Carolina. That’s a geographical description, not a slight to any other pottery areas in NC.

That’s a bit of traveling with no stops in-between and when I’m doing deliveries of the paper I feel a bit like the white rabbit in Alice and Wonderland – I’m always running late or the clock is ticking. But, each time I passed by Salisbury – I wondered. I knew things had changed there, the Waterworks Visual Arts Center had a new facility, new art galleries had opened, and the city seemed more active in promoting the arts.

So, I did some map research on Google and made plans to stop there on one of my trips and drop off some copies of the paper to see if we could generate any interest from the visual art community there to become part of the Carolina Arts family – the printed version – as we include all areas of the Carolinas that send us info by our deadlines on our website version of the paper.

It’s a little hard to get a good view of things at 5 or 6am in the morning, but I could tell big changes had taken part in Salisbury as far as the visual art community went. The gallery Pottery 101 would have been enough to bring me back. The gallery was all windows on two sides, well lit, and I could see all those wonderful pots inside (sorry about the smudges on the windows). When I’m traveling at night galleries that are well lit with lots of windows get my attention. So, I was hoping some folks there would respond to the papers left on their doorsteps.

Annette Ragone Hall of Rail Walk Studios & Gallery was the first to make contact. She wanted to know all about the paper and what it would take for us to come there on a regular basis. We talked, e-mailed, and once she got the drift – she went to work talking with others, started advertising her studio and website (www.AnnetteRagoneHall.com) and I learned more about the city each time I went there. Others also made contact.

Come September, a group of galleries and artist’s studios will start advertising the Second Saturday Art Crawl (http://www.rowanartcrawl.com/) with the help of the Rowan Arts Council. The next event takes place Aug. 14, 2010.

Every second Saturday of the month, from 1pm to 6pm, in Salisbury and Spencer, NC, more than 25 professional artists, studios and galleries offer visitors new art, special events, and activities. Spend the day and see great art, talk to the artists, watch demonstrations, hear live music, and dine at local restaurants, many which are offering special discounts. Maps and free trolley rides are available at galleries and at the Rowan Arts Council office. The 2nd Saturday in Salisbury and Spencer Art Studio & Gallery Crawl is sponsored by the Rowan Arts Council. For more info call 704/638-9887.

I’ve not run into many places that share their art walk or crawl with other galleries and art studios in another city. There must be a lot of love between Spencer and Salisbury. I’m thinking of a few neighboring cities in the Carolinas where that just wouldn’t be possible. You know who you are.

Now, while I was doing some research on the 25th Annual Sculpture Celebration in Lenoir, NC, I discovered that the City of Salisbury hosts a yearly sculpture exhibition themselves, the 2010 Salisbury Sculpture Show, which runs from Apr. 1 through Dec. 31, 2010.


The Burning by Paris Alexander

Nineteen multi-media sculptures by artists from 8 states are on display throughout the downtown Salisbury area. Each piece was placed to best compliment its location within the historic downtown area. A walking tour of the locations, starting at the Visitors Center is a delight to students of art and history alike as well as visitors to Salisbury who are looking for a little culture.


A Toy For Sisyphus by Ralph Berger

So here’s a dual opportunity to plan a trip to Salisbury on one of the 2nd Saturdays, but you can really go anytime and see the sculpture show and visit some of the galleries and maybe even catch a few artists in their studios – by chance.

I did some research on the internet to see what I could find out about this sculpture show and they have a website (www.salisburysculpture.com). Here’s some info I found there.


Fibonacci’s Hidden Gold by Stephen J. Chilingirian

Judging for the 2010 Salisbury Sculpture Show was conducted in late April by Jeff York. York is the Public Arts Administrator for the Town of Chapel Hill, NC, and the former Director of Public Art and Community Design for the NC Arts Council. York exclaims, “I was honored to be asked to judge the Salisbury Sculpture Show and discover “what’s outside” in downtown Salisbury. The variety of sculptural forms and materials represented in the show offers something for everyone to enjoy. I really liked the way the works were scattered around the downtown, some very noticeable on street corners and others in more intimate spaces waiting to be found. Together they make for a great way for people to discover all that Salisbury has to offer.” York notes that the cultural experience of the local event reflects that of a well-established sculptural exhibit. “For only its second year in existence, the quality of the artists’ entries speaks to a more mature venue. There are many outdoor shows around from which the artist can choose to exhibit and this show attracted artists from around the state and beyond.” York adds that in judging the show, art award selections are naturally subjective and concludes, “I hope you will enjoy viewing each sculpture and have fun debating with your fellow citizens, your favorites and theirs.”


Windows of Time by Dale McEntire

The following works have been selected to receive awards for their participation in the 2010 Salisbury Sculpture Show by York.

The Norvell Best in Show award went to Gary Gresko of Oriental, NC for Tumbling Toward the Sun; the Second Place award went to Paris Alexander of  Raleigh, NC, for The Burning; the Third Place award was given to Bill Wood of Fairfax, VA, for Tilt; and an Honorable Mention award went to Dale McEntire of Saluda, NC, for Windows of Time.

Other artists selected for the show included: Ralph Berger of Rutherfordton, NC, for A Toy For Sisyphus; Jeannette Brossart of Durham, NC, for We Are The Problem, We Are The Solution; Samuel E. Burns of Chattanooga, TN, for Sundial; Stephen J. Chilingirian of Zirconia, NC, for Fibonacci’s Hidden Gold; Jim Collins of Signal Mountain, TN, for “Big Wheel”; Pattie Porter Firestone of Chevy Chase, MD, for Leaves of Grass; Jim Gallucci of Greensboro, NC, for Cattail Bridge; Don Green of Winston-Salem, NC, for Madonna ’01; Gretchen Lothrop of Pittsboro, NC, for A Subtle Miracle; Dough Makemson of Commerce, GA, for Bear; Rueven Fields Sadeh of Chapel Hill, NC; for Hanging in the Balance; Kenneth Thompson of Blissfield, MI, for Steel Inverted Arch; Wayne Trapp of Vilas, NC, for Up and Over; Jozef Vercauteren of Myrtle Beach, SC, for Le Car; Glenn Zweygardt of Alfred Station, NY, for Blue Storys.

I’m sorry I don’t have many photos of these sculptures, but I hope to go do the tour sometime and then I’ll feature them in another blog entry, but you can go see and take your own photos, Why not take in a 2nd Saturday Art Crawl and take a break from your computer and the internet. Go see some real North Carolina art.

For more information on the artists and locations, visit (www.salisburysculpture.com).

So if you haven’t been to Salisbury in a while or never have – go check it out and we’ll keep bringing you news of what’s going on there from time to time.

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