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November Issue 2006
Fish or Cut Bait Gallery on Edisto Island, SC, Offers Exhibit Focused on Christmas
Thrace Shirley
The title of the new art exhibit opening at Fish or Cut Bait Gallery symbolizes not only the silence and stillness of the Christmas season, but of Edisto Island, SC, as well. Silent Night, Holy Night, which features works by Debra Howard, Nancy Fishback, Thrace Shirley, and Rachel Weiss will open on Nov. 4 and continue through Dec. 30, 2006.
The four featured artists all hail from the Lowcountry and have all been challenged by gallery owner Brailsford Foster to create their own interpretations of the solitude and quiet that we so often try, but fail to find during the Christmas season.
"One of the reasons so many people love Edisto is that it is a place of peace and tranquility, and that is especially true during the winter months," said Foster. "I believe there is no better place than here to truly experience what the Christmas season should be about. There's a sense of serenity and sacredness here that is hard to find in other places."
"This show will feature four diverse artists and their individual attempts to encourage our guests to share in this sense of peace that we find here," added Foster.
Debra Howard specializes in landscapes in oils, and she particularly appreciates the drama of sunrises, starlit nights and the clear crisp calm of winter scenes. According to Howard, she pays special attention to the emotions that arise as she is sitting outdoors in the beginning stages of a new painting.
"I am fascinated with light," said Howard. "As it fills the sky, as it passes through the limbs of a tree. I'm even fascinated by the absence of light. It's a challenge to capture it and express it with my oils and brushes, and it's a challenge I plan to passionately pursue."
Howard lives on a sailboat in the Charleston Harbor and is the winner of the Cooper River Bridge Run design competition.
Thrace Shirley and Nancy Fishback are both ceramic artists living in the Lowcountry. Shirley has a studio on Johns Island and Fishback practices her craft on Edisto Island.
Shirley has a degree in studio art from Salem College and has studied ceramics at the Arts Council in Winston-Salem, NC, and production pottery at the Penland School of Crafts in North Carolina. She has been creating and selling works in clay for more than 35 years and is well known for her sense of whimsy and fun, especially as it is reflected in her angels.
Fishback came to the art world from a more circuitous route in the mid-80's, after traveling through the south with her sister who was a ceramic artist. With a graduate degree in community health and many years of working as a nurse, Fishback found her other true calling in working with clay. She has attended various schools of arts and crafts in Texas, New Mexico, Tennessee and Penland, NC.
The scope of the show will be rounded out by jewelry artist Rachel Weiss, who resides in Charleston. Weiss has taught art in a variety of venues, both through public institutions and private studio session. She has won numerous awards both as an artist and as a teacher. Weiss studied art in Venice, Italy, receiving her Masters Degree in studio art through New York University. Her work is on display in galleries and shops in the Carolinas, Chicago and Kentucky.
Brailsford Foster says she is particularly excited about this new show because it officially kicks off the Christmas season for Fish or Cut Bait Gallery, and is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the artists' work to see how they have interpreted her creative challenge.
"Whenever we have an exhibit, I come up with the theme, which I present to each of the artists," said Foster. "But, then I step back from the process and leave it completely up to each of them to take it from there. It's always a surprise to me when they come in with the work they've created for the show, and I have never been disappointed in the results. This will be like getting our Christmas presents in November!"
For further information check our SC Commercial
Gallery listings, call the gallery at 843/869-2511 or visit (www.fishorcutbait.com).
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