November Issue 2009
Commentary
by Tom Starland

On The Cover

We're featuring for the first time works from two major watercolor/watermedia exhibitions taking place in the Carolinas at the same time - a little more than 70 miles apart as the crow flies. This gives people a unique opportunity to see what's being done in these two mediums in both North and South Carolina in a one-day trip.

The South Carolina Watermedia Society's 32nd Annual Member Exhibition is being held at the Florence Museum of Art, Science and History in Florence, SC, on view through Nov. 29, 2009, and the 64th Annual Juried Exhibition of the Watercolor Society of North Carolina is on display at the Sunset River Marketplace in Calabash, NC, through Nov. 30, 2009.

You can find articles on these two exhibitions in our Feature Articles link for Nov. 09.

The Big Show

Of course the mother of all juried shows in the Carolinas took place at Atherton Mill in Charlotte, NC, last month - Carolina's Got Art! received over eleven hundred entries. The show was presented by Elder Gallery and Edens and Avant Company in Charlotte.

Eleven hundred entries - that would give you a headache looking at all that art and trying to narrow down the selection to display 120 works - much less give out awards. But, New York art critic and writer, Brice Brown did it and here's a few of the top winners.

The top winners of this exhibit (with what I would guess to be major braggin' rights) were: Best In Show ($2,500) was awarded to Jon Wald of Charlotte, NC, for his wall sculpture entitled, Crash Boot Camp, which featured a creative use of recycled computer components and lights; First Place ($2,500) was captured by Nathaniel Lancaster of Mecklenburg County, NC, for his large oil on canvas painting entitled, Are You Shooting Yourself in the Foot or Shooting Yourself in the Face?; Second Place ($1,500) went to Wilfred Spoon of Mt. Pleasant, SC, for his painting entitled, A Wonderful Bird is the Pelican; and Third Place ($1,000) was awarded to Charlotte architect and painter, Murray Whisnant, for a painting entitled Red Maple with White.

A complete list of award winners can be found at Carolina Arts Online at (www.carolinaarts.com) under the heading Juried Results (2009).

The Elder Gallery is still offering you a look at over fifty original paintings and sculptures that represent the "best of the rejected" in its exhibit, Salon des Refuses, on view through Nov. 28, 2009.

Big November

A lot of big events will take place this month - some at the same time - far, far apart - so you may have to make some hard choices.

On Nov. 7, 2009, starting at 7:15pm, the Charleston Art Auction will present over 110 important paintings, sculpture and vintage prints by living and deceased artists who are generally associated with the South at the Renaissance Hotel on Wentworth Street in Charleston, SC. For further info visit (www.charlestonartauction.com).

On Nov. 7, 2009, 10am-6pm and Nov. 8, 2009, noon-6pm, you can visit up to 124 artists' studios during the Greenville Open Studios tour - all within a 15 mile radius, in and around Greenville, SC. This tour hosted by the Metropolitan Arts Council is one of the biggest - if not the biggest tour of artists' studios in the Carolinas. For further info visit (www.greenvilleARTS.com).

On Nov. 19, 2009, from 5-10pm , the 24th annual Vista Lights celebration takes place in the Congaree Vista area of Columbia, SC. The Vista's signature open house kicks off the holiday season with a night of culture, cuisine and artistic performances. More than 60 galleries, shops, restaurants, bars and entertainment venues will open their doors for the evening to showcase holiday treasures, followed by the annual tree lighting ceremony. To learn more about this event visit (www.vistacolumbia.com).

From Nov. 20 - 22, 2009, the 2nd Annual Celebration of Seagrove Potters will take place in Seagrove, NC. This is a great opportunity to see most of the many potters of the Seagrove area - all in once place - indoors at the historic Luck's Cannery, on NC 705, (the Pottery Highway), located a half mile south of the traffic light in Seagrove. For complete details visit (www.celebration of seagrovepotters.com). You might run into another pottery festival there - it's possible. But I don't know anything about it - they're not talking to me. I don't know why?

Carolina Arts is published monthly by Shoestring Publishing Company, a subsidiary of PSMG, Inc. Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc., which published Charleston Arts from July 1987 - Dec. 1994 and South Carolina Arts from Jan. 1995 - Dec. 1996. It also publishes Carolina Arts Online, Copyright© 2009 by PSMG, Inc. All rights reserved by PSMG, Inc. or by the authors of articles. Reproduction or use without written permission is strictly prohibited. Carolina Arts is available throughout North & South Carolina.