Maye River Gallery in Bluffton, SC, Celebrates Third Birthday – Mar. 17, 2011

The shocking pink and vibrant green exterior of Maye River Gallery is a noticeable landmark at 37 Calhoun Street in Old Town Bluffton, SC. And what keeps visitors coming back to this special location is the local artist-owners and artwork that is continually refreshed with new work inside the building.

Mar. 17, 2011, marks the 3rd anniversary of Maye River Gallery. “We’ve come up with three good reasons to stop by and celebrate with us,” explains Susan Knight, artesian jeweler and one of the gallery partners. “First, the whimsical one of a kind artwork of Cora Rupp, our newest gallery partner, is now part of our regular artist rotation, second, many of our featured artists will be demonstrating their unique artistic talents at the gallery, and best of all, we’ll have cupcakes!,” Knight added.

Maye River Gallery houses a variety of art styles, methods and mediums. Oils, pastels, monotypes, photography, collage, sterling silver jewelry, flamework glass jewelry, functional clay, pine needle basketry and wall hangings, indoor and out door sculpture are among the art styles found inside the gallery.

Cora Rupp adds another art method to the list – enhanced monotypes. Each of her one of a kind artworks is first developed applying an image to a metal plate using colorful inks. The monotype process continues as she transfers the original image to archival quality paper. Once the image has been transferred, Rupp enhances the image by accenting it with additional inks and paints. “This way of enhancing my print is what makes each one of my pieces unique,” Rupp adds.

Visitors to Maye River Gallery often encounter the 20 plus contributing artists working on new images or projects on their trip to the gallery. On Mar. 17, between 10am and 5pm, several artists will demonstrate their talents throughout the day.

Cupcakes and punch will be served!

For further information call the gallery at 843/757-2633 or visit (http://www.mayerivergallery.com/).

6th annual Historic Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival Takes Place – Oct. 17 – 24, 2010

The 6th annual Historic Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival will be held, Oct. 17 – 24, 2010, in the charming and eclectic historic district of Bluffton, SC, well known for its quirky art community and natural river beauty. The festival is an eight-day event offering a myriad of activities, showcasing the locally harvested seafood, delicious Lowcountry cuisine, rich history, great art and Southern hospitality found only in Bluffton. There is truly something for everyone!

The 6th Annual Historic Bluffton Arts and Seafood Festival Juried Fine Art and Craft Show is the highlight of the week long festival activities. The Calhoun Street art show which takes place on Saturday, Oct, 23, 10am-5pm and Sunday, Oct. 24, 10am-5pm, will feature 70 fine art artists from 10 different states. Festival goers will enjoy seeing a variety of art media such as oil, acrylic, watercolor, pastel, mixed media, photography, metals, clay and wood. Come out and join the thousands who enjoyed last year’s show.

The galleries of Old Town Bluffton will again feature special demonstrations and presentations throughout the week. This is an opportunity to see some of Bluffton’s unique and talented artists at work. Contact individual galleries for more information.

The schedule includes:

Monday, Oct, 18 – Pluff Mudd Gallery, 843/757-2633
From 10am-1pm – Diane Dean, an award winning mixed media and encaustic artist who also teaches mixed media abstract painting and Photoshop for artists will demonstrate both encaustic and mixed media.
From 11am-3pm – Laura Cody, an accomplished artist in both oil and pastel and specializes on Lowcountry landscapes and seascapes will be on hand working on the gallery porch.
From 3-5pm – Lynda K. Potter will do a painting exhibit and discuss her work. Potter is known for her exquisite use of color and texture in works that often utilize watercolor and acrylic techniques in innovative ways. Impressionistic in style, floral and architectural themes dominate Potter’s work.

Tuesday, Oct 19 – Maye River Gallery, 843/757-2633
From 10am-2pm – Bobsy Simes, whose  goal as an oil painter is to give the viewer a sense of light, atmosphere and beauty of the Lowcountry will be demonstrating.
From 11am-noon – Marci Tressel, an award-wining fine art photographer, portrait, and pet photographer also captures local lore with her hand made Gullah mirrors will talk about her work.
From noon-2pm – Jewelry artist Susan Knight loves the interplay of hammer, torch, saw and various metals to express herself in her one of a kind jewelry.  She will be demonstrating her techniques.

Kathy Tortorella working in pastel on Calhoun Street

Tuesday, Oct 19 – Society of Bluffton Artists, 843/757-6586
From 11am-4pm – SOBA artists will be demonstrating at the Gallery including: DJ Murray (colored pencil), Rosemary Hurcamp Meidenbauer (acrylic), Stan Leavitt (acrylic) and Dee Johnson (watercolor).

Wednesday, Oct 20 – The Filling Station, 843/263-4796
From 11am-3pm – Sculptor David Musial will give a demonstration. Musial’s paintings, drawings, caricatures and sculptures can be seen around the Hilton Head area. He studied with French sculptor, Robert Laurent and Joe Brown at Princeton University.
From 11am-3pm – Painter Kelly Graham will demonstrate his techniques of creating Lowcountry scenes. Graham often paints from his boat, but this event will bring him to Calhoun Street.

Saturday, Oct. 23 – Four Corners Art Gallery and Fine Framing, 843/757-8185
From 10am-3pm – Howard Costa, long time eco tour guide and photographer will be on hand with a slide show presentation, “The Secrets of the Salt Marsh”. Costa is active member in our local as well as State Audubon Societies.

Other galleries participating during the festival include: “Gallery without Walls” with Pierce Giltner an Outsider folk artist; Old Town Vintage Posters, featuring over 200+ original posters from the 1890’s to the 1950’s; and Jacob Preston Studio. Preston will be working at his craft in the old Bluffton Tabernacle on Church Street. Visitors can catch a glimpse of the artists as he creates custom sinks and decorative pieces.

For further information call 843/757-2583 or visit (http://www.blufftonartsandseafoodfestival.com/).