Art League of Hendersonville County in Hendersonville, NC, Offers Amy Perrier for Monthly Meeting – Sept. 11, 2016

Most of us left finger painting behind long ago, but Amy Perrier has taken that art form to new heights. She not only revels in it, but she’s become a pro at it. The Art League of Hendersonville County is eager to host a presentation of her techniques at their upcoming meeting on Sept. 11, 2016, at Opportunity House, 1411 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville, NC.

Amy Perrier

Perrier is delightfully vocal about her distinctive way of creating her art as it allows her to bring out lots of color and energy. In fact when you watch her create her paintings, her abounding exuberance is evident. She describes her style this way…. “When I had a brush in my hand, the instinct was to paint every detail. The finger painting has both liberated and challenged me to find a way to tell the story with color and texture…”

She begins her process by staining the canvas with several layers of color. She is quite a gifted and amusing presenter, and she becomes more animated as the presentation progresses. Then comes the fun part, as she starts to finger paint more and more layers of color on her surface, as her fingers begin to dance across the canvas.  In what seems like magic, forms begin to appear from what a few minutes before seemed to be shapeless blobs of paint. She says that she begins with an idea in mind, but like all experienced  artists, she says that she is “prepared to go in the direction my applications are taking me.”

The Art League is composed of members of many media and skill sets. It allows for exchange of ideas and finding out about exhibition opportunities and sources for supplies. The Art League of Henderson County, NC, is open to all who are interested in fine art. The organization meets monthly on the second Sunday of each month (3rd Sunday in May), at Opportunity House, 1411 Asheville Highway, Hendersonville, NC. (There is ample on-site parking which is handicapped accessible.) The social time begins at 1:30pm, with a short business meeting beginning at 2pm. An art related presentation then follows until 4pm. Guests are welcome.

For further info e-mail to (sharoncarlyle@beverly-hanks.com) or call 828/551-1478.

Matthews Artists Guild Offers Susan Lackey During Monthly Meeting in Matthews, NC – Sept. 13, 2016

The Matthews Artists Guild will offers a presentation by artist, Susan Lackey, at the McDowell Arts Center in Matthews, NC, on Sept. 13, 2016.

Susan Lackey will demonstrate a new twist on the age-old Batik process. This process is suitable for any water based medium from water color to colored inks. Lackey uses wax as a resistance on rice paper and will demonstrate the process and tools involved. There will be lots of whimsical artwork on display as well. She says this about the process: “It’s a bit unpredictable and that makes it more fun. The wax seems to intensify the color of the pigment. You are only limited by the size of the rice paper and your imagination.”

6pm: View current show in the McDowell Arts Center Gallery
6:30pm:    Refreshments downstairs in the McDowell Arts Center
6:50pm:    “Another Tidbit” of info from one of our artist members
7pm: Demonstration by Susan Lackey

The Matthews Artists Guild meets on the second Tuesday of each month. Meetings are free and open to the public.

For more information, call the McDowell Arts Center at 704/321-7275 or follow MAG on Facebook at (https://www.facebook.com/pages/Matthews-Artists-Guild/296534819147).

Artists’ Guild in Spartanburg, SC, Offers Annual Juried Show

Editor’s Note: They have new leadership who may not have known our deadline, but they do now and this won’t happen again. Of course the folks at the West Main Artists Co-Op knew the deadline and they always seen to be late.

The Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg will host its “43rd Annual Juried Show” at the West Main Artists Co-Op in Spartanburg, SC, from Sept. 1 through Oct. 1, 2016. A reception, which is free to the public, will be held in the Co-Op on Sept. 10, from 6-8pm; the awards ceremony will take place at 7pm. Cocktails and hor d’oeuvres will be available.

The Artists’s Guild is the oldest guild in South Carolina and has one of the longest running juried shows in the southeast. This year’s juror, Mary Gilkerson, juried in 70 NC and SC artists from over 175 entries. Gilkerson is an artist who uses color and light to connect people to the experience of place. Gilkerson notes, “For the last four years I have been making a small painting every day inspired by the landscapes I travel through, mainly near the roads and highways around Columbia, SC, especially lower Richland County. I’m drawn to the ordinary spaces we move through, especially ones that are within view from the road, a strange intersection of nature and culture. We move so fast that we don’t take time to observe the world around us in the way that people did before modern transportation and technology came along. My work seeks to focus on the shifting patterns of light and color that tell us what time of day and season it is, to notice the small and subtle as well as the large and grand.”

Gilkerson holds an MFA in drawing and painting from the University of South Carolina. A native South Carolinian, she lives and works in Columbia where she is a professor of art at Columbia College. She has received grants from the S.C. Arts Commission and the Cultural Council of Richland and Lexington Counties in addition to having been selected as a Southern Arts Federation Fellowship Finalist. Her work is in the permanent collections of McKissick Museum, Palmetto Health, Morris Communications Company, and Seibels Bruce Group, among others. She has been recognized for excellence in teaching by the South Carolina Independent Colleges and Universities (SCICU).

Six of the exhibiting artists will receive cash awards totaling $4,000, including one $1,500 Best in Show award, two $500 Excellence in 2-D Awards, two $500 Excellence in 3-D Awards, and one $500 People’s Choice Award. Visitors to the show may vote for the People’s Choice between 10am, Tuesday, Sept. 1, and 6:30pm, Saturday, Sept. 10.

The West Main Artists Co-Op Gallery is open and free to the public from 10am until 6pm, Tuesdays through Saturdays.

For further information, please contact Nikki Hicks by e-mail at (nhicks@spartanarts.org), or call 864/764-9568.

Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC, Present’s the 36th Annual Heritage Weekend of the Southern Highland Craft Guild – Sept. 27 & 18, 2016

The 36th Annual Heritage Weekend will be held on Sept. 17 and 18, 2016, at the Blue Ridge Parkway’s Folk Art Center in Asheville, NC. This free celebration of mountain heritage is sponsored by the Southern Highland Craft Guild and features traditional crafts accompanied by music and dancing.

A highlight of the weekend is the 36th Annual World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition on Saturday afternoon, from 2-3pm. A whimmy diddle is an Appalachian mountain toy traditionally made from two sticks of rhododendron. Notches are carved into one stick and a propeller is attached to the end. Rubbing the notches with the second stick makes the propeller spin. Can you get it to gee (spin to the right) and haw (spin to the left)?

During the World Gee Haw Whimmy Diddle Competition contestants are judged on the number of rotations between gee and haw they can complete during a given time. They may be asked to switch hands or whimmy diddle behind their back. All ages may compete with trophies given for best child, adult, and professional. Winners receive a Moon Pie, a t-shirt, and bragging rights.

On going demonstrations will include traditional woodworking with traditional tools, weaving, spinning, dyeing, broom making, stone carving, and print making. Visitors will have the opportunity to try their own hand at some of the crafts and an activity table will encourage young people to create.

On Saturday, Anthony Cole will be on hand to demonstrate sheep shearing throughout the day, and on Sunday, Joe Parham will bring animals to demonstrate how he trains dogs to work with sheep at 1pm and 3pm. A music stage will provide further entertainment with blue grass and gospel music. Local cloggers will demonstrate the energy and fancy footwork that goes into the mountain dance tradition. A quality lunch will be available from Farmhouse BBQ, selling delicious barbecue and tasty side dishes.

The Blue Ridge Parkway’s Folk Art Center is the ideal place for Heritage Weekend with free parking and a grassy area for picnics and relaxation. Spend an early autumn weekend in Western North Carolina honoring and learning about the crafts of yesteryear. Tour the Folk Art Center and take a walk through the woods.

Stone carver Colleen works on a fresh marble slab.

The Southern Highland Craft Guild is a non-profit, educational organization established in 1930 to bring together the crafts and craftspeople of the Southern Highlands for the benefit of shared resources, education, marketing and conservation. The Southern Highland Craft Guild is an authorized concessioner of the National Park Service, Department of the Interior.

Music from regional bands like Buncombe Turnpike will be performing throughout the weekend.

For more information, including a list of participating craftspeople and musicians, call 828/298-7928 or visit (www.craftguild.org/heritageweekend).

The Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail in Upstate, SC, Adds Two New Quilt Blocks to Their Trail

183 Blue Heron

The Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail, (Oconee, Pickens and Anderson Counties in SC) is pleased to announce the Blue Heron quilt block, created by their 2015 Quilter of the Year, Penny Little of Salem, SC. The Quilter of the Year award was created to honor quilters who not only are talented artists, but also give back to their communities in very meaningful ways.

Little is a member of the Lake and Mountain Quilters’ Guild making charity quilts for donation through the Guild programs and helping with a variety of Guild activities and programs. She leads the Hi-Fiber Art Quilters. She donates her time and expertise to the Tamassee DAR School, where she teaches sewing and quilting to aspiring young people on a weekly basis. She has been active in supporting the Oconee Animal Shelter making pet beds. Little has taught many classes for the OLLI program at Clemson University and done classes and demonstrations of her skills at Blue Ridge Arts Council and Locker Hooking at a Quilters of SC retreat.

Her quilts have won numerous awards in local and regional venues as well as national and international competitions. Her accomplishments in the world of art quilters is impressive. “African Bride,” has won first place at the 2006 Lake and Mountain Quilters Guild show and was also a semi-finalist at both the International Quilt Association’s Houston show and the American Quilters Society show in Paducah, KY, that same year. In 2012, “Numida I” took 3rd place at the Lake and Mountain Quilters Guild show and was also a semi-finalist at Paducah. “Reflections of Africa” was a semi-finalist at two AQS shows in 2014 as well as taking second place at the Lake and Mountain Quilters Guild show. These are just a few of her many awards in competition. She has also had a number of one-woman exhibits throughout the upstate.

Little was born in Detroit, MI, attended Eastern Michigan University, is the mother of three sons, two daughters-in-law and six grandchildren. She and her husband lived in several states and Tokyo, Japan. She is a retired travel agent and enjoys the good life living on Lake Keowee near Seneca, SC. As a young child, she can remember cutting up clothes and hand stitching the fabric into doll clothes or turning cardboard into little houses or villages. Later she made clothes, upholstered furniture, macramé or any craft that was popular. This quilter’s story started in 1994 when she was introduced to the world of quilt making and found her true passion. Her first quilt took two years, a block a month for twelve months followed by hand quilting for another twelve months. After joining quilt guilds, reading books, and attending workshops she became an adequate quilter. Although traditional quilts were useful, for Penny they were monotonous to make. That all changed when she discovered art quilts. The guideline for designing quilts is “there are no rules”. A typical quilt of Little’s may have an African theme, be made entirely from scraps, have no straight lines only curves or a focal point or embellishing from beads to seeds. The fabrics are frequently batik or her own hand dyed fabric.

When designing a quilt, ideas and color are the most difficult for her, she relates. Inspiration comes from fabric, workshops, travel, and books. Fabrics depicting African animals have inspired several of her quilts since her first trip to Kenya in 1995, second trip to Tanzania in 2006 and last trip to Botswana, Zambia and Zimbabwe in 2011.

Little says, “A really fabulous day for me is quilting in my studio. I never lack for something inspiring to work on, talk about, design or get excited about. I enjoy teaching quilting to children and sharing my skills with others. In 2015 I was honored as Quilter of the year by the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail. I was given a quilt block to be painted featuring a quilt made by me. I decided to donate the quilt block to the Lake Keowee community to honor quilters and artist. The great Blue Heron, which was inspired by Toni Whitney, seemed perfect for the lake community. The Heron took days and days to cut feathers and fused together and sew the edges.” The quilt was made by using hand dyed fabrics and batiks.

Toni Whitney, of Big Fork, MT, is the designer of the Blue Heron pattern. While pursuing a career as a wildlife painter, Whitney discovered the art of fusible applique in 2005. From her website (www.toniwhitney.com), “dabbling in textiles proved to be a thrilling experience that merged easily and effortlessly with painting…this medium seems to come hand in hand with the nicest group of people I have ever had the pleasure to meet, Quilters!”

When asked about the inspiration for the Blue Heron pattern, Whitney responded, “I live outside of a very small town in NW Montana in a heavily forested area. While I knew there were great blue heron in these parts it was a rarity to actually see one, I myself never had. I was thinking of my sister one morning and feeling particularly blue. She had passed suddenly many years ago with reasons never fully explained and finding closure for myself proved difficult. On this day of remorseful pondering I happened to look out of my window to see a beautiful great blue heron staring right back at me as if I were the oddest thing it had ever seen, perched, if you will, directly on top of a balsam fir just as comfortably as a chickadee, the top of the tree bent almost in half from the weight.

“Every morning for a few weeks following that day I would happen to look up at just the right moment to the bird, gliding low, silent and graceful over me,” said Whitney. “The peacefulness of witnessing such a large creature somehow effortlessly and quietly making its way through life out here in this wilderness which seems much too harsh for such a delicate creature somehow eased my soul and reminded me to take things lightly, try to live gracefully regardless of where I’m at and if I’m in a precarious place that I feel could snap at any moment sending me hurtling down to a horribly painful experience, I have but to lift my spirits and fly.”

The Keowee Fire Commission has unanimously agreed to display the quilt on the station on Highway 130, just north of Route 183. Rich Caudill, chief of the station explained the Keowee Fire Commission was established in 1993 as a fire tax district by the community and covers a service area of 30 square miles. This encompasses the Duke Energy facility, the lake communities of Waterford, Wynward, Waterside, Keowee Harbors and Keowee Key. The current station was built in 2008.

Little resides in the Keowee Key community on Lake Keowee in the upstate of South Carolina. In her usual selfless fashion, she has dedicated her award, the Blue Heron quilt square for community display and the fabric quilt that she beautifully crafted to honor the talented artists and quilters of Keowee Key.

184 Winter Cardinal

A Winter Cardinal quilt has also been added to the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail at the Peck home on 202 Winterberry Lane in Seneca, SC. Jane Peck shared with us that “after downsizing from our lake house on Hartwell, it has taken some time for me to invite cardinals onto our feeders. At the lake I would have 6 to 7 families. Needless to say, I have missed them. Therefore, along with time welcoming all the birds in our new neighborhood, I want to especially show the joy of sharing our home with the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail by placing the Cardinal block for all to see. I believe the meaning of a Cardinal visiting your yard is a visit from someone close to you whom you have lost. Watching the Cardinal family, I have been fortunate to have witnessed the male bird feeding his young, protecting his mate. The art of creating a quilt has been something I have admired and the sentiment placed in each and every stitch has always caught my imagination. I am reader and a gardener. Taking great pride in my garden over the years, welcoming the birds and butterflies have given me peace.”

This quilt pattern was a project for work to show applique patterns using Batiks and Prisma dyes. Debra Lunn and Michael Mrowka, owners of Lunn Fabrics in Lancaster, OH, create ideas for batik fabric for Robert Kaufman. Barbara Palumbo and Scott Clark worked together to make an appliqued quilt pattern for each season to promote new lines of fabric. The Cardinal was created in 2008 at the Studios of Lunn Fabrics.

Barbara Palumbo has been an avid sewer since a child and had been doing decorative painting for approximately 20 years, but had no experience quilting. She began by taking classes at Quilt Beginnings Quilt Store in Bexley, OH, and is still taking classes in different sewing techniques.

Scott Clark was hired by Lunn’s to design the caps (chops) that are used in making batik fabrics. Prior to that he designed patterns for screen print design companies. Lunn Studios still continue to make patterns that are available at the store and on-line.

A total of four season quilts were finished. Palumbo said about the quilt designs that, “It gave us a permission to play with applique.” “Also it was good resource to promote the Elementals’ line of batiks in each of the quilts and showed how you could make the fabric work for you”

Lunn Fabrics is located at 317 E. Main Street, Lancaster, Ohio, 43130, phone 740/654-2202. Visit their web site at (www.lunnfabrics.com) to view Lunn Fabrics complete line of Artisan Batiks, Patina Handpaints and Prisma Dyes.

For further info about the Upstate Heritage Quilt Trail call 864/723- 6603, e-mail to (info@uhqt.org) or visit (www.uhqt.org).

City of North Charleston, SC, Appoints Caroline Self as New Artist-in-Residence

The City of North Charleston (SC) Cultural Arts Department is proud to announce the appointment of painter Caroline Self as Artist-in-Residence (AIR) for 2016/17. The City’s AIR serves as a key resource for the department’s outreach programs, especially in the area of art instruction. The selected artist shares his/her unique skills, talents, and experiences by providing services to public schools, seniors, and various community groups within the city limits of North Charleston. Self will be available for visual art residencies of 12-15 hours at a minimum of two hour increments at North Charleston schools and is also available to host workshops for community groups of all ages.

Caroline M. Self is a contemporary, abstract expressionist artist inspired by the vivid paint colors and textures made famous by Vincent Van Gogh and the unique abstractness of paintings by Wassily Kandinsky and Willem de Kooning. Caroline’s passion blends color and texture into a poetry of fluidity, tension, and/or juxtaposition. She has painted for as long as she can remember, and her works have found homes from coast to coast. Most recently, her piece, “Life”, won a purchase award at the “41st Lyndon House Arts Center Exhibition” juried by Jock Reynolds, Director for the Yale University Art Gallery. Caroline was the art education program specialist at the Lyndon House Arts Center in Athens, GA, for almost nine years before moving back to the Charleston area with her husband in 2016. In addition, she was a long-term substitute art teacher for the Normal Park Museum Magnet Elementary School in Chattanooga, TN. Self has developed a unique track record of creating innovative classes, programs, award-winning camps, and exhibits for countless groups, children, and events.

As an art teacher, Self enjoys sharing her art passion to create lasting, meaningful experiences. She believes that creativity, innovation, and adaptability are highly desirable skills and is excited to facilitate experiential learning using art to make connections through integration.

The North Charleston City Gallery will host an exhibition of Self’s work throughout December 2016 and January 2017. The gallery is located within the Charleston Area Convention Center at 5001 Coliseum Drive in North Charleston. School liaisons, arts teachers, and the general public are invited to meet the artist at a free gallery reception on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2016, from 5-7pm.

Art teachers and school liaisons may initiate the request for FREE services by the AIR by contacting the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department at 843/740-5851. Community groups are also welcome to submit requests, which will be considered on a first come first served basis. All project requests should be placed at least two weeks in advance, with residences completed by the end of May 2017.

More information about the City of North Charleston Cultural Arts Department’s AIR program, as well as the department’s other programs, exhibits, and events, can be found on the Arts & Culture section of the City’s website at (www.northcharleston.org).

Arts Council of Henderson County in Hendersonville, NC, Announces People’s Choice Award Winner for 13th annual “Bring Us Your Best”

The Arts Council of Henderson County in Hendersonville, NC, has announced Victoria Burke as the winning artist for the Starving Artist People’s Choice Award for the 13th annual “Bring Us Your Best” all-media visual art exhibition, which closed on Friday, Aug. 19, 2016. Held in the Blue Ridge Conference Hall at Blue Ridge Community College, gallery guests and visitors were given the opportunity to vote for their personal favorite piece of artwork in the entire show.

Victoria Burke receiving her award

Matt Smith of the Starving Artist Fine Art Supplies and Custom Framing Shop presented a $250 gift certificate and ribbon to Burke, who won the prize for her acrylic painting entitled “Peaceful Pelicans.”

Other sponsors for the annual exhibition included The Wax Family Memorial Funds, the Dr. Minor F. Watts Fund at the Community Foundation of Henderson County, and the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Hendersonville.

The Arts Council of Henderson County is a community organization that promotes, advocates for and nurtures the arts in Henderson County and western North Carolina. Its office is located at 401 N. Main Street, Ste. 302, Hendersonville, NC 28792. The Arts Council is supported in part by the North Carolina Arts Council, a division of the Department of Natural & Cultural Resources; funds administered by the Community Foundation of Henderson County, Henderson County, Henderson County Tourism Development Authority, and the City of Hendersonville.

For more information contact the Arts Council of Henderson County at 828/693-8504. e-amil to (acofhc@bellsouth.net) or visit (www.acofhc.org).

NC Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offer Clay Talks! with Tom Suomalainen – Sept. 1, 2016

Join us on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, at 6pm for a slide talk by Tom Suomalainen, a potter in Walnut Cove, NC, and a participant in NC Pottery Center’s current exhibition, “Penland Clay: Shaping North Carolina Ceramics.”

Work by Tom Suomalainen

Suomalainen’s slide talk will focus on his life, work, and inspiration.

Says Suomalainen, “My creativity was nurtured as I grew up in rural Minnesota taking care of the family’s cows, chickens, cats and dogs. My family’s garden was always an activity of great curiosity as was the hatching of baby chicks that seemed to suddenly appear from beneath some dense vegetative cover.

A reluctant hunter, I enjoyed fishing immensely. Lake fishing, river fishing, stream fishing were much favored summer and winter adventures. (It was more the adventure of discovering the natural terrain that held the most interest.) Particularly exciting were the summer trips to Canada and following my father and brother far into the wilderness, not only in search of some exciting trout fishing, but in the search of rocks and minerals, plants and flowers and animal tracks and habitats. My father would situate my brother and me up trees in ravines in hopes that deer, moose and small animals would pass by as he approached. The adventures and serenity of these portage trips formed heightened sense of observation. A true Cancerian, my creel not only carried gutted trout kept moist in wet fern fronds but bits of bark, new leaves, crystals and minerals. This visual and emotional journal continues to infuse my work in clay and painting.”

A potluck at 6pm will begin the evening’s events, followed by the slide talk at 7pm. Come out for a great night of food and community!

Location: The NCPC Educational Building located behind the NC Pottery Center at 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, 27341.

This presentation is free and open to the public. For more information, call the Center at 336/873-8430. This ongoing lecture series is facilitated by Emily Lassiter, the Educational Program Manager at the Pottery Center.

Exhibitions are made possible through the generosity of our membership, the Mary and Elliott Wood Foundation, the John W. and Anna H. Hanes Foundation, and the Goodnight Educational Foundation. This project was supported by the N.C. Arts Council, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources, with funding from the National Endowment for the Arts. Thank you!

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 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, visit (www.ncpotterycenter.org), or find us on Facebook.

Construction Begins on the New Location of the Art Trail Gallery in downtown Florence, SC

The new home of the Florence Art Trail Gallery is moving up the list in the downtown revitalization schedule. Work is beginning on the new site located at 142 North Dargan Street, Florence, SC. The existing three story structure stood for many years as the Rainwater Furniture Store and according to records was established in 1939. Florence City Council, in an executive session, July, 2015, unanimously voted to purchase the multi level structure as the permanent location for the Art Trail Gallery. Once updated and remodeled the location will soon house art exhibitions and competitions for local and regional artist, artisans and photographers. The ATG will once again be a popular venue for special events, musical performances and area schools student art works. The Rainwater building being located in the heart of the downtown revitalization is conveniently located close to hotels, restaurants and shopping.

The Art Trail Gallery has survived several moves since its inception in 2008; which started a popular career with local and regional artists and stood for what the city recognized as the art hub of Florence. Located in the downstairs of the Waters building on South Dargan Street it was shared by sculptor Alex Palkovich. The (ATG) gallery; operating strictly with all volunteers quickly became popular; centering around work done by amateur and professional artists. The ATG provided an opportunity to new artists as a place to feel comfortable in showcasing their artistic ability for the first time, along with more established professionals.

Increasing popularity of the Florence downtown revitalization made the second move for the Art Trail necessary, as the Waters Building was sold to private interest and the present location would be vacated to make room for the new Florence County Museums’ public art functions and events.

The gallery, under the leadership of the Florence Downtown Development Corporation, was then moved to the corner of Evans and Irby Street in the vacant Bo Smith Furniture building. There it continued to surge ahead in achieving more popularity, not only from the art community, but from the general public. That location became a favorite for public functions downtown as it served as a place to host private events, such as, college reunions, political rallies, small weddings and was known as the people’s gallery.

As the downtown continued to thrive and more private sectors wanted to buy into the progression of the new Florence downtown; the gallery found itself once again without a home. The Bo Smith Building was sold for the Morgan Project. Aspects of the continuation of the Art Trail Gallery surviving hinged on being conveniently located for the public and accessible to other businesses, therefore increasing economic development for the entire downtown. The public rallied and with assistance from Councilman George Jebaily and commitment from the FDDC and Florence City Council the permanent location on North Dargan was authorized to be purchased.

First stages of remodeling 142 North Dargan Street have already begun with the repair of the outside wall; architectural drawings are in final phases for approval, along with taking bids for construction.

The Art Trail Gallery’s new home will be a state of the art facility. When entering the main double doors, patrons will notice the high open ceiling that can house large art installations. Artists will be proud to have their work displayed on a professional hanging system mounted to movable track walls. The mobile walls will allow for closing off space for classrooms, different configuration of art exhibits and the needs for larger events. Lighting will be selected that will enhance the works of art, but not damage the quality. Visitors will still be able to buy special artisan gifts in a separate location. New heat and air, security system and fire sprinkler system will be installed during construction.

All bathrooms located in the rear of the building will be handicap accessible. Positioned in the back of the gallery will be a full catering kitchen with plenty of counter space and deep sinks. Several storage locations will house tables and chairs for classes and special events.

The first floor facility will allow for the rental of the building for various functions for a fee and patrons will find plenty of parking available in the newly constructed areas located on the side and rear of the building. A central control system will allow staff to regulate necessary lighting during rentals, performances, or special events.

The Gallery will remain in partnership with the FDDC Not-for-Profit status and as the ATG will continue to grow and play a vital role in the educational and leisure experiences of the public, there will be a need for a paid Director. According to city officials the new facility should be open by early 2017. Plans are in development for beginning exhibits and a call for artists will be publicized in the near future.

For additional information please contact: David Hobbs, Retiring Director, ATG by e-mail at (dd61hobbs@gmail.com) or call 843/206-8116.

Editor’s Notes: I took a photo of what I thought was the building last year sometime when I was in Florence viewing some art. You can see security is not going to be a problem, as the building is located next to a Police Substation. It’s nice to see a city in SC that can take on a job like this for the art community and finish it in the same decade it was announced. Some cities (World’s most popular city in magazines) just can’t seem to do something like this. Our hats go off to the leaders in Florence.

Fuquay-Varina Arts Council in Fuquay-Varina, NC, Calls for Participation in CELEBRATE FUQUAY-VARINA Festival Taking Place Oct. 8, 2016

The Fuquay-Varina Arts Council is excited to coordinate the Artists Village of the CELEBRATE FUQUAY-VARINA festival, taking place Oct. 8, 2016.

This highly successful festival is a combination of live entertainment, children and youth activities, classic cars, fabulous food and an arts and crafts show. In short, the Celebrate Fuquay-Varina festival is free, family fun in true Fuquay-Varina style!

Artist’s vendor booths are $80.00 for a 10X10 space located in the center of Main Street in Fuquay-Varina. Arrival times will be staggered from 6am-8am on Saturday morning to accommodate for the roads closed for the event. Booth set up should be completed by 9:45am, and booths are to remain open until 4pm. Breakdown will begin by 5pm.

North Carolina law requires that all artisans and vendors collect and remit sales tax on the items they sell, display the NC Certificate of Registration issued by the state with their state tax ID in their booths, and provide their state tax ID number to the event organizer. To apply for a Certificate of Registration, please go to (www.dornc.com) and search NC-BR. Once you begin the application, you can select to only apply for Sales and Use Tax purposes.

To register and pay online with a credit card or PayPal, please go to the online registration: The Artists Village in Celebrate Fuquay-Varina. To register by paper application and pay by check, please print out the application from (https://www.facebook.com/notes/fuquay-varina-arts-council/celebrate-art-artist-and-vendor-info-and-application/1166536133409629).