North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Offers Sid Luck for Its Monthly Lecture Series – July 24, 2015

On Friday, July 24th, join us at the North Carolina Pottery Center, in Seagrove, NC, for a slide lecture by local Seagrove potter Sid Luck.

Luck, a fifth-generation potter, will present on his family’s history, as well as his time spent working for J.B. Cole Pottery, beginning in the late 1950s. “It has been my goal, all my life, to carry on as much of the old traditional work as I can,” says Sid. In 2014, after over 50 years of making pottery, he was awarded the North Carolina Heritage Award, an honor for a lifetime of contribution to the cultural traditions of North Carolina.

Come on out and join us for a fun evening! A potluck at 7pm will begin the evening’s events, followed by Sid’s talk at 8pm.

This ongoing lecture series is facilitated by Josh Floyd, the Artist-in-Residence at the Pottery Center.

For more information, call the center at 336/873-8430.

Carolina’s Got Art! in Charlotte, NC, Awards More Money to Ceramic Artists in North and South Carolina

Carolina’s Got Art! (CGA!), North and South Carolina’s most anticipated juried art competition, awarded $26,000 in cash and prizes to winners at opening receptions at Elder Gallery in May and June. Mediums including paintings, photography, sculptures, weavings, drawings, glass and ceramics were included. CGA! continues to build on the success of its past competitions and attracted just under 3,000 entries this year.

Now in its fourth year, CGA! offers professional and amateur artists a unique opportunity to gain exposure among potential buyers, receive recognition in the art community, and compete for $26,000 cash and prizes.

Entries were reviewed by this year’s jurors, Eliza Rathbone, who served as chief curator of the Phillips Collection, in Washington, DC, for more than 20 years, internationally known ceramic artist, Peter Callas, and Larry Elder, owner of Elder Gallery.

The competition is a two-month long exhibition and sale.  Rathbone chose 110 pieces for a show during May and Elder selected 125 pieces which are on display throughout the month of June.

New to the competition this year is a special ceramics component selected by Callas who assisted in the awards ceremony on June 5th. Ceramic artists were awarded $6,000 in cash prizes and all selected pieces will be shown at Elder Gallery during the month of June.

Ceramic award winners from the exhibition of 31 pieces he selected from approximately 400 entries:

$3,000 First Place award to Eric Knoche of Alexander, NC for “Heavy Cloud”

$1,500 Second Place award went to Mark Gordon of Wilson, NC for “Cube Ring”

Third Place award of $750 went to Jennifer Halli of Taylors, SC for “Podcast 1”

A $375 Honorable Mention award went to Nick Lafone of Asheville, NC for “Strider”

Tacy Apostolik of Weaverville, NC was awarded a $375 Honorable Mention award

Juror’s Commendation for Excellence went to Carol Gentithes for “Chrometophobia”

Juror’s Commendation for Excellence went to Suzanne Zucker of Fairview, NC for “Blue Crouch”

“When I founded Carolina’s Got Art in 2009, I wanted to create a competition that would support local artists and help showcase the amazing talent within our two-state area,” says Larry Elder, founder of Carolina’s Got Art!. “For many artists, juried competitions are an important part of launching and sustaining successful careers. Our goal is to continue to offer opportunities to support their livelihood and to encourage their creative process.”

In 2009, as a reaction the economy’s impact on local artists, Charlotte gallery owner, Larry Elder, brought Carolina’s Got Art! to life to provide financial support to Carolina artists.  Now in its fourth year, Carolina’s Got Art! has emerged as the pre-eminent competition, exhibition and sale for Carolina-based artists and will have awarded over $60,000 in prizes since its inception.

For further information visit (www.carolinasgotart.com).

Stanly Arts Guild in Albemarle, NC, Calls for Entries for “Summer Art Explosion Annual Show” – Deadline July 11, 2015

Sponsored by the “Stanly News and Press” the “Summer Art Explosion Annual Show” will take place July 14 – August 7 2015.

We are getting ready for our “Annual Summer Art Explosion” at Falling Rivers Gallery. It’s time to frame your latest masterpiece, or get busy with your tools, pottery wheel, paints and cameras to create new art to enter in the show. Since there are 4 categories, everyone’s medium will have a greater chance of winning an award. Also, new for this show, each artist may enter 4 items. 

For a prospectus for the show visit (http://fallingriversgallery.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-SAE-prospectus.pdf).

The deadline is July 11, 2015.

The Falling Rivers Gallery is located at 119 West Main Street, Albemarle, NC.

For further info call 704/983-4278 or visit (http://fallingriversgallery.com).

The North Carolina Pottery Center in Seagrove, NC, Presents Monthly Lecture Series – June 12, 2015

Charlie Tefft will be presenting at the North Carolina Pottery Center for the June installment of the Monthly Slide Lecture Series. Tefft is the ceramics teacher at Guilford College, in Greensboro, NC, and will present images of his life and work, influences and experiences as an artist, potter and educator. 

Of his own work, Tefft tells this story, “In the spring of 2003 a pair of Carolina Wrens took up residence in the rafters of my studio.  I watched them raise two sets of babies over that summer.  Day in and day out they would move upon the rafter calling down to me, always feeding their babies.  The summer of Carolina wrens nestled into the depths of my mind, and over time I began to create work about that experience.  In hind sight I can see a similar path in many of the pieces I design.  They are born out of something outside of clay, and evolve over time.  The theme that reoccurs most often is movement.  I am always looking for ways to make the surface or the actual pots seems as though they have captured a moment in time.  I balance this movement and life in the pots with a desire to make them functional.  This is the challenge that brings me back to the studio eager to make pots.”

Come on out and join us for a fun evening! A potluck at 7pm will begin the evening’s events, followed by Tefft’s talk at 8pm. For more information, call the center at 336/873-8430. This ongoing lecture series is facilitated by Josh Floyd, the Artist-in-Residence at the Pottery Center.

Location – NCPC Educational Building located behind the NCPC at 233 East Avenue, Seagrove, 27341

7-8pm: Community Potluck and Social Hour 

8-9pm: Slideshow Presentation

 

Exhibitions are made possible through the generosity of our membership, the Mary and Elliott Wood Foundation, the Z. Smith Reynolds Foundation, the Windgate Charitable Foundation, and the John W. and Anna H. Hanes 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 10 am – 4 pm. For more information, please call 336/873-8430, visit (www.ncpotterycenter.org), or find us on Facebook.

Carolina Bronze Sculpture in Seagrove, NC, Receives $50,000 REAP Grant for Green Energy

Carolina Bronze Sculpture, in Seagrove, NC’s only commercial fine art bronze casting foundry, has recently received a Rural Energy for America Program Grant for $50,000. This grant will help fund solar panels and a geothermal system for heating and cooling. The solar panels will generate over 75% of the current electrical usage and the geothermal project will heat and cool over half of the facility. An added bonus will be the pond used for the geothermal system. It will do double duty as a sculpture park and walking trail.  Anticipated completion is December, 2015. 

Carolina Bronze is dedicated to being environmentally responsible. Recycling and reusing materials is done as often as possible. “This grant will help continue our commitment to the environment and provide a sculpture park and trail that can be used by the community and visitors to the Seagrove area. This has been a dream of mine since I first built the foundry on this property 20 years ago. I am elated that it is finally becoming a reality,” says Ed Walker, owner. An additional pond with more sculpture and trails are in the planning stages.

The Rural Energy for America Program is sponsored by the USDA Rural Development Department. It offers small businesses in rural areas grants and loans to help pay for energy efficient and renewable energy projects. Area Specialist, Lynn Straughan, guided Carolina Bronze through the grant writing procedure. Carolina Bronze will be working with The RED Group from Lewisville, NC, (www.redgroupnc.com) who will be providing the solar panel array and Comfort South from Biscoe, NC, (www.comfortsouth.com) who will be installing the geothermal system.  

Carolina Bronze Sculpture is a premier fine arts foundry serving artists, architects, museums and non-profits throughout the United States and abroad. We specialize in bronze casting and fabrication, using both traditional techniques and in-house, state of the art digital tools which include high resolution 3D scanning and enlarging, CNC machining, rapid prototyping, 3D modeling and animation tools, and reverse engineering CAD. 

For further info visit our website at (www.carolinabronze.com).

Ciel Artists in Charlotte, NC, Throw A Beach Party!

Ciel Gallery in Charlotte, NC, hosts “Beach Party!”, from June 5 – 28, 2015. Opening on Friday, June 5, from 6-9pm, “Beach Party!” will feature the works of metal sculptor Amy Hart, mosaics by Teresa Hollmeyer, mixed media  paintings by Jen Walls and oil paintings by Laura McRae Hitchcock in addition to works from the Ciel collective.

“Beach Party!” celebrates the joys of summer with art depicting typical beach trip and summertime themes and, as can be expected when artists collaborate, quite a few surprises as well. Not to be missed will be Hart’s sea turtle, which began as a wheel barrow, Walls’ camels ready for a dip complete with floats, Hollmeyer’s  fish  mosaic and Hitchcock’s marsh paintings.

Work by Amy Hart

“We wanted something fun to start the summer off with a bang,” said Hitchcock. “We thought of an ocean/beach theme, and then decided to add the fun and make it a beach party. I know it’s not serious, but art isn’t always about being serious. Most of us have a blast when we are creating, and we want the viewer to feel that joy too.”

Work by Laura McRae Hitchcock

Contributing to the fun will be Metro GreenScape with their own take on a beach party. The Charlotte landscaping company has collaborated with Ciel Gallery on their last two shows, “Back to the Garden” and “Skew the Masters”.

Ciel Gallery is located in Historic SouthEnd, at 128 East Park Avenue, and participates in the neighborhood’s gallery crawl each First Friday of the month. Hours are Tuesday — Saturday 11am6pm.

More information about this show, the gallery, participating artists and available classes can be found at (www.cielcharlotte.com).

Elder Gallery in Charlotte, NC, Announces Winners of 2015 Carolina’s Got Art!

 

Carolina’s Got Art! (CGA!), North and South Carolina’s most anticipated juried art exhibition and sale, has announced prize winners in its fourth competition for artists who live and work in North and South Carolina. Just under 3,000 entries were received from points across both states.

Entries were reviewed by Eliza Rathbone, who served as chief curator of the Phillips Collection, in Washington, DC, for more than 20 years. Selected pieces are on display at Elder Gallery in Charlotte’s SouthEnd art district during a month-long show in May.

Prizes were rewarded to the following artists:

$5,000 Best of Show Award: Greg Siler of Raleigh, NC for “Nude with Umbrella”

$3,500 First Place Award: Kymberly Day of Simpsonville, SC for “Loyal Dog”

$2,500 Second Place Award: Howard Frey of Florence, SC for “Pilot Mountain”

$1,500 Third Place Award: James Celano of Greensboro, NC for “Brayer”

$500 Honorable Mention: Wilfred Spoon of Mount Pleasant, SC for “Wren with Blueberry”

$500 Honorable Mention: Vaughan Justice of Charlotte, NC for “Havana Taxi and Bus”

$500 Honorable Mention: Sondra Dorn of Asheville, NC for “Cloud Cover with Yellow and Red Dots”

$500 Honorable Mention: Terri Otten of Charlotte, NC for “Kalvin”

$500 Honorable Mention: Heather Allen Hietala of Asheville, NC for “On a Quest”

This competition gives selected artists an opportunity to sell their work in one of the region’s premier art galleries. For those not selected by Rathbone, there will be a second show, chosen by Larry Elder, owner of Elder Gallery, where 125 pieces will be exhibited during the month of June.

New to the competition this year is a special ceramics component selected by internationally acclaimed ceramicist Peter Callas. Ceramic artists will compete for $6,000 in cash prizes and all selected pieces will be shown at Elder Gallery during the month of June.

“When I founded Carolina’s Got Art in 2009, I wanted to create a competition that would support local artists and help showcase the amazing talent within our two-state area,” says Larry Elder, founder of Carolina’s Got Art!. “For many artists, juried competitions are an important part of launching and sustaining successful careers. Our goal is to continue to offer opportunities to support their livelihood and to encourage their creative process.”

In 2009, as a reaction the economy’s impact on local artists, Charlotte gallery owner, Larry Elder, brought Carolina’s Got Art! to life to provide financial support to Carolina artists. Now in its fourth year, Carolina’s Got Art! has emerged as the pre-eminent competition, exhibition and sale for Carolina-based artists.

For further information visit (www.carolinasgotart.com).

Greenhill in Greensboro, NC, Calls for Entries for “Art + Dialogue: Responding to Racial Tension in America”

The African American Atelier, Center for Visual Artists (CVA), Greenhill, Guilford Native American Art Gallery and National Conference for Community and Justice of the Piedmont Triad(NCCJ) in Greensboro, NC, announce a ground-breaking collaborative project entitled “Art + Dialogue: Responding to Racial Tension in America (A + D)”, intended to bring community together in dialogue around racial tension. “A + D”, using art as an equalizing, thought-provoking platform, will ask all visitors and participants to put aside stereotypes  and misconceptions and ask each other and ourselves the questions we may be afraid to voice. The project will take place at Greensboro College, site partner for “A + D” and will run from Thursday, Sept. 24 through Oct. 11, 2015.

“A + D” Partner Organization Planning Team members include:
· Dara Nix-Stevenson, Center for Visual Artists
· Ivan Canada, NCCJ
· LaShari Clemons, African American Atelier
· Laura Way, Greenhill
· Lynn Sanders-Bustle, Ph.D, Greenhill
· Wanda Attmore, Guilford Native American Art Gallery

“A + D” will consists of three project areas. The first area will be a juried art exhibition with the jury members from each partner organization and an august panel of artists and educators. A Call to Artists has been disseminated statewide and can be found at (www.greenhillnc.org/Art-Dialogue). Artists will be selected based on artistic quality and relevance to “A + D” themes: intersection of race with gender, age, class, sexual orientation, immigration status, ability status and other identities; visibility of multi-racial individuals and families in the US; how art can express pain, grief, rage—and still inspire healing; historic roots of race and racism and resulting realities today and visions for the future; different forms of racism; cultural appropriation versus cross-cultural exploration/inspiration, and how immigrants and immigration status are defined.

The Jury Members are as follows:
· Susan Harbage Page, Artist, Assistant Professor, Women’s and Gender Studies, UNC Chapel Hill
· Rosalia Torres-Weiner, Artist, Founder, Project Art Aid, Charlotte
· Pedro Lasch – Visual Artist & Associate Research Professor, Duke University
· Jina Valentine, Artist, Faculty at UNC Chapel Hill
· Courtney Reid-Eaton, Exhibitions Director, Center for Documentary Studies, Duke University
· Chanelle Croxton, Curatorial Assistant, Nasher Museum, Duke University

Katie Lank, Executive Director at CVA says, “As a partner organization, CVA is committed to making the visual arts approachable, accessible, and affordable. The CVA invests in using art as a tool of engagement to bring together diverse voices in the Greater Greensboro community. Therefore, participation in “Art + Dialogue: Responding to Racial Tension in America” is an extension of the work that CVA is already doing. CVA is grateful for the opportunity to partner in coalition with other visual arts organizations to bring “A + D” to Greensboro and beyond in an effort to reframe how we think about, write about, discuss, or otherwise consider race and racism in America with the goal of creating sustainable, equitable systemic change.”

Winston-Salem, NC’s Innovative New Urban Park Reimagines the Term “Green Space”

From the towering red “smokestacks” that intermittently release clouds of water vapor (lighted at night) to the “artist performance shelter” that’s sculpted from silvery steel bands, downtown Winston-Salem’s latest attraction, dubbed ARTivity on the Green, is an eye-opening and smile-inducing new breed of public space.

The half-acre park, which sits between the city’s vibrant Arts District and Wake Forest University’s sprawling Innovation Quarter, was created through a private grant and spearheaded by Art for Art’s Sake (AFAS), a local nonprofit dedicated to making the arts accessible for everyone.

ARTivity on the Green officially opened on May 9, 2015, accompanied by a large crowd, live music, food vendors and a dignitary-studded ribbon-cutting.

“We wanted to create a space that speaks to Winston-Salem’s reputation as ‘The City of Arts and Innovation,’” said Harry Knabb, chairman and chief executive of AFAS, “while at the same time paying tribute to its industrial, tobacco-and-textiles past.”

Hence, the faux smokestacks and the liberal use of metal throughout the park – including rectilinear steel benches that resemble sawhorses.

Other unique features include sodded berms designed for lounging or picnicking; a large wall that will host murals by local artists; and eight-inch-wide red lines painted on the surrounding sidewalks to lead visitors into the park.

Another impressive fact: the entire ARTivity Park project, which cost $2 million (and came in on budget), is a completely home-grown effort.  Architectural firm STITCH Design Group created the conceptual blueprints; Stimmel Associates handled the civil engineering and landscaping; and Frank L. Blum Construction Co. oversaw the actual construction.

Visitors to Winston-Salem can find the park easily; it’s situated on Liberty Street, between Sixth and Seventh streets, in the heart of downtown.

For more information, visit (www.theafasgroup.com).

Greenhill in Greensboro, NC, is Looking for a New Director of Programs

Greenhill in Greensboro, NC, announces their Director of Programs, Lynn Sanders-Bustle, has accepted a position as Chair of the Art Education program at the University of Georgia.  A once in a lifetime opportunity, she is looking forward to working with faculty to shape the program.  Lynn credits her stint at Greenhill as one of several experiences the search committee was looking for when making their decision and is very grateful for all that she has learned working with the Greenhill staff.

Greenhill will initiate a search to fill this position of Director of Programs and will convene a committee to assist with the selection process. The Director of Programs is a position leading the programmatic operations of the organization and creates synergies between Greenhill’s exceptional programs, including exhibitions, adult workshops and ArtQuest, the award winning program for children and families.

All interested applicants should go to (www.greenhillnc.org/jobs-at-greenhill).

The mission of Greenhill is to promote the visual arts of North Carolina by engaging a broad community of artists, adults and children through dynamic exhibitions and educational programs and providing a platform for exploration and investment in art. Greenhill is the only non-collecting organization dedicated to presenting, promoting and advocating for contemporary visual art and artists of NC.  Since its founding in 1974, the organization has presented and sold artwork of over 9,850 visual artists and engaged nearly one million visitors through free access to The Gallery, InFocus Gallery, The Shop & ArtQuest. Greenhill is located in downtown Greensboro in the Greensboro Cultural Center.

For further info visit (www.greenhillnc.org).