Spartanburg, SC, Artist Scott Cunningham Wins Artists Collective | Spartanburg Juried Exhibition

Spartanburg, SC, artist Scott Cunningham won first place in the Artists Collective | Spartanburg third annual “Juried Exhibition” that showcased the diversity of works within a four-state region.

Of the 500 pieces of artwork submitted by artists in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee for consideration, 70 were selected to be included in the exhibition, which remains open through Saturday, Oct. 23, 2021, in the 2,000-square-foot Solomon Gallery at Artists Collective | Spartanburg facility at 578 W. Main Street.

Cunningham received $2,500 for his winning oil painting on panel titled “Fail. Safe. Fail.”

Other awards presented at the ceremony Oct. 2 were:
Second place ($1,000): Vivianne Carey, Spartanburg, SC.
Third place ($500): Cecil Norris, Shelby, NC.
Merit Award: Becky Hyatt Rickenbaker, Columbus, NC.
Merit Award: Quiauna Wood, Spartanburg, SC.
Merit Award: Mary Cooper McDonough, Seneca, SC.
Merit Award: Michael England, Hartwell, SC.
Merit Award: Roger Sledge, Waxhaw, SC.
Merit Award: David Stuart, North Augusta, SC.
Merit Award: Jan Swanson, Columbia, SC.

“Our annual Juried Exhibition is only in its third year, but each year gets better and better,” says Beth Regula, chair of the management board of the Artists Collective | Spartanburg. “The exhibit this year is very diverse and the quality of the work is excellent. If you like paintings, ceramics, mixed media, pastels, basketry, woodwork and photography, it can all be found in this exhibit. There is still time to see it in person or go to our website at (www.artistscollectivespartanburg.org) to see the works and watch a video of the jurors. The video gives an insight to what the jurors saw when choosing some of the award winners.”

Judges for the exhibition were Mary Erickson, a North Carolina and Florida painter, and Denise C. Woodward-Detrich, director of the Lee Gallery at Clemson University.

The Artists Collective | Spartanburg, located at 578 W. Main Street, provides a forum and home for the arts and creative population of Spartanburg, providing facilities and services to artist members for exhibits, performances and creation. It is open from 10am to 4pm, Tuesdays through Saturdays, except for Christmas Day and New Year’s Day. Visit (artistscollectivespartanburg.org) for more information.

Artists Collective | Spartanburg in Spartanburg, SC, Announces Winners of Its Annual “2020 Juried Art Exhibition”

The second annual “2020 Juried Art Exhibition” presented by Artists Collective | Spartanburg, in Spartanburg, SC, has eight winners from the Carolinas, awarding a total of $4,500 in cash prizes.

The four-state show (South Carolina, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Georgia) had 2-D and 3-D entries from all four states but only 67 were chosen. The show opened Sept. 15 and will end Oct. 17, 2020.

The winners were announced virtually Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020.

“We are very pleased with this year’s show,” the Collective’s Management Board Chair Beth Regula said. “Especially in light of the pandemic. A lot of the work this year addressed social issues that the world is now facing, something I believe is very telling about how stress influences the creative process. Also, I think overall the work is very accessible to non-artists. This is a show that anyone can visit and take away some thought-provoking concepts, as well as some great beauty.”


“Harriet Hancock Center, Melrose Heights, Columbia” by Gregory Wilkin

First place was taken by Gregory Wilkin for his oil painting — “Harriet Hancock Center, Melrose Heights, Columbia”. “I am very flattered by the win because the quality and creativity of the other entries were so strong that I really had no expectations,” Wilkin said. “Watching the video of the announcement of winners was a big and very pleasant surprise.”

This image of a house and parking lot has many messages — everything from gay pride to urban trash hidden behind walls — and is presented very cleanly, as if to make sense out of the conflicting morals of today’s woke culture. Each element — the lush greenery, the modern architecture of the white house, the red pickup truck, the trash bins, the rainbow flag — seems isolated and carefully placed in the composition to find tenuous balance and create contrast in the overall image. It is thought provoking in both its subject matter and applied technique.

Wilkin’s first place gives him $2,500 from The Wendy Mayrose Memorial Award.

“I have been working on scenes of Melrose Heights in Columbia, where we are living for the past couple of years,” Wilkin said. “It is a mix of influences that have driven my recent work. This piece was attempting to capture a moment in time that normally would have been overlooked and yet when examined closely actually carries in it the currents of our time and the beauty of the eternal.”

Wilkin was reared in southeastern rural Ohio, and he and his wife Candace have three children. For 26 years, he worked as a graphic designer in New York City for most of the major publishing houses, art directing book cover designs. In his spare time he painted and showed his work in several solo exhibitions at the Frank Miele Gallery in Manhattan. His work was chosen by UNICEF to grace its Christmas card in 2000 and has been exhibited in the US Senate Building in Washington, DC. His work has been featured in Country Living Magazine, Down East Magazine, Yankee Magazine, and Maine Boats and Harbors. He has been profiled many times by the news media.

Second place was taken by Seth Scheving of Anderson, SC, for his work “Ignorance Was Bliss”, a watercolor and ink on paper work of a blindfolded white man wearing a shirt made from an American flag. He received $1,000 from the Friends of Artists Collective | Spartanburg.

“I actually watched the video at 10am (Saturday, Sept. 26) with a lot of nerves,” Scheving said. “I just had a weird feeling, I guess. I kept watching and waiting as they were announcing the pieces, and when they got to the third-place winner, I was at the edge of my seat – hopeful but keeping my expectations low. Then they changed scenes, and they were standing in front of my piece, and I got really overwhelmed. I cried. I’ve never won anything on this level. The piece was my most politically driven, and I didn’t know what the response was going to be. I was content to be included – never would’ve thought it would win an award.”

This entry is a wonderful example of hyperrealism used sparingly to drive home the political message. Front and center is a blindfolded white man wearing an American flag that is in contrast to the white-on-white background all-cap letters that repeatedly spell WHITE PRIVILEGE. The man is expressionless, however, he wears a Cleveland Indians baseball cap with the red-faced Chief Wahoo logo bearing teeth and raging eyes. Careful examination shows the man’s skin is a rainbow of colors.

“As a middle-class white male living in the Southeast, this painting is for all my white peers who do not realize the privileges we have benefited from,” Scheving said. “I am more speaking to the crowd who think they have no part in it. Choosing to remain ignorant or uninvolved is just perpetuating the problems. We need to be aware of our failings and teach the next generations how to make meaningful change in our country. Equality needs to be an equal opportunity for all, but before we can have that, we really need equity -– we spread the resources to those who need them most, so we can all have an equal starting point. No one is born racist: It is a learned behavior. We need to teach our youth that everyone belongs.” He plans to donate a portion of his winnings to the Urban League of the Upstate.

Scheving grew up in North Dakota before moving to the Anderson area in 2008, where he attended Anderson University. As an undergraduate, he discovered his love for watercolor and has been painting with the medium since 2009. He specializes in watercolor and producing work that illustrates vulnerability, dark undertones, self-reflection, or subtle humor. During the past decade, Scheving ventured into graphic design and marketing for about six years, until ultimately becoming a high school art teacher in 2019. He has also served as an instructor at the Anderson Arts Center and has been on the curation committee since 2019. His work has been shown in various South Carolina galleries and shows. Most recently, he has been invited to head an Anderson Mural Project, hoping to raise awareness for social injustices.

In third place is Bennett Stowe for her impressionistic “Dining Room”, a vibrant still-life that accentuates a large dining table in a refined room with red wallpaper. The work is in acrylic, charcoal, and oil pastel. Stowe, who lives in Charlotte, received $500 from the Collective.

This exaggerated and impressionistic image of a dining room gives the patron a sense of luxury gone awry. A passionate red used in the wallpaper and intermixed throughout the image dominate the palette, but the room is grounded with darker colors in the floor rug and lighter — airy — colors on the ceiling. The dining room table is grossly exaggerated from the back of the room to the edge of the canvas, making it both inviting and revolting at the same time. It is the sort of image a patron can study for a long time, taking in the various elements and wondering how they come together to create a dreamy room that just might be nightmarish.

“This work was inspired by my childhood home and the often troubling and unstable conditions that surrounded growing up there,” Stowe said. “This dining room is the space where my family and I had dinner together most evenings — or, at least, that’s what I remember. When my parents began their divorce and things started to fall apart more, I remember walking into that room and it felt so dark and cold and vacant. All of those feelings had dissipated and the warmth that was once there only existed in my memories. When I worked on this painting, I used a photograph of the house as a reference, but the majority of my decisions were made through those feelings and memories.

“I would define my work as having both expressionist and impressionist qualities,” she continued. “I tend to focus a lot of attention on light and color but also find that much of my stroke-making becomes very intuitive and reflective of the energy and emotion I feel while working through a painting that is very charged for me personally. I want people to take with them that although things may seem pristine or straightforward on the outside, they can often be far more troublesome and turbulent on the inside. Whether that may be a family, a home, or someone’s mental state: it can often be difficult for us to see the reality of someone’s circumstances.”

Stowe grew up in Charlotte and attended Virginia Commonwealth University to study art. She graduated in 2019 with a bachelor’s degree in painting and printmaking with a double major in Gender, Sexuality and Women’s Studies, as well as a minor in Art History. She has a passion for animals and worked as a veterinary assistant while living in Richmond before moving back home to Charlotte because of COVID-19. “I honestly don’t find painting to be very easy or even very fun a lot of the time, but I do feel it is something that is an important part of my identity and a way that I can conquer my own internalized feelings and ideas that I often have trouble dealing with in real life,” she said. “The challenge of working through a painting and creating an outcome that exceeds my own expectations is one of the most rewarding feelings.”

In addition to the first, second, and third place winners, there are five merits award winners, each of whom received $100:

Wendy Converse of Salem, SC, was recognized for her wood-fired ceramic, “Twisted Barrels Tested by Fire”, which is organic and almost biological in its conveyance of three opened-end tubes that melt and merge downward to a singular base.

Tomya Henderson of Greenville, SC, won for her abstract “The Essential Worker” painting of crowded black handprints holding cotton bolls against a red, green, and yellow backdrop.

Aldo Muzzarelli of Mauldin, SC, received merit attention for the mixed media work “Unprejudiced and Coloress Rain”, a portrait of a young African-American woman looking heavenward, amid colorless butterflies and shingle-like raindrops, with the lower portion of the canvas showing cracks in the mixed media of acrylic, graphite and metal leaf on canvas.

Lynne Tanner of Rutherfordton, NC, entered “untitled#1”, a nonrepresentational acrylic painting that utilizes a strong yellow base overlaid with striking and intrusive elements of a black and white tubular slant, three red dots, and a multi-hue blue capstone.

Mary Hannah Willingham of Fountain Inn, SC, presented “Forever on Call”, a 3-D creation of a wooden cabinet door, supporting an old-fashion (landline) wall-hanging rotary telephone that uses a red 6-inch high heel shoe as the handset.

The jurors (judges) for this show were Alice Sebrell, Program Director for the Black Mountain College Museum + Arts Center in Asheville, NC, and Connie Bostic, a late-blooming and highly involved artist in Western North Carolina.

Sebrell is a native of Charlotte and earned her master’s degree in photography from The Savannah College of Art and Design and her bachelor’s degree in fine art from the University of Delaware. She has written and spoken about Black Mountain College for multiple publications and gatherings and has curated many exhibitions during her time at the museum. Sebrell is also a practicing artist whose photographic and mixed media work has been exhibited nationally and internationally and is in many public and private collections.

Bostic is a native of Spindale, NC, born in 1936. Reared by her grandparents in a small southern town in the ‘40s and ‘50s, she spent two years at Gardner Webb Junior college and then did the expected thing for a young woman of that era: she married and had five children. In 1970 she moved with her growing family to Asheville and after a few years enrolled in her first drawing class. Unsure of her abilities she did not pursue a degree until 1989. In 1990 she finished a master’s degree at Western Carolina University. Since that time, she has had 28 solo exhibitions and has work featured in 44 group shows. Active in the Asheville arts community, she has curated exhibitions for the YMI Cultural Center, The World Gallery, and the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center. During her art career, she opened and closed a gallery in downtown Asheville, and has since devoted herself to her painting and teaching private students, maintaining her deep involvement in the Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center and her two young great granddaughters.

Artists Collective | Spartanburg is a membership-based and member-focused organization, providing low-cost studio space to more than 30 working artists. Its membership is more than 50. The Collective is housed in what was once a three story Baptist church. Each month (when safe from the pandemic), the Collective hosts three art exhibitions showcasing its members and guest artists. It has two galleries and the once-sanctuary now serves as a large gallery space, as well as a venue for performance art. Its annual juried show has some of the largest cash prizes in the region.

For more info, please visit (ArtistsCollectiveSpartanburg.org).

Artists Collective | Spartanburg in Spartanburg, SC, Calls for Entries for “The Art of Survival” – Deadline Dec. 1, 2020

Artists Collective | Spartanburg in Spartanburg, SC, is calling for Upstate South Carolina visual artists to participate in “The Art of Survival”, an exhibition of 100 pieces of art that were created during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic.

The exhibition will run Jan. 5 through Feb. 27, 2021, but the deadline to apply for entry is Dec. 1, 2020. Only the first 100 entries will be accepted. There is no entry fee, however, a $5 donation is suggested. Both 2-dimensional and 3-dimensional art will be accepted.

All funds raised through this exhibit will be redistributed to the participating artists in awards. A fundraising campaign is now taking place in hopes of raising at least $1,000 for awards.

“The entries will be screened for appropriateness,” Chair of the Collective’s Management Board Beth Regula said. “But the idea is to be as inclusive as possible. We know that most people — including artists — found themselves isolated and at home because of the pandemic. This has had a huge impact on the American psyche, on how we view the world, our communities, ourselves. We are looking for work that is reflective of this moment in time. The work does not have to be about the pandemic: It just has to be produced during it and impacted by it. We are calling this ‘An Exhibition of Epidemic Proportions.’”

Multiple awards will be made in this exhibition, including a People’s Choice, which will utilize online voting. Other awards will be made by local celebrity judges.

In addition to the selected artwork being on display at the Collective, located at 578 W. Main St., Spartanburg, it will also be posted on the gallery’s website.

“’The Art of Survival’ will be a very special art exhibition,” Regula said. “2020 has been a difficult year for everyone around the world. But hard times are often the impetus for great art. We want to show the world what Upstate artists have been doing during the pandemic, how it influenced their work, how it helped them cope. Hopefully, it will give the viewing public new insights on what it means to survive during difficult times — and give artists an outlet for their stored up creative energies.”

Full details about and the entry form for “The Art of Survival” are on the Collective’s website homepage at (ArtistsCollectiveSpartanburg.org).

Artists Collective | Spartanburg is a membership-based and member-focused organization, providing low-cost studio space to more than 30 working artists. Its membership is more than 50. The Collective is housed in what was once a three story Baptist church. Each month, the Collective hosts art exhibitions showcasing its members and guest artists. It has two galleries and the once-sanctuary now serves as a large gallery space, as well as a venue for performance art.

For more info, please visit online at (ArtistsCollectiveSpartanburg.org).

MacKenna Smith, a Senior at Wofford College, in Spartanburg, SC, Presents Virtual Exhibition

MacKenna Smith, an art history and chemistry major from Mount Pleasant, SC, will take over the Johnson Collection gallery’s social media account beginning Monday, May 4, to share her senior capstone project – a week of educational, interactive digital programming in support of the exhibition “Care Through Conservation: Behind the Scenes at the Johnson Collection.” Smith, who curated the exhibition as an intern with TJC, will offer a behind-the-scenes perspective on the process of conserving and restoring paintings.

MacKenna Smith

On Friday, May 8, the takeover culminates in the opening of a digital exhibition via the johnsoncollection.org. Smith will host a virtual gallery talk and live question-and-answer session at 6pm that day via TJC’s Instagram account, (@thejohnsoncollection).

Smith entered TJC’s competitive internship program with a passion for art conservation and restoration. This spring, she has conducted research in TJC’s office, worked directly with conservator Colin Post to care for paintings in the collection and created a digital exhibition initiative remotely from her hometown.

“I’ve really enjoyed shadowing Colin as well as getting to know all of the conservation work that has gone on at TJC,” Smith says. “A lot of effort has been put into making sure all of the art is very well taken care of. It’s been interesting getting to know TJC from the perspective of conservation and learning each piece’s unique story.”

Originally, Smith had planned for her capstone project to be an exhibition hung at TJC’s gallery in downtown Spartanburg, with her providing an in-person gallery talk during the week. “Because of the coronavirus, it was decided that the best way to proceed was to create a virtual exhibition, live-stream a gallery talk and get the public excited for the show using a social media takeover,” says Smith.

“While I was disappointed that my experience would not be exactly how I envisioned it, this process has taught me a great deal about how to communicate virtually and engage an audience with art although they are not viewing it in person,” she adds.

Smith has been interning at TJC for her project for a class with Dr. Karen Goodchild, Chapman Family Professor of Humanities/Art History and chair of the Department of Art and Art History.

“Specifically, I want to discuss the material make-up of different paintings and the various types of damage that can affect them,” Smith says. “I will explain the unique ways conservators clean, restore and stabilize these works. Using paintings from TJC’s collection, I will feature behind-the-scenes photos from their conservation treatments. Additionally, all of these paintings happen to be by female artists. This is consistent with TJC’s celebration of The Year of the Woman.

“I am extremely thankful for this opportunity to dive deeply into an area I’m so passionate about,” says Smith, who will move to Chicago after graduation to work as a restoration assistant for a company producing restoration-grade masonry materials. “I have gained invaluable knowledge and experience about curatorial work and how a collection like TJC functions on a day-to-day basis. This internship has allowed me to venture further into the field of art history and really work in a way that will be beneficial in my endeavors moving forward.”

Wofford College, established in 1854, is a four-year, residential liberal arts college located in Spartanburg, SC. It offers 27 major fields of study to a student body of 1,725 undergraduates. Nationally known for its strong academic program, outstanding faculty, study abroad participation and successful graduates, Wofford is recognized consistently as a “best value college” and is among the “New York Times” “Top Colleges Doing the Most for the American Dream,” a ranking based on accessibility for low- and middle-income students. The college community enjoys Greek Life as well as 19 NCAA Division I athletics teams.

Wofford College is equipped with a ReadyCam Studio where we can provide you with live satellite interviews with sources from the college or the region. For information about the ReadyCam capabilities, contact Laura Corbin by e-mail at (laura.corbin@wofford.edu) or call 864/597-4180 or go to (https://www.wofford.edu/about/news/media-center#readyCamStudio).

Artists Collective | Spartanburg in Spartanburg, SC, Offers 10th Anniversary Celebration & Fundraiser – Mar. 21, 2020

Artists Collective | Spartanburg, formerly West Main Artists Cooperative, is celebrating its 10th anniversary and rebranding with a fundraiser, “Sparkle & Shine,” March 21, 6 – 8pm. The event will feature an art exhibit with works for sale by member artists, performance art by the Madddartist, an interactive art installation by Jimmy O’Neal and a scavenger hunt, as well as hors d’oeuvres and wine.

This fundraising event is a coming-out party for the organization’s new image, one that it hopes will showcase more completely the over 50 member artists who live in all parts of Spartanburg and surrounding counties. Attendees will have the opportunity to view the 32 artists’ studios that are housed in the former church building at 578 W. Main St. in Spartanburg.

“Our name, West Main Artists Co-Op, suggested a neighborhood organization with a small number of members and a limited reach in the community,” Dave Sawyer, fundraising chair of Artists Collective | Spartanburg, explains. “We came to realize that a clear and defining name and a dynamic and recognizable logo are extremely important to the overall success of our organization and the fulfillment of our mission.”

Beth Regula has been the Chair of the Management Board for the past seven years and witnessed the growth, challenges and change. “I know that opportunities have not always been available for young artists or young-at-art artists, and this is what keeps me involved,” she says of the process of creating art space out of an abandoned church that now houses the largest collection of locally-made art for sale in the county.

The organization became increasingly aware of the fact that to be sustainable they needed to tell their story better and increase sources of funding through grants and sponsorships. This fundraiser is a step toward involving the community in the important process of realizing the mission of making art and artists more accessible.

Tickets for the event, $40 for singles, $75 for couples, may be purchased online at (artistscollectivespartanburg.org), at the Retail Shop at 578 W. Main Street, or at the door the night of the event.

Art donated for the Sparkle and Shine fundraiser will be on display and for sale in Galleries 2 and 3 and for sale for the month of March. All proceeds will benefit the collective.

For information contact Artists Collective | Spartanburg or Beth Regula, by calling 864/804-6501, or e-mail to (chair@artistscollectivespartanburg.org).

Hub City Empty Bowls in Spartanburg, SC, Kicks Off Its 12th Year in 2020 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day – Jan. 20, 2020

The Hub City Empty Bowls will present its first two bowl-making sessions of 2020 on Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Monday, Jan. 20, 2020, at Wofford College, in Spartanburg, SC, from 10am-noon and 1-3pm.

Bowl-making sessions are public events where anyone from professional potters to beginners can make hand-shaped pottery bowls. Volunteers will provide you with materials and assist you when necessary. The bowls are then glazed and fired by members of Carolina Clay Artists and other volunteers.

“Most people find these bowl-making events to be fun and creative,” said HCEB chairperson, Bruce Bowyer. “This is perfect for people who have never done pottery but want to try, or for experienced potters to give back to the community. It is also a great place to come with your family. We love seeing everyone having fun while they make bowls.”
Every year, HCEB partners with a charity to donate their proceeds to. For the past few years, they have partnered with TOTAL Ministries, a nonprofit that donates food to locals in need.

In the fall, Hub City Empty Bowls hosts Soup Day, a public event that allows patrons to donate $20 and receive a previously-made bowl. In addition, patrons get to enjoy soup donated to the event by local restaurants.

“We are now going into our 12th year of Hub City Empty Bowls,” said Bowyer. “Time and again, Empty Bowls has proven to be one of Spartanburg’s most popular fundraisers. Last year, we donated more than $25,000 to TOTAL Ministries, and it was all done by members of the community who made simple pottery bowls.”

For more information and to find out about upcoming events, visit (hubcityemptybowls.com) or check out their Facebook page, Hub City Empty Bowls.

Hub City Empty Bowls is one of Spartanburg County’s most respected and successful grassroots fundraisers organized by Carolina Clay Artists. Its purpose is to use the making of pottery bowls as a means to raise money that will help feed local citizens who don’t have enough to eat. Each year, Hub City Empty Bowls raises tens of thousands of dollars that are given to a local charity that is aligned with this purpose.

West Main Artists Co-op in Spartanburg, SC, Announce the Winners of its First Regional Juried Show

The first-place winner in West Main Artists Co-op’s first four-state juried art exhibit, “WMAC 2019” is Cindy Shute of Lockhart, SC, for her oil-on-linen painting “Peacemaker: Hrair Balian”. She receives a cash prize of $2,500 that was given in memory of Frank P. Cyrill, Jr.

Work by Cindy Shute

Second prize of $1,000 was taken by Gordon Dohm of Greenville, SC, for his photograph “Fungi Fantasy”.

Work by Gordon Dohm

And, third-place of $500 was won by Tracey M. Timmons of Spartanburg, SC, for “Manacle of Justice”, a bracelet made of vitreous enamel, copper, silver, brass, and photography.

Work by Tracey M. Timmons

The seven merit awards of $100 and $250 went to Mark Flowers of Alexander, NC; Lee Sipe of Columbia, SC; Sabrina Barilone of Macon, GA; Tom Dimond of Seneca, SC; Christina Dixon of Roebuck, SC; David Stuart of North Augusta, SC; and Martha Worth of Hilton Head, SC.

“WMAC 2019” opened on Saturday, Sept. 14, and closed on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2019. It was open to all adult visual artists in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee. Two-hundred-forty-one (241) artists from the four states applied, and 66 were admitted into the show based on the judgement of jurors Ann DerGara and Mike Vatalaro.

The winners were announced on Saturday, Sept. 21, during a reception and awards ceremony. Seventy-four (74) works of art in this exhibit were on display at the Co-op, which is open Tuesday-Saturday, 10am-4pm. There is no charge to see the exhibitions.

“We could not be happier with our first juried show,” Chair, Beth Regula said. “This is something we had wanted to do for several years, and it took more than a year of planning, but it was worth it. Having a show of this magnitude and with these cash prizes establishes West Main Artists Co-op as an art agency that is leading Spartanburg in its quest to be an art Mecca in South Carolina and throughout the South. It says we have the creativity, the knowhow, the professionalism, the resources, and the desire to take the Co-op to the next level. Next year will be even better!”

“I’m so excited to be a part of WMAC’s world,” Shute said. “This first exhibition was as professionally conducted as I have ever seen. When I was told I was Best in Show, at the time, honestly, I was shocked. It’s not that I didn’t think my painting is good. As a professional artists mature, we know our good work from our less successful efforts — I think that’s a key part of being a professional. So I wasn’t surprised to have been included in the show.

“When I arrived that evening and saw the body of work I was thrilled. Virtually every piece in the exhibition is good — very good. A couple of pieces took my breath away. So, I felt particularly honored to be included. With ‘Peacemaker’, I had pushed myself into a new space with portraiture. In my early work I tended to avoid background, contextual elements, thinking at the time that the subject should convey their story a priori — that the essence of the sitter should be codified in the presentation of their likeness, and if successful, the minimalist approach would say everything that needed to be said. So this new approach for me, including symbolic elements to tell the story, was a big leap.

“I honestly feel validated,” she continued. “I wasn’t sure if the piece worked. So now I’m really charged up about this new direction, and ready to take on more portrait-stories. And I’m so very grateful to WMAC for giving me a big hug along the way!”

The Co-op is a membership-based nonprofit arts agency with more than 50 members, who are visual artists and performing artists. It is housed in a former Baptist church near downtown Spartanburg on West Main Street. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, the Co-op houses 31 artists studios, two stages, three galleries, a printery, a ceramics studio, and the largest collection of for-sale locally made art in Spartanburg. Each month, the Co-op normally installs three exhibits by its members and guest artists.

In their jurors’ statements, Ann DerGara said: “ I am amazed at the quality of work that was entered. I think that opening the show to additional states has made this become an important show for the region and Spartanburg. The arts are growing rapidly in the region and this show will make Spartanburg known as art venue as well as Asheville and Greenville. As the Arts grow so does the economy. WMAC produced this show and jury with professionalism and expertise.”

Mike Vatalaro said: “The very nature of a juried exhibition celebrates a broad range of medium and imagery. I enjoyed the task of identifying works that well represented the mediums chosen, techniques accomplished and the subjects investigated. The exhibition reveals a broad selection of work which I believe demonstrate an individual vision within both conventional and experimental genres. I was very impressed by the quality and richness demonstrated in all of the mediums displayed. I hope you will find each work invites close examination and has something unique to offer.”

A list of all accepted work can be found online at (www.WestMainArtists.org).

“This is a vast and diverse show,” Regula said. “I invite the public to come see it and to take in the talent and creativity that surrounds us here in the South. A large show such as this one, expands our appreciation for the art that is readily available to us. It makes a statement that West Main Artists Co-op are striving and succeeding at making Spartanburg THE art community in South Carolina and beyond.”

Make a Bowl for Charity – Converse College in Spartanburg, SC, Donates Space for Hub City Empty Bowls Event – July 13, 2019

Hub City Empty Bowls in Spartanburg, SC, will sponsor two free and public pottery bowl-making sessions at Converse College on Saturday, July 13, 2019, at 10am-noon and 1-3pm. The bowls made during these creative and grassroots events will be used later to raise money to feed needy Spartanburg citizens through TOTAL Ministries, a faith-based agency that aids people in financial straits.

No talent or skill is needed to participate, only a creative community spirit and the desire to help those in need. All materials — clay, instruction, space — are provided at no cost. Participants will hand-shape clay bowls that will be left at Converse College to be finished by experienced potters through the lead sponsoring agency Carolina Clay Artists. In the fall, the finished bowls will be used at the much-anticipated Soup Day, a community event that lets people select the bowls of their choice for $20 donations and then eat soup provided by local restaurants, hear live music, and enjoy the fellowship.

Several hundreds of colorful bowls of various styles and shapes are available on Soup Day. About two dozen restaurants provide the soup. And for the past few years, more than $30,000 has been raised each year.

“We are thrilled that Converse College has welcomed Hub City Empty Bowls on its campus for this event,” Chairman Bruce Bowyer said. “We are grateful for Converse’s generous community spirit in letting us use its studio space. This year, we also held bowl-making sessions at Wofford College and West Main Artists Co-op. Their contributions and involvement are vital to our success in making bowls that are turned into funds to help those in need. Thank you Converse College, Wofford College, and West Main Artists Co-op for giving your resources and for caring about people who don’t have enough to eat.”

Hub City Empty Bowls, a non-profit agency, is now in its eleventh year of helping people who are “food insecure,” which is usually defined as not being sure you’ll have the resources for your next meal. Empty Bowls is an international and grassroots effort by clay potters to help feed the needy. There is no headquarters or central administration. Each community designs its fundraising program around the concept of using clay bowls made by citizens to raise money to feed the needy. The exact ways and means are different for each community.

For more information about Hub City Empty Bowls, please visit online the Facebook page and the website at (HubCityEmptyBowls.com).

West Main Artists Co-op in Spartanburg, SC, Calls for Entries for “WMAC 2019 A Juried Exhibition” – Deadline Aug. 3, 2019

West Main Artists Co-op in Spartanburg, SC, is putting out a call to all artists, 18 years or older, residing in South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, and Tennessee to apply for acceptance into “WMAC 2019 A Juried Exhibition”.

This is the first regional, juried exhibition presented by the Co-op with the intention of it becoming an annual event to showcase the amazing diversity of work within this southern region. The exhibition will take place within our 2000-square-foot gallery space, The Venue@West Main.

Entries will be accepted July 7 – August 3, 2019.

Jurors are: Ann DerGara, a painter and printmaker from Brevard, NC, and Mike Vatalaro, Professor Emeritus of Art / Ceramics from Clemson University in Clemson, SC.

Click here to download a prospectus at (https://www.westmainartists.org/WMAC2019-portrait20190123.pdf).

Hub City Empty Bowls To Host Second Bowl-Making Day of 2019 in Spartanburg, SC – June 8, 2019

Hub City Empty Bowls will sponsor a bowl-making event at West Main Artists Co-op in Spartanburg, SC, on Saturday, June 8, 2019, from 1 until 4pm. Everyone is invited to make pottery bowls, which will be used to raise funds to feed needy people of Spartanburg. There is no cost to participate, and all instruction and supplies are provided by volunteers from Carolina Clay Artists, the organization in charge of this annual not-for-profit community project. “Every year, I am amazed at how this never gets old,” Hub City Empty Bowl chairman and Carolina Clay Artists board member Bruce Bowyer said. “There is something very special about the Empty Bowls project that brings people together to do good work in our community. All it takes is people coming together to shape clay and then coming together to eat soup.”

The first bowl-making event of 2019 was held in January at Wofford College. The third bowl-making event of the year will be at Converse College on Saturday, July 13, 2019. To participate, you don’t need special skills or talents, just a creative spirit, willing hands, and the desire to help people in the community. The bowls made by citizens will be left at West Main Artists Co-op to be glazed and fired by volunteer potters.

All the bowls made throughout the year are gathered together for Soup Day, an event where the public can get the bowls of their choice for a donation of $20 each. Some people get several bowls to be used as gifts or table settings. There are hundreds of bowls in different colors and shapes, made by people with many different levels of experience. During Soup Day, patrons enjoy a wide selection of donated soups, live music, and a silent auction. All proceeds from the event are donated to TOTAL Ministries, an organization that raises money to feed local citizens who are food insecure.

“There are approximately 37,000 Spartanburg County residents who are food insecure,” TOTAL Ministries’ Executive Director Traci Kennedy said. “People who are food insecure have to make a choice of paying to avoid utility disconnection or putting food on the table. Before partnering with Hub City Empty Bowls, our pantry would be empty during the summer months when donations are low. Now, although it is not always full, there is always food to help those in need.”

Hub City Empty Bowls is one of Spartanburg County’s most respected and successful grassroots fundraisers, now in its eleventh year. Its purpose is to use the making of pottery bowls as a means to raise money that will help feed local citizens who don’t have enough to eat. Each year, Hub City Empty Bowls raises tens of thousands of dollars that are given to a local charity that is aligned with this purpose.

For more information, visit (HubCityEmptyBowls.com) or its Facebook page.