arts & entertainment
On the wall Haywood Arts open call, member show This July, the Haywood County Arts Council invites its artist members to participate in its annual “Artist Member Show.” The show is a celebration of our community of artists, allowing them to share their great work at the height of the summer season. It will be a show filled with variety, including painters, potters, jewelers, and more. The show will run from July 6-28 To participate, member artists should please pick out two or three pieces of work that they would like to feature in the show. Then, download a show contract/inventory sheet from the Haywood County Arts Council website or pick one up from HCAC Gallery & Gifts. Email completed forms to artist@haywoodarts.org or mail to P.O. Box 306, Waynesville, NC 28786. If you are not current member but still want to participate, there’s still time to join. For a $40 annual fee or $30 Young Innovator (age 18-39 years) fee, artists get all the benefits of membership: participation in the member show, an artist page on the HCAC website, first calls for work to artists, and more. Artist membership information can be found on the website.
For more information about HCAC programs and events, visit the Haywood County Arts Council website at www.haywoodarts.org.
Haywood ‘ArtShare’ seeks donations This year marks the sixth year of the Haywood County Arts Council’s (HCAC) “ArtShare” exhibit. “ArtShare” is a showing of fine works of art which have been donated to or consigned with the HCAC. The HCAC welcomes pieces from collectors that may be downsizing, changing décor, or who wish to consign estate items to benefit the arts in this community. The HCAC will accept donations or consigned items in the gallery beginning July 11, though inventory sheets may be turned in prior. Inventory sheets are due no later than July 20. Artists may participate by sharing their own work, but only if donating. If you have questions, call the HCAC at 828.452.0593. “ArtShare” runs from Aug. 325. More information about donating, including show contracts and inventory lists, can be found at www.haywoodarts.org.
Smoky Mountain News
June 13-19, 2018
A recent work by Kay Smith.
Artist showcase at Franklin library
Western North Carolina artist Kay Smith returns for a solo exhibit at the Macon County Public Library in Franklin. The showcase will run for the month of June. Part of the display will feature a nautical theme: boats, water, and sea shells to name a few subjects. Another theme will focus on flowers. The rest of the exhibit will feature a mixture of topics ranging from mystical orbs, a rip in time, and a beautiful peacock feather. Smith’s diverse background provides 36 her a plethora ideas, and inspire her to
Glass Catalyst: Littleton’s Legacy in Contemporary Sculpture
numerous artistic subject matters. Her exposure to world-wide cultures has allowed her imagination the freedom to explore and interpret everyday objects and put them onto canvas; thus, creating unique works of art. Her medium is oil because it allows her time to play and manipulate her work as she goes along. Subjects vary from flowers, landscapes, raindrops, clouds, and spiritual subjects — whatever takes her fancy on any particular day. It is Smith’s hope that her artwork will produce a smile or two, bring back a fond memory, or inspire the viewer to create their own reality. To see more of her art, visit www.kaysfineart.com. The exhibit is free and open to the public.
‘Knit Knot’ by Carol Milne. The Western Carolina University Fine Art Museum at the Bardo Arts Center is pleased to announce the opening of its newest exhibition “Glass Catalyst: Littleton’s Legacy in Contemporary Sculpture,” which will run June 14 through Dec. 7. Celebrating the efforts of Harvey Littleton, one of the greatest proponents of using glass as an expressive medium, the exhibition explores the work of contemporary artists concentrating in glass and how they are building off the foundations laid by Littleton during the early years of the Studio Glass Movement. A key work in the exhibition will be a new acquisition to the Museum’s collection: a glass sculpture by Harvey Littleton entitled “Terracotta Arc.” This piece will be unveiled at a special opening reception from 5 to 7 p.m. Thursday, June 14, at the Bardo Arts Center, which would have been Littleton’s 96th birthday. Donated by the Littleton Family in honor of WCU Professor Emeritus Joan Falconer Byrd, this sculpture serves as a focal point in the exhibition and a reminder of how Littleton’s impact reverberates through the generations. Artists featured in the exhibition include: Alex Bernstein, Carol Milne, Hayden Wilson, Matt Eskuche, Shane Fero, Robert Burch, Carmen Lozar, Carole Frève, Einar and Jamex de la Torre, Shayna Leib, and Dean Allison. Glass enthusiasts, sculptors, lovers of innovation, and even knitters will especially enjoy this display of works ranging from cast figures to blown glass to delicate lamp-worked forms. The majority of the artists in the exhibition represent a younger generation of glass sculptors who did not directly work with or
study under Littleton, yet each of them, like Littleton, works glass to its fullest potential by creatively expanding the medium. All of the artists represented in the exhibition take a conceptual approach to their work, ushering glass beyond the functional realm where its traditional roots lie. Born to a physicist who worked at Corning Glass Works, Littleton encountered glass in a factory setting at an early age. Believing that glass had creative potential outside its applications in industry, Littleton set out to make it possible for artists to experiment with glass in their individual studios. He built a small-scale furnace and other equipment that could be used for blowing glass. This initial experimentation inspired Littleton to share his findings with others. In 1962, Littleton led a watershed glass workshop at the Toledo Museum of Art that would eventually spark the creation of glass programs at universities, craft schools, and art centers throughout the world. He is often credited with making information about glass widely available. Coming out of an era when glass techniques and formulas were concentrated in Europe and largely kept secret, Littleton took a democratic, and arguably American, approach to his art form by sharing ideas and techniques freely amongst a community of interested artists. His efforts led to the elevation of glass as an art form and the creation of a viable market for artists working in glass. Regular museum hours are 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and Thursdays until 7 p.m. For information, call 828.227.ARTS or visit bardoartscenter.wcu.edu.