Posts from November 21, 2006 until October 4, 2006

Midlands Clay Arts Society will have their 7th annual Holiday show and sale on December 1st and 2nd, 2006 at the Gallery 80808/Vista Studios
in Columbia, South Carolina. The opening reception will be on Friday, December 1st, 2006, from 6:00 pm until 9:00 pm.

The Midlands Clay Arts Society was organized in 1987. Its members include local potters, crafts people and clay artists who promote the appreciation of things made in clay. This will be a unique opportunity to meet the artists and purchase one-of-a-kind pieces. We will showcase functional pieces, raku pottery, sculpture and jewelry made out of clay. You will have a chance to buy raffle tickets to win unique work of art donated by the artists, with all proceeds supporting the visual Arts students at the Edward E. Taylor Elementary School.

The Society has a variety of members which include both amateur and professional artists. In spite of the very different backgrounds and widely diverse skills, the common factor is everyone’s love of clay.

The exhibit and sale will take place at the Gallery 80808 in Columbia’s Vista area. The gallery is located on 808 Lady Street. Admission is free. The show will be open on December 1st, Friday from noon until 9:00pm and on December 2nd, Saturday, from 10:00 am until 5:00 pm.

For additional information, please contact Tuula Ihamaki-Widdifield at [email protected] or call Vista Studios at (803) 252-6134

Vista Lights Features New Artists Stephen Chesley and Jeff Donovan

Gallery 80808 at Vista Studios will open the exhibit, New Crop: New Art, featuring work by Stephen Chesley and Jeff Donovan, as part of “Vista Lights” on Nov. 16. The exhibit continues through Nov. 29, 2006. The artists’ studios of Vista Studios will also be open for this evening of art celebration (5-10pm) throughout Columbia’s Congaree Vista.

The title New Crop: New Art aptly describes this year’s exhibition for “Vista Light”.

New Crop: The show is the yield of the artists’ efforts through the summer. In truth it is the fruit of years of work by the artists at their craft. “Vista Lights” serves as the annual harvest. It marks the change of season for Columbia as well, ushering in the holiday season.

New Crop: The exhibition includes work by Chesley and Donovan, two artists new to Vista Studios but known to regional audiences and collectors.

New Crop: The exhibition is a harvest of mature work by artists passionately cultivating established themes and directions.

As far as the other offerings for “Vista Light”, David Yaghjian’s thoughts on middle age again surface in curious scenes with a “senior” pot-bellied man. Jeff Donovan brings his quirky imagery to 3D in ceramic works. The human figure continues to dominate the ceramic pieces of Pat Gillmartin, 2D works of Robert Kennedy and assemblages of Pat Callahan.

Ethel Brody has reached new scale and impact in her abstract paintings. Susan Lenz offers a crop of 10 stitched mixed media works based on autumn vegetation. A student of energy work, Sharon Licata expresses energies of the sacral chakra (second chakra) and the heart chakra (fourth chakra) in an alabaster sculpture.

Heidi Darr Hope continues to mine the serendipitous interplay between inner and outer realms in mixed media collages. Painter Stephen Chesley conjures landscapes of changeable forms in fleeting half-light. Similarly, painter Laura Spong intuitively builds and negates color and markings on her canvases. In contrast, Don Zurlo develops his richly surfaced canvases from digital studies.

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November 3rd and 4th

ARTIST’S RECEPTION FRIDAY, November 3rd, 6-8pm
GALLERY 80808
808 LADY ST. / COLUMBIA, SC
www.gallery80808vistastudios.com

Open hours:
Friday 3rd ,10 am-8 pm
Saturday 3rd, 10 – 3pm
Shop early for someone who has everything!
MC, Visa and Discover accepted
For more information ,
e-mail [email protected] or call (803)414.9647

This promises to be an excellent show full of great artwork and holiday gift ideas.

One of the featured artists, Penny Burke, gave the following statement about her creative process: “I have been working with clay for 10 years; I consider myself a self-taught clay artist having no “formal” art education. All of my work is created with hand building techniques using slabs, coils, stamps and attachments; nothing is thrown on a wheel. My love of hand-building continues to drive me toward new and better work; the rustic, not so perfect look is what I love the most.”

“Shelter” opens October 20 at Gallery 80808 in
Columbia with a free reception 5 to 9 PM. The
exhibition presents artwork by Midlands’ artists
inspired by the work of the Women’s Shelter, Columbia,
and the courage of the women who cross its threshold.
This “art for awareness” exhibition is organized by
Open Eyes, which supports women’s triumphs over
staggering odds. The show continues through October
30. Call 252-6134 for gallery hours.