Art Expressions: Shoals Artists Guild Members Show

‘The Basket Maker’ Martha Carpenter, oil on canvas

The Shoals Artist Guild Annual Members Show will be displayed from October 23rd through December 28th in the Kennedy-Douglass Annex Galleries. The group exhibit includes paintings in oil, watercolor, pastel, acrylic, and mixed media. This year’s judge, Decatur, Alabama oil painter Robin Roberts, will chose nine pieces as award winners :

1st place: The Basket Maker, Martha Carpenter, oil on canvas

2nd place: October Fashion, Mary Linville, acrylic

3rd place: By Momma’s Side 2, Bonnie Davis, acrylic on canvas

Honorable mentions: ‘Reflections, Linda Thompson, ‘Neighbors’, Carolyn Wear and ‘Shoals Theater’, Diedrick Weaver.

Merit awards: ‘Study in Purple’, Carol Howdyshell, ‘Memories of Mom’, Julia Gray and ‘Secret Serpent’, Carolyn Wear.

ABOUT THE SHOALS ARTISTS GUILD:

The Guild was founded in 1952 and includes members that work in a wide variety of media and across a broad range of styles and techniques. They meet the third Friday of each month at the arts center for technical demonstrations and to discuss current topics relevant to visual arts. Members are welcome to stay after meetings to sketch or paint. The Guild maintains a permanent presence with original paintings and prints in the FAM gallery on the second floor of the Kennedy-Douglass Art Center./ New members are always welcome.

CALL FOR ENTRIES: upcoming exhibit to benefit One Place of the Shoals

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS: 5PM Monday,SEPTEMBER 21ST!

ARTISTS FOR COMMUNITY: in support of One Place of the Shoals

Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts is collaborating with Artists for Community to host an exhibit that will raise funds for One Place of the Shoals, a non-profit organization that provides crisis care services to victims of domestic violence and sexual assault.  We are accepting artwork submissions from the public for this community art show that will also feature artwork by UNA faculty and art students. UNA art students created Artists for Community to raise money for Shoals area non-profits, all artwork included in the show will be for sale, 60% of all proceeds will be donated to One Place, the artist will receive the remaining 40%. The exhibit will open Saturday, October 3^rd  and will remain open through Friday, October 16^th. The Artists for Community exhibit will be centered around community support for One Place of the Shoals, a ground-breaking collaborative family justice center that provides a safe and comforting atmosphere with state-of-the-art facilities for victims and their children facing this most difficult part of their lives. 

We will be accepting artwork in the following mediums:

2D: Painting, Drawing, Photography, Digital prints and Collage

3D: Sculpture, Mixed Media and Mobile

Artists may submit up to 3 pieces. Questions may be emailed to: nmairesse@florenceal.org.

The application period has ended for the Artists for Community exhibit, and all submissions have been juried. Applicants will be notified via email if their artwork will be part of the show.

The Shape of Joy – Exhibit opening on Sunday, August 16th

The Shape of Joy: new paintings from Dr. Hisham Ba’albaki will open on Sunday, August 16th.

“Life” 35″ x 42″ Acrylic paint and pastel on paper

Dr. Ba’albaki is a self-taught artist that began painting in recent years as a counterbalance to his professional work as a cardiologist. Dr. Ba’albaki’s work is abstract, dynamic, and expressive – he prefers acrylic paint because “it lends itself to experimentation, mixed media, layering, paint transfer and gel printing techniques to name a few.” Other features that characterize his work include heavy texturing and the use of forceful mark making on relativity large canvas or paper surfaces. His palette is typically bright and limited.

“Having spent my teens and twenties in Lebanon during its civil war, other than dabbling with photography, interest in art was never on the radar. Pursuit of higher education followed by an all-consuming career, placed my “right brain” in a hiatus for another thirty years. It wasn’t until my mid-fifties that I started appreciating art and working with wood and currently with paint…While my paintings are non-representational and intuitive, they do lend themselves to varied and personal interpretation, my main interest is an enjoyable creative process.”

We will host a reception on Sunday, August 16th from 1pm-3pm at the Kennedy-Douglass Art Center while observing safe distancing and limited visitors in each gallery.

CAMP KD is accepting applications for our Summer Arts Program for children grades 1-6

We invite you to join our summer arts program for children: CAMP KD!

We will be taking great care to provide a safe learning environment for your children grades 1-6, each session will be limited to 15 students, with groups of 5 students per teacher and class room, and as much use of our beautiful outdoor spaces as weather allows.

We are offering two 5-day sessions:

SESSION 1: JULY 13-17

SESSION 2: JULY 20-24

Grades 1-3 meet from 9am -11am /// Grades 4-6 meet from noon – 2pm

Tuition for first child is $50 per Session, each additional child is $45.

Deadline to apply is Monday, June 29th.

You may pick up an application form at Kennedy-Douglass from 9am-4pm daily, Monday-Friday.

OR

You can access the online application by clicking on the link below:

https://forms.gle/JM3XW7VG6pbH8eaVA

Helter Shelter: Art in Isolation

Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts is now open to the public during our regular hours. A community art show featuring art made during quarantine is showing in both the Main and Annex galleries. Over fifty artists contributed to the exhibit which will be on display until July 6th.

HELTER SHELTER: Art in Isolation

CALL FOR ENTRIES:

Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts is accepting artwork submissions for a community art show that will be the Art Center’s first exhibit upon reopening.FOLLOW THE LINK BELOW TO ACCESS THE APPLICATION FORM. The exhibit opening is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, June 2nd. The Helter Shelter exhibit will be centered around making art in isolation; we are asking artists to submit artwork created while sheltering at home that responds to their experience of social isolation. 

We will be accepting artwork in the following mediums:

2D: Painting, Drawing, Photography, Collage, Printing and Textile/Fiber

3D: Sculpture, Mixed Media,Clay, Wood and Mobile

Artwork Submissions accepted: 5 pm, 04/28/20 –  5 pm, 05/20/20

ArtworkSubmissions deadline: 5 pm, 05/20/20

Tentative exhibit opening: 06/02/20

If you have questions regarding this exhibit you can email your inquiries here: nmairesse@florenceal.org

LINK TO APPLICATION FORM :

https://forms.gle/bLZRpEtxhueyT45fA

Current exhibit: Artistic Renderings of Youth

Artistic Renderings of Youth, a juried exhibit of work by 7^th through 12^th grade artists from Colbert and Lauderdale counties, is on display at Kennedy-Douglass Center for the Arts through March 27th. Celebrating its 29th year, this exhibit has developed into an outstanding showcase of youth art.  

March is nationally recognized as Youth Art Month.  This exhibit provides an opportunity for the community to discover the young artistic talent in our area. The competition is coordinated by a group of junior high and high school art teachers to give students a chance to exhibit their art work and receive recognition for their talent.  This year close to 300 pieces representing 15 different schools were accepted and exhibited. Ribbons are awarded in three grade divisions: Division 1: 7th and 8th grades, Division2: 9th and 10th grades, and Division 3: 11th and 12th grades.

The exhibit is open daily, Monday – Friday 9am – 4pm.

 

“MY ALABAMA” John Dersham Photographs a State

John Dersham’s most recent collection of Alabama landscape photographs are on display from January 15th through February 19th in the Kennedy-Douglass Annex gallery. The My Alabama exhibit reveals the spectacular beauty found within the state’s rich biodiversity, complex river systems, forests, roads, and streetscapes. Mr. Dersham will be teaching a two-part workshop “TAKING BETTER PICTURES: COMPOSITION, LIGHTING AND IMPACT” comprised of a presentation on Friday evening, January 31st, 6 – 8:30PM and a hands-on downtown photo shoot on Saturday, February 1st, 7:30AM – 1PM. 

Photo credit: John Dersham

 

 

GALLERY TALK: Friday, January 17th at 6PM

PAINTINGS AS PERSONAL THEATER : Surrealist paintings by Guy Robinson

“I enjoy playing on traditional subjects (still life, landscape, the figure, mythology, religious images) and the expectations that have grown up around them – as around how we see reality in general. The nature of life is that appearances are changeable and deceptive. So, paradox is always the subject.”

gallery talk: sunday, december 15th at 2pm

Kennedy- Douglass Center for the Arts is pleased to present Paintings as Personal Theater : Surrealist paintings by Guy Robinson. A gallery talk is scheduled for Sunday afternoon, December 15 at 2PM and the exhibit will remain open from December 15th – January 10th. Mr. Robinson will display his original oil paintings in the Kennedy-Douglass Main Gallery, and is offering an Abstract Painting workshop on Saturday, January 11th from 9AM – Noon. For information on the workshop, call 256-760-6379 between 9am-4pm.

CAMP KD – SUMMER ART PROGRAM UPDATE

We were so disappointed that we had to cancel Camp KD this week to follow COVID-19 contact tracing protocols. We are preparing art kits and online instructional videos for those families that would like to provide their children with some awesome art activities in lieu of in -person art camp. Check back here to see when the kits and videos are available.

ARTIST GATHERING #6 – An evening of poetry and music at Kennedy – Douglass on Saturday, July 11th

Artists and art lovers are invited to an outdoor happening in the Sculpture Garden at Kennedy – Douglass Art Center. Local artists will share their work through poetry reading and music. All attendees are encouraged to wear masks and welcome to dress in costume. This edition of the Artist Gathering is about breaking out from isolation with creativity and safety for the renewal of our community. We recognize the need for coming together, while taking extra precautions to keep each other safe. Rivertown Cafe will be serving light fare, with vegetarian options.