The State Museum, SC Arts Commission, ETV, USC, etc are in deep trouble. Great people who are true community assets WILL lose their jobs. $40mil in annual arts tax revenue will drop, too. Kids, though, will be the ones to suffer the most. Help!

Here’s the link, again, to contact the 6 top SC Repub. House reps; call/email em TODAY to override Sanford’s arts veto by tmrw’s Gen. Assembly session: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#!/event.php?eid=124574904246754

From Katie Fox:

2010 S.C. Artists’ Retreat Schedule and Details
We can’t wait to see you!

The S.C. Artists’ Retreat is shaping up to be a great time. This message includes information that you should review before packing your bags for our weekend together. It will be an active weekend for both your brain and your body!

Please remember that, although we will provide lunch both days, breakfast and dinner are not covered by your registration fee. We will have coffee, water, and snacks at the site. On Saturday night, we will gather in groups at several Columbia restaurants to enjoy more time together, and dinner will be Dutch treat!

The staff of the S.C. Arts Commission and lots of your fellow artists have worked very hard to build a schedule that reflects your stated interests and needs, but the ultimate success of this weekend depends on you. Please come with ears open to hearing the ideas of others, a heart open to forging new relationships, and a mind open to changing the way you see your work and your career. In general, be ready to rock.

There is still space available at the retreat, so keep sharing the information with friends! Feel free to encourage them to call or email me if they have any questions. Additionally, please call us if you need any special accommodations during our time together.

Travel safely!

Katie Fox signature

Katie Fox, Program Director
kfox@arts.sc.gov
(803)734-8767
Be sure to pack…

Comfortable Clothes (suitable for optional movement activities)
Comfortable Walking Shoes
Umbrella or other rain gear
Sketchbook and/or Journal
Pencils and Pens
Digital Camera
100 Business Cards

Directions

The Clarion Hotel is located at 1615 Gervais Street, on the corner of Pickens and Gervais Streets in downtown Columbia.

Hand Middle School is in the middle of the Shandon neighborhood, at 2600 Wheat Street, the intersection of Wheat and King Streets.

From I-77S and I-20S, take 277 into Columbia, where it becomes Bull Street. Take Bull Street to Gervais Street. Turn left on Gervais, and the Clarion Hotel is a few blocks down on the left. To reach Hand Middle School, continue on Gervais Street and turn right on Harden Street. Take Harden Street through the 5 Points neighborhood and head up the hill into Shandon. Turn left on Wheat Street, then right on King Street, and the school parking lot will be on your left.

From I-26, take 126 into downtown Columbia, where it becomes Elmwood Avenue. Turn right where Elmwood dead ends at Bull Street, and follow the directions above.

If you have trouble finding either location, please call (803)727-8520.
Retreat Schedule

Friday, May 14
If you’re in town and have a mind to, meet us on the rooftop bar at the Sheraton at 6:30 for a great view of the city. We’ll then hit the Columbia scene with our marvelous local-artist hosts! The Sheraton is located at the corner of Main and Washington Streets.

Saturday, May 15

8 – 9 am Registration and general mingling
9 – 10 Going with Plan A
What do you most need right now to be fed and
fueled, practically and creatively?
10 – 11:15 Choose Your Own Adventure Sessions
Try new activities with new people!
11:30 – noon You rock
Let’s talk about how.
noon – 12:45 Lunch
1 – 1:45 pm How Abby Quit Her Day Job
1:45 – 2:30 Demons to Daemons
Transforming hinderance into strength.
2:30 – 3:45 Choose Your Own Adventure Sessions
4 – 6 pm Showcase
6 – 7 pm Take a break, prep for dinner
7 pm Dinner groups leave from the Clarion Hotel

Sunday, May 16

9 – 9:30 am Morning Warm-Up
Ease body and mind into the morning.
9:30 – 11 Yes, and…if you could not fail
Big dreams are the ones worth following.
11 – noon A Canvas of Artists
What challenges must we surmount together?
Noon – 12:45 Lunch
1:00 – 1:30 Pecha Kucha Presentations
A handful of artists were allowed 20 images and
just over 6 minutes to wow us. Let’s see what
happens!
1:45 – 2:45 Crash Courses: Things to Make Your Life
Easier
We’ll have a lightening round discussion of Excel,
e-commerce, and elevator pitches.
3:00 – 3:45 Panel Discussion: Collaborations at work
3:45 – 4:30 Canvas of Artist small discussion groups
4:30 – 5:00 Review and wrap up
5:00 Depart

ettan press

With my own small press I can make small prints that will reach a whole different audience than my paintings and more expensive large monotypes. I am very excited about the idea of being able to make more affordable art.

You can see the press at the Ettan website as well as more about my workhere.

So what is Kickstarter? It’s is a new way to fund creative ideas and ambitious endeavors and is powered by a unique all-or-nothing funding method where projects must be fully-funded or no money changes hands. Every Kickstarter project must be fully funded before its time expires or no money changes hands.

I’m almost 40% of the way to my goal of $1900 but I only have 6 days left before my project expires! So I really need your help.

To encourage everyone to participate, there are a variety of different pledge levels:

* $500 or more – Two signed & numbered limited edition 8″x10″ intaglio prints & a thank you on my website.
* $250 or more – A signed & numbered limited edition 8″x10″ intaglio print & a thank you on my website.
* $100 or more – A signed & numbered limited edition 6″x6″ intaglio print & a thank you on my website.
* $50 or more – A signed approx. 22.32″ x 34.5″ limited edition poster from my Three Rivers or Cowasee series & a thank you on my website.
* $20 or more – A signed approx. 10.5″x16.5″ limited edition poster from my Three Rivers or Cowasee series & a thank you on my website.
* $10 or more – A packet of 5 limited edition postcards from my Three Rivers series & a thank you on my website.
* $5 or more – A limited edition postcard from my Cowasee series & a thank you on my website.
* $1 or more -A thank you on my website.

To donate now, go to The Press to be Affordable: Setting up a Press to Make Affordable Art

Thank you for your continued support!
Mary

new art.in.sight logo

“Art in Sight” is a project conceived by Arts Commission Chairman Bud Ferillo. “The State Art Collection is a gem as dynamic and diverse as the span of history it represents. It’s one of our most valuable cultural assets and chronicles the history of art development in South Carolina.”

Established in 1967 as one of the first programs of the South Carolina Arts Commission, the State Art Collection has grown to include 448 works in a variety of media and styles by 277 artists. Over its 42-year history, the collection has been featured in numerous exhibitions across the state, the nation and even internationally.

Ferillo and the Commission board of directors want to provide more opportunities for South Carolinians to enjoy the State Art Collection in their communities. Although works from the collection are loaned to art museums, state agencies, and public and private organizations, Ferillo believes that many organizations are unaware that the collection is available for displays and exhibitions. “We want to get the word out. The collection belongs to the people of our state, and we want them to have a chance to see the art work in their own backyards.”

Ferillo believes that the State Art Collection has something that will appeal to everyone. “It includes everything from paintings and sculpture to baskets, fiber and Catawba pottery. It includes film, photography, installations and graphics – all by artists who live or have lived in South Carolina.”

Organizations interested in hosting an exhibition or displaying works from the collection should contact Harriett Green at (803) 734-8696. In addition to Contemporary Conversations, two other traveling exhibitions are available: Points of Departure: Vessel Forms from the State Art Collection and the African American Voice. For more information, visit www.SouthCarolinaArts.com

Eleanor Heartney  will be giving two lectures over the next several days in association with the current exhibit at 701 Center for Contemporary Art. Heartney curated Contemporary Conversations, a pair of back to back exhibits of selections from the State Art Collection. Part I runs through November 1st with Part II running November 5th – December 6th.

Both lectures will be at 701 CCA. The first, “The Biennial Paradox”, is today Friday, October 16th at 6 pm. The second, “Art Today – Tales of Plastic Surgery, Genetically Altered Rabbits, and Other Acts of Art”, is on  Monday, October 19th at 6 pm followed by a book signing of her newest book, Art & Today.

Linda Fantuzzo, Unstable Table with Painting, 1990-91

Heartney is a contributing editor to Art in America and Artpress and has written extensively on contemporary art issues for such other publications as Artnews, Art and Auction, The New Art Examiner, the Washington Post and The New York Times.

You can visit the SCAC website at www.southcarolinaarts.com for more information about Contemporary Conversations.

Respecting the Past is an exhibit of works from Williams’ studio that focuses on small sketches and etchings from early in his career. These are tiny gems, and in many ways, fitting companions for the small abstracts that he’s been doing for the last several years.

A great raconteur, Williams has always been interested in visual narratives as well. Loosely constructed narratives, whether of individual lives or historical events, have been an important component of his work, indicating his deep sense of connection to a particular place and community.

A small square etching, untitled like most of the rest of these pieces, describes a mound of old tires and roadside trash, a scene you can still find in the edges of wooded, rural areas. He uses the same care and attention to detail to create this composition as in one of the portraits also included in the show. There’s a beauty to the shapes that is in direct contrast to the banality of the subject.

Many of Williams’ large-scale history paintings feature an observer to the action, a lone figure that paddles past the scene of action in a simple canoe. This small monochromatic sketch, a study for one of the larger works, has a loose immediacy that is very different in feel from the more finished pieces. He has very quickly worked out the overall composition and value relationships, relying on a quick, calligraphic mark to define the shapes and forms.

Be sure to drop in to the Corrigan Gallery on Queen Street while the show is up to see the pieces in person.

The Corrigan Gallery
62 Queen Street, Charleston, SC
10am to 5pm Monday through Saturday and by appointment.  Later opening every other Monday and Thursdays.
843 722 9868 or art@lesecorrigan.com

Damond Howard at 701 CCA

Damond Howard has been the resident artist at 701 CCA for August and September. An exhibit of work by the Claflin College professor will be up in the CCA Loft space through this coming Friday. To meet the artist, be sure to stop by tomorrow, Sunday, between 1 and 5pm.

Howard’s large-scale drawings explore issues of race and identity. His images are bold and eloquent, with an unavoidable message. Many artists who explore social and political commentary in their work do so with a sobriety that bore’s the viewer before they engage with the work long enough to really take in the message. Howard’s work has just the right balance between technical facility, aesthetics and message. The exquisite draftsmanship and visual richness of his work pull the viewer in without overshadowing his deconstruction of the myths and stereotypes that have plagued racial relationships, particularly in the South.

Through September 24^th

701cca Loft

701 Whaley Street

Wednesday 11am-8pm,Thursday – Saturday 11am-5pm, Sunday 1-5pm

The artist will be present on Sunday.

ADVOCACY ALERT – CALL TO ACTION!

We have just learned that a funding plan by Senator Greg Ryberg of Aiken and Senator Tom Davis of Beaufort, will be deliberated beginning Tuesday, along with the Senate Finance Committee’s recommended version of the state budget.

Within the Ryberg/Davis plan, the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) would receive significant targeted cuts of $752,999 and no one-time funding of $585,000 for their grants program. These cuts — on top of the 25.9% reduction they have received during the current fiscal year — would have a crippling effect on the Arts Commission’s ability to accomplish its mission.

Key impacts would include:
An estimated 16% reduction in staff positions and additional furlough days;
Elimination of programs — in particular — artist services and the Cultural Tourism program; 15% cuts to all other grant programs (in addition to cumulative mid-year reductions from FY09 and loss off one-time grant funds — the $585,000;
Deep across-the-board cuts in all administration and operations to include default on approximately 80% of building maintenance charges.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Now is the time to contact your Senator and ask him to vote against the Ryberg/Davis plan (or amendment) and support the Senate Finance Committe’s version of the budget, which has NO additional cuts to the Arts Commission’s budget and includes $500,000 for their grants program in one-time monies from federal stimulus funds — if and when they become available. Use the links below to reach all Senators. Please contact your Senator right away. Feel free to forward this email to friends and colleagues who support the arts and arts education.

To Reach All Senators:
www.scstatehouse.gov/html-pages/senatemembers.html

Don’t know your Senator? Go to www.scstatehouse.gov/cgi-bin/zipcodesearch.exe

Carl Blair

While many art viewers in Columbia are familiar with Carl Blair’s energy filled abstract landscapes, they probably aren’t as familiar with his equally animated sculptures. But this isn’t a new direction for Blair. It’s just the first time that his sculpture has been shown in Columbia.

The sculptures are a surprise in that the subject matter is so radically different than his paintings and prints.  Instead of the landscape, one that is noticeably empty of figures, these pieces are distinctly figurative. Blair has focused on real and fantastic animals, from roosters to dragons.

The figures are carved polychrome wood, each standing about 1 ½’ to 2’ tall. His manipulation of the wood is similar to his painterly mark – quick, deft, active and gestural. So they become animated not only by their poses, but also by the physical mark made in the carving process.

One of the most marked differences in the paintings and sculptures is the degree to which Blair has allowed his humor free rein in the 3D pieces. “Billy Goat Gruff”, as in the children’s story, stands foursquare, legs planted firmly. He is bug-eyed, almost to the point of being cartoonish, but it works.

Billy Goat Gruff, 2007 Polychrome wood 18 x 15 ½ x 11 ½ inches

One of the reasons it works is that piece reflects Blair’s deep understanding of animals. He grew up on a farm, spending as much time with the animals as people. Another reason is that he has managed to make the animal emotionally expressive, but without going over the top. The goat’s eyes portray fear, but it still stands its ground. Blair creates a human connection that is not simple anthropomorphism.

He is showing a large body of new paintings in addition to the sculptures. Blair may have retired from teaching, but he certainly hasn’t retired from making art.

The paintings range in size from around 8”x8” to 24”x30”. Some are gouache on paper, but most are acrylic on canvas. While many play off the inherent grid of the cultivated landscape, some of the most interesting explore the textured patterns of more wild spaces.  The more obviously structured and ordered forms of cultivation give way to a much more complex space.

Blair’s fascination with the natural world is balanced by his equally strong interest in mark and color. This is true of both bodies of work.

Viewers can see both in “Carl Blair’s Flora and Fauna” at if ART Gallery on Lincoln Street in Columbia through May 9th.