The Arts Fuel The Economy And Feed The Soul
The Shape Maker and Entertainer Exhibition focuses on the fact that nothing observed has lines around it or within it. Everything is perceived by overlapping objects and directional surfaces that have highlights and shadows. All works exhibited are originals that have not previously been displayed at the Robeson Art Guild.
The Shape Maker and Entertainer Exhibition opens Thursday, June 9th, with a reception from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM at the Guild House. The Exhibition will be open through August 12, 2022. Plan to stop in and see the new display of both 2- and 3-dimensional art from local artist community.
Shape Maker and Entertainer focuses on the fact that nothing observed has lines around it or within it. Everything is perceived by overlapping objects and directional surfaces that have highlights and shadows.
Artists truly “came out of the dark” in the Renaissance and began pictorial representation in terms of light and shade. There was even a word for it: chiaroscuro, chiaro meaning light and oscuro meaning darkness. Artists also recognize that we can draw an object by drawing the space around that object. Thus, we became even more skilled at creating shapes without being dependent on non-existing lines around and within the object being portrayed. We became shape makers.
Each of the art pieces on display is an original and has not been exhibited at RAG previously. Stop in and see the broad range of expression represented.
We are pleased to present Nancy Winora Johnson, the co-Featured Artist with Joan Blackwell for the June – August 2022 period. Nancy brings a rich, varied background and experience to her artwork, an excellent companion to the current Shape Maker and Entertainer exhibition.
Printmaking is the media Nancy chose as her concentration. She has experience basket weaving, welding, photography, porcelain dolls, painting, jewelry making, ceramics, crewel, bronze casting, quilting, beadwork, and more. Her style involves abstract expression through which she looks beyond the piece of work to see what is within. The artist’s intention is to inspire the viewer with the images that feed the spirit of peace.
A native of Robeson County, Nancy received a Bachelor of Art, Bachelor of Science in Art, Master’s in Art Education from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke, and Business Computer degree from Robeson Community College in Lumberton. She has volunteered as a docent and greeter at St. John’s Museum of Art, Latimer House, and the Bellamy Mansion Museum located in Wilmington, NC. She has experience in graphic design for the “Signs of the Time” agency in Raleigh, NC.
Nancy is a member of the Robeson Art Guild, Robeson Art Council, Robeson Historical Museum, and Carolina Art Guild. In the past, she has served as Vice President of the Robeson Art Counsel, member of the River Roots Art Guild, and production manager for Studio One Theatre for the Public Schools of Robeson County. She served in an interim art position in Brunswick and Columbus County. Nancy is a retired Visual Art teacher for the Public Schools of Robeson County. Nancy has exhibited at the Franklin Museum of Art in Wilmington, NC, Marianne’s Restaurant in Pembroke, “Art Right Now” Southeastern Regional Violence Center at the Osterneck building in Lumberton, Carolina Civic Center in Lumberton, Givens Performing Art Center at UNCP in Pembroke and Agriculture County Fair. Nancy correlated a silent auction for New Hanover Medical Center in Wilmington, NC.
Nancy was the featured artist in “Book Em” at the Robeson Community College, in Lumberton, N.C. Nancy was the featured artist at the Bladenboro Visual Arts Council Art Gallery. Nancy has entered several art competitions such as Smoke Mountain Jubilee Creative Art Division 2016-2017, and the Eastern Church of God Adult talent art division. She is a member of the “Delta Kappa Gamma (DKG) International Society for Key Women Educators” where she has won several art competitions which are currently displayed on the DKG website. Nancy has won many art competitions through the Lumber River Regional Senior Games Silver Arts and Heritage, in photography, silk painting, pottery, basket weaving, watercolor, and jewelry. Nancy served as a reviewer for the Fayetteville Cumberland County Arts council’s Artist Support Grant Panel. Nancy served as Vice-President of the Robeson Reading Association where she helped correlate the art competition for the Public Schools of Robeson County students. Nancy exhibited during the Robeson County Art Stroll at Robeson County History Museum, Robeson County Art Guild, Carolina Civic Center, Adelio’s, Happening’s on Elm, and Inner Peace Art Gallery. A permanent display of one of her photographs is located at the Pembroke Family Practice and Urgent Care Center, in Pembroke, NC.
We are pleased to present Joan Blackwell, the co-Featured Artist with Nancy Johnson for the June – August 2022! Joan has a deep, rich history that can be seen reflected in her work. Stop by the Guild House soon to see a collection of her art pieces on loan in the Featured Artist Gallery June – August 2022.
Below Joan shared her thoughts on how her life and background influence her artwork. Just a few of Joan’s works are included.
At times, my art reflects movement, reflection, representation, historical trauma, life events, honoring of sacred Native American traditions, invoking spirits of the past, present & future, or spiritualism, but always created in a positive genre. A constant juxtaposition of creative ideals is stored in my brain and continually wants to be seen on canvas. I believe my Lumbee Native American ancestors are speaking to me as I show their messages on canvas. Hopefully, these art pieces will continue to carry good messages to the next generation, as that is my intent. These ideals are reflected by the diversity of color, many details, and at times, are shown in cosmic iconographies, such as whimsical animals, and realistic, modern and spiritual imageries in form. I am influenced by what I see and feel from day to day. Whether I am researching or listening to an Art Survey lecture, I find myself thinking and contemplating, and I am inspired to create a new art piece. For instance, one day I may study African art and the next day I may be inspired to do form line art based on the indigenous art of the Northwest Coast of North America. I never know what I will do, but the creative thinking process is exciting, and the completion is the grandeur journey of being an artist.
My visions on canvas tend to document ongoing subconscious, conscious and spiritual journeys. I try to leave others feeling better after viewing my art and after meeting with them to encourage unity. My maternal grandparents, Rev. Martin Luther Lowry, Sr., and wife, Cammie (Locklear) Lowry were educators, farmers, civic-minded, and Lumbee Tribe members. They greatly influenced my scholarly studies, appreciation of all cultures, and the need to keep my mind and hands busy to maintain balance in life. Their lifestyle taught me fruits of labor by teaching me how to grow flowers, vegetables, preserve foods, appreciation of Mother Nature, respect towards all two and four-legged animals, and a strong foundation in faith, hope, and charity.
As a perennial learner and researcher of various cultures, many of my paintings reveal fantastical environments that are rich in detail, color, and spontaneous in form. At times I am deeply affected by catastrophic events, such as the murders of innocent victims, and will stop what I am doing to show my feelings on canvass to honor the victims. Those tragedies projected on canvass include Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women (MMIW) Men and children, the Charleston church massacre, the murder of George Floyd, military female Native American warriors, and the wars America was involved with during my lifetime and before. I am the mother of an Army pilot and daughter. Through them, I have many grandchildren. Unfortunately, they all live out of state, due to their professional lifestyles. To avoid the voids of missing them, I adopt neighbors’ children to teach them art or share meals, times. My accomplishments include a master’s in art teaching (UNCP) 2019, career background includes Department of Defense contractor, classified management analyst. Assignments included positions at the State Department, Washington, D.C., and various military installations.
Today my passions include private art lessons at my home, focus on creating new art, marketing my art, sharing art techniques and expertise, volunteer work for the Lumbee Tribe community, learning new art techniques, growing flowers, participating in art show events, sharing with others, walking my dog Chica, travel, and placing God and family at the top of my lists.
— Joan Blackwell, Featured Artist, Robeson Art Guild
Exhibit Title: SHAPE MAKER AND ENTERTAINER
Exhibit Summary: SHAPE MAKER AND ENTERTAINER focuses on the FACT nothing observed has lines around it or within it. Everything is perceived by overlapping objects and directional surfaces that have highlights and shadows.
Artists truly “came out of the dark” in the Renaissance and began pictorial representation in terms of light and shade. There was even a word for it: chiaroscuro, chiaro meaning light and oscuro meaning darkness. Artists also recognize that we can draw an object by drawing the space around that object. Thus, we became even more skilled at creating shapes without being dependent on non-existing lines around and within the object being portrayed. We became shape makers.
Our exhibition SHAPE MAKERS AND ENTERTAINER is seeking two and three-dimensional expression that gives emphasis to shapes NOT lines. We do also recognize the role of color both warm and cool as well as pattern that can be used to create shapes and entertain the viewer.
Submission Requirements: Artists are invited to submit a maximum of two works using these guidelines. Work cannot weigh more than 50 lbs. and cannot be more than 5 feet in any direction. Two-dimensional work must have adequate hanging devices and 3-D work must have its own support. Entries must be original and cannot have been exhibited at RAG previously. Photography, photo montage and collage are welcome.
Fee: RAG members, $20. Nonmember, $55 to cover membership.
Awards: $200 for 1st, $100 for 2nd, and $50 for highest popularity vote.
Presented by Nila Chamberlain
All Cut-Up is an exhibition scheduled for June 9, 2022, devoted to the art of collage. Collage may be simply defined as artwork that is composed of a variety of materials, often involve attaching found objects, cloth, or paper torn or cut from ephemera such as manuscripts, newspapers, magazines, even photos, to a canvas or board in an artful composition. When a collage is solely composed of photos it is called a photomontage.
Look forward to the prospectus for the All Cut-Up exhibition early in May. Students from Joan Blackwell’s All Cut-up and Photo Montage classes are invited to participate.
Collage forces you to think and clarify ideas, with regard to both space and volumes. This discipline obliges me to think in terms of forms, outlines, and imagined spaces, so as not to fall into the temptation of thinking that nature is a reality.”
– Conrad Marca-Relli, American Painter and Sculptor, 1913-2000
Drawing with scissors: To cut to the quick in color reminds me of the direct cutting of sculptors.”
– Matisse, French Painter, Draftsman, and Collagist, 1869-1954
Cubists Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso rocked the fine-art establishment by incorporating newsprint and wallpaper scraps into their paintings, combining painting and ephemera into a single work.
On their website, TheArtStory.org explains the history of collage and its significance to the of fine-art world:
Collage directly questions the tendency to separate fine art from everyday objects, the delineations between so-called high and low culture, and the status of the artist.”
Adopted by subsequent artists, collage became a dominant technique in the Dada, Surrealist, Pop Art, and Neo-Dada movements, each using the technique to explore different subject matters. Because collage often incorporates mass-produced images, the practice is often inseparable from its historical and political context, making it a mode of powerful social commentary. Contemporary artists continue to explore the richness of collage in their efforts to question assumptions, biases, and pressing political crises.”
– The ArtStory.org
Click here to visit TheArtStory.org web page to explore further.
The goal of TIME OUT Exhibition was to celebrate the creative response of local artists to being hobbled throughout Covid-19. We asked each artist to share some of their expressions, how they captured their own reactions during these times.
Thanks to all the artists who submitted artwork for the show and to Sandy Stratil of Whispering Pines, North Carolina, who agreed to serve as Judge for the exhibition.
Please join us in congratulating the winners!
Nila Chamberlain: “The Wooing of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt”
Maggie Underwood: “Koi Print”
Lu Lewis: “Garden Gate”
Jim Tripp: “Southern Lady”
Annette Wallwork: 3-D Clay
Fordham Britt: “Into the Woods”
TIME OUT focuses on creative response to Covid 19. In the almost three years that we have been experiencing Covid 19, many of us have been living with depression and/or anxiety and have found ourselves unable to align with goals and peaceful living. Often, we have juggled family, health, debt and happiness with little satisfaction. We have become blocked creatives; and many have chosen to make major changes in their goals and in their life.
The goal of TIME OUT is to share the creative response to being hobbled throughout this time. It is the visible expression of “Stop the world. . .. I want to get off.” We asked the artists to let us see what you have to say. What did you do while you were forced to stay home? How did you survive in your own, unique circumstances? Three years is a long time!
The exhibition is open to all artists in Robeson County, ages 12 and up. All mediums were welcome!
We are honored to have Sandy Stratil of Whispering Pines, North Carolina, agree to serve as Judge for the exhibition. Though Sandy started out as a watercolorist, she switched to mixed media and collage and has been creating in those media for the past several years.
To learn more about Sandy Stratil’s work, visit her on Facebook.
Enjoy the gallery of some of the pieces in the Time Out Exhibition. Thank you to the talented artists who shared their work with us all!
| Artist | Medium | Title | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nila Chamberlain | Photo | Chapel of Simple Abundance | |
| Angela Scott | 3-D Clay | Praying for Time | 125 |
| Maggie Underwood | Colored Pencil | Surreal Forest | 125 |
| Maggie Underwood | Koi Print | 150 | |
| Jim Tripp | 3-D Clay | Southern Lady | 150 |
| Jim Tripp | 3-D Clay | Pathway of Confusion | 325 |
| Bobbie Britt | Acrylic | Infinity | 200 |
| Joan Blackwell | Photo Montage | Covid-19 | 125 |
| Michelle Shooter | Photo | Left Behind | 125 |
| Michelle Shooter | Photo | Old Red | 150 |
| Lu Lewis | Oil | Garden Gate | |
| Lu Lewis | Oil | Spring Lambs | |
| Lu Lewis | Oil | Serenade | 500 |
| Tanya Underwood | Acrylic | Hydrangeas | 60 |
| Tanya Underwood | Basket | Red Arrow | 65 |
| Kay Bradsher | Oil | Finding Peace | 200 |
| Kay Bradsher | Oil | Let Your Glory Fall | 150 |
| Charlotte Thompson | Oil | Garden Shed | 150 |
| Soraya Locklear | Oil | Celestial Turn | 50 |
| Annette Wallwork | 3-D Clay | Untitled | 150 |
| Angela Scott | 3-D Clay | Summertime Town | 75 |
| Nila Chamberlain | Mono-print | The Wooing of Diana, Goddess of the Hunt | 800 |
| Fordham Britt | Oil | Serenity | 600 |
| Fordham Britt | Oil | Into the Woods | 450 |
Table 13: Bobbie Britt, 1105 N. Elm Street — Abstract Acrylics
Table 15: Rachel Stephens, 1201 N. Elm Street
Table 17: Gretchen Lutz, 1208 N. Elm Street on the sidewalk
Table 7: Jim Tripp,1208 N. Elm Street — Pottery
Table 14: Nila Chamberlain, 1209 N. Elm Street — Mixed Media
Table 5: Cecil Jamie Locklear, Jamie’s House, 1401 N. Elm Street — Cream Horns and Desserts/Cakes
Table 9: Denise Siracusa, 1401 North Elm Street
Table 3: Mia Chavis, MiaMade, 1406 N. Elm Street — Personalized Etched Glassware
Table 16: Shelia Jacobs, 1501 N. Elm Street
Table 1: Connie Locklear, Connie’s Country Creations, 1502 N. Elm Street — Handmade Items
Table 4: Sheryl Taylor, Lumberton Christian Care Center, 1502 N. Elm Street– Information
Table 8: Marie Amsdill, Corner of 16th and Elm Street — Robeson County Farmers Market
Table 11: James F. Hunt, Corner of 16th and Elm Street
Table 10: Connie Shurtz, 1701 Street/sidewalk access only (no yard access) — Mixed Media
Table 18: Master Gardeners, 1801 N. Elm Street — Gardening
Table 2: Aminah Ghaffar, 1801 N. Elm Street
Table 12: Mark & Elaine McGirt, 1802 N. Elm Street
Table 6: Tabitha McNeill, Cuttin’ it Cute, 1802 N. Elm Street — Handmade Items
Brush & Wheel is a two-person show. On display in the Blue Gallery thru Thursday, May 25, 2022, works by Lu Lewis represent Brush and those by Jim Tripp represent the Wheel used to throw his pottery.
Lu Lewis of Fairmont, North Carolina, works primarily in oils and also provided two of her pastels for the exhibit.
Jim Tripp of Lumberton, North Carolina, is a potter know for both his thrown and unique slab pottery.
A number of the works displayed are on loan from private collections. We want to express our sincere thanks to both of these talented artists and to the proud owners of their works.
| OIL ON CANVAS | |
|---|---|
| Fiddlin' Til the Cows Come Home | $500 |
| Basket of Fun | $800 |
| Mother's Urging | $500 |
| Fortitude | $500 |
| Waiting for Dinner | $700 |
| Daddy's Home | Private Collection |
| That's a Good Boy | $500 |
| Patience Boy | $500 |
| Mom & Dad | Private Collection |
| The Young Scout | $1,500 |
| Madelyn's Day | Private Collection |
| Jetter | Private Collection |
| Cassie | Private Collection |
| Proud | Private Collection |
| Jeff | Private Collection |
| Ckep's | Private Collection |
| Horse Portrait | Private Collection |
| Purrfect Day | Private Collection |
| PASTELS | |
| Jim & Mary | Private Collection |
| Old Eagle Eye | Private Collection |
| 3-D CLAY | |
|---|---|
| Large blue urn | $325 |
| White square covered urn | $325 |
| Cabbage bowl | $65 |
| White bowl with blue feather painting | $85 |
| Round disc painting | $135 |
| Large Angel | $175 |
| Red oval planter | $125 |
| Blue oval planter | $125 |
| Rabbit | $125 |
| Two-tiered serving platter | Private Collection |
| Blue bottle | $60 |
| Green orb with red flowers | $95 |
| Blue Raised Platter | $85 |
| Woven Blue Hanging Design | $$75 |
| Naked Raku Bottle | $160 |
| Square Server on Pedestal | $75 |
| Red bowl | $65 |
| Two-handle urn | $325 |
| Platter with handles | $145 |
| Horsehair bottle | $160 |
| Southern Lady | $150 |
| Blue and green platter | $85 |
| Blue Fish | $95 |
Outlook Live
