Coastal Companion

Your ultimate guide to the coast

PULSE: Art and Technology Festival – Savannah, GA

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The festival takes place at Telfair’s Jepson Center for the Arts in Savannah, Georgia on January 21-31. This year the Telfair’s Technology and Art Week is growing and becomes a festival with programs exploring topics from video art and electronics to robotics. The programs include a lecture by artist Elizabeth King, whose exhibition at the Jepson Center includes meticulously crafted figurative sculptures and stop-frame film animations.

New installations will also be on display in the Jepson Center’s TAG and Morrison Galleries. Artist YoungHyun Chung’s Digital Wheel Art gives people in wheelchairs the opportunity to make virtual paintings on a large video screen.  There is also a sound installation in the Eckburg Atrium by Matthew Akers, an presentation of a sculptural video installation by Allesandro Imperato and Kelley McClung, and video installations by Chito Lapena and Kenneth Huff. The festival also presents a unusual  duet between a human and a robotic musician presented by the group LEMUR (the League of Electronic Musical Urban Robots).

The festival ends with a Family Day with demonstrations by  guest artists and a musical performance by Beatrix JAR. The group will lead a workshop and present a concert using “circuit bent” electronic toys.

PULSE: Art and Technology Festival events are offered free of charge, with funding provided by the City of Savannah. All programs take place at the Jepson Center for the Arts unless otherwise indicated. Reservations for workshops are required; call 790-8821.

For more information, visit www.telfair.org

Celebrate Art Exhibition – Ponte Vedra, Florida

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Juried artist member exhibition in Ponte Vedra on January 16 – February 21, 2009
Opening Reception January 16 — 6:30 to 8pm
Ponte Vedra Beach, Fl – The Cultural Center is pleased to announce the opening of Celebrate Art 2009, a juried exhibition of artist members of The Cultural Center. This year’s exhibition was juried by Hillary Tuttle, owner of Steller’s Gallery in Ponte Vedra Beach. Mrs. Tuttle viewed over 190 pieces of media and chose 52 of the most outstanding pieces to be exhibited from January 16, 2009 to February 21, 2009. Susan Ober, Jacksonville artist, won Best of Show. Christina Foard won second place and Gordon Meggison followed in third place. Meet the exhibiting artists during our opening reception on January 16 from 6:30 – 8pm. A private reception for our Renaissance Society members will be held from 5:30 to 6:30pm.

Juror’s comments:
It was an honor to be asked to jury the annual members art exhibit for The Cultural Center at Ponte Vedra Beach. There were over 190 paintings submitted by both professional and untrained artists. Styles ranged from realism, impressionism, expressionism and abstraction with various subjects and mediums.

My criteria was to assess the works of each artist, narrow it down and choose the best three using my honest opinion based on originality, technique/execution, palette- use of color, and lastly subject.

Interacting with our represented artists each day at Stellar’s Gallery, I sometimes forget the vulnerability of putting ones work “out there” and the heart that lies behind each painting. Each artists should be commended for entering their work into this exhibit and I was impressed with the quality of work.

Rose IV, with evening sun in May, oil on linen, 2004The winner, Susan Ober, stood out because of the use of detail, light and shadow. Her oil painting of the rose had such a brilliant balance of the realism of the flower contrasting against a soft, faded background. Every vein on the leaf was executed with such precision. I am really looking forward to her being awarded a one person show at the CCPVB, so I can follow her work.

Susan Ober’s bio:
Susan Davenport Ober, a native of Virginia, moved to North Florida in 1987. She earned a BS degree in art education at Longwood College in Virginia and did post-graduate study in art education at Virginia Commonwealth University. In 1996, Susan earned a BFA, with an emphasis in drawing, from University of North Florida.

Ober has had a nearly life-long interest in portraiture and figurative representation. In this pursuit, she has used a wide range of media through the years, including pastels, oils, clay, wax and bronze. She is perhaps better recognized for her floral and still life paintings, and for her recent (and on-going) “LEAF project”. But to her, every subject is an opportunity to discover and reveal what it is that has made it special and unique.

She has participated in both solo and group shows in the southeastern states. Her work has received both regional and national recognition and is in a growing list of private, corporate and museum collections across the country.

TESTING LINK

China on My Mind – Jekyll Island, GA

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China on My Mind: Inspired by Travels Exhibit of Painting and Pottery

Presented by Jekyll Island Arts Association

The powerful visual inspirations from trips abroad have given us China on My Mind: Inspired by Travels, a collection of new work by two Jekyll Island Arts Association members, painter Linda Wunder and potter Nan Phillips. Wunder’s works of Chinese watercolor on rice paper, colored pencil, acrylic, mixed media and photography alongside Phillips’ high fire stoneware bring the Far East to the Golden Isles.

An Interior Designer by trade with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Linda Wunder enjoys her studio on Jekyll Island.  She wants her painting to reveal her impression of and feelings about a subject. Linda often paints by memory, however, her memory is refined by the feelings the subject is generating.  She truly feels sentiment and mood should prevail in a successful painting. This collection, inspired by her travel to China, has allowed Linda to share her impressions through the integration of traditional Chinese brushwork and contemporary techniques.

Nan Phillips, a Potter since 1957, holds a Bachelor of Arts. She calls the Jekyll Island Pottery Guild in the basement of Goodyear Cottage home.  Nan states, “When I first touched potters clay I knew that I wanted to make beautiful things with this medium for the rest of my life. Everyday, I deal with earth, water, air and fire, each in its proper proportion, all in a rhythm dictated by nature’s science.” Nan’s new collection, inspired by China, is a reminder to her, “My art keeps me connected with all the potters whoever worked in mountain caves, desert canyons and village markets. I think how these pots of mine will outlive me and be passed down from user to user.”

China on My Mind: Inspired by Travels , a collection of new work by these two exceptional artists will be for sale during their show at Goodyear Cottage in Jekyll Island’s Historic District February 1st – March 8th as well as at the artist reception Sunday, February 1st from 1-3 PM. Admission is always free at Goodyear’s gallery and shop, where regular hours are M-F Noon – 4 PM and weekends 10 AM-4 PM. For more information call 635-3920.

Holiday Decorations at the Joseph Manigault House

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It’s the beginning of the holiday season and on December 6th the Joseph Manigault House in Charleston opens its doors for the special holidays decorations tour. The Garden Club of Charleston has helped decorate this beautiful house with creative arrangements, using only live plant materials that would have been available in the Lowcountry during the 19th century. The theme for this year is “Celebrating the Holidays with the Manigault Family.” Visitors may view the holiday decorations as part of the regular public tour.
December 6-31. Mon-Sat 10:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m., Sun 1:00-5:00 p.m.
FREE for Museum members and FREE with admission ($10/adults, $5/children, under 3 free)

For more information contact The Charleston Museum, 360 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29403
(843) 722-2996
www.charlestonmuseum.org

Sunday Family Free at MOCA – Jacksonville, Florida

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Take a break from the holiday shopping on Sunday with your family and do something different. From 12.00 – 4.00 pm the family can go to the Museum of Contemporary Art, MOCA, for free. Children under the age of 18 and accompanying adults are free thanks to the sponsorship from Bank of America.
So if you haven’t been to the museum, why not check it out on Sunday.