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The$South$Carolina$Department$of$Commerce$in$collaboration$with$ The$South$Carolina$Curatorial$Initiative$ Carolina(Consciousness( Winter$2015$ Curated$By$Cecelia$Stucker$ $

! ! The!South!Carolina!Department!of!Commerce,!in!collaboration!with!CC:!Curating!&! Collections’s!South!Carolina!Curatorial!Initiative,!is!pleased!to!present$Carolina( Consciousness!an!exhibition!of!contemporary!South!Carolinian!artists:!Mary! Gilkerson,!Beth!Melton!and!Kirkland!Smith.!Aligning!the!works,!is!the!inherent! relationship!of!material!and/or!subject!matter!to!each!artists’!identity!as!a! Southerner.!Working!in!the!more!traditional!medium!of!oil!painting!Gilkerson! captures!regional!roadsides!from!the!upstate!and!Congaree!down!to!the!low!country! as!she!traverses!the!state.!Focusing!on!the!familiar!ruralLscape,!she!depicts!a! multitude!of!agriculturally!oriented!vignettes!such!as!the!Minervaville!farm!where! she!rides!her!horse!or!the!familial!plot!on!Edisto!Island!connecting!viewers!to!the! experience!of!these!places!through!light!and!color.!Melton’s!family!was!involved!in! the!textile!industry!prompting!her!interest!in!18th!century!American!fabrics!and! weaving!practices.!Since!2001,!she!has!sculpted!with!a!bolt!of!fabric!from!a! decommissioned!textile!mill!in!Union,!SC!creating!installations!that!carve!the!light! and!exhibition!space!through!suspended!lengths!of!the!Union!fabric!extending!the! touch!and!feel!of!the!material!into!space.!Melton’s!Haptic!drawing!series!are! translations!of!her!typical!sculptures!flattened!into!a!twoLdimensional!record!of!the! textile!bolt!through!a!process!of!layering!fabric!and!paper!with!ink!and!graphite.!! Smith’s!assemblages!of!consumer!detritus!are!compiled!into!portraits!of!the! symbols!and!people!that!she!identifies!as!most!representative!of!American!ideals! and!culture,!especially!South!Carolina.!Living!in!a!society!of!the!easily!disposable! and!discarded,!she!looks!at!the!by!products!of!our!consumption!to!reveal!what!we!as! a!community!cherish!and!protect!linking!her!practice!to!a!message!of!redemption.! South$Carolina$Curatorial$Initiative! ! Established!by!CC:!Curating!&!Collections!in!2015,!this!curatorial!program! collaborates!with!The!University!of!South!Carolina!and!Clemson!University!students! aiming!to!educate!them!about!curatorial!practices,!provide!professional! development!skills!and!opportunities,!and!invigorate!the!contemporary!arts! community!across!South!Carolina.!Culling!an!inventory!of!collections!from!private!to! public!as!well!as!contemporary!artists!living!and!working!in!South!Carolina,! students!will!curate!group!exhibitions!with!partnering!venues!in!their!communities,! lecture!on!the!exhibition!at!public!high!schools!and!senior!centers!as!well!as! organize!culminating!panel!discussions!in!collaboration!with!local!museums! aligning!their!exhibition!within!broader!international!contemporary!art!world! topics.! $ Curator$Biography:$ $ Cecelia!Stucker!lives!and!works!between!Los!Angeles,!New!York!and!Paris!where! she!is!the!Director!of!CC:!Curating!&!Collections!curating!exhibitions!for!galleries! and!foundations!internationally!and!offering!collection!management!services!to! private!collectors.!She!is!a!contributing!writer!for!Purple(Magazine!and!recently! completed!a!curatorial!fellowship!at!The!African!Artists!Foundation!in!Lagos,! Nigeria!as!well!as!curated!Scripted(Spaces(at!Martos!Gallery,!Los!Angeles!and!Human( Interface!at!Hus!Gallery,!London.!Forthcoming!endeavors!include!the!South!Carolina! Curatorial!Initiative,!curatorial!consulting!at!the!Thai!institutions!Gallery!VER!and! the!land!foundation,!and!participation!on!the!judges!panel!for!ArtFields!2015!in! Lake!City,!South!Carolina.! ! CC:$Curating$&$Collections$Online:$ $ http://www.curatingandcollections.com! ! ! For$sales$inquiries:$ ! Mary$Gilkerson!–[email protected]! Beth$Melton$–[email protected]! Kirkland$Smith!–[email protected]! ! For$general$exhibition$inquiries:! ! [email protected]! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Mary!Gilkerson! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Mary%Bentz%Gilkerson% Brief%Biography% % Mary%Gilkerson%is%active%in%the%SC%art%scene%as%an%artist,%art%critic%and%curator.% She%teaches%art%at%her%hometown’s%Columbia%College.%Since%the%early%1990s,% she%has%kept%up%a%steady%exhibition%pace%throughout%the%state%and%beyond.%In% the%past%few%years,%Gilkerson%has%produced%a%large%body%of%monotypes%with% master%printer%Phil%Garrett%at%King%Snake%Press%in%Greenville,%S.C.%Her%work% has%been%exhibited%at%the%Greenville%County%(S.C.)%Museum%of%Art,%the%Morris% Museum%of%Art%in%Augusta,%Ga.%and%the%University%of%South%Carolina’s% McKissick%Museum%in%Columbia%among%others.%Gilkerson%holds%BFA,%MA%and% MFA%degrees%from%the%University%of%South%Carolina.% % Mary%Bentz%Gilkerson% Artist%Statement% The%Congaree% % I’m%an%artist%who%uses%color%and%light%to%connect%people%to%the%experience%of%place.% I’m%very%drawn%to%place,%to%the%ordinary%spaces%we%move%through.%Each%spot,% whether%within%view%from%the%road,%a%strange%intersection%of%nature%and%culture% with%a%wealth%of%potential%painting%subjects,%or%deep%in%one%of%South%Carolina’s%many% watery%swamps%and%rivers,%holds%it’s%own%particular%magic.% % We%all%move%so%fast%that%we%don’t%take%time%to%observe%the%world%around%us%in%the% same%way%that%people%did%before%modern%transportation%and%technology%came%along.% % I%grew%up%exploring%the%forests%around%Congaree%National%Park;%it’s%a%very%familiar% place%in%my%life.%My%family%owned%a%place%just%across%the%river%in%Calhoun%County.% When%my%sisters%and%I%were%children%my%parents%would%turn%us%loose%to%play%in%the% woods%all%day%where%we%explored%and%built%forts,%so%I%feel%a%deep%strong%connection% to%that%landscape.%I’ve%painted%and%made%monotypes%based%on%my%experiences%of%the% Congaree%floodplain%forest,%river%and%swamp%off%and%on%again%for%10%years%or%more.% % I%hope%my%work%will%encourage%people%to%reconnect%with%the%world%around%them,%to% focus%on%the%shifting%patterns%of%light%and%color%that%tell%us%what%time%of%day%and% season%it%is,%to%notice%the%small%and%subtle%as%well%as%the%large%and%grand.% % % Mary%Bentz%Gilkerson% 2065%Blossom%Street,%Suite%212,%Columbia,%SC%%29205% 803.386.1702%%%%%[email protected]%%%%%www.marygilkerson.com% % Media% My%primary%media%is%painting.% % Gallery%Affiliations% If%Art%Gallery,%1223%Lincoln%St,%Columbia,%SC% Frame%Designs%by%Ed%House,%1322%E.%Washington%St,%Greenville,%SC%% Xanadu%Gallery,%7039%E.%Main%St,%Scottsdale,%Arizona% % Employment% 1990Spresent% Professor%of%Art,%Columbia%College,%Columbia,%SC%

Selected%Grants,%Fellowships,%Awards%&%Honors% 2013% % Columbia%College%SCICU%Excellence%in%Teaching%Award% 2009,%2008% Cultural%Council%of%Richland%and%Lexington%Counties%Quarterly%Grant% 2014,%2012,%2011,%2010,%2008,%2007,%2006,%2004,%2002% Columbia%College%Faculty% Development%Research%Grant% 2000% % South%Carolina%Arts%Commission%Artist's%Project%Grant% 1992% % Finalist,%SAF/NEA%Regional%Fellowships%

Selected%Collections McKissick%Museum% Columbia%College% South%Carolina%Veterinary%Specialists% M.%Craig%and%Co.% Morris%Communications%Company% Columbia%Ballet%School% Palmetto%Health% Five%Points%Association% Seibels%Bruce%Group% King%Snake%Press%

Selected%Recent%Exhibitions%2009F2014%(*oneF%and%twoFperson%shows%marked%by% asterisk)% 2014% *Minervaville,%Sumter%Gallery%of%Art,%Sumter,%SC% % Artfields,%Lake%City,%SC% King0Snake0Press:0A0Fifteenth0Anniversary0Overview,%Morris%Museum%of%Art,%Augusta,%GA%% 2013% *Mary0Gilkerson:0From0The0Edge0Of0The0Highway0–03000Daily0Paintings,%if%ART%Gallery,% Columbia,%SC% King0Snake0Press:0150Years,0Hampton%III%Gallery,%Greenville,%SC% Columbia/Kaiserlautern0Exchange,0Kershaw%Fine%Arts%Center,%Camden,%SC% % Recent%Articles% Holleman,%Joey.%Mural0will0provide0indoor0taste0of0forest,0The%State%Paper,%February%16,%2014.% Day,%Jeffrey.%Painting0the0Southern0Landscape0—0Daily0Mary0Gilkerson's0Lower0Richland0County0 Scenes,%The%Free%Times,%December%18,%2013.% % Bahr,0Bob.%Capturing%the%Very%Moment%Fall%Yields%to%Winter,%Outdoor0Painter,0November025,0 2013,0http://www.outdoorpainter.com/news/capturingWtheWveryWmomentWfallWyieldsWtoW winter.html0 0 Bahr,0Bob.%Trash%into%Treasure,%Outdoor0Painter,0November04,02013,0 http://www.outdoorpainter.com/news/trashWintoWtreasure.html0 % Workshops% Structure%&%Surface.%if%ART%Gallery,%Columbia,%SC%September%2014.% Color%&%Light,%if%ART%Gallery,%Columbia,%SC%June%2014.% Observing%the%Moment,%Mary%Gilkerson%Studio,%Columbia,%SC%April%2014.% Color%&%Light,%Mary%Gilkerson%Studio,%Columbia,%SC%February%2014.% Structure%&%Surface.%City%Art%Gallery,%Columbia,%SC%September%2013.% Structure%&%Surface.%Trenholm%Road%Artists%Guild,%Columbia,%SC%February%2013.% Structure%&%Surface,%Mary%Gilkerson%Studio,%Columbia,%SC%July%2012. Monday, 15 December 2014 15:44 Gilkerson's 7 Crucial Plein Air Tips Written by Bob Bahr

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"Marsh, Fall High Tide," by Mary Bentz Gilkerson, oil, 5 x 7 in.

South Carolina artist Mary Bentz Gilkerson paints arresting, vibrant plein air paintings with significant impasto. It takes a bold brush to do that. She recently distilled crucial advice to plein air painting newcomers on her blog. What's her list of seven plein air painting tips?

Gilkerson previously wrote a blog post on selecting plein air equipment and materials. In her newest one, she offers advice on choosing and tackling the subject matter.

"Weston, Fall Fields," by Mary Bentz Gilkerson, oil, 4 x 6 in.

In brief, Gilkerson advises that you tone your canvas, make a thumbnail sketch, look for bold patterns of light and dark and of warm and cool, settle on a dominant color, mix your colors, and work from dark to light and from background to foreground. "Summer Evening Sky," by Mary Bentz Gilkerson, oil, 9 x 12 in.

It's important to note that she focuses on oil paints, although most of the advice holds for any medium. Read her full post here.

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News > Local News

Midlands’ 4th Open Studios tour a sign of maturing arts scene

BY DAWN HINSHAW [email protected] March 29, 2014

COLUMBIA, SC — One weekend each year, Ellen Emerson Yaghjian invites perfect strangers into her studio to talk about her artwork, using copper to create sculptures and garden fountains.

Then, her visitors flip through an Open Studios map to pick their next stop on the tour.

“People are jazzed about coming and going,” Yaghjian said, “hopping in the car and going to the next place.”

The Midlands’ fourth annual Open Studios weekend, April 5-6, allows residents to meet neighbors who make art, explore the creative process with them and cultivate their own tastes.

The event is free, with participants simply picking which studios they want to visit. There are more options than anyone could see in just one weekend. This year, 46 visual artists Mary Gilkerson is among 45 visual artists in the Midlands who will welcome the public into her studio April 5-6. A in Columbia, Richland and Lexington counties painter, Gilkerson has a studio in Columbia's Five Points. TRACY GLANTZ — [email protected] will throw open their doors.

Events like Open Studios are one sign that Columbia is coming into its own as a city that supports contemporary art and local artists, said Lynn Robertson, who sits on the board of the sponsoring organization, 701 Center for Contemporary Art. RELATED STORIES: “We really have turned the corner,” said Open Studio Tour: A sneak peek of the open doors to Robertson, former director of the University of art studios South Carolina’s McKissick Museum. “We’re not to the maturity phase yet, but there’s just so much happening. It’s very exciting.” OPEN STUDIOS What: 46 artists in Columbia, Richland and For Open Studios artists, the event offers an Lexington counties invite public to visit their opportunity reach new audiences. Many do personal studios not show their work in galleries, so inviting people to visit their workplaces generates When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 5; noon to 6 p.m. name recognition and potential sales. April 6 For event-goers like Jillian Owens, it’s an Cost: Free RECENT HEADLINES adventure – an opportunity to see the normally Where: Maps available around town, at 701 private studios of working artists. She expects Lexington County sheriff McCarty favors Koon Center for Contemporary Art or at www.701 as successor 3 hours ago to choose 10 artists to visit. cca.org Fairfield Co. police looking for three men after “For a lot of people, they’re not necessarily fatal home invasion near Winnsboro familiar with how an artist lives and works, so Lexington teen charged in truck theft it’s a great way to have access,” said Owens, 32, who works at the United Way of the Midlands. New arts center a landmark for Irmo High 3 hours ago “If you’re nosy, it’s pretty terrific.” Columbia’s party to welcome 2015 attracts Organizers expect the event to keep growing – and hope to interest artists in the smaller 28,000, to have a projected surplus, organizers communities surrounding Columbia, 701 CCA board chairman Wim Roefs said. say

The group cites a total of 20,000 visits in the first three years of the event, producing more than $75,000 in art sales.

Open Studios are held all over the country, with Greenville hosting the largest and most established tour in South Carolina. Its event began in 2002 and is always held the first full weekend of November.

Alan Ethridge, executive director of Greenville’s Metropolitan Arts Council, said the weekend has become the premiere sales and marketing event for artists working within a 15-mile radius of downtown. Last year, 124 artists joined in.

The event draws residents as well as visitors within a day’s drive, Ethridge said, and some people come every year.

TODAY'S DEAL Columbia’s Open Studios is one of the biggest art-driven events in the Midlands, letting people explore all types of visual art by artists of varying experience. It is not a juried event; anyone with a Choose from one or two nonsurgical dedicated studio space is eligible. face-lifts from Beauty & Skin Clinic! $47.50 “That’s really important, because it gives people a full view of just about everything going on,” Buy Now! Robertson said.

Lee Snelgrove, director of the nonprofit One Columbia for Arts & History, said the studio tour is helping to make art relevant to more people.

“You start thinking that, ‘Art is part of my daily life because that is a neighbor of mine; I’ve met that NATIONAL VIDEOS person.’” Charlie Hebdo terror suspects sighted in northern France Press Association Open Studios

What: 46 artists in Columbia, Richland and Lexington counties invite public to visit their personal studios

When: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. April 5; noon to 6 p.m. April 6

Cost: Free

Where: Maps available around town, at 701 Center for Contemporary Art or at www.701 cca.org

Reach Hinshaw at (803) 771-8641.

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Mural will provide indoor taste of forest

BY JOEY HOLLEMAN [email protected] February 16, 2014

When someone from Congaree National Park called Columbia College looking for help in selecting among artist-in-residence applications, Mary Bentz Gilkerson begged off the assignment.

“I told her, ‘I don’t think I should jury it because I wanted to apply,’” said Gilkerson, an arts professor at the college.

She did more than apply; she was selected for the second artist-in-residence slot at the park. For the past few weeks, Gilkerson has been working on a mural in the Harry Hampton Visitor Center.

Park staffers told her some visitors who can’t physically handle the trails and boardwalk wait on the benches in that small area while friends or family members tour the park. When she’s finished, what used to be a plain waiting area will give the people sitting on those benches a sense of the trees and waterways at a certain Artist-in-residence Mary Bentz Gilkerson uses images in her iPad to help guide her application of acrylic paint to a spot where the trails intersect with Cedar wall at Congaree National Park. JOEY HOLLEMAN — [email protected] Creek.

“I want this to be a place where people who can’t get out there can experience the immersion of nature,” Gilkerson said.

Her work illustrates the park through the four seasons. There are only three wall sections, so the large center section features the meld from spring to summer. “I’m most interested in color RECENT HEADLINES and light and how it moves across the surfaces,” Gilkerson said. Minnesota sees 4th pediatric flu death this She’s having a blast as the artist-in-residence. In fact, Gilkerson has been romping around in the season 2 hours ago woods in this area since her childhood, when her family owned land just across the Congaree River California company recalls frozen beef, pork; in Calhoun County. She now owns a horse that she boards with a friend just a few miles from the may have metal 2 hours ago park’s entrance on Old Bluff Road. The Supremes' Mary Wilson to pay tribute to “I remember being turned loose to play in these woods as a kid,” she said. “It smelled so good, all Lena Horne at Hilton Head Island arts center 2 hours ago the different spices of the woods.” NHL motion to dismiss concussions suit heard Now, as part of the artist-in-residence program, she’s guiding hikes through the park, helping others in court 1 hour ago see the colors and shadows and smell the special aroma. APNewsBreak: Girl says she knows she'll die without chemo 8 minutes ago

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Painting the Southern Landscape — Daily

Mary Gilkerson's Lower Richland County Scenes

By Jeffrey Day Wednesday, December 18, 2013

Selections from Mary Gilkerson’s 300 Daily Paintings

Nearly every day, artist Mary Gilkerson drives to a rural area in Lower Richland County to ride or take care of her horse. On many of those days, she also stops to do a painting of fields, edges of swamps, barns, the remaining walls of an old country store. She’ll pull off the side of the road, set up and paint for an hour or so.

She’s ended up with hundreds of these paintings, which make up From the Edge of the Highway: 300 Daily Paintings, on view at if ART Gallery in the Vista through Jan. 4. (Full disclosure: Gilkerson was for many years the freelance art critic for Free Times.) On Saturday, Dec. 21 at 11 a.m., she'll be at if ART to demonstrate her process.

Her paintings of this landscape, mixed in with some images from the Congaree National Park and Edisto Island, fill several walls in the recently opened exhibition. The pieces, most 4 by 6 inches, were all done during the past two years — including a stretch of a painting a day (at least) for 150 days. About half were painted on site, with the rest done in her studio based on sketches or photographs.

Some places, she’s a bit obsessed with.

“There’s this little dip in the road,” she says, pointing out several paintings. “I’ve painted it at every time of the year and every time of the day, just about.”

It is the same spot, the same pavement, the same trees, but it’s a different spot each time. different spot each time.

These paintings are mostly of places many would see as flat, either green or brown, and mostly uninteresting. But for Gilkerson, the more time she spends the more interesting the places become — and the richer with artistic possibility.

Sometimes the differences are obvious — the bright green flush of early spring versus the grays and purples of the winter twilight. Some, especially those from Edisto, are more traditionally pretty paintings of marshes, a scattering of palmetto trees or puffy clouds in blue skies. More common, though, are flat fields, sides of a barn, a chunk of curved country road, a line of power poles.

Many of her paintings can be seen as more than one thing. What looks at first like a bridge is what’s left of an old country store. The bare cypress trees could be utility poles drooping with tangles of wires. Two fence posts might be distant smoke stacks. Many border on pure abstraction.

Gilkerson grew up in Columbia. As a child, she played on family land about 10 miles south as the crow flies from the places she now frequently paints. She earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of South Carolina and has been an art professor at Columbia College for 23 years.

When she was younger, she distanced herself from the Southern landscape tradition and traditional Southern values — especially those involving the role of women. In graduate school, she developed dark and mysterious works that meshed painting and photographic collage. The pieces often had landscape as part of the background, but never as the main focus. She did these works for about a decade, during which time the landscape became more and more important. more important.

“I realized it was more interesting than what else was going on,” she says.

From the Edge of the Highway runs through Jan. 4. at if ART Gallery, 1223 Lincoln St. For details, visit ifartgallery.blogspot.com or call 256-0068. Let us know what you think: Email [email protected].

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8 Days - Famously Hot New Year with The O’Jays Monday, 25 November 2013 20:32 Capturing the Very Moment Fall Yields to Winter Written by Bob Bahr

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"Winter Evening II," by Mary Bentz Gilkerson, 2013, oil, 5 x 7 in.

We've all had the experience of feeling like one particular day is the first true day of the new season. The sun is a bit warmer than it has been all winter and the grass is greening out. Or a chill wind blows a few of the first fall leaves down to the ground. Mary Bentz Gilkerson painted one of those days, and the picture aptly captures the feeling.

"I find myself drawn more and more to those moments when the atmosphere is changing -- when a storm is moving in, the passage from afternoon to evening, transitions from one season to another," says Gilkerson. "I think one reason is that those moments spark dramatic changes to both the light and color in a scene, both in the broad and specific sense.

"For example, in the Deep South, the dominant colors in the landscape during the summer months are blues and greens. But as fall arrives, that changes and the colors change to a palette that becomes influenced by lavenders and oranges. By November those colors have ripened to deep purple and a brilliant reddish gold that shows up especially in late afternoon or early morning." ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Beth!Melton! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Beth%Melton%Bio:% % Beth%Melton%was%born%in%Rock%Hill,%SC,%where%she%currently%resides.%She%holds%a%Master%of% Fine%Arts%and%Bachelor%of%Fine%Arts%from%Winthrop%University.%She%is%currently%an%adjunct% Professor%of%Fine%Arts%at%Winthrop%and%an%adjunct%Art%Instructor%at%York%Technical%College% in%Rock%Hill.% % Supplemental%and%related%to%her%role%in%the%fine%arts,%Beth%is%an%accomplished%weaver% knowledgeable%in%traditional%and%contemporary%textile%design.%In%2012,%she%was% commissioned%to%develop%an%original%tartan%design%for%Winthrop%University%which%has%been% registered%with%the%Scottish%National%Tartan%Registry.%% % Awards% and% honors% include:% South% Carolina% Arts% Commission% Individual% Fellowship% in% Visual%Arts;%ArtistQinQResidence%701%Center%for%Contemporary%Art,%Columbia%SC;%Center%for% Craft,%Creativity%and%Design%Graduate%Research%Grant%to%study%the%work%of%Anni%Albers%at% the%Josef%and%Anni%Albers%Foundation,%Bethany%CT;%Phi%Theta%Kappa%Excellence%in%Teaching% Award;%Regional%Artist%grant%Q%Arts%and%Science%Council,%Charlotte,%NC;%Visiting%artist%=%UNC% Pembroke;% 2011% Southeastern% College% Art% Conference% panel% presenter:% Fibers% in% the% Contemporary%Studio,%Savannah%GA.% % Juried%and%invitational%exhibitions%include:%Connecting%Concept%and%Medium%Q%Fiber%Art%in% South% Carolina,% Pickens% County% Museum;% Palmetto% Hands% Fine% Craft% Competition% Honorable% Mention% and% Traveling% Exhibition;% Triennial% Revisited,% 701% Center% for% Contemporary% Art;% Triennial% 2004,% SC% State% Museum,% Columbia;% Space% Revisions:% New% Works%for%a%New%Space,%Sumter%Gallery%of%Art;%and%Piccolo%Spoleto:%The%Missing%World,%Old% City%Jail,%Charleston.% % In% 2012,% Beth% established% “Follow% the% Thread% Fiber% Studio”%at% the% Center% for% the% Arts% in% Rock%Hill,%where%her%research%and%teaching%efforts%continue%to%focus%on%art%and%textiles%in% the%contemporary%studio.% % Artist%Statement:% % I%am%a%perpetual%student%of%history%in%whom%genius'loci,%%or%spirit%of%place,%deeply%resonates.% My%work%is%inspired%by%the%early%and%constant%influence%of%textiles%and%textileQrelated% processes.%%It%is%through%these%rhythmic,%meditative%and%seductively%tactile%processes%that%I% weave%a%visual%narrative.% Brief&Statement&–&Haptic&Drawing&Series& “Drawing&on&Haptic&Memory”& The$fluidity$of$line$created$by$stretching$the$fabric$used$in$my$sculptural$installations$defines$for$me$ the$concept$of$drawing$in$space.$This$series$of$drawings$resulted$from$a$desire$to$capture$in$two$ dimensional$form$the$lyrical$lines$and$soft,$tactile$nature$of$the$fabric.$These$drawings$capture$a$ moment$in$time$when$everything$has$been$anchored$into$place$and$there$is$a$stillness$and$sense$of$ completion.$

$ The$following$quote$from$Richard$Serra$provided$the$words$with$which$to$describe$my$intent$when$ creating$these$drawings.$In$an$interview$entitled,$“Declaring$Space:$Richard$Serra,”$Serra$describes$ how$“haptic,”$a$term$often$associated$with$installation$art$to$describe$space,$texture$and/or$volume,$ relates$to$his$work:$ “On$a$basic$level,$it$means$touch.$$But$for$me,$it$means$psychologically$extending$yourself$to$the$ material$through$the$space$or$psychologically$extending$the$feeling$of$touch$through$the$space...”$ (Harper$107)$ $ CURRICULUM'VITAE' ! ! ! ! BETH'MELTON! 4989!Creek!Ct!|!Rock!Hill,!SC!29732!|!803732974561!HOME!|!803744874532!CELL! ! ! ! |[email protected]! ! ! ! EDUCATION' ! ! ! Winthrop!University! Master!of!Fine!Arts!–Sculpture/Drawing! ! Winthrop!University!! Bachelor!of!Fine!Arts!–!Sculpture/Drawing!7!Art!History!and!Women’s!Studies! Minors!Graduated!Cum!Laude! ! ! ! ! York!Technical!College!Technical!Drafting/College!Transfer! ! PROFESSIONAL'DEVELOPMENT' ! ! ! John!C.!Campbell!Folk!School!–!Scottish!Tartans,!Melissa!Weaver!Dunning,!2012!! ! ! ! ! ! ! Weaving!of!the!Settlement!Schools,!Barbara!Miller,!2011! ! ! ! ! ! ! Weaving!Overshot,!Barbara!Miller,!2010! ! ! ! ! ! ! Block!Weaving,!Jason!Collingwood,!2008! ! ! ! Weaving!18th!Century!Textiles,!Barbara!Miller,!2007! ! ! ! ! ! ! Textile!studio!–!Weaving,!Katherine!Webber!Scott,!2004! ! Penland!School!of!Craft!–!Woven!Shibori!/Essence!of!Fiber,!Catharine!Ellis/Joy!Boutrup,!2007! ! ! ! ! ! !!!Textile!studio!–!Weaving!&!Surface!Design,!Suzanne!Gerdandt,!2005! ! ! ! ACADEMIC'TEACHING'EXPERIENCE' ! ! ! Winthrop'University,'Rock'Hill,'SC'F'Adjunct'Professor'of'Fine'Arts'–'Department'of'Fine'Arts,! 20047Present! ARTS483'–'Special'Topics'in'Art:'Weaving,'20127Present' ' ' Introductory!course!in!weaving!using!a!four7harness!floor!loom!to!create!textiles!with!woven!! ! structures.!Developed!and!implemented!projects!and!assignments!that!incorporate!textile!history!!!! !!!!and!cultural!relevance,!designed!information!handouts,!maintained!studio!equipment,!ordered!!! !!!!supplies!and!replacement!parts! ARTS645'–'Advanced'Studies'in'Graduate'Drawing,'20127Present! ' Advanced!studies!in!drawing!at!the!graduate!level!with!emphasis!on!developing!conceptual!and!! ! pragmatic!skills.! ARTS102'–'Foundations:'Three'Dimensional'Design'I,!2011! ' Comprehensive!exploration!of!form,!volume!and!space!involving!design,!media,!tools!and! technique.! ARTS607'–'Advanced'Studies'in'Graduate'Craft,'20117Present! ! Textile!concentration!at!the!graduate!level!with!emphasis!on!independent!and!guided!research! into!! ! the!nature!of!craft!and!its!relationship!to!individual!studio!art!practice.! ! Required!text:!“Makers:!A!History!of!American!Studio!Craft”! ' INDS'443!–!Textile'design:'Structural,!200472008! ! !!! Fabric!design!with!woven!structures;!Developed!and!implemented!projects!and!assignments!that!! promoted!understanding!of!structural!design!of!textiles!through!weaving,!incorporated!textile!! ! ! history!and!cultural!relevance,!organized!exhibition!of!student!work,!designed!information! handouts,!! !!!!!!!!!!!maintained!studio!equipment,!ordered!supplies!and!replacement!parts! ! INDS'488!–'Special'Topics'in'Textile'Design,!200672008! ! ! Continuation!of!INDS!443!with!emphasis!on!producing!unique!designs!using!painted!warps,!the! use!! ! ! of!fiber!reactive!dyes,!surface!design,!structure!design!and!implementation!of!color!theory!into! the!! ! ! woven!design! ' Studio'Seminar'Facilitator,!2010! ' ' Facilitated!textile!seminar!for!the!Master!of!Art!Education!students!focusing!on!the!use!of!1930s!! ! ! woven!and!printed!fabric!as!well!as!printed!feed!sacks!in!quilts!of!the!Great!Depression!era.!! ! Research!included!gathering!archival!information!stored!at!the!Springs!Industries!repository! located!! ! in!The!Cotton!Factory,!Rock!Hill,!SC!and!also!historical!quilt!patterns!from!period!texts.! ! York'Technical'College,'Rock'Hill,'SC'F'Adjunct'Art'Instructor! ART101'–'Art'History'and'Appreciation,'20137Present' ' Develop!and!provide!instruction!for!an!upcoming!new!lecture7based!classroom!art!appreciation!! ! course!including!text!selection,!lecture!content,!slide!presentations!and!assignments.! ! PROFESSIONAL'ACTIVITIES' ' Follow'the'Thread'Fiber'Studio,'Center'for'the'Arts,'Rock'Hill,'20117Present' A!private!studio!devoted!to!serving!the!community!by!integrating!the!textile!arts!as!a!way!to! honor!Rock!Hill’s!textile!heritage;!a!common!thread!weaving!together!the!downtown!arts,!the! community,!and!Winthrop!University.!!It!is!a!working/teaching!space!where!handwoven!items! are!created!by!an!artist!specializing!in!historical!and!contemporary!weave!structures!using!both! traditional!and!non7traditional!materials.!Weaving!and!fiber7related!classes!are!offered! community7wide!as!well!as!within!the!academic!community.! South'Carolina'Parks'&'Recreation'ArtistFinFResidence'at'Poinsett'State'Park,!2014! Awarded!a!week7long!artist!residency!through!South!Carolina!Parks!and!Recreation.! ! Tartan'Designer,!2012' ' Commissioned!by!Winthrop!University!to!develop!an!original!tartan!design!followed!by!a! commission!! ! to!create!22!handwoven!tartan!scarves.!Design!officially!registered!with!the!Scottish!National!! ! Tartan!Registry.! ! Southeastern'College'Art'Conference'F'Session'Presentation:'Fibers'in'the'Contemporary'Studio,! 2011!! ! Paper!and!slide!lecture!entitled,!“Follow!the!Thread”!at!the!Southeastern!College!Art!! ! ! Conference!in!Savannah,!GA! ' University'of'North'Carolina'Pembroke,'Pembroke,'NC'F'Visiting'Artist'/'Workshop'Facilitator,! 2010! Artist’s!slide!lecture!and!critique!for!sculpture!students.!Conducted!workshop!designed!to! introduce!the!concept!of!creating!three7dimensional!objects!using!textiles.!!Instruction!included! pattern!design!and!placement,!cutting,!stitching,!trimming,!turning,!stuffing!and!closure.!!The! goal!of!this!workshop!was!to!provide!the!skills!necessary!for!further!exploration!of!fabric7based! sculpture.! ! ArtistFinFResidence'–'701'Center'for'Contemporary'Art,'Columbia,'SC,!2008! ! ! The!Center!is!located!in!a!restored!building!that!once!served!the!Olympia!and!Granby!mill!villages! as!! ! ! a!mercantile!and!community!center.!!The!six7week!residency!culminated!in!a!fabric!installation!! ! ! entitled,!“Story!Lines,”!a!component!of!the!inaugural!exhibition!of!701!CCA!entitled,!“Textile! Tales,”!! ! ! featuring!artists!whose!work!responded!to!the!formerly!vibrant!Southern!textile!industry.! ' Common'Knowledge'–'Domestic'Lifeways'of'the'18th'Century,'200372010' Coordinator!and!participant!in!an!18th!century!women’s!history!interpretive!program!presented! at!historic!sites!and!educational!institutions!throughout!the!southeast!region.!Program! development!included!content!coordination,!logo!and!publication!design,!website!design!and! maintenance! ! Calligrapher'F'Serving!the!community!as!a!professional!calligrapher,!19907present! ! ' COMMUNITYFBASED'TEACHING'EXPERIENCE' ' Art'Instructor'F'Rock'Hill'Parks'and'Recreation,'199072002' ' “Just'Drawing'for'Kids”!–!developed!and!implemented!a!series!of!drawing!lessons!designed!to! teach!! ! basic!drawing!skills!7!children!ages!6712' ' Adult'Drawing!–!drawing!lessons!designed!to!develop!basic!drawing!skills!for!adults' !' Calligraphy!–!six!week!course!designed!to!develop!basic!calligraphic!skills!for!ages!12!&!up! ! ADDITIONAL'PROFESSIONAL'EXPERIENCE' ! ! ! Transfer'Data'Specialist!–'Office'of'Admissions,!Winthrop!University,!200772013! ! ! Data!entry!of!transfer!applications!and!credentials!using!campus7wide!computer!system;! Maintain!! ! ! confidential!applicant!files;!coordinate!correspondence!concerning!admissions!requirements!! Administrative'Assistant'–!New'Start,!Winthrop!University,!20017September!2007!(student/temp)!! ! ! Provided!administrative!support!to!the!New!Start!office!including!prospect!data!entry;! coordinated!! !! !!!!correspondence;!maintained!files;!answered!telephone!and!email!inquiries!and!met!with! students! Graphic'Design!–!15!years!experience!in!printing!and!design:!graphic!design!and!offset!and!process! color!! prepress!for!a!variety!of!printed!material!using!InDesign,!Illustrator,!Photoshop,!Quarkxpress! and!Freehand! !!!! ! Freelance!projects!included:! ! ! Common!Knowledge:!Domestic!Lifeways!of!the!18th!Century!–!logo!design;!website!design! ! ! Building!Modernism!–!catalog!layout!and!design,!Winthrop!University!Galleries! ! ! Benny!Andrews:!The!Human!Spirit!Series!–!catalog!layout!and!design!with!Rock!Hill!School! District!! ! ! High!and!Low:!Printmakers’!Views!of!Society!–!catalog!layout!and!design,!design!of!teacher! packets! ! ! Faculty!Exhibition!III!–!catalog!layout!and!design,!Winthrop!University!Galleries! Architectural'and'Structural'Drafting!–!6!years!as!a!structural!and!architectural!draftsman!in!an!! ! ! engineering!environment;!provided!shop!and!presentation!drawings!using!manual!! ! ! and!computer!aided!drafting!equipment!and!programs! ! ! ! ! HONORS/AWARDS! ! ! ! South'Carolina'Parks'&'Recreation'ArtistFinFResidence'at'Poinsett'State'Park,!2014' Awarded!a!week7long!artist!residency!through!South!Carolina!Parks!and!Recreation.! ' South'Carolina'Palmetto'Hands'Fine'Craft'Competition'and'Exhibition'–'Honorable'Mention' Category:'Fiber,'2013! ' Artists’'Ventures'Initiative'Grant'–'South'Carolina'Arts'Commission,'2013'F'Selected!through!a' competitive!application!process,!Artists'!Ventures!Initiative!is!dedicated!to!assisting!artists!develop! knowledge!and!skills!to!build!sustainable!careers.!' ! Excellence'in'Teaching'Award,'2013'–'Presented!by!Phi!Theta!Kappa!of!York!Technical!College!! ' Presidential'Citation'for'Service'to'the'University,'2013'–'Presented!by!President!Anthony! DeGiorgio!for!service!to!the!university!in!relationship!to!the!research!and!design!of!the!Winthrop! University!tartan!design! ' Arts'&'Science'Council'2012'Regional'Artist'Project'Grant'–'Professional!development! ' Internal'Nominee'F'Conference'of'Southern'Graduate'Schools,'2011'7!Master!of!Fine!Art!thesis,! Follow!the!Thread,!nominated!by!Winthrop!University!to!the!Conference!of!Southern!Graduate!Schools! 2011!Thesis!Award!in!Humanities!and!Fine!Arts.! ! Internal'Nominee'F'International'Sculpture'Center''F'Nominated!as!2010!Sculpture!Student!of!the! Year!by!Professor!Shaun!Cassidy,!Winthrop!University! ! ! ! Individual'Artist'Fellowship'Award'F'South'Carolina'Arts'Commission,'2008' Fellows!are!selected!through!a!competitive,!anonymous!application!process!and!are!awarded!in! recognition!of!superior!artistic!merit.!!Out7of7state!review!panelists!make!recommendations!for! selections!based!solely!on!a!review!of!work!samples.!!The!panel’s!recommendations!are!approved!by! the!board!of!the!S! ! ! outh!Carolina!Arts!Commission.! The'Center'for'Craft,'Creativity'and'Design,!Graduate'Research'Grant,'2005! Graduate!Research!Grant!to!study!and!catalog!woven!samples!of!Anni!Albers!at!the!Josef!and!Anni! Albers!Foundation,!Bethany,!Connecticut;!attend!a!two7week!weaving!session!at!Penland!School!of! Craft,!North!Carolina;!study!primary!documentation!at!the!North!Carolina!archives!in!Raleigh!on! Albers’!tenure!as!a!weaving!instructor!at!Black!Mountain!College.! ' South'Carolina'Arts'Commission'Individual'Small'Artist’s'Grants,!2004,!2007! To!study!18th!century!weave!structures!with!textile!historian,!Barbara!Miller!at!John!C!Campbell!Folk! School! To!study!woven!shibori!techniques!with!professional!fiber!artists,!Catherine!Ellis!and!Joy!Boutrup!at! Penland!School!of!Craft;!study!weaving!with!artist,!Katherine!Webber!Scott,!John!C!Campbell!Folk! School! ! ' Southern'Arts'Federation!–!Registered!artist!of'an!adjudicated!online!artist!registry!designed!to! showcase!the!South’s!artistic!diversity!and!excellence!by!spotlighting!outstanding!artists!of!all! disciplines!that!live!and!work!in!the!region.! ! ! !!Category:!!Visual!Arts!–!Installation.! !Graduate'Scholarship! ! s'F'Art'and'Design!–!Winthrop!University,!200572006;!200472005!! !South'Carolina'Arts'Commission'Artists! ! FInFEducation'Roster!–!juried!2003! !Omicron'Delta'Kappa'National'Leadership'Honor'Society! ! !–!inducted!2002! !Dr.'Dorothy'E.'Jones'Women’s'Studies'Award! ! !–!Winthrop!University,!Fall!2002! James'V.'and'Florence'Bell'Theodore'Scholarship!–!Art!and!Design,!Winthrop!University,!20027 2003! ! !! Clara'Barrett'Strait'Scholarship'Award!–!Art!and!Design,!Winthrop!University,!1999,!1998! ! SELECTED'EXHIBITIONS' ' ArtFields,'Lake!City,!SC,!2014! ! Unearth,'Outdoor!juried!art!festival,'Saluda!Shoals!Recreational!Area,!Columbia,!SC,!2013! ! Connecting'Concept'&'Medium:'Fiber'Art'in'South'Carolina,!Invitational!exhibition!featuring!South! Carolina!Fiber!Artists,!Pickens!County!Museum,!Pickens,!SC,!2013! ! South'Carolina'Palmetto'Hands'Juried'Fine'Craft'Traveling'Exhibition,'South!Carolina!State! Museum,!Columbia,!SC,!2013714! ! South'Carolina'Palmetto'Hands'Juried'Fine'Craft'Competition'and'Exhibition'F'Category:'Fiber' North!Charleston,!SC,!2013! ' Art'Frenzy'–'Invitational!Exhibition,!Center!for!the!Arts,!Rock!Hill,!SC,!2012! ! !Triennial'Revisited! ! ,!701!Center!for!Contemporary!Art,!Columbia!SC,!2011!! YC'Magazine'Show,!Land!of!Counterpane,!York!County!Center!for!the!Arts,!Rock!Hill,!SC,!2010!!!! ! ! ! ! ! !MFA'Thesis'Exhibition! ! ,!Wishing!Walk,!Rutledge!Gallery,!Winthrop!University,!2010!! RockFPaperFScissors,!Thread!Series,!Winthrop!University!graduate!outreach!exhibitions!–!three! locations:!Loading!Dock!Gallery,!Rock!Hill,!SC;!Student!Galleries,!Winthrop;!Charlotte!Country!Day! School,!2010!!! ! ! ! Textile'Tales.!!Site!specific!installation,!Story!Lines,!701!Center!for!Contemporary!Art,!2008!! Story!Lines,!dance!performance!inspired!by!the!installation!of!the!same!title,!choreographed!and! performed!by!Miriam! ! ! !Barbosa!and!the!South!Carolina!Contemporary!Dance!Company,!2009! Graduate'Works'In'Progress.!!Shades!of!Gray,!2008,!Heddles,!2004,!Lewandowski!Gallery,!Winthrop ! ! ! !Triennial'2004! ! .!!Encounter!Past!Present,!South!Carolina!State!Museum,!Columbia,!SC,!2004!!! !Accessibility'2004! ! '–'Next'Wave'Exhibition.!!Spires,!2004.!Sumter,!SC.! Experience:'Graduate'Sculpture'Exhibition.!!!Weight!of!Line,!2004.!!Hart7Witzen!Gallery,!Charlotte,! NC.! !! ! ! ! !Space'Revisions:'New'Works'for'a'New'Space! ! .!Closure,!2003.!Sumter!Gallery!of!Art,!SC.! !Site!FSpecific'Interactive'Exhibition! .!!Living!Sculpture,!2003.!!Lemira!Elementary,!Sumter,!SC.! Advanced'Sculpture'and'Painting'Exhibition.!!Domestic!Steel,!2003.!!Lewandowski!Gallery,! Winthrop! ! ! ! !Outdoor'Sculpture'Exhibition! ! .!!Full!Circle!~!Ripple!Effect,!2002.!!Winthrop! SiteFSpecific'Sculpture'Exhibition.!!Passages,!2001.!(former)!Bleachery,!Springs!Industries,!Rock!Hill,! SC.! ! ! ! Piccolo'Spoleto'Juried'Exhibition,'“The'Missing'World.”!!Spirits,!2001.!The!Old!City!Jail,!Charleston,! SC.! ! PRESS' ! ! ! Connecting'Arts'to'a'Lost'Industry:! !http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/awards/fellows/bethmelton.shtml! ! ! Bair,!Karen.!!“Threads'of'History:'Winthrop'Grad'Student'Wins'Grant'to'Study'Art'of'Weaving.”'! !The!Herald,!April!27,!2005.!!Rock!Hill,!SC.! ! ! !Day,!Jeffrey.!!! ! “Fluttering'Gates.”!!The!State,!February!20,!2005.!!Columbia,!SC.! Holt,!Lauren.!!“Local'Artists'Find'Place'in'SC'State'Museum's'Triennial,”! !!!!!!!The!Herald,!November!19,!2004.!Rock!Hill,!SC.! ! ! !'“Triennial'2004:'Three'Years'of'Contemporary'Art'in'South'Carolina”! ! !7!exhibition!catalog! Moore,!Chris.!! ! ! “Living'Sculpture,”!The!Item,!March!29,!2003.!!Sumter,!SC.! Moore,!Ivy.!!“Space'Revision:'Winthrop'exhibit'marks'grand'opening'of'cultural'complex.”!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!The!Item,!March!24,!2003.!!Sumter,!SC.! ! ! Smith7Kimball,!Tracy.!“Exploring'the'World'of'Art,”!The!Herald,!January!19,!2003.!Rock!Hill,!SC.! Day,!Jeffrey.!!“! ! ! Piccolo'Exhibit'at'Old'Jail'a'MustFSee'Show.”!!The!State,!June!3,!2001.!!Columbia,!SC.! '“2001'Piccolo'Spoleto'Juried'Contemporary'Art'Exhibition.”!!!Carolina!Arts,!May,!2001.!! !Charleston,!SC! ! ! !Hoyt,!Lauren.!!! ! “Piccolo'Wraps'Up'the'Region.”!!The!Herald,!May!25,!2001.!Rock!Hill,!SC.! Hoyt,!Lauren.!!“Public'Art:'Winthrop'students'look'outside'to'create'innovative,'interactive' sculptures.”!!!The!Herald,!May!7,!2001.!! ! COMMUNITY'INVOLVEMENT'–'LOCAL'AND'REGIONAL' ! ! Historic'Brattonsville!–!Volunteer!living!history!interpreter!(1995!–!present).!Areas!of!specialization:!!! ! Historical'textile'production!!7!weaving,!spinning,!natural!dyes!and!18th!century!clothing! construction! 18th'Century'Domestic'Medical'Practitioner/Midwife!7!Developed!persona!through!research!of! original!documentation!and!a!collection!of!historically!accurate!accruements! ! ! New'Acquisition'Militia!7!Revolutionary!War!reenactment,!Board!Secretary,!19977Present! !!!!!!! ! Junior'Woman’s'Club'of'Rock'Hill!7!Coordinated!Children’s!Art!Festival,!1994,!1995;! ! Initiated!grant!application!for!Festival!funding;!New!Member!of!the!Year,!1993!! ! Donation'of'art'work'and'services!7!including:!Breast!Cancer!Society,!Relay!for!Life,!The!Salvation!! ' Army!of!Rock!Hill;!York!County!Culture!and!Heritage!Foundation!! Brief&Summary&of&Selected&Creative&Works,&Awards,&Exhibitions& & Artist>In>Residence&>&Poinsett&State&Park,"2014& " " Awarded"a"week.long"artist"residency"through"South"Carolina"Parks"and"Recreation." & ArtFields,"2014&& " " Juried"art"exhibition,"Lake"City,"SC" & Artists’&Ventures&Initiative&Grant&–&South&Carolina&Arts&Commission,"2013& & & AVI"is"dedicated"to"assisting"artists"develop"knowledge"and"skills"to"build"sustainable"careers."& " Excellence&in&Teaching&Award,"2013&–&Presented"by"Phi"Theta"Kappa"of"York"Technical"College"" " Tartan&Design,&Winthrop&University,"2012& " Commissioned"to"create"tartan"design"registered"with"the"Scottish"National"Tartan"Registry." & Unearth,"2013" " " Outdoor"juried"art"festival,&Saluda"Shoals"Recreational"Area,"Columbia,"SC" & Connecting&Concept&&&Medium:&Fiber&Art&in&South&Carolina,"2013" " " Invitational"exhibition"featuring"South"Carolina"Fiber"Artists,"Pickens"County"Museum,"SC" " South&Carolina&Palmetto&Hands&Fine&Craft&Competition&&&Exhibition,&2013& & & Honorable&Mention&>&Category:&Fiber."Juried"fine"craft"competition"and"exhibition" & South&Carolina&Palmetto&Hands&Juried&Fine&Craft&Traveling&Exhibition,&2013" Traveling"exhibition"administered"by"the"South"Carolina"State"Museum." & Tartan&Designer,"2012& & Commissioned"to"create"original"tartan"design"registered"with"the"Scottish"National"Tartan" Registry" & Arts&&&Science&Council&Regional&Artist&Project&Grant,"2012& & & Awarded"for"professional"development" & Follow&the&Thread&Fiber&Studio,&Center&for&the&Arts,&Rock&Hill& Established"in"2011"as"a"working/teaching"center"where"handwoven"items"are"created"and" where"weaving"and"fiber.related"classes"are"offered." " Southeastern&College&Art&Conference&>&Session&Presentation:&Fibers&in&the&Contemporary&Studio," 2011"" " Paper"and"slide"lecture"entitled,"“Follow"the"Thread”"at"the"Southeastern"College"Art"" " " Conference"in"Savannah,"GA" & Visiting&Artist&>&University&of&North&Carolina&Pembroke,&Pembroke,&NC,"2010&" Artist’s"slide"lecture"and"critique"for"sculpture"students."Conducted"workshop"designed"to" introduce"the"concept"of"creating"three.dimensional"objects"using"textiles." & Artist>In>Residence&–&701&Center&for&Contemporary&Art,&Columbia,&SC,"2009" " " 701"CCA"is"located"in"a"restored"building"that"once"served"the"mill"villages"as"a"mercantile" " " and"community"center.""My"six.week"residency"culminated"in"a"fabric"installation"entitled" " " “Story"Lines,”"a"component"of"the"inaugural"exhibition"of"701"CCA,"featuring"artists"whose"" " " work"responded"to"the"formerly"vibrant"Southern"textile"industry." & Visual&Arts&Individual&Artist&Fellowship&Award&>&South&Carolina&Arts&Commission,"2008& " Awarded"based"upon"in"recognition"of"artistic"merit"" " "(http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/awards/fellows/bethmelton.shtml)" " The&Center&for&Craft,&Creativity&and&Design,"Graduate&Research&Grant,"2005" " " Graduate"Research"Grant"to"study"and"catalog"woven"samples"of"Anni"Albers"at"the"Josef"and"" " " Anni"Albers"Foundation,"Bethany,"Connecticut;"attend"a"weaving"session"at"Penland"School" of"Craft;"and"research"primary"documentation"at"the"NC"archives"in"Raleigh"on"Albers’"tenure"as" a"weaving"instructor"at"Black"Mountain"College." & Common&Knowledge&–&Domestic&Lifeways&of&the&18th&Century,&2003.2010& Coordinator"and"participant"in"an"18th"century"women’s"history"interpretive"program"presented" at"historic"sites"and"educational"institutions"throughout"the"southeast"region." February 2009 yc magazine... York County’s Entertainingly Informative Magazine

York County’s Professional Artists By Bill Henson Beth Melton

To me, installation art is not unlike life and, all of a sud- a late spring thunderstorm that sneaks den, you fi nd your- up in the afternoon, unnoticed until self caught by some you hear the rumble of thunder or are bolt of artistic vision. drenched by a sudden downpour. It’s a Yesterday the world slight tear in the fabric of what appears was a certain way. to be normal. But today, somebody You’re sort of bouncing along through changed something in my macro space. And tomorrow, the space changes back to what was formerly normal. PPENEÉENEÉ Most fi ne art stays put. It’s pedestal or EEstheticssthetics & wall art. You can usually pick it up and Make-Up Studio move it around, but it’s most often kept where art is gener- ally kept, in galleries, museums, offices, and homes — places where the art lover BBuyuy and viewer normally see art. yyourour Installation art goes on the hunt for MMomom a the viewer. It’s site- 11-hour-hour specifi c and usually temporary. It can be ffacialacial relatively small or es- tablish a command- aandnd ggetet ing presence in a large open space. self as a weaver, though she is an ex- yyoursours There’s absolutely no guarantee that pert in this craft and a recognized mas- it will be where you expect art to be or ter textiles artisan as well. Melton is an aatt hhalfalf that it will be in a form or format that installation artist who weaves textiles P you expect. into her pieces. pprice!rice! Beth Melton is an installation artist. “My mother was skilled in all of the She is working on her master of fi ne hand arts like sewing, quilting, knitting arts degree at Winthrop, though she is and weaving. She taught me at an early an experienced and accomplished art- age, and I was also in charge of ironing ist with signifi cant state and regional my father’s white, linen handkerchiefs. recognition. She doesn’t identify her- He was a fi ne clothier, so they had to be Handmade Organic Skin Care Of Hungary

Skincare for face, body, hands, and feet Baxter Hood Center, Rock Hill March 19, 20 & 21 Free to the public Your skin will love these truly unique, nature-inspired products 628-1777 Historic Downtown York 35 North Congress Street Wed-Fri By Appointment Diane Ferlatte Tim Tingle Andy Offutt Irwin The Kickin Grass Band Roger Day GGiftift CertificatesCertificates Festival Information 803-981-5840 presented by York County Library Visitor Information 1-800-866-5200 AAvailablevailable OOnline!nline! Friends of York County Library wwww.penee.netww.penee.net Project assisted by the City of Rock Hill Accommodations Tax Program www.patchworktales.org

PAGE 34 yc magazine... York County’s Entertainingly Informative Magazine February 2009

Opposite page, clockwise at top left: “Spires.” Beth Melton. “Closure.” “Story Lines.” Clockwise at top left: “Encounter Past Present.” Close-up detail of “Encounter Past Present.” “Thin Air.” Close-up of “Shades of Gray.” “Shades of Gray.” Photo of Beth Melton by YC Magazine. All images provided by Beth Melton.

with the space. with the public. People in the neigh- “The size of the piece de- borhood come by to see what is being pends on the space and how I done. And when I design my pieces, I break it down. Since it is site- want a viewer to have different levels speciﬁ c, I need to make sketch- of engagement, no matter their back- es and models before I start on ground or walk of life. It’s important the ﬁ nal work.” to have various levels of engagement. Beth wants her art to connect They can see it from a slight distance or with the public on many levels. up close, maybe even pass through it.” “When you’re making public Melton creates active art, not emo- ating a smaller space for the viewer to art, one of the real values is interacting (Continued on page 36) exist in and respond to. Many of my pieces allow a viewer to pass through if they want.” Beth Melton’s installations can take a bit of time because she is looking for the way to create a synergy. As she TThehe GGardenarden CCaféafé says, “The art is presented with param- eters to work within, and you need to AAndnd TThehe MMarketarket aatt TThehe GGararddenen CaféCafé folded and ironed perfectly. I thought respond to that space. It’s a dialogue it was fun,” Beth explains. between the artist and the space. That “Also, while growing up, I loved to dialogue must continue to the viewer CComeome eeatat aandnd vvisitisit oourur NNEWEW ““green”green” ggiftift sshophop create areas within the woods in the or there’s little value. pockets of large roots, spaces within “I look for areas of verticality or cor- RRecycledecycled spaces, or in the corner of a stair land- ners. I can respond to vertical space. hhandmadeandmade iitemstems ing or closet. I was a child creating Also, many of the places I’ve worked nurturing spaces my size. I think that’s were historical sites. I’ll research the where my work comes from now. I’m history. That’s part of responding FFreshresh ffloralslorals responding to a larger space and cre- to the space and having a dialogue BBakeake sshophop PPat-a-Cakesat-a-Cakes AAndnd mmoreore BBakeryakery & ArtArt CaféCafé NNewew hhours,ours, nnewew mmenu,enu, Birthday Cake Special! nnewew ggiftift sshop!hop! Only $120 + tax A llotot ooff nnewew tthingshings ~ 3-tier cake serves 40 guests tthehe ssameame ggreatreat pplace!lace!

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PAGE 35 February 2009 yc magazine... York County’s Entertainingly Informative Magazine

Beth Melton, CONTINUED from Page 35 tionally passive art. And her art shows her drafting and graphics arts background. “One of my pro- fessors calls it ‘Drawing in space.’ That completely changed my perspective.” She uses powerful, smooth designs that appeal to the eye, sometimes effectively masking the sizes of some pieces until you’re close enough to feel small. Most artists create works to exist for a long time, centuries per- haps. Beth’s pieces are installed, exist for a set time, and removed. Only the memories and photos remain. “There’s something about creating a piece of art that goes go. I’m not sad when it’s time to take into only one space,” she says. “The the installation down.” Unlike other Clockwise at top left: “Heddles.” most emotional time for me is when I art forms, you don’t take this art down, A detailed shot ﬁ nish the installation. I have to let go box it up, and set it up in another loca- of “Story Lines.” and give up control. Yet my job as an tion. You dismantle its interaction with Close-up view artist is to create something, put what- the site, dismantle the response. of “Passages.” ever levels of engagement that I want But when the art is gone, it’s not like “Passages” from a into the work, then let it be. it never was. The shadow of the inter- distance. “But when it needs to come down, action remains within the viewers and All images provided it’s almost like it has lived its life and those who know the space. And with by Beth Melton. it’s time to take it down, time for it to one of her installations, “Story Lines,”

how it plays with the piece. This artist wants you to see ARKET a choreographer created a dance, in- the piece from many viewpoints and spired by and designed for performance perspectives. And the look will often be around the art. The de-installation is distinctly different. Beth Melton’s art oonnHERLONG simply another level of interaction. is not a form of art that is static, un- M If you are fortunate enough to en- changing, with only a primary impres- counter a Beth Melton installation, sion to convey. It works much harder ~ DDelieli & RRestaurantestaurant ~ EEatat IInn oorr TTakeake OOutut ~ look for more than you initially see. than that. yc Her designs naturally create an inter- Boar’s Head Deli Meats & Cheeses action of shadows and light — textiles Bill Henson is one of the publishers as a material tends to encourage those and editors of YC Magazine, and is oudly effects. And the feeling that the piece also a freelance writer. You can reach PProudlyr Catering conveys to you is liable to shift as the him at 803-980-7098 or by email at FFeaturing:eaturing: light of the day changes its position and [email protected]. Boxed Lunches Butcher Shop Garrett’s Antiques & Indian Shop Fresh Baked Goods Daily Over 50 Tribes Call Ahead For Easy Pick-up Authentic Turquoise Silver Jewelry NNowow Headdresses, Blankets, Pipes, Dolls, Indian Pottery, SSpicypicy WWhitehite CCheddarheddar PPimientoimiento CCheeseheese Drums, Wall Hangings, Arrowheads, Weapons FFeaturing:eaturing: SSavoryavory CChickenhicken SSaladalad ~ AskAsk forfor ffreeree sample!sample! 803-980-4080 • Fax 803-980-3066 TTHEHE BBESTEST SSELECTIONELECTION ININ TTHEHE SSOUTH!OUTH! 489 S. Herlong Ave. • Suite 1 • Rock Hill 14800 Lancaster Hwy. • 3 miles south of Pineville • Pineville, NC NEW Extended Hours: M-F 10am-6pm • Sat 8am-4pm (704) 542-2652 • Mon-Sat 10am-6pm

PAGE 36

State,!The!(Columbia,!SC)! February!20,!2005!! Section:!LIFE!&!ARTS!! Edition:!FINAL!! Page:!E1!! !

! FLUTTERING!'GATES'!! !!.!JEFFREY!DAY,!Staff!Writer!! ! For!weeks,!Ginny!Newell!has!been!talking!about!"The!Gates."!The!project!by!artists!Christo!and!JeanneO Claude!fills!New!York's!Central!Park!with!7,500!gateOlike!forms!topped!by!billowing!saffron!fabric.!Friday,! she!was!flying!to!New!York!to!see!them!in!person.! "When!I've!talked!about!it,!people!look!at!me!like!I'm!crazy!O!or!that!I'm!really!lucky,"!said!Newell,!who! owns!an!artOrestoration!business!in!Columbia.! ! The!gates,!each!16!feet!tall!and!5!to!8!feet!wide,!ramble!through!23!miles!of!walkways!from!one!end!of!the! 50Oblock!park!to!the!other.!Christo!and!JeanneOClaude,!who!are!married,!have!been!attempting!to!erect! "The!Gates"!since!1979.! ! The!nature!of!their!projects,!which!have!included!wrapping!the!German!parliament!building!in!fabric,! creating!a!25Omile!"Running!Fence"!in!California!and!placing!a!giant!curtain!across!a!canyon,!are!unusual.!So! is!their!approach!to!making!the!artworks.! ! "The!Gates"!cost!$20!million,!with!the!artists!financing!the!entire!project!though!the!sale!of!studies!and! models!to!collectors!and!museums.!Proceeds!from!posters!of!"The!Gates"!will!be!donated!to!Nurture!New! York!Nature!and!the!Central!Park!Conservatory.!The!materials!used!in!the!project!will!be!recycled.! For!Newell,!visiting!"The!Gates"!isn't!just!about!looking!at!art.!She!plans!to!walk!the!entire!23!miles!as!a! kind!of!spiritual!journey.! ! "I've!been!doing!a!lot!of!work,!going!through!a!lot!of!growth!and!changes,!and!it's!symbolic!for!me!to!walk! 'The!Gates,'!"!she!said.!"I'm!sure!some!people!think!I'm!just!getting!sucked!in!by!all!the!hype,!but!they!don't! get!it!and!they're!not!going!to!get!it.!And!that's!completely!OK."! ! Ben!and!Jerry!Gimarc!of!Columbia!also!went!to!New!York!to!see!"The!Gates"!last!week,!along!with!several! friends!and!neighbors.! "We!happened!to!be!in!Paris!(in!1985)!for!their!Pont!Nuef!project,"!said!Jerry!Gimarc.!"We!didn't!expect!it! and!it!was!so!magical."! ! Christo's!projects,!which!date!to!the!1960s,!have!received!mixed!responses!both!from!general!public!and! the!art!world.! ! Brad!Collins,!a!USC!artOhistory!professor,!thinks!Christo!and!JeanneOClaude!have!been!the!most!successful! of!the!"earth"!and!"land"!artists!who!often!work!in!remote!and!isolated!locations.! "I!think!what!they!have!done!is!much!more!important!than!the!other!artists,"!Collins!said.!"He's!on! television,!in!all!the!newspapers,!and!moves!a!lot!of!people.!This!is!about!people!O!just!regular!people!on! the!street!O!having!an!esthetic!experience.!This!may!be!popular!art,!but!it!is!high!quality!as!well."! ! The!art!of!Christo!and!JeanneOClaude!moves!the!seemingly!unmovable.!In!a!film!about!"Running!Fence,"!a! crusty!rancher!who!opposed!the!project!becomes!so!taken!with!it!that!he!decides!to!bunk!down!beside!it! one!night.! ! Jimmy!Moon,!who!recently!moved!to!New!York!from!Columbia,!was!not!only!knocked!out!by!"The!Gates"! but!philosophical!about!it!as!well.! "My!initial!reaction!was,!'It's!a!shame!this!will!only!be!around!for!16!days!(through!Feb.!28),'!"!said!Moon,!a! regular!on!Columbia!theater!stages!for!many!years.! "But!the!memory!of!an!art!experience!can!sometimes!be!more!powerful!than!the!work!itself.!I!feel!quite! lucky!to!have!been!here."! The!gates!add!to!the!beauty!of!the!park,!which!was!designed!at!the!end!of!the!19th!century!by!Frederick! Law!Olmstead,!Moon!said.! "What!Christo!and!JeanneOClaude!have!done!is!taken!a!simple!and!elegant!concept!and!frosted!the! pathways!and!boulevards!of!the!park!with!saffron,"!he!said.!"Olmstead's!vision!of!the!park!is!now!graced! with!orange!highlights.! "I!like!the!way!this!contrasts!the!lines!of!nature!against!the!grid!of!the!city's!streets."! ! Painter!Brian!Rutenberg,!a!native!of!Myrtle!Beach,!lives!just!a!few!blocks!from!the!park!and!the!gates.!He,! his!wife,!Katherine,!and!their!daughter!and!son!braved!the!chill!weather!for!the!unfurling!of!"The!Gates."! "It's!quite!beautiful,"!Rutenberg!said.!"You!can!see!the!silhouettes!of!the!bare!trees,!and!the!fabric!throws! an!orange!glow!on!the!ground.! "It!is!not!the!most!profound!work!of!art,"!Rutenberg!said,!"but!it!makes!people!feel!they!have!a!relationship! with!a!work!of!art.!There!are!tons!of!people!walking!around!the!park!really!slowly."! Rutenberg!had!an!earlier!encounter!with!Christo.!In!1982,!when!Rutenberg!was!a!student!at!the!College!of! Charleston,!he!was!tapped!to!be!the!artist's!guide!and!driver!when!Christo!visited.! "He!was!the!sweetest!guy,"!Rutenberg!said.! ! Christo!may!be!sweet,!but!not!everyone!loves!his!work.! Public!art!allows!everyone!to!be!an!art!critic.!The!artists!embrace!negative!reactions!and!the!difficulty!of! gaining!permits!for!such!works.!More!than!once,!the!works!of!Christo!and!JeanneOClaude!have!been!cited! as!hazards!to!the!environment!O!which!may!be!one!reason!they!stress!the!recycling!component!so!much.! Activists!tried!to!block!them!from!running!the!"Running!Fence"!into!the!ocean.! ! Janet!Orselli,!an!installation!artist!in!Columbia!who!works!with!furniture,!tree!limbs,!vines!and!some!fabric,! said!she!liked!the!sense!of!wonder!"The!Gates"!inspired.!But!she!isn't!impressed!with!the!team's! environmental!record.! "Their!impact!on!the!natural!environment!has!concerned!me,"!she!said,!noting!that!wild!animals!couldn't! traverse!the!couple's!"Running!Fence."! Orselli!sees!little!connection!between!her!work!and!theirs.! ! Artist&Beth&Melton&of&Rock&Hill&feels&just&the&opposite.& "It&would&be&hard&to&work&with&fabric&and¬&be&influenced&by&them,"&said&Melton,&who&has&created& many&pieces&using&fabric,&including&one¤tly&at&the&S.C.&State&Museum.& What&she&particularly&likes&about&Christo&and&JeanneEClaude's&art&is&"clearing&hurdles."& "It's¬&just&the&end&result.&It's&meeting&with&people,&getting&permits&and&all&of&that,"&she&said.&"My& pieces&involve&the&same&kinds&of&process.&You&have&to&make&changes,&think&about&fire&marshals&and&traffic& patterns.&Seeing&what&they&do,&every&time&I&do&one&it&never&bothers&me&about&all&the&extra&work.&They& provide&a&very&positive&example.& ! Connecting!with!a!public!that!doesn't!often!engage!in!art!viewing!has!always!been!the!aim!of!Christo!and! JeanneOClaude.!That,!too,!has!been!an!aim!of!the!annual!installationOart!project!"Accessibility"!in!Sumter.! "We!like!to!put!things!out!there!where!people!encounter!them!in!daily!life!of!walking!from!point!A!to!point! B,"!said!Booth!Chilcutt,!founder!of!the!Sumter!project.!"We!always!want!to!make!a!human!connection! without!dumbing!down!the!art."! ! Christo!and!JeanneOClaude!say!they!don't!have!any!big!message!to!convey!with!"The!Gates,"!which!some! view!as!a!waste!of!energy,!ideas!and!money.! "This!is!really!an!intimate!project,!truly!built!on!a!human!scale,"!Christo!told!Smithsonian!magazine.!"It!is! not!big,!not!bombastic.!It!is!something!very!private,!and!I!love!that."! There!is!no!greater!symbolism,!JeanneOClaude!has!said.! "It!doesn't!mean!anything.!It's!only!a!work!of!art,!of!joy!and!beauty.!

Illustrations:!! ! 1.!'The!Gates'!project!rambles!through!23!miles!of!walkways!in!Central!Park.! 2.!An!archway!in!New!York's!Central!Park!frames!a!section!of!Christo!and!JeanneOClaude's!'The!Gates,'!a! public!art!installation!that!transforms!miles!of!foot!paths.!PHOTOGRAPHS!BY!THE!ASSOCIATED!PRESS! 3.!Pedestrians!walk!through!the!flowing!fabric!of!'The!Gates'.! 4.!Christo!and!JeanneOClaude.!KNIGHT!RIDDER! 5.!Rock!Hill!artist!Beth!Melton!says!it!would!be!difficult!to!create!pieces!such!as!this!one!without!Christo's! influence.!PHOTOGRAPH!COURTESY!OF!ARTIST!BETH!MELTON!! 6.!'Fountain'!by!Marcel!Duchamp! 7.!'Campbell's!Soup!Cans'!by!Andy!Warhol! 8.!Art!Beyond!Walls,!timeline! !

! ! ! Herald,!The!(Rock!Hill,!SC)!! April!27,!2005!! Edition:!Final! Section:!City! Page:!1A! ! Winthrop)grad)student)wins)grant)to)study)art)of)weaving)) Author:!Karen&Bair& The&Herald!! When!Beth!Melton!weaves,!the!intertwining!threads!enfold!her.!They!link!her!to!lives!crisscrossed!for! generations!and!lead!to!her!future.!She!imagines!herself!inside!the!pattern.!! "It's!the!structure!of!weaving!that!fascinates!me,"!she!explained.!"The!way!you!manipulate!the!thread!to! weave!over!and!under!different!patterns.!To!me,!it's!threeQdimensional."!! ! In!June,!the!Winthrop!University!graduate!student,!one!of!10!artists!nationally!to!have!won!a!Craft! Research!Fund!grant,!will!journey!to!Connecticut!to!study!pioneer!fiber!artist!Anni!Albers.!She!will!use!the! $5,000!at!the!Josef!and!Anni!Albers!Foundation!in!Bethany,!Conn.,!to!catalog!and!research!Albers'! weavings.!Albers!is!often!considered!the!first!textile!artist!to!evolve!weaving!into!fine!art.!She!and!her! husband,!Josef,!a!painter,!fled!Germany!in!the!1930s!to!settle!in!Black!Mountain,!N.C.,!where!Anni!Albers! taught!weaving.!! "How!did!she!bring!weaving!into!the!Museum!of!Modern!Art?"!Melton!asked.!"When!did!the!shift!come?!I! believe!it!came!during!her!period!at!Black!Mountain!College."!! ! Melton!understands!how!historic!links!connect!her!life,!from!her!Rock!Hill!childhood!to!her!art.!Born!in! textile!country!44!years!ago,!she!was!the!daughter!of!Thomas!Carter!and!the!former!Elizabeth!Nash,!both! Rock!Hill!natives.!Her!father!owned!and!operated!The!Gentlemen's!Shop!in!downtown!Rock!Hill.!! "He!knew!fabric!and!the!cut!of!it,"!she!reminisced.!! ! She!credits!to!her!fascination!in!weaving!to!her!mother,!a!Winthrop!girl!who!taught!history!and!later! worked!with!fibers!at!DuPont.!Her!mother!transported!her!children!to!state!historic!sites,!but!it!is!the! "little!places"!she!remembers.!! ! "If!she!saw!something!interesting!alongside!the!road,!we!would!stop!and!look,"!she!recalled.!"It!was!the! old!houses,!the!rundown!yards,!the!piles!of!rock!from!old!foundations.!She!encouraged!us!to!imagine!the! history!of!the!place.!She!inspired!me."!! ! Homespun&stories&and&fabrics&& There!were!nostalgic!trips!to!her!mother's!family!home!in!Bennettsville,!where!her!mother!spun!stories! about!events!there.!There!were!bureaus!full!of!old!tablecloths!and!fabrics,!too!fragile!to!use!and!too! precious!to!discard.!Stories!about!setting!the!dining!room!table!spawned!a!passion!for!interwoven!layers.! The!tablecloth!floated!onto!a!table!hotpad.!Dishes,!cups!and!saucers!poised!on!handQcrocheted!doilies! resting!on!placemats.!! "I!would!weave!my!history!into!hers,"!she!said.!"There!were!the!three!of!us.!My!grandmother,!whom!I! never!met,!my!mother!and!me.!I!would!think,!'Is!this!where!my!grandmother!played?!Is!this!where!my! mother!played?'!It!was!like!a!saga."!! ! Melton!sewed!buttons!on!clothes!when!she!was!4,!progressing!to!doll!clothes!and!costumes.!! Her!mother!made!her!a!floorQlength!patchwork!skirt.!She!would!don!the!skirt!and!skip!into!the!woods!with! dolls!and!a!bag!full!of!fabric,!building!imaginary!habitats.!She!perched!dolls!in!trees!and!draped!cloth!from! limbs,!whiling!away!afternoons!in!an!imaginary!child's!world.!! ! Melton!spins!her!own!story,!her!fourQfeet,!10!inches!curled!up!in!an!overstuffed!chair,!earrings!that!might! have!been!plucked!from!her!grandmother's!jewelry!box!dangling!from!her!ears.!Bright!green!eyes!and!a! finelyQchiseled!nose!peek!out!from!under!a!mane!of!wavy!hair!that!cascades!to!her!waist.!She!might!have! stepped!out!of!an!18thQcentury!family!oil!portrait.!! Her!interest!in!handcrafts!waned!in!adolescence.!She!met!her!husband,!Wayne!Melton,!as!a!senior!at!Rock! Hill!High!School.!They!married!and!had!a!son,!Justin,!a!yearQandQaQhalf!later.!Their!daughter,!Laura,!arrived! six!years!later.!While!Justin!was!a!baby,!she!took!drafting!classes!at!York!Technical!College.!That!led!to! eight!years!as!a!draftsperson.!She!was!a!commercial!printer!for!another!15!years.!! Rekindling&former&pastimes&& In!1997,!she!pursued!an!art!degree!at!Winthrop.!Meanwhile,!Laura!had!become!a!junior!docent!at!Historic! Brattonsville.!Designing!and!sewing!historic!clothing!rekindled!former!pastimes,!leading!Melton!to! spinning.!! "I!really!wanted!to!get!on!a!loom!and!create!my!own!fabric,"!she!said.!"All!of!these!things!just!coalesced."!! ! She!earned!a!bachelor's!degree!in!drawing!and!sculpture!with!minors!in!art!history!and!women's!studies.!! "I!have!a!connection!with!the!fragility!of!women's!crafts,"!she!said.!"Sometimes!with!my!sculpture,!I! crochet!with!stainless!steel!wire.!It!is!the!repetitive!nature!of!most!women's!work!that!I!really!enjoy.! Weaving!and!spinning.!It!is!soothing!and!meditative."!! ! Sculpture&in&space&& Her!connection!to!Albers!developed!during!work!on!her!master's!degree!in!fine!arts!in!sculpture!and!craft.! As!a!woman,!Albers!had!been!forced!to!study!weaving!in!Germany,!but!it!became!her!passion.!! ! Now,!Melton!is!weaving!sculpture!in!space.!! "Thread!is!a!line,"!she!explained.!"When!I!do!sculpture,!quite!often!it's!a!drawing!in!space,!but!involves!the! history!of!the!space,!the!atmosphere,!what!can!I!hang!it!from!and!where.!The!common!thing!is!the!line.! It's!always!the!line."!! ! When!she!created!an!installation!for!"Triennial!2004"!at!the!South!Carolina!State!Museum,!she!suspended! her!work!from!an!atrium,!capturing!the!building's!shape!with!suspended!antique!spools!that!echoed!its! textile!history.!! ! For!a!Piccolo!Spoleto!in!2001,!she!stretched!fabric!in!spirals!from!an!old!oak!tree!at!the!old!city!jail.!! "She!requires!the!viewer!to!be!a!participant,"!said!Winthrop!art!and!design!professor!Shaun!Cassidy.!"She! creates!a!sculptural!experience!within!the!fabric!forms.!Moving!through!becomes!a!major!component!of! the!work."!! ! As!for!Melton,!it's!all!in!a!day's!play.!! "I!have!such!a!happy!life,"!she!mused.!"It's!such!an!interesting!journey."!! ! Karen!Bair!329Q4080!! [email protected]!! Copyright,!2005,!The!Herald,!a!division!of!East!Coast!Newspapers,!Inc.! Record!Number:!889602! ! Illustrations:! Left:!Spirits,!Piccolo!Spoleto,!Charleston,!SC!2001! Right:!Encounter!Past!Present,!Triennial,!SC!State!Museum,!2005! !

!! ! ! ! ! ! ! SC!Arts!Commission!2008!Visual!Arts!Fellows! http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/awards/fellows/visual08.shtml8

! Elizabeth!Melton!connects!the!arts!to!a!lost!industry!! http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/awards/fellows/pastfellowevents.shtml8 ! 20108S.C.8Arts8Commission8Visual8Arts8Fellow8Elizabeth8Melton8(Beth)8created8a8siteGspecific8installation8called8 “Story8Lines”8as8a8part8of8the87018Center8for8Contemporary8Arts'8inaugural8exhibition,8Textile'Tales.88 8 Using8textiles8in83D8design:8Elizabeth8conducted8a8fabric8sculpture8lecture8and8workshop8at8UNCGPembroke,8 focusing8primarily8on8her8siteGspecific8installations,8integrity8of8materials,8and8history8of8place.8Her8work8was8also8 showcased8at8UNCGPembroke's8A.D.8Gallery.88 ! ! S.C.!Arts!Commission!Artist!Fellowships!! Fellow!Spotlight:!Elizabeth!Melton! Connecting!the!arts!to!a!lost!industry! http://www.southcarolinaarts.com/awards/fellows/bethmelton.shtml8 8 Cheap8labor8and8plentiful8water8power8made8the8Carolina8Piedmont8prime8real8estate8for8cotton8mills.8Dozens8 sprang8up8in8the8area8soon8after8the8American8Civil8War.88The8textile8industry8dominated8the8economy8until8the8 1960s,8when8many8operations8moved8overseas8because8of8unionization8and8cheaper8wages.8When8the8textile8mills8 closed,8their8empty8buildings8became8vacant8eyesores.8Their8downfall8also8signaled8an8end8 to8close8knit8mill8town8communities.8 88 Left:'701'Center'for'Contemporary'Art' Columbia,'S.C.8 88 Many8cities8and8towns8are8now8using8the8arts8as8a8catalyst8to8revive8their8communities8and8 attract8tourists8and8residents.8Cities8and8towns8are8creating8downtown8arts8districts,8 including8galleries,8theaters8and8studios.88 Old8mill8buildings8are8being8transformed8into8condominiums8and8artists’8lofts.8Restaurants8 and8coffee8shops8are8moving8into8vacant8buildings.8These8towns8are8transforming8into8 regional8hubs8for8culture.88 88 Living8proof8of8this8reformation8is8the87018Center8for8Contemporary8Art,8a8nonprofit8 organization8housed8in8the8former8community8center8of8the8Olympia8neighborhood,8 Columbia's8historic8textile8village.8The8new8space8features8a8gallery8for8museumGquality8art8 exhibitions8and8a8liveGwork8unit8for8artistsGinGresidence.88 8 Elizabeth8Melton8(Beth),8a8weaving8instructor8at8Winthrop8University8and820078South8 Carolina8Arts8Commission8fellow,8was8selected8as8the8first8artistGinGresidence8at87018CCA.8 During8her8sixGweek8residency,8Melton8created8a8siteGspecific8installation8called8“Story8 Lines”8as8a8part8of8the8center’s8inaugural8exhibition,8“Textile8Tales."88 88 88 Right:'Elizabeth'Melton's'"Story'Lines",'2008,'SiteDspecific'installation,'Columbia,'S.C.' 8The8exhibition,8which8also8included8past8Arts8Commission8fellowship8award8recipients,8Ellen8Kochansky8and8Phil8 Moody,8focused8on8the8legacy8of8the8textile8industry8and8those8who8lived8and8worked8in8it.88 88 This8was8certainly8not8Melton’s8first8project8tied8to8the8textile8industry.8With8help8from8the8fellowship8award8grant8 she8received8in82007,8she8purchased8a8portable8loom8to8demonstrate8weaving8outside8of8the8classroom.8This8 activity8has8allowed8her8to8meet8people8who8have8taught8her8a8lot8about8mill8life.8888 88 “No8matter8where8I8am8weaving,8I8am8invariably8approached8by8former8textile8workers8who8 share8with8me8their8stories8and8reflections8of8working8in8the8mills8and8life8in8the8mill8 villages,”8said8Melton,8who8says8these8encounters8give8her8and8former8mill8workers8an8 opportunity8to8share—often8with8sadness8and8resignation—the8history8of8textiles8in8South8 Carolina.88 88 88 Right:'Elizabeth'Melton'working'on'her'installation'at'701'CCA' ' “My'response'to'a'former'way'of'life'as'well'as'the'physical'act'of'weaving'provides'a' connection'with'the'lost'industry,'which'sustained'and'brought'together'so'many'families,”' said'Melton.' 88 Wim8Roefs,8owner8of8if8ART8gallery8in8Columbia8and8one8of8many8volunteer8leaders8of8the87018CCA,8said8Melton8 was8truly8the8immediate8and8logical8choice8for8the8center’s8first8artistGinGresidence.88 88 “Beth'has'a'long'tradition'of'creating'spectacular'but'sensitive,'elegant'installations'using'materials'from'the' textile'industry,'including'cloth'or'drapes'and'bobbins,”'said'Roefs.'“Her'work'is'not'only'conceptually'and' aesthetically'very'strong,'but'has'sheer'beauty'and'a'‘wow’'factor.”' 88 In8“Story8Lines,”8Melton’s8goal8was8to8engender8the8constricted8feeling8she8 imagined8workers8experienced8while8working8in8the8confined8spaces8of8the8 mills8and8living8in8their8surrounding8communities.8To8create8her8installation,8 she8used8fabric8that8came8from8a8mill8in8Union.88 88 * * * Above:'A'spinner'in'the'Mollahan'Mills' Newberry,'S.C.'' Photo'by'Lewis'W.'Hine.' 88 “I'have'been'working'with'this'fabric'for'10'years,”'said'Melton.'“I'first'used'it'in'an'installation'in'Rock'Hill'and'it' has'since'been'used'in'projects'from'Charleston'to'Sumter;'it’s'like'the'pieces'of'fabric'connect'parts'of'the'state.”''' 88 Melton’s8art8is8enriching8the8memories8of8those8who8lived8the8textile8industry8experience8and8enhancing8the8 cultural8understanding8of8those8who8learn8the8history.88She8and8other8artists8add8context8to8a8community’s8efforts8 to8recognize8its8past8and8revitalize8its8future.88

! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! Kirkland!Smith! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Kirkland)Smith)|)Biography) ) ) It)was)almost)by)accident)that)Kirkland)Smith)began)creating) assemblages)with)post:consumer)materials.)She)had)just)finished)a) course)in)classical)painting)and)drawing)in)France)and)was)eager)to) work)on)a)series)of)paintings)when)she)decided)to)enter)an) environmental)landscape)art)contest)in)early)2008.)"I)thought)it)would) not)only)be)fun)to)enter)the)contest,)but)would)push)me)to)solve)a) problem)with)my)painting.")For)this)competition,)the)problem)was)how) to)portray)an)environmental)landscape)issue.) ) “For)a)couple)of)weeks,)I)just)thought)about)what)to)do)as)I)looked) around)the)landscape)in)Columbia.)The)more)I)looked,)the)more)aware)I) became)of)the)disposable)nature)of)our)society.)Many)conveniences)I) took)for)granted)I)now)saw)in)a)different)light.)Although)I)actively) recycled)items)at)home)and)bought)in)bulk)to)reduce)the)amount)of) packaging)in)my)purchases,)I)began)to)understand)that)many)of)the) items)we)consumed)were)not)recyclable.)And)I)started)wondering)where) all)this)trash)ends)up:)the)stuff)that)doesn't)make)it)to)the)landfills.”) ) An)idea)formed.)Although)she’d)planned)to)paint)with)oils)on)canvas,) Kirkland)rejected)the)idea)for)an)approach)that)would)make)the) message)more)powerful.)Using)trash)as)the)medium,)rather)than)the) subject,)she)would)create)an)assemblage)“painting”.))While)narrowing) down)ideas)for)the)image)to)portray,)she)asked)friends)and)neighbors)to) donate)their)trash)for)one)week.)"I)asked)them)to)please)think)of)me) every)time)they)were)going)to)throw)something)away.)If)it)was)plastic,) small,)or)lightweight,)could)they)please)give)it)to)me)instead)of)tossing)it) in)the)can?") ) Kirkland)gave)her)friends)a)wish)list)of)items)she)thought)she)could)use:) bottle)caps,)toys,)make:up)pots)and)tubes,)mascara)wands,)buttons,)cell) phones,)and)remote)controls.)Little)bags)of)trash)began)arriving)at)her) doorstep)daily.)"I)was)so)excited)every)time)I)would)come)home)and)find) a)bag)of)trash)waiting)for)me!)My)children)thought)I)was)insane!")But) then)they)got)into)the)act.)Her)daughter)came)home)from)school)with) her)lunch)box)full)of)bottle)caps)and)plastic)utensils)she)collected)from) her)friends)in)the)lunchroom.)The)new)rule)at)home)was)that)toys)left)on) the)floor)were)fair)game)for)Mom's)art!) ) From)the)trash)she)collected,)Kirkland)created)the)piece)Inheritance.)She) chose)to)create)a)portrait)of)a)child,)an)image)both)haunting)and)hopeful,) to)give)the)message)of)the)importance)of)reducing,)reusing,)and) recycling)in)a)unique)way.)By)giving)a)face)to)the)problem)of)litter)and) pollution,)she)hoped)to)make)the)point)that)we)are)the)problem,)but)also) the)solution.) ) After)completing)the)piece,)Kirkland)still)had)a)lot)of)materials)left:)and) encouragement)from)many)people)to)continue)creating)assemblages.) And)she)had)many)ideas)for)new)pieces.)She)created)another) assemblage)before)deciding)she)needed)more)space)to)spread)out)and) store)the)growing)supply)of)post:consumer)items)her)friends)continued) collecting)for)her.)She)eventually)ended)up)at)Vista)Studios)and)is) currently)one)of)the)13)artists)in)residence.)"I)feel)blessed)to)be)here,) among)so)many)talented)artists.)It)is)a)great)place)to)work)and)learn) from)one)other.") ) Born)in)Mt.)Pleasant,)SC,)Kirkland)knew)she)would)grow)up)to)be)an) artist.)Her)father,)John)Thomas)(deceased))was)an)attorney)and)writer,) and)her)mother)Martha)Thomas,)was:)and)still)is:)a)painter.)"My)parents) always)encouraged)my)art.)It)is)one)of)the)greatest)gifts)they've)given) me.")Martha)moved)to)Columbia)when)Kirkland)had)her)fourth)child)and) currently)has)a)studio)in)the)Arcade)on)Main)Street.) ) Kirkland)met)and)began)dating)her)husband,)James)Smith,)when)still)in) high)school.)He)lived)in)Columbia)and)traveled)over)100)miles)almost) every)week)to)see)her)in)Mt.)Pleasant.)They)both)attended)USC)in) Columbia)and)married)in)1991,)just)after)graduating.)Kirkland)received) a)B.A.)in)Studio)Arts,)studying)many)different)forms)of)art)with)a) concentration)in)ceramics,)so)that)she)could)get)a)broad)background) using)different)mediums.)Because)the)painting)classes)available)were) mostly)abstract)and)her)interest)was)in)realism,)she)did)not)begin) painting)until)after)college.)She)went)on)several)week:long)workshops) over)the)next)few)years)while)painting)portraits)on)commission,) working)in)oil,)pastel,)charcoal,)and)pencil.)Her)work)is)in)private) collections)throughout)the)Southeast)and)in)France.)In)1995,)she)joined) About)Face,)a)group)of)artists)that)met)weekly)to)work)from)models.)She) continued)to)draw)and)paint)regularly)with)the)group)for)over)17)years.) "It)is)the)best)thing)I)did)for)my)art.") ) When)her)husband,)then)an)Infantry)Captain)in)the)Army)National) Guard,)was)deployed)to)Afghanistan)in)2007,)Kirkland)packed)up)the) children)and)moved)with)her)mother)to)southwest)France)to)study) classical)drawing)and)painting)at)Studio)Escalier,)under)the)direction)of) Timothy)Stotz)and)Michelle)Tully.)While)the)children)went)to)the)local) Catholic)French)school,)Kirkland)worked)from)live)models)in)an)atelier: style)classroom.)It)was)a)life:changing)experience)for)the)family.)With) her)older)children)now)in)college,)she)recently)returned)with)her) youngest)children)for)the)Autumn)Intensive)class)in)2014.) ) Although)Kirkland)is)now)creating)larger)than)life)portraits)from)3: Dimensional)objects,)it)is)her)love)of)contemporary)classical)painting) that)she)draws)from.)"Capturing)a)likeness)is)all)about)getting)the)values) right.)Each)Assemblage)is)like)putting)a)puzzle)together:)working)to)get) each)piece)in)the)right)place.")It)is)a)challenge)she)enjoys)and)in)which) she)has)won)several)awards,)including)the)People’s0Choice0Award)in) Artfields,)the)Southeast’s)largest)art)competition.) ) Kirkland’s)assemblages)deliver)the)important)message)of)environmental) responsibility)in)an)evocative)and)accessible)way.)Many)of)her)pieces) have)been)displayed)individually)at)environmental)conferences)and) meetings,)but)more)often)those)same)pieces)show)elsewhere)simply)for) their)artistic)aesthetic.)She)hopes)viewers)will)find)the)pieces) entertaining,)but)also)to)see)in)them)the)impact)consumerism)is)creating) on)our)environment.)"Each)Assemblage)is)a)little)piece)of)our)history.)It) is)the)story)of)us)today.)What)we)throw)away)says)a)lot)about)who)we) are,)but)what)we)choose)to)cherish)and)protect)says)even)more)in)the) end.") ) ) ) Kirkland)Smith)|)Artist)Statement) ) ) While)pursuing)a)lifelong)goal)of)mastering)painting)in)oil,)my)career) was)diverted)in)another)direction)entirely)when)I)began)creating)art) from)trash.)Looking)for)a)way)to)make)a)powerful)statement)about) consumerism,)I)learned)many)lessons)through)this)medium.)But)one)of) the)most)important)is)that)as)an)artist,)I)do)not)have)to)have)all)the) answers.)Through)my)art)I)can)begin)a)dialogue)and)can)encourage) viewers)to)ask)their)own)questions)and)come)up)with)their)own) answers.) ) The)material)for)my)work)is)plentiful)and)my)bins)of)“stuff”)keep) growing.)I)have)been)amazed)by)the)generosity)and)support)I)have) received)from)family,)friends,)and)strangers)who)want)to)contribute)to) my)art.)I)have)learned)to)ask)for)what)I)need)and)allow)others)to)help) me.)My)art)is)only)as)good)as)my)trash,)and)the)donations)from)others) has)made)the)work)much)more)interesting)and)meaningful.) ) Art)can)be)made)from)anything)and)everything!)In)my)assemblage)art,)I) keep)coming)back)to)the)message)of)redemption.)Turning)discarded)and) unwanted)items)into)something)new)and)beautiful)parallels)the) Christian)message)and)has)made)me)look)differently)not)only)at)our) waste,)but)at)people)too!)As)Americans,)we)live)in)a)disposable)society) and)what)we)throw)away)says)a)lot)about)who)we)are,)but)what)we) choose)to)cherish)and)protect)says)even)more)in)the)end.) ) )

Kirkland)Smith) [email protected])|)www.KirklandSmith.com)|)(803))622;7838) ) ) Artist&Statement& & My)love)of)representational)painting)(and)portraiture,)in) particular))has)carried)into)my)assemblage)work)where)I’ve)found) an)evocative)way)to)deliver)an)important)environmental)message.)I) hope)to)challenge)consumer)habits)by)turning)discarded,)everyday) objects)into)fine)art.)What)we)throw)away)says)a)lot)about)who)we) are,)but)what)we)chose)to)cherish)and)protect)says)even)more)in) the)end.) & Education& ) 2014) Studio)Escalier)Autumn)Intensive;)Argenton)Les)Vallees,) France) 2007) Studio)Escalier)Autumn)Intensive,)Argenton)Les)Vallees,) France) 1990) University)of)South)Carolina,)Bachelor)of)Arts,)Studio)Art) ) Workshops& ) 2006) Randall)McKissick)) 2004) Jamie)McMahon) 1998) Christopher)Zhang) 1992) Daniel)Greene) ) Awards& & 2013) People’s(Choice(Award,)Artfields,)Lake)City,)SC) 2012) 2nd)Place;)Scrapel(Hill,)Chapel)Hill,)NC) 2011) Best)Craftsmanship)Award,)Runaway(Runway(Recycle( Fashion(Show,(Columbia)Design)League,)Columbia,)SC) 2009) Art)Grant,)Waste)Management& 2007) 1st)Place;)Face

Coburn honored at PCC SPORTS, C1 Heels edge ’Pack SPORTS, C1 The Daily Reflector SUNDAY, March 11, 2012 reﬂector.com $1.25

WEATHER QUICK READ Refuse recycled into an artful form Bottle caps and plastic forks, spray nozzles and cast-off toys, a broken hair dryer — all trash that people left at Kirkland Smith’s South Carolina art studio. But these acts were not in protest of Smith’s work. They were in support of it. WEATHERLY TATE, The Oakwood School Read more on Page E1 PLEASANT Today: 63, sunny Tonight: 39, clear Complete forecast on A2 Spring market DAYLIGHT SAVING Did you spring 11 12 1 10 2 forward? Daylight for all seasons 3 saving time 4 started at 2 75 6 a.m. today. Healthy sales for organic fare

LOCAL BY K.J. WILLIAMS taurant. The Daily Reflector Spring Run Market got Best seat in the house its start more than three years ago as an outlet to Last Saturday things A Canadian transplant sell all-natural beef grown got raucous as the family is learning to love collards, without antibiotics or gathered for the Duke-Caro- a Southern favorite, since hormones at Nooherooka lina basketball game. My she’s been exposed to the Natural in Snow Hill. mother would have loved it greens grown at Brothers The market was start- — even more so since her Farms in La Grange. ed by Winterville couple chair was still there in the Anoush Terjanian, who Chris and Devica Urwick, thick of it. Page B1 now lives in Greenville, who later signed on re- regularly visits Spring gional farmers who grow Run Market to pick up crops without herbicides NATION a supply of produce that or pesticides. “Our defi- is grown without chemi- nition of local is within a cals at the Lenoir County 100-150 mile radius,” she farm. said. The produce is among The business has grown an array of healthy fare to include bread, chicken, available at the market, coffee, eggs, crafts, lye where vendors sell natu- soaps and seafood. The ral or organic foods, pro- Urwicks also distribute duce and other products items, including a line of on alternating Saturdays inside a downtown res- See MARKET, A7 Final voyage for ‘Big E’ The USS Enterprise’s storied 50-year history that includes action in several wars comes to an end as it PHOTOS BY SCOTT DAVIS/THE DAILY REFLECTOR sets sail on its final voyage PEOPLE SHOP for local and fresh produce at the Spring Run Market inside the Tipsy today. Page A4 Teapot on March 3. Top, Matthew Aidevis sells homemade bread at the market.

TODAY’S OPINIONS Innovation crops up EDITORIAL: The election Gray Powell, owner of Gray’s Garden in of Mayor Allen Thomas and Farmville, grows and markets microgreens, At-Large Member Dennis which he describes as a “different type Mitchell in November shift- of mustard plant cut when the first true ed the balance of power on DEVICA AND CHRIS URWICK help customers choose leaves appear.” Page B1 coffee at the Spring Run Market on March 3. the Greenville City Council. Page A12 TODAY’S INDEX Abby ...... D2 Obituaries ...... B2 Classified .....D1-6 Opinion ....A12-13 Local PAC hopes to give voice to conservative viewpoint Celebrations ....E4 Police ...... A3 Crossword...... D5 Sudoku...... D4 Horoscope ...... D3 TV Extra ...... E7-8 ■ The group wants to aid local candidates running for who represent ternal from the party system, who the board of commissioners, school board and the state the conservative need a voice,” Rouse said. There are views of people people who want to speak without Reflector.com legislative seats that represent Pitt County. living in southern following a political party line. A lot Pitt County, said of people are tired about the bicker- 131st year, No. 071 © 2012 BY GINGER LIVINGSTON litical action committee aimed at Johnny Rouse, ing and want to make a difference.” The Daily Reflector supporting local candidates. one of the orga- The group wants to aid local ROUSE The group, Citizens’ Voice of Pitt nizers. candidates running for the board 6 09761 00125 9 CHICOD — About 100 people County Political Action Committee, “We saw a need for people, who gathered Saturday to launch a po- will lend its support to candidates for one reason or another are ex- See VOICE, A7

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A PORTRAIT of Marilyn Monroe by artist Kirkland Smith. “This Nothing work, it almost demands that you linger, that you look,” Smith said. “One thing I’ve heard a lot is ‘everytime I come back, I wasted see something different. I think that makes it Kirkland Smith turns fun ... to notice something you didn’t notice trash into works of art before.”

BY KIM GRIZZARD The Daily Reflector

ottle caps and plastic forks, spray nozzles and cast-off toys, a broken hair dryer — all trash that people left at Kirkland Smith’s South Carolina art studio. People did the Bsame thing when the artist’s work debuted at City Art Gallery. But these acts were not in protest of Smith’s work. They were in support of it. Smith, a realist painter, lets almost nothing go to waste. She takes what- ever people bring her to use —swim goggles, kitchen utensils, cordless phones, hairbrushes — and assembles them into works of art. “It’s been a community effort,” said Smith, who was in Greenville last month for the opening of the “It’s a Material World” exhibit. “I really feel like my work is just as good as my trash.” Smith, who earned a degree in studio arts from the University of South Carolina, has not always relied on consumer waste to be her canvas. She focused on ceramics and sculp- PHOTOS BY AILEEN DEVLIN/THE DAILY REFLECTOR ture before pursuing classical painting. ARTIST KIRKLAND SMITH talks to students from the Jarvis Unit of the Pitt County Boys and Girls Club about the throw-away But then a single decision changed the materials she uses in her work. “I made the decision I shouldn’t buy any of this stuff new because a lot of what I’m putting landscape of her work. in here is stuff that I don’t even think we should be making,” she said. Behind Smith is the first portrait she created using Smith, a mother of four, moved her consumer waste. The portrait, titled “Inheritance,” shows the face of a child. “I feel like (people) are going to be the solution to family to France to study painting and the problem,” she said. “We’re going to find better ways.” drawing for a year while her husband was deployed to Afghanistan. When the tour was over and Smith was back EXHIBIT home, she resolved to enter an environmental landscape contest, simply City Art Gallery, 511 Red Banks Road, to broaden her horizons as an artist. will exhibit “It’s a Material World,” which “When I was figuring out what to includes Colorado-based painter Kim English and Greenville-based sculptor Jeff do, what to paint a picture of, I looked Kiefer, through Saturday. around the landscape in Columbia,” she said. “Columbia’s a beautiful place, The gallery will be open but, like everywhere else, there’s trash for a walk-through lining the highways and in parks. event with Kirkland “I started really thinking about that Smith from 10-11 a.m. as an environmental problem,” Smith Saturday. Smith will said. “I thought it would be kind of be available to discuss her work. boring to just paint a picture of trash, so the concept I came up with was to Call 353-7000 or use the trash as my paint.” visit www.cityart- She looked through her own greenville.com. garbage and asked friends to give LUKE HARTMAN, 6, center, contemplates what materials he will use next for his KIRKLAND See ART, E2 artwork at City Art Gallery. SMITH Very ‘Pinteresting’: Online pin board a source of inspiration irst there was MySpace, to “connect What I like about this site is spaghetti squash recipe to make with a mixture of painted and then came Facebook. everyone in the that I don’t have to personally for dinner one night. I typed unsanded grout. I now have a Somewhere in there world through know people to view their boards in spaghetti squash and had one-of-a-kind coat rack that I can TwitterF and various other social things they find or follow what they post. I can tons of yummy looking recipes also use as a message board. interaction websites popped up. interesting.” follow anyone, anywhere in the as options. Black beans and I’ve got a notebook with Now there is Pinterest, and it’s Currently world if I wish. spaghetti squash was the winner several other projects I’d like to become my new go-to place for the site is very For example, I follow Brad for me. tackle in the future that include inspiration on everything. popular with from Stuarts Draft, Va. He has an I’ve found lots of home- repurposing shipping pallets Pinterest is a pinboard-style KELLEY women, but Emergency Preparedness board improvement projects, too, and into shelves, wine bottles as patio social photo sharing website. KIRK Pinterest’s that I really enjoy. On it he has I’ve completed several. I’m a big lights, old T-shirts as yarn for Think high school poster of founder is Ben information that goes beyond fan of upscaling or repurposing knitting and a vintage suitcase for a science project but on the Silbermann, a man from West your typical “what you must have previously used items, and I really a cat bed. computer. Users create and Des Moines, Iowa. in an emergency situation.” His don’t like to purchase new unless Being a member of this website manage theme-based image Time Magazine listed Pinterest board provides information on absolutely necessary. I’m sure will give me plenty of collections on just about in its “50 Best Websites of 2011” how to dehydrate food, what to With repurposing in mind, projects to fill my spare time anything. For example, food, on Aug. 16. And just last month have in a 10-day survival pack, I’ve made a coat rack with a while making my house into a DIY, For the Home and Style are iPhone updated its Pinterest how to make emergency candles chalkboard from an old shutter home. popular topics. application, and the company has and how to forage for food. and used drawer handles I found The site was launched in March a mobile website for those who You can search on a specific at Habitat for Humanity. The Contact Kelley Kirk at kkirk@ 2010 with the mission statement wish to view it on their phone. topic, too. I wanted a good chalkboard area was painted reflector.com or 252-329-9596. E2 The Daily Reﬂector, Sunday, March 11, 2012 LOOK Evidence is mixed, but limit BPA exposure when you can Dear Dr. K: Is the chemical BPA just an- and from polycarbonate adverse effects on fertility, obesity and be- microwave. Also, don’t put hot foods or other health scare? Or is it really something ASK DR. K baby bottles. (But note havioral problems in young children. Some liquids in them: The heat can leach BPA I should be worried about? that polycarbonate baby studies in animals raise questions about from the wall of the container. Contain- Dear Reader: BPA stands for bisphenol bottles are rarely sold in whether BPA can damage the breasts, ers made of porcelain, glass, stainless steel A. It is used to make a plastic known as the United States and are thyroid and prostate glands. and other types of plastic are safer for hot polycarbonate. banned in the European Studies in mice and in monkeys have foods. For water bottles, consider switching Polycarbonate is sturdy and resists Union and Canada.) found adverse effects from BPA in con- from a BPA-containing bottle to one made shattering, so it’s a great material for water BPA has effects similar centrations that humans are exposed to. of stainless steel. Unlike aluminum water and baby bottles. BPA is also used to line to certain hormones in Since mice and monkeys are mammals like bottles, the stainless steel ones tend to be the inside of cans so the metal of the can animals. The hard, and us, and share many genes with us, that is a unlined. doesn’t directly touch the food or beverage. DR. ANTHONY controversial, question is reason for concern. I would avoid altogether using BPA It’s used in some dental sealants and as an KOMAROFF whether any of this expo- I have mixed feelings about all the focus containers to contain liquids for young ingredient in the paper on which many sure to BPA causes harm. on BPA. On one hand, no adverse effects children. receipts are printed. So there’s no question Expert panels organized in humans have been proven. On the other Products that contain BPA have the that we’re exposed to BPA. by the National Institutes of Health have hand, it probably wouldn’t hurt to be cau- number 7 on the bottom or recycling label, There’s also no question that BPA can concluded that there is reason to be con- tious about BPA exposure and to limit it so you can use this as a way to identify and get inside us. The vast majority of Ameri- cerned, although there is no proof of harm. where we can. avoid buying them. cans have measurable amounts of it in their The U.S. National Toxicology Program The first thing I would suggest is to eat bodies. expressed concern about the possibility of less canned food. Replace it with more Dr. Anthony L. Komaroff is a physician Adults are mainly exposed to BPA from brain and behavioral effects on fetuses and fresh fruits and vegetables — and that’s and professor at Harvard Medical School. canned food, because BPA escapes out of young children, at levels of exposure in the always a good idea. Go to his website, www.AskDoctorK.com, to the cans’ lining. Infants can be exposed U.S. population. If you continue to use containers that send questions and get additional informa- from the linings of infant formula cans Most of the concerns involve possible are made of BPA, don’t put them in the tion.

to create their own assem- ART blages. Continued from E1 Mykera, 8, created a sunflower from a carpet her theirs. Making a list of sample, tissue paper, toy items she thought she could soldiers and every piece use, Smith determined to of yellow plastic she could create her entry entirely find. Chyanne Jenkins, from discarded donations. 11, created a replica of a As she sorted through the wooden mask, using corks, rubbish, a surprising image pieces of wire and bolts (for started to emerge. teeth). Among creations “As I thought about it, lining the wall at the end I realized people are the of the project included a problem,” Smith said. bumble bee with Mr. Potato “We’re making this stuff. Head arms, a heart made We’re throwing it away. So of aluminum tabs and a cat instead of doing a land- created from steel wool. scape, I decided I should do “One thing I would like a portrait.” for them to gain is an expe- Plastic rings and Pez rience of doing something dispensers, scissors and creative,” Stroud said. “I cellphones, ink pens and just think it’s fun to think eyeglasses came together to in a different way and to form the face of a child. envision making something “One of the things I love creative and beautiful out of about it is that when you things we would discard.” get up close to it, it’s really When the young art- hard to see the image; it ists had completed their falls away,” Smith said. “So PHOTOS BY AILEEN DEVLIN/THE DAILY REFLECTOR creations, their unused what you see is all the stuff, KIRKLAND SMITH answers questions about her work. “I’m just trying to think of a new way to say the same thing they’ve materials were gathered up, which is just as much a part been hearing,” she said. “I’m not claiming a new message. I’m just trying as an artist to draw attention to an old message.” not for the garbage but for of the message.” Smith’s gallery. The artist The finished piece was will sort through the piles rejected from the competi- Smith has completed com- to see this.’” wanted to change more said. “I do think it can start for objects that will find tion, but Smith’s idea ulti- missioned assemblages. Stroud, who has been in than the art on the wall. a dialogue.” a place in her next piece. mately gained acceptance Several months ago, her the gallery business for 25 They hoped the exhibit Stroud wanted to in- Smith throws almost noth- among arts patrons. She work came to the attention years, had never featured would affect people’s per- troduce children into the ing away. went on to create consumer of City Art Gallery owner works created from waste. ceptions — and even their conversation, so she invited “The things that we waste portraits of Marilyn Torrey Stroud. Stroud had taken sole own- practices — concerning children from a local Boys throw away every day says Monroe, Bob Marley and “A very good friend of ership of the gallery follow- what they consume. & Girls Club, where she has a lot about who we are as Iron Eyes Cody, whose mine had attended a show ing her business partner’s “I do hope at some point volunteered as a tutor, to a people,” she said. “But I iconic tear-stained face that she was having in retirement last year and they will just look at the talk with Smith before the think the things we choose was depicted in the “Keep Columbia, S.C.,” Stroud thought Smith’s work would stuff and just seeing 1,000 show’s opening. to cherish and protect say America Beautiful” public said. “She came to me with be an interesting change. items in their face will just Some, like Mykera Man- even more about us.” service announcements of a catalog from the exhibit But with “It’s a Material make them think about ning, had never visited a the 1970s. In recent years, and she said, ‘You have got World,” Smith and Stroud what they’re consuming gallery before. Two weeks Contact Kim Grizzard at and what they’re doing with later, she and about a dozen [email protected] or it when they’re done,” Smith others were invited back 252-329-9578.

RAELIA BROTHERS, 9, uses a cocktail TU-SHAY DISTANCE, 10, looks through old umbrella as part of her recycled art piece. magazines for a photo he will use to create his own piece of artwork.

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