Fall events

Hello friends!

This is the president of In-Town Gallery letting you know about what is coming up the next few months!!

Our wonderful Holiday show will be opening on Friday, November 6th. There will be a cocktail party reception from 5-8 PM. This show is one of the two a year that we have that features all new work by our 30 plus artists. You can come in and see wonderful woodwork by two of our newest artists, Doug Barker and Lowell Axley. Doug creates gorgeous contemporary mirrors, jewelry cases and tables of all shapes and sizes. Lowell does wood turning with wonderful texture and flow. Another one of our new artists is Lori Ryan. She does work in oil that magnifies the ordinary, making it extra-ordinary, much like Georgia O’Keefe. Other genres include acrylics, watermedia, fiber art, collage, oils, printmaking, jewelry, ceramics, ironwork, stained glass and fused glass. Come on by and see what we have created for you to deck your walls and tables with this holiday season! We are even including a section really affordable items in our Holiday Art Bazaar.

December promises to be a wonderful show as well. Bradley Wilson’s extraordinary drawings and acrylics will be featured on the front wall and Eleanor Goodson’s exquisite jewelry will be displayed for her annual show. Her customers clamor for it every year! That show is Friday, December 4th from 5-8 PM.

Then, to start the new year we will have a themed exhibit for the front wall titled “All Around the Block”. The wall will hold 50 6 inch squares created by our artists….different styles and interpretations of what the theme means to them. They will all be at an affordable $30 each. Where else can you get such a good price for original art by our talented membership? Start your collection now! Since the first Friday is on New Year’s Day the opening will be on Friday, January 8th, 2010, from 5-8 PM.
Hope to see you soon!

Gay M. Arthur
President, In-Town Gallery

John McLean’s Wetland’s in Watercolor April 3, 2009

In-Town Gallery presents “Wetlands in Watercolor”, a collection of paintings by the April Featured Artist, John McLean. His specialty is water and skies, which are both masterfully portrayed in this series. He is hosting an opening reception on the First Friday, April 3, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Come and meet the artist and see his fresh new work. Introduced to watercolor painting in his native Ireland by a caring high-school teacher, John dabbled with it for the next 40 years or so, while pursuing a career in consulting engineering. After retiring, painting took over, and now he strives to paint watercolors that will involve the viewer. His objective is to convey the message with as few brushstrokes as possible, saying more with less, and inviting the viewer to fill in the gaps from the wealth of their own experiences. Landscapes are McLean’s favorite subjects, particularly if they contain a water feature in the scene. “For many years I lived on salt water and sailed on it, so the shoreline, marshes, docks and associated watercraft have a special appeal for me.” His new series of wetlands illustrates this interest. “I love the process of laying washes of color onto beautiful watercolor paper … the uncertainty of just how those washes are going to interact,” McLean explained. “I’m inspired by today’s watercolor impressionists such as Trevor Chamberlain, John Yardley, Tony Couch, Judi Wagner, Bob Wade, David Taylor and Greg Allen. In 1999 I took my first watercolor workshop, taught by Australian Bob Wade. It was such a rewarding experience that I have tried to take at least one workshop each year since then.” McLean’s art education has come primarily from publications by Watson-Guptill and North Light Books, and he considers himself mostly a self-taught artist. Wishing to meet and interact with other artists who enjoy watercolor, McLean joined the Georgia and Tennessee Watercolor Societies. He participates in their group activities and enters his work in their juried exhibitions. He regularly attends the Mountain Art Guild weekly painting sessions on Signal Mountain.

Studio visit with Stacie Florer

Mary Beth McClure, Mary Lynch and Linda White decided to visit jewelry designer Stacie Florer on Tuesday afternoon.  They recieved some lessons in making jewelry ear wires and how to use liver of sulfur to patina metal.

Mary Beth McClure and Eleanor Goodson in November

In-Town Gallery presents the artwork of Mary Beth McClure, whose collection of new pieces, “Creations in Glass” displays her innovative formation of warm glass, combining exciting colors and textures in multi layers and various shapes. The exhibit runs through the month of November. Gallery visitors can meet the artist at a special reception on the First Friday, November 7, 2008, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. Sharing the evening, Eleanor Goodson will present her special annual showing of her newest custom-designed jewelry during the reception. Ms. McClure explains how she discovered this specialized artistic expression, “My fascination with glass started 25 years ago. Initially, I custom-designed work in foil-wrapped and leaded glass pieces. Then I caught the warm glass ‘bug’. Passion and an inability to stop learning has lead me to many workshops.” She has studied with Gil Reynolds, Avery Anderson, Brad Walker, Robin Evans, Jane Persico, Lisa Vogt, Tommy G, Philip Teefy, Patty Gray, and Richard LaLonde.
Fused glass art is created by layering different colors and types of glass and firing them in a glass kiln. Her work requires repeated firings at  temperatures up to 1500 degrees which produce the designs and textures for each unique piece. There can never be two identical pieces because of the unpredictable nature of the medium.
“My art is a pursuit that leads to my ‘burning the midnight oil’. I often think I’m ready to stop, but the glass has a mind of its own. As I pull, drag, and rake colors, the glass evolves; I can’t quit. The glass, its own master, leads me to follow.”
Regularly seen at the Chattanooga Market, Ms. McClure’s glass creations are also displayed at the Museum at Five Points in Cleveland, TN, and the Morris Gallery. She has been invited to participate in the TACA ( Tennessee Association of Craft Artists ) annual exhibition for many years, and has won awards for her special designs.
Featuring original fine art by more than 30 regional studio-artist members, In-Town Gallery was founded in 1974 and is one of the oldest cooperative galleries in the country. Members are selected through a double-jury process, and are required to produce all new work for the gallery’s semi-annual openings. In addition, the gallery’s Featured Artist exhibits introduce new work by a different member each month.

October’s featured artist is Maggie Vandewalle

In-Town Gallery presents the watercolor / gouache paintings of Maggie Vandewalle, whose collection of new work, “Minutiae: A Day in the Life of My Backyard” is a series that examines the easily overlooked miniature world in nature that is right at one’s feet. The exhibit, displayed on the front wall, runs through the month of October. Gallery visitors can meet the artist at a special reception on the first Friday, October 3, 2008, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

 

The focal point of the show is a massive landscape filled with minute details. Smaller, more intimate images have been taken from this and elaborated upon to show what the artist has discovered just outside her home. “ I find myself fascinated by all the stuff that’s out there, things I don’t notice unless I take the time to sit still and watch. It is amazing how much life exists and thrives, even in well-used spaces such as my backyard,” the artist explains.

 

Raised in Iowa, Ms. Vandewalle received an art scholarship in 1981 to the University of Iowa where she pursued a BFA in printmaking. After school she turned to painting, in part due to the expense of printmaking equipment, yet also to fulfill a need for immediate results. “I discovered that, much as I loved working with copper and etching materials, the steps involved to create a finished piece were taking a toll on my impatient nature. Painting became my new ambition.”

 

The artist feels a deep compunction to fill every inch of the painted surface with color and detail, be it a realistic landscape or a more loosely interpreted cityscape. “I have a need to include as much as possible, to tell a story of sorts with detail and color. At one point it was my ambition to be a children’s book illustrator because of my love for artists like Arthur Rackham, Edmund Dulac, and H. J. Ford. Their illustrations were alive with details that made the story being told that much richer. What I discovered as I got older was that I didn’t want to illustrate someone else’s story so much as to create my own within the context of a painting.”

A Day at Gay Arthur’s Studio…

As an In-Town artist, one of the perks of membership is the instant art family you acquire. I had the opportunity to visit with Gay Arthur, the featured artist for September. I got a sneak peak at her new work.

Stacie Florer

Click Here for my post on Gay’s new work and my fun visit!

New Member News

New member Coyee Langston will be participating in Pinnacle Condominiums Open House on Thursday. Click here for the Press Release in The Chattanoogan.

Mary Whittle at Arrowcraft Shop in Gatlinburg…

In-Town artist Mary Whittle will be demonstrating her copperplate etching techniques at Arrowcraft Shop in Gatlinburg (across from the aquarium) on May 2-3. Arrowcraft is run by the Southern Highlands Craft Guild.

Call for Artists

In-Town Gallery, a juried fine art co-operative in Chattanooga’s thriving North Shore neighborhood, is inviting visual artists to apply for membership. For jury guidelines and membership benefits visit In-Town at 26 Frazier Avenue or call 267-9214. To request an email application write to intowngallery@bellsouth.net or download an application from our web site at www.intowngallery.com.

Art for Healing Gala on February 23

In-Town Gallery member Cam Busch initiated the annual Art for Healing Gala for the Memorial Health Care System and the Cam Busch Endowed Arts for Health Lecture Series. The event raises awareness of the arts therapies and the arts in healthcare movement nationally.

For more information, see this Chattanooga Times Free Press article and this article from The Chattanoogan.