A Day in Uptown Greenville

Since I moved to Greenville four years ago there has been an incredible amount of revitalization and support for small business' in the Uptown District of Greenville.  I'm really excited about it and the potential to keep young people and small business owners here.

I was super happy to participate in this fun video, documenting the day in the life of working and living in Uptown Greenville.  

A Day In Uptown from Black Tree Media Group on Vimeo.
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Renovations and new studio spaces at Art Avenue

 So it's been awhile since I've given you an update on Art Avenue.  Not sure if I even posted it, but Art Avenue did receive a city revitalization grant of $15,000 - woohoo! Which is what led us to move forward with renovating the back studio space; creating four new spaces for rent.  

First the floors were stripped of the very ugly tiles that have been there for ages, then we hired several guys (Jeremy Fineman and Andy Denton being two of them) to build wall space and floor boards to designate the new studio spaces.  We are beyond thrilled at how this will benefit the arts community in Greenville.  

And all of this will be semi-ready for the ECU Metals Symposium happening this coming weekend.  We've been literally busting our buns (from painting and squatting) to get this all done in time.   Some may not realize it but everyone that 'works' at Art Avenue is a volunteer; none of us are paid but we do it for the love of our art community and to make it bigger and better. 

Below are photos, taken by our resident photographer, Aileen Devlin of the all out paint/renovations we've had.   There are even more photos on the Art Avenue Facebook page. 

Sarah Setzco and Autumn paint the doors.

Andy bein' his usual silly self.

Our awesome construction/builder guys BJ and Mike.

Holly, a resident ceramicist came to help with her husband! We're so grateful!

There I am in the window on the other side of one of the new studio spaces.

And Jeremy Fineman bein' a clown! 

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Art Avenue update

I haven't written about the really great progress we've made at Art Avenue (where I run my jewelry business and studio) in awhile, so here is a brief update.  We recently we hosted a Cinco de Mayo member social to celebrate our biggest supporters in the eastern North Carolina region.

The idea came about from Claire Edwards, the Director of Art Avenue, to share with the community how the studio space and gallery has improved over the past year.  We also wanted to tell people about the studio rentals and how much this benefits artists from the School of Art and Design at ECU and at Pitt Community College.  

Below are some of the photos from the event.  We were able to raise a good amount from memberships that will go to making small renovations in the studio space to allow for more renters and future exhibitions.  

Thanks for reading!

A member admiring Jeremy Fineman's Bullfrog Ceramics. Photo by Aileen Devlin.

Me, talking about how important community support is.  Photo by Aileen Devlin.

Andy Denton singing his praises, literally!  Photo by Aileen Devlin.

Jalapeno beer!! I really loved it, generously donated by these young men.  Photo by Aileen Devlin.

Our awesome interns, aka Pitt Community college students.   Photo by Aileen Devlin.

Guests and supporters having fun.  Photo by Aileen Devlin.

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Art Avenue Contemporary Gallery & Studios profile

Just got some really great photos Aileen Devlin took of me for Art Avenue Contemporary Gallery & Studios Facebook page.  It's interesting seeing myself at my bench, I look super serious, which I love!  Aileen is a photographer for the Greenville Daily Reflector newspaper and part time photographer for AA.  She is just one of the amazing and generous volunteers for Art Avenue. 

Some days I can't believe how lucky I am to have landed such a wonderful opportunity to have a studio at Art Avenue and to work with such talented artists like Aileen, Autumn Brown, Andy Denton, Claire Edwards, Jeremy Fineman and Sarah Setzo.  These great people are what make an art community grow and become something bigger. 

Getting ready to grind some castings.

Grinding the excess metal on castings.

Now which stone to choose?

My inspiration table.

Thank you for visiting and I hope you enjoyed this post!

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Caffeine and Sawblades Exhibition

I can barely contain my excitement for the Annual ECU Metals Symposium: Making Marks!!!  Every year it gets better and better.  The demos are awesome, the speakers are super talented and innovative and I get to see all my favorite people from years past at ECU and meet new metalsmiths from other schools.  It's great fun.

The first night (Friday, January 18th) of the symposium is always a big party of exhibitions; and this year it'll be more awesome as the Greenville Jolly Trolly will take us from event to event.  

Art Avenue will be hosting the Caffeine and Sawblades Exhibition(Friday, January 18th 6-9pm) of the ECU Metals department; past and present, undergraduate students and graduate students.  I'll have my Alloy necklace in the show, very psyched about that.

And of course, Dirty LAM Studios will be open and hosting a special event of ring making and very special Cotter drinks!  I definitely don't want to miss that event.

 

For those of you in the Eastern NC area - you should come to these events, it's fun, FREE and filled with amazing artwork!

Thx for reading.

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My new studio space at Art Avenue

Moving out of the ECU metals studio took a bit of a push but once I started packing my stuff I realized that I was very much ready for a new chapter in my life.

I'm so very excited about the possibilities at Art Avenue; currently we're awaiting a city grant to move forward with renovating the space for roughly 10 private studio spaces.   It's so necessary for a recent art graduate to have some kind of working space, which most of us have a hard time finding.  But with Art Avenue, there is so much potential.  Working with Jeremy Fineman, Claire Edwards, Andy Denton and Autumn Brown...it feels fresh and exciting!

And the Gallery space is huge, we have a great location and large windows to showcase handmade artistic work.  I'm praying to the art gods that we receive a blessing in the form of this grant!

Front Gallery

Side wall of gallery.  My pieces are still up!

BEFORE photo of initial set up of my studio (I get my own room!! for now)

AFTER my studio with all my junk!

Jeremy's lovely bowls...I need to get one eventually.

The ceramic side of the 'active' studio

The soldering and kiln area.

And in the most final and exciting news is that i'll be able to set up a casting studio!!! With the help of Autumn and my boss at the Jewelry Dr., I'll have the equipment and space to do it myself.  I love the process of casting, watch the metal melt and turn into something I created...it's powerful.

Stay tuned for more news about Art Avenue and thank you for reading!

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Opening Reception for Preyed Upon Exhibition

I'm so happy and very proud of how the Preyed Upon Exhibition turned out. We had a great crowd show up and our guest speaker Billy Barber, a Eastern North Carolina native really engaged the attendees with insightful hunting stories.

And people really responded to the concept of the exhibition - illuminating the hunting culture of Eastern NC with art work.

Below are some photos I took at the event and of the pieces. I'm so appreciative of all the help I had with the show, especially Andy Denton, Andrea Smith, Craig Malmrose, Autumn Brown and DJ. And it goes without saying Claire Edwards, Director of Art Avenue was my biggest supporter.

Hope you enjoy the photos!

Kevin Vanek's sculpture piece.
He created a new species!

Charity Valentine's photography over Gail's installation pieces.

Autumn Brown's The Stand.

Andy Denton is the master of setting up displays.

Duncan Stephenson's brooches.

A good crowd a the opening.

Myself, Andy Denton and Claire Edwards
- just one part of the Art Avenue team!

Oh and if you missed the opening reception, don't worry, we'll have the show open for Uptown Greenville's First Friday in April.
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Preyed Upon Exhibition

The postcard designs and handmade letterpress posters have arrived!

The exhibition feels official and on it's way to getting out there in the world. I'm so very excited about the show. It's going to feature so many talented and diverse artists.

The show was created to showcase artwork inspired and influenced by the rich hunting culture and wildlife of North Carolina. Since I've moved to Eastern North Carolina, three years ago, I've found myself incorporating so many elements of my surroundings and remains of the animals in this region, whether it be deer antler, a turtle shell, beach glass, coral etc. my habitat has become a part of my work.

I'm also thrilled that the show will be held at Art Avenue, an up and coming contemporary artspace/gallery in Uptown Greenville. Claire Edwards, Director of Art Avenue has been amazing to work with, she gets the job done and knows who to talk to in order to get things done good and fast!

Below are images of work that will be featured in the exhibition. I don't have titles for the work but as you can see definitely touches upon each artists interpretation of hunting and wildlife.

Luke Price, 2012
(image not to be reproduced without permission)

Mi Sook Hur, 2012

(image not to be reproduced without permission)

Rachel Qualliotine 2012
(image not to be reproduced without permission)

Stay tuned for more images and information on the Preyed Upon Exhibition - and thank you for visiting my blog!

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