Monday, February 4, 2013

FINE ARTS CENTER RESIDENCY COMES TO A CLOSE




First year dance group.

My residency at the Fine Arts Center in Greenville SC came to a close on Friday however my exhibition at the Center will continue through March 22, 2013.

One of the most interesting interactions I had with the students was my visits with the dancers.  I was invited by the dance instructor, Jan Woodward, to talk with her students about design and the part design plays in dance.  I had only a moment of hesitation as I can not say I know anything about dance except as an observer but then I quickly realized that design is part of any creative pursuit and I agreed.  I'm so happy I made that decision.

I meet with both the first years dancers and the advanced group.  They were intensely interested, took copious notes, looked at all of my work in the gallery and asked great questions.  Their assignment was to then select one piece from the show to be an inspiration piece and choreograph a dance.  How exciting.





Inside the dance studio.

I visited the dance studio on a day when they had a visiting artists, Vincas Greene who is chairman of the Dance program at Brenau University in Gainesville GA.  It was very exciting to watch and he gave the dances a tough workout which they appeared to love.





Portfolio session


Friday was the last day of the semester for the students at the FAC.  Today they are all in new classes so there were lots of final critiques going on.  This is a casual shot of some students looking at work to be presented for review in the painting class.



Painting Studio

The primary painting studio is located on the second floor of the building on a corner with great light.
I managed to catch a few minutes of critique and could not help but make a few comments.  The work was fresh and challenging.




In the photography studio.

The photography studio was buzzing with activity on Friday.  The students were cleaning and organizing the studio for the next semester and when that was done they had the opportunity to try their hand at making a Cyanotype.  This technique gives a beautiful cyan color print which is recognized most often as a blueprint.  Some students were using paper and some were printing on fabric.




Computer Lab

The photographers have a computer lab connected to the main studio.  It is equipped with Macs, a large format printer and other necessary equipment.  They also have a nice photography centered collection of books in the lab.




In addition to the digital equipment, the lab is also fully equipped for traditional processes.





Before I went to work in the textile industry I taught in a number of schools, colleges and universities.  I had the opportunity to do workshops for The Fine Arts Center in their original facility and they have this piece of my work as part of their collection.  Nice to see my ole friend.

The week was topped off by Tom and I attending the center's Gala which is their yearly fund raising event.  It was a sparkling event held in the newly renovated Hyatt in downtown Greenville.  Works by both Tom and me were part of the auction and both sold contributing toward updateing the schools computers and software.  Great fun.

A big thank you goes out to Dr. Fluhrer, Director of the FAC,  the faculty and the staff at the Center who welcomed me into this wonderful program and allowed me to become a part of this excellent program.

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