We’re happy to announce that you can now peruse our Winter/Spring 2017 ArtSchool Catalog online from your computer or phone! Our interactive digital catalog system allows you to flip the pages, learn about our class offerings, and even register directly from the catalog by clicking on the name of a course! Try it out by clicking on the cover below:
We have so much planned for this holiday season, we couldn’t fit it all in one eNewsletter, so we split it in two! Our Early November eNewsletter is out now, and a second eNewsletter for the latter half of the month will be hitting inboxes next week! Check it out for the latest news about ArtsCenter classes, concerts, promotions and more!
Click here to view our Early November eNewsletter.
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Our October eNewsletter is out! Check it out for the latest news about ArtsCenter classes, concerts, promotions and more!
Click here to view our October eNewsletter.
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We’re happy to announce that you can now peruse our 2016/2017 Season Brochure and our Fall 2016 ArtSchool Catalog online from your computer or phone! Our brand new interactive digital catalog system allows you to flip the pages, learn about our performance and class offerings, and even buy tickets and register directly from the catalog by clicking on the name of a show or course! Try it out by clicking on a publication below:
Posted by Jenks Miller
Dan Mayer, veteran arts advocate and attorney from Seattle, Washington, took the reigns as The ArtsCenter’s Executive Director in the fall of 2015. In the months since his relocation to Carrboro, Dan has been getting to know the Triangle and we’ve been getting to know Dan. As The ArtsCenter gears up for its summer programming, we took a moment to check in with him about his impressions of the Triangle’s arts community and to talk a bit about his vision for The ArtsCenter itself.
You’ve been personally and professionally invested in community-based nonprofits long before your move to The ArtsCenter in Carrboro; your career over the past decade and a half has included a variety of leadership roles in arts organizations. Could you recount one or two highlights from your career as a nonprofit Executive Director and an arts and entertainment attorney?
The most rewarding experiences for me as an arts administrator have been to watch that “aha” moment with an audience or classroom. That moment when a light bulb is switched and an audience gets to its feet not because it’s the end of the show but as an expression of a memorable evening that inspired them and gave them new insights into their lives or the lives of others. Similarly when a classroom of kids is all creating individual pieces of art but you as the teacher feel the energy of the group around the power of participating in the creative process.
As an attorney much of my time was spent protecting and defending that creative process. In the 1990s I worked to defend the principles of public funding of all the arts including art we don’t agree with or is not our taste. I was privileged to work to help defend the rights of artists that present minority viewpoints and challenge society and try to move the needle of public opinion. Art should make us question our assumptions and help us find common ground as a society.
At this point, you’ve lived in Carrboro for the better part of a year. What are some of your impressions of the Triangle as you settle in? Any favorite restaurants so far?
I’ve enjoyed getting a chance to explore the region and visit new venues. There is an amazing abundance of places to hear great music and see theater every weekend in a great variety of settings. I’ve attended wonderful chamber concerts in a retirement community, awesome stage performances in outdoor amphitheaters and shows in small intimate clubs and theaters. My hobby is to count houses—after doing this work for so many years I can estimate crowds with amazing accuracy. It’s almost automatic when I walk into a venue.
I’ve had lots of great food since I’ve moved to the area—there isn’t much Southern Food in the Seattle area—and I’ve enjoyed learning about the mysteries of the biscuit. People take their biscuits very seriously here. I enjoyed special occasions at Acme with my family and always head to Venable or Glasshalfull for a great lunch or dinner. Of course, opening a Rise next to The ArtsCenter has made us rethink getting a company gym membership.
How does the Triangle’s arts community compare to that of Seattle?
In some ways the communities are very different. There is a strong Asian influence in many of the arts in the Northwest and Washington is ground zero for Glass Art because of the thirty year impact that Dale Chihuly and the Pilchuk School has had on the area. Until I moved here, I was not aware of all the variations on Bluegrass Music—I think there are more hybrids of Bluegrass than Eskimo words for snow. I am also very impressed with the vibrant visual arts scene in the Triangle; there are many excellent arts programs throughout the area and we all seem to work together and just build audience for various First/Second/Third/Fourth Fridays.
I’ve enjoyed meeting local playwrights and seeing work written and produced by local actors; I’ve seen some amazing theater since moving to the region. Unfortunately, one thing that Seattle area has in common with the Triangle is that it is tough to make a living in theater in both regions and we lose talent to cities with commercial theater and film industries.
How have your observations about the Triangle’s arts community influenced the direction you want to take The ArtsCenter? What is your vision for The ArtsCenter’s future at this point?
There is remarkable ownership of this organization by artists, audiences and community members—everyone has a story to tell about a memorable play or concert or about their kids attending camps many years ago. That loyalty is the greatest asset the organization has and should not be taken for granted. That loyalty, however, also brings with it many differing opinions of the path the organization should take in the future. It’s my job to listen to the stakeholders and navigate a direction that ensures the financial and programmatic strength of the organization for the decades to come.
An important component of my job is to chart a path to a new facility for The ArtsCenter. Focusing on the facility without building the programming would be a huge mistake however. We must continue to our educational programming, building on our reputation of excellence and developing opportunities for outreach in the community. Orange County is changing and The ArtsCenter must adapt to these changes in demographics and community needs to remain relevant to all.
The ArtsCenter has a history of working with other arts organizations to help realize their own visions and to bolster the strength of the Triangle’s arts scene in general. Could you explain why collaboration among arts organizations and community members is so important? And what is it that The ArtsCenter can offer in this kind of collaboration?
The ArtsCenter is a home for many collaborations –we are a venue and a partner for dozens of local arts organizations and projects regionally annually.
Collaboration is essential because a/ none of us have the resources to serve the broad network of needs in our community and by working together we can bring the arts to a larger and more diverse audience, and, b/ because many art forms are closely connected and through collaboration we can demonstrate the intersection of music and theater or visual arts and dance—they are all means of expression addressing issues of our shared humanity.
The Board of Directors of The ArtsCenter has unanimously passed a resolution condemning House Bill 2:
“The ArtsCenter is committed to serving the needs of North Carolina’s vibrant and vital creative community by fairly providing access, instruction and resources to all its citizens. We join the many voices in our community who uphold Carrboro’s proud tradition of individual expression and mutual respect.
We oppose HB2 as an unnecessary, unjust and regressive piece of legislation that strips LGBTQ+ citizens of their legal protections and right to be treated with fairness and respect, while further disadvantaging marginalized communities. This law is damaging to the social and economic fabric of North Carolina and does not reflect the values of our organization, our community, or our state.
The ArtsCenter urges a complete repeal of HB2. We are committed to supporting the right of all people to creatively and authentically express themselves without fear of discrimination and bigotry. We insist on the right of our audiences, students, faculty and staff to be treated with dignity and equality. We take a stand against oppressive and misguided legislation and reaffirm our mission to provide a safe and welcoming space that accepts enriches the lives of all members of our community, regardless of gender identity and sexual orientation.”
In order to do our part in the fight to repeal this heinous legislation, The ArtsCenter is making a tangible contribution to the cause. 100% of The ArtsCenter’s commission on the sale of work in May’s Nicholson Gallery exhibition will be donated to organizations fighting HB2. In addition, proceeds from the sale our new The ArtsCenter travel mugs will be donated to the LGBTQ Center of Durham to support their work improving the quality of life for LGBTQ+ people in the area.
View the full press release here.
Posted by Jenks Miller
Mary Carter Taub’s room-sized, neon duct tape installations look like a subway map, sharp lines crossing and recrossing each other at odd angles, resolute in their confusion, seeking every destination at once. Taub’s work has appeared on buses, in museums and restaurants, in markets and malls; the effect of her installations in consumer spaces is electrifying and disorienting: bold colors demand our attention, arousing both our animal instincts and our rational faculties as analytical thinkers. Overwhelmed, we want to venture further into this strange new space.
Taub is currently teaching an AfterSchool Arts Immersion Residency, working with students to create a mural on the floor of the Nicholson Gallery. The residency is funded by parents, friends of The ArtsCenter, the Nicholson Foundation and Orange County. The finished mural will be featured in the opening night of the ArtsCenter’s student exhibit on Friday, March 11th. I spoke with Mary Carter Taub as she began her residency at the ArtsCenter in Carrboro.
Photo: Nick Pironio
Many Chapel Hill and Carrboro residents will recognize your work from the “mobile mural” on the sides of a Chapel Hill transit bus (what we here at The ArtsCenter have been calling the “art bus”). Much of your other work is displayed in schools and in common areas where people work and play. Could you address the appeal of public spaces and discuss the ways in which your work transforms them?
I enjoy making art oriented in public space, outside of the traditional art museum and gallery network, allowing access to a broader audience. Public art is appealing because it highlights the overlap of art and everyday life, showing that both can even be one and the same. In my mind, public art is efficient, merging form and function. I like the challenge of connecting people in everyday life with a familiar space that has been altered (and hopefully energized) by my work to change the way the space is ordinarily viewed. It recontextualizes the space and is inclusive and accessible.
Not sure if this is relevant but…
Behavioral scientist Daniel Goleman describes creative organizations as a balance between explorer bees and worker bees: creative types and “law and order” types who keep things running smoothly. This metaphor resonates with me and explains why I am drawn to public art. It allows me to flex both my right brain and left brain muscles while satisfying my Type A and Type B tendencies under one hat that blends creativity and business/ government/ industry.
Is there a specific message you hope to convey in your public art installations?
In a macro sense I am interested in materialism and consumerism in our culture and my work is filtered through that lens from the use of color in my work (an off-the-shelf palette) and the choice of materials (usually, industrial goods) and imagery (typically mass produced). In a micro sense I am interested in my work connecting to the site in a way that resonates with the community. Before I begin a project I research to understand the site (and the community) within the context of its physical and cultural surroundings. I strive to add aesthetic distinctiveness and relevance to the site and the community with my artwork, otherwise, what’s the point?
Your work inserts itself directly into the dialog established by pop art, simultaneously critiquing and exploiting our voracious appetites as material consumers. If anything, our culture has become even more materialistic than it was in the days of Warhol and Lichtenstein. Is there a common thread running from the work of those artists in the ‘60’s to your work today?
Yes, definitely. I pluck materials and images from current consumer and popular cultures and dislocate them to recontextualize meaning. I think my work carries much less irony than that of many of the 60s artists and I am also not interested in kitsch which was prevalent in much of the 60s work. I am interested in mass-produced industrial products as materials (such as duct tape or electrical cables) because they have anonymity and less fixed meaning and less cultural significance than most consumer products that rely heavily on branding (such as a Barbie doll or Levi’s jeans).
I more directly identify with the 80s (vs the 60s) pop artists: Keith Haring, Basquiat, Sandy Skoglund and Stephen Sprouse. When I was 22 my mentor in grad school in the early 90s was Tommy Lanigan-Schmidt and he encouraged me to embrace my love of everyday materials– that was a real a-ha moment.
Researching, scouting and shopping for materials is an important part of my process. I tend to approach materials from a model of abundance (versus a model of scarcity) and try to imagine how I would use the material if I had tons of it and plenty of time to use it. I source materials from Home Depot, U-Line Corp, Wal-Mart and salvage sites to name a few.
In your artist statement, you say, “At a very visceral level, I am both mesmerized and horrified by these pop sensibilities and consumer behaviors.” I certainly experience the immediate, emotional response your work evokes. Do you feel that there is an additional political angle to your work, or are you concerned with the personal, emotional experience of material consumption?
I struggle with being seduced by material goods and being disgusted by them so in that regard I see my work as observation and reflection on how I currently live. My work does not aim to deliver a didactic or moral message on consumerism.
That said, I am a product of the 1980s when consumer consumption was at an all time high in the United States. Prior to the 1950s people bought things because they needed them. Over the decades there has been a steady shift from buying something you need to buying something you want because you can. Today’s purchases have sky rocketed to an unprecedented state of consumption that is in hyper overdrive and seems to be holding steady. Even in challenging economic times, we continue to buy lots of stuff that we do not need. My work reflects this material existence and is both celebration and repulsion of modern day purchasing power.
Whereas pop art often depicts identifiable images borrowed from mass culture, your work uses the raw materials of our modern lifestyles to create gently surreal abstractions. As an example, one of your sketches (which, we should note, are not “sketches” in the usual sense of the word, but are more like smaller-scale concept pieces) depicts coiled extension cables wrapped in neon zip-ties and boasting the slight protrusion of a small colored light bulb. At first glance, the piece looks like it’s been clipped from a hardware catalog. But looking closer, I’m struck with the absurdity and even the otherworldly beauty of these gadgets, as well as with the humor in the way you’ve juxtaposed the objects and their colors. Could you comment on the kind of abstraction at work in your pieces?
The materials in my work are relatable and accessible yet they are a departure from reality so abstract in that sense. I like to think that my work lends new significance to run-of-the-mill goods and products while exploring mass consumption on a personal scale and playing with abstracted ideas related to ephemera and permanence and the abstracted power of goods/ purchases.
My work is primarily process-oriented and improvisational and I rely heavily on intuition to make it. Even my permanent public artworks are process based at their core. For example, Mobile Mural was fabricated from a collage drawing (about the size of a skateboard) that I created by affixing colorful duct tape to Xerox paper. Many times I misplaced a piece of duct tape on the paper but it is not possible to remove it without ripping the paper so then the artwork takes a new direction because of that one “mistake.” It is a lemons-to-lemonade approach and I just make it work. It seems like a fitting metaphor for how we live life, react, adapt and move on.
Your residency at The ArtsCenter will involve the students in our afterschool program. How do children tend to interact with your work?
Children usually have a very visceral response, one of happiness and excitement, to my work. I am always so touched by how open-minded they are in embracing the unknown. Most kids spend their days in school where there is a heavy emphasis on structure, fine motor skills and staying within the lines. I think they detect authenticity and playfulness in my work and they can stay right there on the surface or they can delve deeper if they are curious.
I enjoy collaborating with kids to make art like the floor mural at ArtsCenter call Floored! Many heads and hands building the artwork means the work takes a direction that would not happen if I was working solo. Working in an improvisational way requires mindfulness and active engagement for everything to flow and I am repeatedly impressed by the kids’ ability to be present and in the moment. I wish I could say the same for most adults.
marycartertaub.com
artscenterlive.org
Heather Gerni poses with one of her Intuitive paintings
Heather Gerni creates her vibrant and often whimsical paintings and mixed media work through Intuitive Painting, a process that allows each piece of work to naturally unfold and reveal itself to the artist. With Intuitive Painting, less importance is placed on the finished piece. The artist focuses more on an authentic creative process that resonates with him or her.
“The most important thing to me as an artist is to stay true to myself. I do this by embracing vulnerability, trusting myself, and eliminating all external factors and considerations when I’m painting.”
This inspiring way of creating art encouraged Heather to begin teaching Intuitive Painting several years ago. She hopes to help and inspire others to find their own artistic voice, passion and confidence through creative exploration and self discovery. She currently teaches classes and workshops at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro and paints in her small studio in her home in Pittsboro.
Heather has generously donated an original mixed media piece to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place a bid for this artwork, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $120 will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
Heather Gerni – Hecate
Jason Abide teaching ceramics at The ArtsCenter
Jason Abide has been learning and making pottery since about 2002. His first experience with pottery was at Delta State University, in Cleveland, Mississippi. He learned an appreciation for well made pottery through a fascination with the process for making it, particularly the potter’s wheel. He finds the transformations that clay undergoes, and the different possibilities for creation and alteration in each phase to be fascinating and inspiring. He endeavors to share his enthusiasm for this medium and this craft through the pottery he makes and the classes he teaches for children and adults. His pottery is called Really Pretty Cardinals and can be found at www.reallyprettycardinals.com.
“When the Buddhist monks were at the ArtsCenter in 2014, I was in the midst of making a large body of work in the pottery studio. They were often around and I found myself expecting a positive reaction from them towards my work (they took no special notice). Later I found myself reflecting on why I expected a reaction, I think it is because the execution of the processes for the creation of my work is like a meditation for me. It is a meditation on the process itself, it yields new ideas for changes to the process. New avenues and pathways for exploration. Endlessly branching and seemingly infinite.”
Jason has generously donated 2 original stoneware pieces to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place a bid for these works of art, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $25 per piece will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
Jason Abide – Panther Burn
Jason Abide – Jar
Emily Miller
“I am originally from Colorado, and growing up at the base of the Rockies greatly influenced my development as an artist. I have always spent a great deal of time outside, and I love to travel both within the U.S. and abroad. My love for traditional ethnic jewelry sparked my interest in becoming a jeweler, and I have studied beading and metal-smithing alongside other accomplished artists and jewelers.
“In my work I attempt to bring together unexpected materials from all over the world, both new and antique. I love to work with the organic quality of hand-cut gemstones and ethnic beads and combine these with the classic beauty of metal. I am inspired by ancient art and the natural world, and I like to create contemporary pieces with a connection to the past.”
Emily has generously donated a necklace of silver and exotic beads to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place a bid for this piece, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $30 will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
Emily Miller – Summertime Necklace
Murry Handler in his studio
Murry Handler is exhibited nationally in both solo and group shows. His work appears in national and international juried competitions, most recently at Allied American Artists show at the National Arts Club in New York City; The National Color Award’ show in Stamford, Conn., juried by an Ass’t. Curator of the Museum of Modern Art; and the 23rd International Color Show in Summit, NJ, juried by the Ass’t. Curator of Modern & Contemporary Art at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.
His work is in private and corporate collections around the country and is being noticed and collected in Europe and Scandinavia. He has been invited to participate at Art Point-Gumo, Macedonia 2008, Galariazero, Fuzhou, China 2007 and in Galariazero, Barcelona, Spain 2006.
A native of Bangor, Me., Murry Handler came to New York City at 19, to begin his art studies, eventually achieving a career as an award-winning illustrator and designer while continuing to pursue his fine art. He studied at The Franklin Institute of Art, figure drawing with Joseph Kelly at Pratt Institute and painting at the Workshop School, under the late Joe Hirsh. His teaching credits include The Fashion Institute of Technology and Parsons School of Design, both in NYC.
Handler’s creative output has an exceptionally diverse range. Recognized primarily by his gestural abstract paintings executed with dynamic sweeping brushstrokes in acrylic on canvas, he also produces delicate filmy figural works on paper and canvas. His watercolors are conveyed in a brilliant palette, resulting in playful, spontaneous abstractions while large canvases are often swirls of stark black and white images. Inherent in all his work is a strong sense of vibrant movement.
Mr.. Handler’s painting has evolved from tight realism to flowing, turbulent expressionistic pieces. His ink paintings, available in limited edition serigraph prints, are executed with a bold black line on paper and canvas. They are highly suggestive of figurative art and influenced by Chinese calligraphy.
“No matter how many paintings I have completed, every painting is still an experiment to me. I don’t want to know how my painting will end, I want the surprise of finding the end, sometimes quite by accident.”
Currently he works from his Pittsboro, NC studio, where his creative activities include painting, creative writing and the art of Bonsai. Murry is a member of the following arts groups: Society of Illustrators, NYC; FRANK Artists Collaborative, Chapel Hill, NC; Allied Artists of America, NYC; and Durham Art Guild.
“I have been a working artist all my adult life, even in my teen years. I’ve worked across multiple aspects of the art field, from the paintings I exhibit now, back through graphic design and illustration. Labels that have been applied to my work by curators and critics include ‘minimalist’, ‘abstract expressionist’, ‘realist’, ‘Asian influenced’, and ‘gestural abstraction’. In all the work, whichever form taken, and whatever label applied, my goal remains the same: to have the viewer respond on an emotional level to what I am offering.
“My work has been evolving more and more in recent years into social commentary as I respond to the flood of communications and images that reach me about world and local events, i.e., women’s issues, race relations, politics and despoiling the earth.
“I frequently prefer to limit my palette to black and white. This forces both me and the viewer to be mindful of the essential details on the canvas or paper– the weight or emphasis of a finely painted line, the brushstrokes, the intensity of the paint, etc.
“I’m proud to be an artist whose work has been exhibited, purchased and publicly displayed by corporations, arts groups and individuals around the globe.”
Murry has generously donated 2 limited edition prints to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place a bid for these artworks, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $100 per piece will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
Murry Handler – Leap Frog
Murry Handler – Landscape with Cabin
Rio Aubry Taylor
Rio Aubry Taylor is a multidisciplinary cartoonist specializing in abstracted-narrative. He possesses an MFA from the Center for Cartoon Studies and has been published by The National Cartoonists Society and The Swedish Comics Association. In addition to giving private lessons and workshops, Rio teaches a number of classes at The ArtsCenter in Carrboro, NC and guest lectures at the University of North Carolina.
“My work is a way for me to explore the narrative of going deep. With these pieces I express the basic anxiety about the modern world that everybody experiences, transformed into whimsy by the cartoonist’s touch.”
Rio has generously donated a collection of avant garde comics he created to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place a bid for this collection, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $10 will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
Rio Aubry Taylor – Collection of Avant Garde Comics
Rusty McDonald
Rusty McDonald is a fine art photographer and artist based in North Carolina. His work is multi layered photographic illustration often classified as magic and imaginary realism. Steeped in esotericism and symbolism, his images exist in both realistic and fantastical worlds. He has crafted a meticulous process that combines photography, and digital artistry techniques, such as texturizing, layering and compositing, with digitally painted backgrounds, real photographic elements and intuition, a kind of visual alchemy. The result are atmospheric images, elusively romantic and timeless in their historical placement, painterly yet subtle, imbued with a slight wink towards old master art. A lifelong study of mythology, ancient storytelling and the world’s mysteries. A few of his influences are esoteric traditions, late and classical antiquity. metaphysics, literature, nature and spirituality.
Rusty has exhibited his work in many galleries in the US as well as abroad. His work was most recently exhibited at the theArter galerie in Berlin alongside the works of artists such as HR Giger. In 2014 his work was shown in Berlin, Detroit, New York and Seattle. McDonald’s art has been featured in numerous magazines as well as on books and album covers. He is an artist with a passion for the artist/artist collaboration.
Rusty has generously donated a dye-injected print of his original digital illustration, The Laurel, to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place a bid for this artwork, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $100 will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
Rusty McDonald – The Laurel
Donna Stubbs
“I grew up in Mt. Airy, NC. I have an art degree from Guilford College, an interior design degree from the Corcoran College of Art & Design, and recently studied at the Art League in Alexandria VA. I have a studio in my home and exhibit my work locally at VAE in Raleigh and The ArtsCenter and Vespertine in Carrboro. I live in Chapel Hill, NC with my husband Peter and our 6-year old daughter, Lauren.
“I am a painter and collage artist. I use a variety of materials in my work to build layered surfaces and create texture. Dress patterns, fabric, found objects, maps, thread, tissue paper, and my own photography are just a few of the items I include in my work. I am process oriented and love going from a blank canvas to the finished product through building out layers of collage and paint until I attain the completed work. I work rapidly, make marks with my fingers and sand the layers smooth when I work. I transfer images to canvas or wood to achieve transparency and let fragments of paper and paint show through.
“I select materials based on what I am drawn to. Vintage magazines, junk mail, wrapping paper, maps and bits of wire can evoke a moment in time when combined with old family photos or my photography of the South. Living in North Carolina and often traveling to the mountains of Virginia, I photograph concrete yard art, rusted cars, water towers, and derelict buildings. Forgotten areas on country roads often lead me to subject matter that feels disturbing and beautiful at the same time.
“My work starts with an idea but is not planned. I like to paint spontaneously and often lay canvases on the floor so I can run and bleed the colors. Currently I am exploring new techniques such as painting on cast off pieces from furniture manufacturing and using various solvents to transfer images.”
Donna has generously donated an original mixed media work to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place a bid for this artwork, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $100 will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
Donna Stubbs – Dive
Molly Cronenwett at the wheel
Molly Cronenwett is an artist, photographer, teacher and mother who lives in Hillsborough. After growing up in Michigan and New Hampshire, she moved to NC in 1997 to earn an MA in Art History from UNC-Chapel Hill and a second BA in Art Education from NCCU. Since migrating south, Molly has taught art and art history to all ages–from preschoolers to adults–at a charter school, at her own community art school in Hillsborough, and through private lessons and camps at her home. She specializes in ceramics, drawing, and painting. As a studio teacher, Molly believes a focus on art history offers students a deeper understanding of art, as well as a catalog of successful imagery and ideas. She wants her students to realize that they are part of a global community of artists–past and present–from whom they can gain inspiration.
“I am an artist and teacher, and I believe these two professions are inextricably linked. I believe that teaching is an art. When successful, the teacher-as-artist creates an aesthetic experience for the student—a heightened consciousness, broadened awareness, and newfound sense of appreciation. My goal as an artist–whether behind the camera or at the pottery wheel–is to create art that brings more thoughtfulness, joy, appreciation and authenticity to everyday experiences. ”
Molly has generously donated three stoneware pieces to The ArtsCenter’s Silent Auction, on display throughout the month of June in the Nicholson Gallery. To place these artworks, visit our box office or call us at (919) 929-2787. Bids starting at $15-20 per piece will be accepted until 5PM on June 28th.
Painted Primaries Bowl
Black & White Bowl
Earthenware Red Vase