Area artists to participate in Delta Visual Arts Show

LITTLE ROCK — Artists from throughout the region will be featured Saturday in the fourth annual Delta Visual Arts Show in downtown Newport, sponsored by The Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts.

The event, which is free and open to the public, will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., with a reception planned from 4-6.

This year’s show features 100 artists from five states, highlighting primarily artists who grew up in the Delta, live or have lived in the Delta, or who produce Delta-themed work. The visual art covers a broad range of mediums, including pottery, painting, jewelry and sculpture.

Area artists who will be featured at this year’s show include Martha Bartz and Roger Bartz, both of Searcy; Kevin Bell of El Paso; Dustyn Bork, Patricia Boylan, Carly Dahl, Kris Dunlap, Jody Hughes and Paige Messner, all of Batesville; Dalton Carpenter and Laura McNerney, both of Franklin; Judy Gagner and Julie Lamons of Pleasant Plains; Carla Quataert of Salem; and Danny Ramsey and Renee Ramsey, both of Floral.

Other residents who will exhibit at the show include Julia Davenport Brand, Kay Brand, Natalie Curtner, Adralyn Elliott, Jeff Ellis, Van Manning, Cheryl Mauldin, John Minor, Donald Smith, Barbara Smockand Ginger Willis, all of Newport; and Patti Dunlap, Pat McCarroll, Kaye D. Milligan, Royston Morris and Diana Reidling, all of Cherokee Village.

Also participating will be Tara Gates of Tuckerman, Eva Haley of Evening Shade, Jay me Hu f f of McCror y, Aline Cantrell McCracken of Concord, Sidney Nisbet of Melbourne, Shelia Skinner of Bradford, Rodney Slinkard of Gilbert, Marty Smith of Cabot and Jaclyn Holland of Heber Springs.

“The Delta Visual Arts Show is a wonderful place to come see very established artists and those who are just starting out,” said Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Newport Economic Development Commission, one of the show’s sponsors. “The atmosphere is such that you leave not just with a piece of art, but with a new friend in the artist.”

The show will be held in downtown Newport at theIron Mountain Train Depot on Front Street, the Newport Business Resource Center on Hazel Street, the old post office on Hazel Street and a new building this year, the old First National Bank on Front Street called the John Minor Building.

“Artists will have their work on display, and visitors will be able to meet the artists as well as purchase pieces,” Chadwell said. “This is a unique opportunity to own an original piece of art and to understand how the artist produced the piece.”

The Delta Visual Arts Show will feature a variety of work shops , i nclud i ng one by Eva Ha ley on t he Importance of the Value of Sketch, and demonstrations on woodcarving by Jeff Ellis. New this year will be workshops for young people, with two sessions aimed at children from 4 to 6 that will be taught, in part, by Kris Dunlap; and two workshops aimed at ages9 to 13, taught, in part, by Jody Hughes.

Another new feature this year is the addition of Art Bucks Door Prizes during the show. Three times during the day, drawings will be held for $100 to be spent toward the purchase of art from the show. During the evening reception, an additional drawing for $200 in art bucks will be held. Ticketholders must be present during the drawings to win.

“This is a wonderful opportunity to come and see the amazing creativity of artists who capture the Delta way of life in an amazing array of mediums,” Chadwell said, “plus you have a chance to win money to help you take a piece of art home.”

MJ’s Art Café will be open on the second floor of the Newport Business Resource Center and will have soup-and-sandwich lunches available for sale to the public. The reception, which will start at 4, will offer free beverages to the public and offer an opportunity for visitors to mingle with the artists and other guests.

Chadwell said the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts project is a joint project of the Iron Mountain Regional Arts Council, the Newport Downtown Revitalization and Improvement Volunteer Effort (DRIVE), the city of Newport, the Newport Economic Development Commission, Merchants and Planters Bank, and Suddenlink Communications,also working in conjunction with the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock.

“The Delta Visual Arts Show is our first step at creating a permanent art center in Newport - the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts - which we envision as a working, teaching center for exploring the artistic talent of the Delta region,” Chadwell said. “Every year we meet a wide variety of artists, and we are continually amazed at the talent of people from Arkansas and the surrounding region.

“It is wonderful to watch young people from our area come and be exposed to people of creativity who have so much talent,” he said. “You can tell from watching that the show inspires the next generation of talent.”

Chadwell said the show has grown over the years.

“The first year started as a joint venture between our local groups and the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock,” he said.

“That first year we had 17 artists in one building. The second year we grew to 39 artists in two buildings. Last year we had 68 artists in three buildings and this year we have 100 artists in four buildings.”

Chadwell said Saturday’s event is not a fundraiser.

“There is almost no money raised from the show,” he said. “We decided early on that if we were going to nurture emerging artists, then we had to make sure we didn’t price them out of participating. So, to date, everything at every show has been free, due to our sponsors.

“We provide the space for the artists free. We also provide a hospitality room with breakfast and lunch for all the artists. We provide all the materials for the workshops, which are free of charge. We do this through our sponsors. We also have a matching grant for advertising through the state and the Ozark Gateways Tourist Council. And all the owners of the buildings allow us to use the facilities free of charge.”

Chadwell said the show is run by a volunteer committee of nine and more than 70 volunteers.

“The only money we’ve ever raised was last year through donation boxes,” he said. “We took in $240, which just went into the pool for this year’s show.”

For more information on the Delta Visual Arts Show, contact Chadwell at (870) 503-0793 or director@newportaredc.org.

Three Rivers, Pages 53 on 02/23/2012

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