Local artists to participate in Newport art show

Maumelle artist Amy Green will exhibit a variety of her jewelry at the Delta Visual Arts Show on Saturday in Newport. Among her latest creations are vintage jewelry Christmas trees in shadow boxes.
Maumelle artist Amy Green will exhibit a variety of her jewelry at the Delta Visual Arts Show on Saturday in Newport. Among her latest creations are vintage jewelry Christmas trees in shadow boxes.

NEWPORT — Many of the artists who will participate in the seventh annual Delta Visual Arts Show on Saturday in Newport have ties to the region known as the Arkansas Delta. Some artists from the River Valley & Ozark Edition coverage area are among them.

Amy Green of Maumelle fits right in; she is originally from Newport. She makes jewelry, often using vintage pieces in her creations.

“This is my second year to be at the show,” Green said. “I think the show is a great event for Newport. I think a lot of people may have looked at Newport as a town in decline a few years ago. The show brings people and revenue into the community. The community really rallies for the show. They are so welcoming.

“In addition to creating awareness and a revenue stream, the show brings the people of Newport together. It creates something a lot of towns have lost — civic pride. People are proud of the show. They come out in droves to support it.

“My parents, Eddie and Cassandra Bonds, still live there. I grew up there, so it really warms my heart to see the show bring so much positivity to the community.”

Green said she thinks the show “is great for the arts community in Arkansas, too.”

“I have met artists that I would not have otherwise had an occasion to meet,” she said. “I am inspired by their techniques and handy tips.

“I look forward to having my booth, but also to seeing what else is there. There is something for everyone. I am amazed at what people can do.”

Green is a 1997 graduate of Newport High School. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Ole Miss with an emphasis in magazine/publication design.

She is the director of creative services at Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock and also has a freelance business, Green Design Ltd., and an Etsy store, www.etsy.com/shop/AmyGreenJewelry.

Green said she started making jewelry in 2011 as a way to deal with the grief she felt following the death of her grandmother, Ruby Herring, who lived in Newport.

“I love vintage pieces,” Green said. “I incorporate many of them in my designs. I find them in all sorts of places — antique malls, yard sales and from folks who know I use them in my designs.

“Most of my pieces feature revamped jewelry from the 1920s to the 1960s. I think there was such a sense of style in those days. People really dressed up and took great care in their appearance. Give me beautiful jewelry, hats and fancy shoes — I’ll take them any day.”

Green said she will bring something new to her booth in Newport this year — vintage jewelry Christmas trees in shadow boxes.

“I use broken jewelry to piece them together,” she said. “They are just beautiful under light and combine my love for Christmas and jewelry.”

Sponsored by the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts, the Delta Visual Arts Show will be open to the public from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in various locations around downtown Newport. There is no admission charge. Local restaurants and civic groups will offer a variety of food throughout the day.

“Over seven years, we’ve seen an incredible growth in the Delta Visual Arts Show,” said Jon Chadwell, director of the Newport Economic Development Commission. “We started in one building with 17 artists and 180 in attendance and have grown to six venues with over 185 artists and almost 2,000 who attend the show each year.

“It has been a fun and rewarding experience for [members of] the steering committee to work with artists and art lovers to bring this opportunity to Jackson County.”

Chadwell said this year’s show features artists from three states and 56 Arkansas communities, featuring 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 wide range of art, including pottery, paintings, jewelry and sculpture.

“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.

“Several artists will be conducting demonstrations at their booths during the show,” Chadwell said. “The show features well-known artists from throughout the state and young, new artists who are setting up for the very first time.”

Following is a look at other area artists who will participate in the Delta Visual Arts Show:

• Ron Almond of Maumelle will show his art in Newport for the fourth time.

Almond is retired from the Arkansas Army National Guard.

“I had been interested in painting for many years, so I took a few painting lessons in 2011 with Matt Coburn with the Maumelle Art Group,” Almond said. “I fell in love with oil painting. I joined the Maumelle Art Group within a few weeks and have been painting since then.

“I enjoy painting landscapes and abstracts with vibrant colors, using my imagination to create eye-catching images on canvas.

“My hobbies include hiking, kayaking and cycling, which provide lots of opportunities to enjoy the outdoors in Arkansas.”

Almond said that while he was taking art lessons, he attended the Delta Visual Arts Show with other members of the Maumelle Art Group to observe the show.

“I have shown my art at the Delta Visual Arts Show for the last three years,” he said, noting that the Maumelle Art Group moved to the Pleasant Ridge Shopping Center in Little Rock in 2014, reorganized as the Art Group Arkansas, and operates The Art Group Gallery, which consists of 17 local artists with more than 300 paintings on display.

• Louise Harris of Maumelle has participated in the Delta Visual Arts Show for several years.

“I’m looking forward to it,” she said. “It’s always a good venue for all the artists.

“I’m excited about seeing all the artists and what they have been doing.”

Harris creates oil paintings.

“I will be taking landscapes and roosters,” she said.

“Roosters are always a big hit,” she said with a laugh.

Harris is a member of the Art Group Arkansas and the Arkansas League of Artists.

• Jaclyn Holland of Heber Springs will make her third trip to Newport to participate in this year’s art show.

“I first heard about this art show from a family friend who was helping in the show,” she said.

Holland said she will present some of the photography she has been working on this past year.

“I will also be showing some of my drawings, along with Mason-jar crafts,” she said.

Holland is a graduate of Arkansas State University-Beebe, where she studied graphic design.

• Steve Jones of Conway will take part in the event for the third time.

“I will be showing French rolling pins, fishing lures, door stops and a few surprises this year,” said Jones, who is a wood turner.

Jones, who has worked with wood for 49 years, got is start in Cub Scouts by building Pinewood Derby cars.

“I am a journeyman industrial carpenter and was certified by the U.S. Department of Labor and the Associated Builders and Contractors of Arkansas,” Jones said. “This is where I learned the safe use of power tools.”

For the past 27 years, Jones has been the building and sites coordinator for the Arkansas Economic Development Commission, with expertise in industrial construction, property and community development.

• Debbie Kelly of Maumelle is a newcomer to the Delta Visual Arts Show.

“I’m so excited,” said Kelly, a photographer.

“I have been taking pictures for the last 15 years,” she said, noting she has been a freelance photographer for Stephens Media for the past two years.

“I love photographing historic structures, especially churches,” she said. “Recently, I started transferring my photographs to wood to create another art form to go along with my photographic prints.”

• Aline McCracken of Concord has been in every Delta Visual Arts Show except the first one.

“I heard about the show from a former student,” McCracken said. “I love the train station and how Newport turns out in force to make this such a great event.”

McCracken has ties to the Delta. She was born in Stuttgart, where her first art teacher was Pete Finken, the founder of the Grand Prairie Festival of the Arts.

She has degrees in art from the Memphis College of Art and the University of Mississippi. She taught art in public schools and colleges and retired to devote more time to creating her own art. She continues to teach art history at the University of Arkansas Community College at Batesville.

McCracken works in oil, watercolor, pencil and clay. Some of her most recent works are sculptures of “little men,” which, she said, have been referred to as “quirky.”

• Haley Proctor of Enola will make her second appearance at the Newport art show.

“I’m a small-town country girl who loves the outdoors and animals, and I show it through my paintings,” Proctor said. “I’ve been painting for about three years. I started painting when I was pregnant with my son — since breaking horses was out of the question — and fell in love with it.

“My goal is to do it full time and have my art shown to the world.”

Proctor said she was first introduced to the Delta Visual Arts Show last year by Dr. Austin Grimes of Little Rock.

“I loved it and am so excited to be going back again this year and, hopefully, Lord willing, many more years to come,” she said.

Proctor works in water-based oils.

• Tammey Ring of Heber Springs has participated in the art show for the past two years.

She is a self-taught artist and works mainly in acrylics on canvas, but also does watercolors.

She is the mother of four daughters ranging in age from 10 to 29; all of her daughters paint. She and her daughter Iana Sinkutch, also of Heber Springs, market their works under the name Bliss and Whimsy Original Artwork.

Ring is also a full-time mental-health paraprofessional.

• Doris Sexson of Fairfield Bay will exhibit her artwork for the second time at the Delta Visual Arts Show.

“I learned about the show from Jon Chadwell, director of the Economic Development Commission in Newport and a longtime friend,” Sexson said. “I had some sales last year and am excited to exhibit and hopefully sell many of my paintings this year.” Sexson works mainly in oil, but she will have some acrylic and watercolor paintings in the show as well.

“I will also be donating a painting for the auction to help support this show,” she said.

“I have been asked to present a demonstration on painting a floral during the show,” she said. “I’m pleased they asked me and excited to do it.”

Sexson has been painting and teaching visual arts for about 30 years. Prior to moving to Fairfield Bay, she was an artist in residence for the Arkansas Arts Council and taught visual arts in the Blytheville School District for seven years.

Since coming to Fairfield Bay, she has been active in the North Central Arkansas Arts and Education program and the local artist league and has taught oil-painting classes at the Fairfield Bay Community Education Center.

• Iana Sinkutch of Heber Springs will exhibit her artwork at the Newport show for the second time.

Sinkutch is part of a duo with her mother, Tammey Ring, of Bliss and Whimsy Original Artwork.

She is mainly a self-taught artist, specializing in mixed-media acrylic portraits and paintings.

“I am also known for my unique canvases, which happen to be made from restored denim jeans,” she said.

“Both my mother and I love bright colors and have named our little company after my grandfather’s sailboat, The Bliss, and the whimsical lives we live.”

• Elisha Smith of Maumelle will make her third trip to Newport.

“It has been a good venue for me. I’m very excited about going back,” she said.

“The first year, I did good. Then last year, I came back with only easels; I had absolutely nothing left.

“I plan to take about 40 to 50 pieces this year.”

Smith works with oils and acrylics to create her paintings, which she describes as “contemporary abstract.”

In addition to creating art full time, Smith is also a fashion designer. Her works can be found online at easartwork.com.

• Lori Weeks of Maumelle is a veteran participant of the Delta Visual Arts Show.

“I have been so fortunate to be a member of the Newport Delta Visual Arts show for the past six out of the seven years it has been in existence,” Weeks said. “Out of all the art venues I have been a part of during my art career, this event is by far the best organized, the best attended and the best selection of artists from all over the state. There’s no question that you will be amazed at what you will find at this year’s seventh annual Delta Visual Arts show.”

Weeks began studying painting as a child and honed her artistic talent at the Art Institute of Dallas and the Memphis College of Art, where she studied both commercial and fine art. She is best known for her collection of impressionistic poppy-field paintings that incorporate unique color schemes and textures.

An Arkansas native, Weeks spent her formative artistic years at the lake in Heber Springs, where she enjoyed the outdoor pleasures that now find their way into her canvasses, she said.

She said her paintings are best known “for their depth and the bright, vivid colors and thick textured paint that give them life.” She said she is also well known for her subdued paintings “that represent images of life and bring a calmness and peace to all who enjoy them.”

Weeks is a member of the Art Group Arkansas in Little Rock.

For more information on the Delta Visual Arts Show, call (870) 523-1009.

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