Several local artists have participated in the annual Delta Visual Arts Show in Newport in the past and plan to do so again this year.
The ninth annual Delta Visual Arts Show will open at 10 a.m. Saturday in downtown Newport. The show, which is promoted by the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts in Newport, is free and open to the public.
More than 180 artists will have their work on display, and visitors will have an opportunity to meet the artists, as well as purchase pieces. There will also be workshops and demonstrations throughout the day. Authors and musicians will be featured as well.
Ron Almond of Maumelle will take part in the Delta Visual Arts Show for a sixth time.
“It’s been a good show for me,” said Almond, who is retired from the Arkansas Army National Guard. “I have been able to sell my art and to make valuable contacts. Thousands of people attend the show. It’s grown by leaps and bounds. It’s a great event for any artist.”
Almond said he has always been interested in art.
“I’ve always drawn,” he said. “I drew all the way through high school, but I never painted.
“My wife, Lisa, has always encouraged me. I retired when I was 60, and she got me [painting] lessons with Matt Coburn, who was active with the Maumelle Art Group, which is now The Art Group Gallery in west Little Rock [at Pleasant Ridge Town Center]. I was hooked. Matt was the one who introduced me to the Delta Visual Arts Show.”
Almond has studio space at the Art Group Gallery, as well at his home in Maumelle. He shows his work at The Art Group Gallery and at Cross Street Art Gallery in Benton.
He works mainly in oils and acrylics.
“I use oils for my landscapes and acrylics for my abstracts,” he said. “I’m now trying watercolor. I’m taking lessons with David Paul Cook, [also of Maumelle].”
Almond said he will take a variety of paintings, mostly framed, but some unframed as well, to the art show in Newport.
“I have lots of paintings,” he said, smiling. “My garage is full, as is the attic. What started out as a little hobby has almost turned into a second career.”
Other local artists participating in the upcoming art show include the following:
• Amy Bonds Green of Maumelle will display her
custom-made jewelry. This is her third time to be in the show.
“My husband and I will be at Disney World with our 3-year old son, Cooper, during this year’s show,” said Green, who is originally from Newport. “I hate to miss the show, but I’m not going to let it stop me. This show is just too good to miss. My mom, Cassandra Bonds, has graciously volunteered to man my booth. She still lives in Newport with my dad, Eddie. My mom is a retired elementary teacher, and my dad has an accounting practice in town, so they are very invested in the community and excited to see a great event like the art show bring so much revenue and attention to Newport.”
Green said she has been making all sorts of sparkly things for the show.
“I use vintage and broken pieces of jewelry, mostly, and make them into something new again,” said Green, who is director of creative services at the University of Arkansas-Pulaski Technical College in North Little Rock. “I have lots of necklaces and shadow boxes of jewelry Christmas trees. This year I will also have a few vintage postcards in frames decorated with vintage jewelry.”
• Adralyn Elliott and Dylan Hull, both of Conway, will display several items.
“Dylan and I have lived in Conway for over a year now. This is my fifth year in the art show and Dylan’s third year of sharing a booth with me, displaying some of his art. We are both self-taught,” Elliot said.
“I do mainly pyrography, which is woodburning, but I also do painting, photography and photo transfers to wood,” Elliott said. “Dylan does prismacolor drawings on blackboard.
“I love participating in art shows because it gets my art out there and allows me to meet other artists. I am looking forward to another great year at the Delta Visual Art Show, as it grows each and every year.”
• Steve Jones of Conway will display wooden items.
“I will be working in wood again this year. I started woodworking in Cub Scouts with a Pinewood Derby car,” Jones said
“The art came later, … when a piece of wood tells you what it should be. Then gluing different types of wood opened up the world to possibilities I never dreamed of at the age of 12,” he said.
“I will be showing a new twist French rolling pin this year,” said Jones, who is participating in the show for the fifth time. “Also new for this year, I am making wine-bottle stoppers and wooden plates.”
• Hayley Proctor of Quitman will bring a variety of paintings to the show.
“I have attended the annual Delta Visual Arts Show for four years now, including this year,” she said.
“I have gone to several art festivals, and this show is by far the best out of them all,” she said. “There are so many talented artists in this show that are serious about what they do, and they always have a great turnout of people year after year. I do believe that I will continue to attend this show every year.”
• Doris Sexson of Fairfield Bay will show oil and acrylic paintings.
“I have attended this show for the past five years,” said Sexson, who has been painting and teaching visual arts for more than 30 years. She is active in the North Central Arkansas Arts and Education program and the local artist league at Fairfield Bay.
“I really enjoy seeing the other artists’ work,” she said. “I’m continuing to do murals and teach private lessons.”
• Frankie Stovall of Conway will display her abstract paintings.
“This will be my third year to participate in this show,” Stovall said. “I continue to show at Newport because [the show] is extremely well run, the staff is wonderful and takes care of the artists, and the foot traffic is very high.”
Several other area artists making return appearances in the art show at Newport could not be reached for comment. They include Maumelle artists Louise Harris, Elisha Smith and Lori Weeks; and Heber Springs artists Jaclyn Holland, Janet Loftis, Tammey Ring and Iana Sinkutch.
Jon Chadwell, executive director of the Newport Economic Development Commission, said this year’s show features 184 artists, 20 authors and 20 musicians from five states and 62 Arkansas communities, 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 show covers a broad range of art, including pottery, painting, jewelry and sculpture.
“The Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts is very excited to host our biggest show ever in Newport,” Chadwell said. “The energy and creativity that happens when over 200 artists, authors and musicians come together in one place is amazing. If you like art, books or music, then you’ll love this show.
“The Authors’ Corner is new. We have 20 authors who will be attending, and we have several who will be doing readings; that activity will be in the W.A. Billingsley Memorial Jackson County Library. We are also adding acoustical musicians to each venue for atmosphere.”
The Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts project is a joint project of the Iron Mountain Regional Arts Council, the Downtown Revitalization and Improvement Volunteer Effort (DRIVE), Entergy, the city of Newport, the Newport Economic Development Commission, Merchants and Planters Bank, the Newport Area Chamber of Commerce and hundreds of local volunteers.
Development of the show was facilitated by the Clinton School of Public Service in Little Rock. Funding for advertising is supplied through the Ozark Gateway Tourist Council. Artists from last year’s show also donated pieces that were auctioned to raise the majority of funding for this year’s show.
For more information, call (870) 523-1009 or visit newportarcity.org, click on calendar, Feb. 25, then follow the link. Information is also available on the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts Facebook page.