As the annual Delta Visual Arts Show continues to grow, so does the participation from artists who live in the Three Rivers Edition coverage area.
Several new local artists will participate in the ninth annual Delta Visual Arts Show, which is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday in various venues throughout downtown Newport. The show, which is promoted by the Blue Bridge Center for the Delta Arts, is free and open to the public.
Charles Gilpin of Searcy is among the first-time participants this year.
Gilpin said he was familiar with the show, as he had accompanied his late wife, Rosalinde, and his grandchildren to the show in the past. Rosalinde died in 2013.
“The arts have always been important in my life,” he said. “I was born in Kokomo, Indiana. My parents showed and encouraged creative expression. My love for art developed at an early age, and I was always creating something. Being a full-time artist has always been my dream. Now that I am retired, I can put all my energy into fulfilling that dream.”
Gilpin’s 22-year military career took him to Germany, where he spent 16 years. He met his wife in Germany.
“We moved back to Arkansas to take care of my parents,” said Gilpin, 67.
“After we moved here, I met a lady who teaches art for adults, and she has really helped me. I started out doing it for fun. I’m still learning,” he said.
“I always painted, even in Germany,” he said. “I’ve sold paintings in Germany and Italy. I still go to Germany at least once a year, and when I go, I take paintings to sell.
“I have quite a following there. I have a following here, too.”
Gilpin said he mainly paints landscapes and cityscapes.
“The cityscapes sell better in Germany, and the landscapes sell better here,” he said.
Gilpin said he looks forward to the Delta Visual Arts Show.
“It’s a really good show. A lot of people go to it. Of course, I hope to sell some paintings, but I’m looking forward to getting people to take a look at my work,” he said.
“To sell a painting is a big deal,” Gilpin said, “but everything has to be just right for someone to buy a painting. The chances of selling a painting may be one in a thousand.
“But think of the number of people that will go by and just look. … That’s what is important. That’s what I’m looking forward to.”
Glenda Brooks, also of Searcy, is another first-time participant in the Delta Visual Arts Show.
Brooks creates mixed-media pieces that feature feathers.
She said she started making her artwork in 2006, three years after her son, Kennley, was killed in a car accident. She used her art to create a ministry she calls Feathers of Comfort & Hope.
“I give these to people who are grieving or people who need hope,” she said. “People also buy these from me. I consider Feathers of Comfort & Hope as my ministry to encourage and share the love and hope that God provided me in the loss of my son. I facilitate a grief group in Searcy called Hope for Grieving Hearts.
“I found feathers during my most sorrowful times. They brought me comfort, gave me courage, strength, peace and hope. I am amazed how a simple feather can renew my spirit and how God can use the simple things to show his love, give strength and guide us through the trials of life when we open our eyes and hearts to him.
“Each picture of Feathers of Comfort & Hope is unique, … as we are all unique, and each of our trials will be different, but the one need we all have in any trial is the need for hope in our lives.”
Brooks said people donate feathers to her. She also gets them from family members who are hunters.
Fifteen-year-old Nathan Gates of Tuckerman will also participate in the Delta Arts Show for the first time. He will show his one-of-a-kind duck calls.
Gates said he has a passion for hunting that has turned into a small business. He said a year and a half ago, after duck hunting, he decided he wanted to learn to make his own duck calls.
“I got a lathe and taught myself how to turn and finish custom duck calls from wood and acrylic,” he said.
“I started my own brand — Nasty Noise Call Company — and have been selling these one-of-a-kind calls at stores from Mountain View to Tuckerman,” he said.
“I’m participating in the Delta Visual Arts show for the first time this year,” said Gates, who attends Tuckerman High School. “The show has really grown, and I want to be a part of promoting this community, the Delta tradition of duck hunting and my hand-turned work. I think this show is a way to let people see what great traditions the Delta has and the great works of art the people from this area create.”
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 covers a broad range of art, including pottery, painting, jewelry and sculpture.
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.
“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 happen 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.”
Other artists from the Three Rivers Edition coverage area scheduled to participate in the Delta Visual Arts Show include the following:
• Beverly Altman, Dustyn Bork, Sabina Burnett, Carly Dahl, Brenda Lawrence, Peggy Ann Meitzen, Leia Parks, Julie Reardon, Kimberly Shetron, the Lyon College Student Art League, Dave and Paul Timko, and Camilla and Robert Wade, all of Batesville;
• Carla Carlton of Beebe; Jaxon Cole of Bald Knob; Clifton Brown of Black Rock; Benoni Bullard, Jeffery Lee Gilmore, Eugene McCall, James L. Pollard and Trenity Roberson, all of Bradford; Janet Foster, Marty Smith, and Zina and Kayla Underwood, all of Cabot; Elizabeth Fern of Cherokee Village; Aline McCracken and Loretta Turner, both of Concord; Doris Sexson of Fairfield Bay; and Maria Smith of Fox;
• Suzanne Fry, Sherri Groves and George Jared, all of Hardy; Jaclyn Holland, Janet Loftis, Tammey Ring and Iana Sinkutch, all of Heber Springs; and Erica Sommer of Horseshoe Bend;
• Delana Epperson and Linda Fergerson, both of Jacksonport; Stacy Cox and Mindy Robinson, both of Jacksonville; Nancy Browning, Susie Johnson and Cheri Wright, all of Judsonia; Shanna Cochran of Mammoth Spring; and Liz Lloyd of Mountain View;
• Judy Tubbs of Newark; and Heather Brannon, Sharla Chalfant, Haley Chambliss, Julie Davenport, Katie Lewis, Madeline Lewis, Charley McClendon, Nicole Reid, Jessica Scoggins, Donald E. Smith Jr., Barbara Smock, Debra Thompson, Elizabeth Watson, Haley Watson, Sandy Wheaton and Ginger Willis, all of Newport; and
• Teresa Sanders of Pleasant Plains; Haley Proctor of Quitman; Carla Quataert and Michael Quataert, both of Salem; Brian Hickey, Sadie H. Jones, Donna Malone, Janelle L. Selvidge, and Rick and Kelly VanHook, all of Searcy; Trish Corer, Dewana McIntosh and Jacob McIntosh, all of Smithville; Whitney Haigwood and Anita Hodge, both of Tuckerman; Tyler Emery of Walnut Ridge; and Linda Gonzales of Williford.
Among the local authors scheduled to participate are K.S. Haigwood, Lisa Huffman, Corinna Montgomery and Mark Rorie, all of Batesville; Christine Lynxwiler of Highland; Donna Nelson of Kensett; Joyce M. Price, Latasha Robinson, Debbie Teague and Elizabeth Watson, all of Newport; and Sadie Jones of Searcy.
Among the local musicians scheduled to perform are Revolution of Batesville, Nancy Browning of Judsonia, Dave Smith of Fox, Andy May and Sweet Medley, both of Newport, and Reverb Sugar of Hardy.
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.