LITTLE ROCK — Works by three artists from the Three Rivers Edition coverage area have been selected for the Small Works on Paper annual touring exhibit sponsored by the Arkansas Arts Council.
Dustyn Bork of Batesville, Lynn Reinbolt of Searcy and Charlotte Bailey Rierson of Fairfield Bay are among the 36 artists selected for the 2017 Small Works on Paper touring exhibition, which opened Jan. 3 at East Arkansas Community College in Forrest City and continues there until Jan. 27.
Now in its 30th year, Small Works on Paper is a juried visual art exhibition that showcases artwork no larger than 18-by-24 inches by Arkansas artists who are members of the Arkansas Artist Registry (www.arkansasarts.org/Programs/Arkansas-Artist-Registry/artist-registry-list), an online gallery showcasing the artwork of Arkansas artists.
Each of the three local artists has had work chosen for the annual SWOP exhibit in previous years.
“This is the second time that I have been selected for the Small Works on Paper,” said Bork, who is an associate professor of art at Lyon College. “It is an honor to be included in this great showcase highlighting the breadth and depth of Arkansas art.
“I appreciate all that the Arkansas Arts Council does to promote and support the arts in the state. This exhibition is a great example of the Arts Council creating a venue to connect artists and audiences in Arkansas. To me the SWOP is a celebration of the variety of artists and styles that are present in our rich and diverse arts community in Arkansas.”
Bork said his piece that was selected for the exhibition comes from a series that he began this past summer while an artist in residence at Wilson College in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania.
“I was particularly appreciative to have this work recognized, as it is a new direction in my work. It is a minimal piece with subtle color variation abstractly exploring space and depth,” he said.
“One thing artists do not discuss much is their failures,” Bork said. “There are many missteps, mistakes and experiments in the studio that do not pan out or produce the results you were seeking. This series was a chance for me to play and explore and try new things that, in the end, produced some exciting new results with the techniques and processes in paint. For me to have this new work recognized in this way by being juried into this show is extremely constructive and builds momentum entering a new year of art-making.
“Another aspect of being a professional artist that doesn’t always get discussed is the amount of rejection we do face. I try to aim the bar high, and as an example, the last year I was included in the SWOP was 2014. That particular year I applied to about 15 similar opportunities and was selected for just over half. This past year, I applied for about the same amount and was selected for about one third. This is the reality of being a practicing artist: You roll with the rejection and embrace the successes to build momentum to keep you going.”
Bork, who is originally from Monroe, Michigan, earned a Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from Indiana University at Bloomington and a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.
His recent solo and two-person exhibitions include the Tinnin Fine Arts Center in Poplar Bluff, Missouri; Arkansas State University in Jonesboro; and Henderson State University in Arkadelphia. This year, he received the Arkansas Arts Council Fellowship in Visual Arts for painting.
Bork has served on the board of directors for Number: Inc., an independent journal of the visual arts of the South based in Memphis, and the Batesville Area Arts Council. He currently serves on the board of directors for the Ozark Foothills Film Festival.
His artwork can be viewed online at www.dustynbork.com.
Reinbolt, who was born and raised in Chicago, said this is the second time he has been chosen to participate in the Small Works on Paper touring exhibition.
“Anytime a piece of work is chosen for an exhibition as prestigious as the Small Works on Paper, it is a humbling experience. … To have a juror tell you that your work is at the same level as your fellow artists is a special honor,” he said. “I am deeply grateful to the Arkansas Arts Council for the effort and work they put forward to provide local artists a showcase for their works. The exhibition is always of the highest quality, with the highest degree of professionalism.
“Small Works on Paper is special in that the jurors selected have an open mind to all works of art, as evidenced by the vast display of artistic mediums that are on display within the show.”
Reinbolt said the title of his digital photograph that was selected for this year’s show is Dead Tree in Fog.
“I enjoy capturing images in different types of light,” he said. “When doing this in foggy, misty or hazy conditions, the images, although captured in color, will appear as black and white. I find this provides darker, richer tones and a more eerie feeling.”
Reinbolt said that when he was a child, his mother gave him an autographed book of photography by Ansel Adams.
“I immediately fell in love with landscape photography. I have been hooked ever since,” Reinbolt said.
“Residing in Arkansas allows me to capture images of small mountains, rolling hills, plains and the Delta. Within these landscapes, there are steep canyons and hollows, white-water streams, bayous, lakes, swamps, caves, flowers, trees, old structures and bridges, along with my favorite subject, waterfalls. All of this is within a two-hour drive of my home,” he said.
“When not capturing images in The Natural State, I focus my photography on the American Midwest, an area diverse with natural beauty and four distinct seasons. My hobbies include hiking, biking and gardening, which provide me ample opportunities to follow my passion,” Reinbolt said.
“As the subject matter dictates, I will use several different types of cameras and lenses. I focus on the art of photography rather than its technical aspects,” he said.
“A social and financial conservative, I am a radical environmentalist who believes that this planet, this Garden of Eden, was provided to us by God to care for and preserve, not destroy,” he said. “My life’s work has been dedicated to efficient recycling and environmental preservation.
“Daily, I thank the Lord for providing such a wonderful environment that allows me to capture images of his creation.”
More of Reinbolt’s work can be seen online at lynnreinboltphotos.smugmug.com.
Rierson said this is the fifth time her work has been selected for the Small Works on Paper exhibit.
“One year, I won a purchase award for my painting Celebration,” she said, adding that the painting is in the Arts Council’s permanent collection.
“It was such an honor to get accepted into the exhibit this year,” Rierson said. “I am competing with outstanding artists in all mediums on paper. We never know what paintings will be chosen. As most of us know, art is in the eye of the beholder.”
Rierson said the painting that was chosen for this year’s SWOP exhibit is one of three paintings from her Dream Series, titled Panic (Fear).
“I have recurring dreams that I am lost or running from something, which is frightening to me,” she said. “I painted this of myself with passion, using loose, evocative brushwork techniques.
“I wanted the viewers to feel the emotion of my fear and panic.”
A graduate of the University of Central Arkansas with a Bachelor of Science in Education degree in art, Rierson is a signature artist and a past president of the Mid-Southern Watercolorists, as well as a signature artist of the Arkansas League of Artists. She is also president of the North Central Arkansas League of Artists. In the early 1990s, she established the North Central Arkansas Art Gallery at Fairfield Bay and is now the gallery coordinator and a contributing artist.
Rierson said 2016 was “an exciting and rewarding year” for her. She was juried into the Arkansas League of Artists’ fall exhibit in Little Rock and won first place in the abstract category of the Conway League of Artists’ spring show in Conway. Her paintings were chosen to be included in an online registry sponsored by the Arkansas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts. She also had a one-woman exhibit at First Security Bank in Clinton, and her paintings were shown at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre in Little Rock during its production of The Bridges of Madison County.
The entries for the 2017 Small Works on Paper traveling exhibit were juried by David Houston, executive director of The Bo Bartlett Center at Columbus State University’s College of the Arts in Columbus, Georgia.
The remainder of the 2017 Small Works on Paper touring schedule includes the following:
• Feb. 1-24: The Alma Performing Arts Center, 103 E. Main St. in Alma; call (479) 632-2129 for more information.
• March 6-27: Northwest Arkansas Community College, 1 College Drive in Bentonville; call (479) 636-9222
• April 5-28: The William F. Laman Public Library, 2801 Orange St. in North Little Rock; call (501) 758-1720.
• May 3-29: Phillips Community College of the University of Arkansas, 1000 Campus Road in Helena; call (870) 338-6474.
• June 3 through July 11: The Arts Council of Mississippi County, 306 W. Main St. in Blytheville; call (870) 762-1744.
• July 20 through Aug. 26: The Arts and Science Center for Southeast Arkansas, 701 Main St. in Pine Bluff; call (870) 536-3375.
• Sept. 4-29: Southern Arkansas University, 100 E. University St. in Magnolia; call (870) 235-4000.
• Oct. 5-26: Ouachita Baptist University, 410 Ouachita St. in Arkadelphia; call (870) 245-5000.
• Nov. 6-24: Southern Arkansas University Tech, 6415 Spellman Road in East Camden; call (870) 574-4500.
For more information on Small Works on Paper, visit www.arkansasarts.org or call (501) 324-9767.