More Diamonds in the Rough

Yes, it was all smiles at the opening reception of POAC's Diamonds in the Rough exhibit last Friday. That's me with the chair of the visual arts committee, Connie Taylor. We had a great crowd, and artists & patrons alike enjoyed talking about the art and its "found object/recycled object" theme. And now as promised, here is more art from the show.

I admit, I have a thing for Ruth Hargreaves work. I was puzzled about the found object part of it. All that design is actually things like packing tape, old jeans, tissue paper, covered with a thick layer of gesso and then topped with acrylic washes.

She also did this necklace and earrings set - made from tin cans.

Several artists used cardboard as the base for their paintings. These are by Tom Kramer.

And this grouping, with the painted cardboard piece on the left, is by Steven Scroggins.

Here's a close-up of Goldwater seen on the right - branches and twigs adhered to board and over-painted.

We have several artists who work with encaustics. Sally Parks Ramses on the left is encaustic while her piece on the left is mixed media - various sizes of stones make up the design.

Sheryl Garrison also does encaustics. She really wowed me with these that used driftwood as a base.

Details of her Pond Series. Gold flecks embedded in the wax makes these sparkle. Not sure how she did the turtle and the dragonflies.

Maudelle Carlson usually works in watercolors. She really stretched herself with this piece, made from plastic packing material rescued from a dumpster and painted once applied to a board that was also a recycled find.

Here's more jewelry, this time by Mary Gayle Young. She has recycled conduit, copper and a Maxwell House coffee tin to make it.

I was surprised and delighted that Lorna Lent-Sommers did not want her altered book and Pandora's box in a covered case, but wanted the public to touch them and look through them.

Randy Wilhelm teaches art at one of the local schools. I think he had lots of fun putting his work together.  There are toy soldiers glued around the frame of the Teddy Bear on the right.

Liz Adkinson is one of our new artists and this is her first exhibit with us. "Where I Find Peace" is acrylic on an old board.

This recycled glass piece is by Susan Dalby. 

Finally, this glass mosaic is by our executive director, Kim Queen. It is being raffled off to support our local Racing for Autism team.

Clicking on any picture should take you to a larger version. But as always, the best way to view art is in person - exhibit runs through June 15th.