Newspaper Page Text
PAGE 6B
BARROW JOURNAL
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2008
Arts integration program continued from page 5B
Conning up in the community
Last chance to fill an empty stocking
He has a unique style. He paints and
does marble and wood carving to make
his frames. The frames and carvings
are such intricate designs that they are
half of the artwork. He uses a lot of S
curves, polka dots, colors, angels, birds
and rabbits.”
“Mr. Roper said that all children
know how to paint as he does until
they’re taught not to,” Locke added.
r Brittany Litke added
^ her thoughts: “Well,
J my favorite artist we
■ studied was Danny
4 the Bucket Man from
■J Tennessee. He melts
I buckets and makes
9 them into all sorts of
faces and animals. He
said he first discovered
how to do bucket art from boredom!”
Students Emmanuel Christie,
Brandan Cowan and Emily Hamilton
found Gayleen Aiken to
be the most intriguing
of the regional folk art
ists they’d researched.
“She not only paint
ed,” Christie said, “but
played the piano, organ,
music box, and even
the bongos and xylo
phone! You might say
she was a little touched in the head.”
The students were fascinated by
Aiken’s cardboard paintings.
“She makes these
‘cousins’ out of card
board, and signs every
one of her paintings
with descriptions of
herself as ‘artist, musi
cian, painter and, espe
cially, camper, because
COWAN she wanted everyone
to know that she’s a
camper,” Cowan said. “Aiken has little
family, and when she was a child, she
was lonely, so she made up these paint
ed cardboard people and cats, which
she calls her cousins. Later, she painted
stories about them.”
“Yes,” Hamilton added. “She dances
with them. They all have names and go
everywhere Gayleen goes. They even
have their own cardboard house, which
is haunted!”
Cowan also enjoyed learning about
metal artist Harold Rittenberg Jr., who
recycles scrap metal into large sculp
tures, benches and lawn art.
“His metal horse looks real.” Cowan
said excitedly, “It’s all welded, so the
art takes a long time and is very hard
work, but Mr. Rittenberg loves it.”
All of the students were impressed by
the drive and passion exhibited by each
HAMILTON AND CLACK
folk artist. Georgia Clack was drawn to
the artwork of Purvis Young.
“He paints on whatever he can
find, and uses lots of squiggly lines
and color,” Clack said. “He’s famous
for painting on metal pieces. “Purvis
Young said he became
an artist from a dream
he had in prison, where
an angel came to him
and told him to paint,”
Alex Hentenaar added.
“He uses symbols like a
man on a horse to repre
sent freedom.” HENTENAAR
“Yes,” Clack agreed.
“He says he paints the problems of the
world, what he sees, to try to make the
world a better place.”
“Purvis Young said that art could kill
you, because once he starts, all he wants
to do is paint,” Christie chimed in.
“I was fascinated by the pictures of
the Quilts of Gee’s Bend, and the sto
ries about the quilters
themselves,” Brianna
Riddick said. “My fam
ily has a long history
of quilting. My grand
mother and aunt still
quilt, but they mostly
do it for fun. The ladies
of Gee’s Bend quilted RIDDICK
to keep their families
warm, working on the quilts after they
came in from working in the fields.
“My grandmother and aunt use
scraps of material they’ve bought or
saved, but the Gee’s Bend quilters just
used whatever they had or could find.
One woman even quilted from old blue
jeans. My aunt takes the scraps of cloth
and sews them into a design and my
grandmother embroiders the quilt. I
couldn’t help but notice that the Gee’s
Bend quilters had to quilt to keep their
families warm, while my grandmother
and aunts can quilt just for the joy of it
and to bring our family joy.”
Riddick’s comment about bring
ing joy to others through art or crafts
sparked a lively discussion of art versus
function, and whether the two can be
combined.
I immediately thought of my father,
weaving Native American designs into
his brick masonry or my own grand
mother taking care with every stitch of
the quilts she made to keep our family
warm.
Hentenaar agreed that art and func
tion could be easily combined: “Ruby
Williams of Plant City, Fla., sold fruit
on the side of the road. She started to
paint signs to advertise, and placed
them up the road from her fruit stand.
People loved them so much that they
stopped to buy fruit and the paint
ings. Most of them aren’t for sale, but
she paints scenes of the farm life she
remembers.
“She does have a really famous paint
ing that she has painted over and over
and sold many times. It’s a painting of
a colorful bird. The painting is called
‘I Sing Because I’m Happy." Her work
is very childlike. It looks like a second
grader’s.”
“Naive Art!” Cowan added. “Most
of these artists didn’t paint until they’d
had a life-changing event, such as
depression, or they started to paint as
they got older. Art seems to come in
childhood and old age, when a person
is free from care and stress.” “Yes, but
most painters, and potters, too, use art
to express their feelings,” Hentenaar
said.
Speaking of feelings, I asked the
students how they felt about the arts
integration process and if they saw any
changes in their lives. “We are having
a great time,” Locke concluded. “Since
we’ve researched and learned about
folk painters. I’ve started to notice the
little things that make fife more special.
The artists all notice and add detail
that most of us might not even realize
is there.”
“I’ve learned to value patience and
coordination more,” Riddick said.
“The artists have to have that to get the
detail. We all hurry so much. I mean,
you think that if you mess up a painting
you can just paint over it and start over,
but some artists may not have the paint.
And, potters can’t fix their mistakes
easily, so they can’t mess up! I’m pay
ing much better attention to what I do.”
“You begin to see things in many
different ways,” Jack Bryant said. “You
begin to see art in different things.”
I thought of clay shards in my father’s
pockets, and the resulting history woven
into brick, and had to agree.
The Arts Dewlopment Council of Georgia
is currently seeking a partnership with The
Woodruff Arts Center, Atlanta, to establish
an arts integration pilot program to increase
reading, science, math and social studies
scores in a small rural school system.
This is the last weekend that local
firefighters will be collecting gifts
for needy local children.
Saturday, firefighters from
Barrow County Fire and Emergency
Services, along with members of
the Barrow County Community
Emergency Response Team, will
accompany Santa and Sparky to two
collection points in the fire depart
ment’s Empty Stocking Toy Drive.
Their first stop will be at from 9-11
a.m. at Holsenbeck Elementary. The
last stop in the 2008 toy drive will
be from 1-3 p.m. at Fire Station No.
5 in the County Line area at 1292
Hwy. 211 NW.
Kids will be able to have their
photos taken with Santa, Sparky and
The public is invited to 106
West’s free annual Christmas show
Saturday night featuring singers
and instrumentalists who will per
form traditional and contemporary
Christmas music.
“Christmas Show 2008” will
begin at 7 p.m. in the 106 West
performance venue at the corner
of Athens and Beulah streets in
Winder. Children 12 and under must
be accompanied by their parents.
Taking part this year for the
first time will be classical pia
nist Svetlana Ischenko; vocalist
Cassandra Gabrell; classical guitarist
the firefighters.
Donors are asked to bring new,
unwrapped toys or gifts for children
through age 18. Toys and monetary
donations also will be accepted at
any Barrow County fire station.
The annual toy drive helps the
children at Peace Place as well
as children served through Barrow
County Holiday Connection. Nearly
800 families have applied for assis
tance for almost 1,800 kids.
“There are a lot of children in
need right here in Barrow County,
and every toy that is donated stays
in Barrow County,” said Lt. Scott
Dakin of the fire department.
For more information, please call
770-307-2987.
Ryan Moore; Native American flute
player Keith Davis; singer Jennifer
Nelson; guitarist Tyler Bramblett;
bassist Chad Clark; young guitarists
Dalton Locke and Kaitlyn Cha.
Returning will be the vocal and
instrumental duo Native Stone -
Keith and Amanda Guy - on guitar
and mandolin; guitarist and singer-
songwriter Gary Scott; singing duo
on guitar Cheyenne and Shauna
Knight; singer Jenna Tollerson;
and guitarist and 106 West Director
Thom Tollerson.
For details, call 770-868-1977 or
visit www.106west.com.
Realtors sponsoring
The Athens Area Association of
REALTORS (AAAR) is holding a
Toy Drive through Tuesday, Dec. 16
to benefit Toys For Tots.
New, unwrapped toys may be
brought to the AAAR office locat
ed at 1720 Meriweather Drive in
Bogart.
Toys for Tots drive
The mission of the U.S.
Marine Corps Reserve Toys for
Tots Program is to collect new,
unwrapped toys during October,
November and December each year.
The U.S. Marines will distribute
toys as Christmas gifts to needy
children in the community.
ACS offering luminaries, ornaments
Luminaries will be placed at the
Town Hall in Braselton New Year’s
Eve in honor of those who have
battled cancer.
Sponsored by the Relay for Life
in Barrow and Jackson Counties,
the event will be held from 5:30 to
6:30 on Dec. 31. Proceeds will ben
efit the American Cancer Society
and Relay for Life teams in Jackson
and Barrow counties.
BARROW ORNAMENTS
Supporters of the Relay for Life
program in Barrow County may
also purchase silver snowflake
ornaments to give as a gift to those
involved in the crusade against can
cer. The ornaments can be per
sonalized in honor or memory of
individuals.
Sponsored by the Relay for Life
program in Barrow County, orna
ments may be purchased for $5 each
or $7 for a personalized version.
Luminaries and ornaments may
be purchased for $5 by contact
ing Victoria Patrick, 1684 Barnett
Shoals Rd., Athens, Ga. 30605.
Free Christmas show ahead Dec. 13
Call us!
Barrow Cab
Company
770-867-5114
Hours of Service:
Mon. - Thurs. • 5 a.m. -12 a.m.
Fri. & Sat. • 5 a.m. - 3 a.m.
Sunday • 6 a.m. -11 p.m.
Enjoy Happy and Safe Holidaysl
258 E. Fifth Ave. • Winder, GA 30680
JSSj-
T^ riday,1)ec ' 19 '
12 Ration
’S'***
71 f gJs>* 50680
Karen Murray
Radiation Oncology
Coordinator
14 years at ARMC
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Make it Athens Regional.
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