New Art Exhibit

The current art exhibit at the George A. Gray Gallery in the Meadowbrook Center features local artist Diane Relf and is titled “It’s All About Rust.” The show will continue through July 31, with an artist reception from 3:00 to 4:30 pm in the Gallery on Sunday, July 25, that is open to the public. The exhibit is sponsored by the EastMont Arts Association in affiliation with the state-wide art initiative “MINDS WIDE OPEN: Virginia Celebrates Women in the Arts.”

Diane Relf's Artist Statement:

Art is a means of making personal sense of my environment and expressing this sense in a tangible fashion. The medium for expression that fits best for me is Altered Art or Assemblages, which takes the physical elements that surround me and, by combining them into completely new and unexpected partnerships, produces new insights. Or at the very least produces a smile or a chuckle for the viewer!!

My art is about finding discarded objects and manipulating them to explore their potential; then combining these new objects into statements of appreciation of the mundane. It questions the validity of a throwaway society, the value of always needing new, and the perfection of machinery precision. It celebrates the daily detritus that has lost its meaning and gives it a new opportunity to open eyes and minds.

The Art of Quilts

The exhibit "The Art of Quilts" is now available in the George A. Gray Gallery in the Meadowbrook Center through March 31. This exhibit is co-sponsored by the EastMont Arts Association and the Meadowbrook Quilters.

In recent years quilts have enjoyed the status of being a true art form and we are fortunate to have a group of quilters in our community who are willing to display their art. Please join the quilt artists on Sunday, March 7, from 3 pm to 5 pm in the George A. Gray Gallery.

Spotlight on: JON BEARD

Please tell us about your art.
I work at a few disciplines including wood turning and digital arts, but my favorite by far is photography. I enjoy shooting nature and the macro world.


What inspires you as an artist?
One of the things I enjoy about photography is the opportunity to study a moment in time as a reality, rather than as we remember it. A memory is a small sample of details our brain considered important enough to store. When we recall that memory, the missing information is filled in to create a whole, often wildly inaccurate, representation of what occurred.

When we freeze that moment in time we are able to study the detail that would have otherwise been missed. As we are exposed to and become familiar with reality at this level we become able to remember (and make predictions) more accurately. In this way the photograph finds itself to be one of the most effective ways of causing our perception and reality to become one in the same.

How does your community (could be Elliston or Shawsville or the broader eastern Montgomery County or New River Valley) inform your art?
This area offers a wide variety of shooting opportunities. You don’t have to travel far to find a vastly different landscape.

Please recommend something to us: a good book, music, a recipe, another artist...
Trey Ratcliff – HDR Photographer – StuckInCustoms.com

What role does the EastMont Arts Association play in your life?
The EAA gives me an opportunity to meet with and learn from other
artists in the area. The internet has made it easy to interact with
artists around the world, but there’s still a lot to be said about
working together in person.

Include links to your Website and a photo or two of your artwork if available.
JonBeard.com
WestRiverPens.com

Spotlight on: LINDA BOSTIC SMITH

Please tell us about your art.

I would describe my art as Applachian/ Western, which is alittle wild but I am a true Applachian art person, dyed in the wool mountain woman however, by the freaky events in June 1989, I was thrown into a whole different world. When Lois Hinkle, principal of Elliston-Lafayette Elementary School, invited Robert Duvall to the school to pick up his portrait. As a volunteer, I had been working with the 5th graders on art and a likeness of him as "Gus" in the mini-series of "Lonesome Dove". So he rode down from his home in northern Va. and spent the entire day with the kids and received his portrait. I had made prints and with this 15 min. of fame through my web-site that my son had made, www.lindasartstudio.com , I was mailing prints all over the U.S.

What inspires you as an artist?

Many things inspire me as an artist. Just the simple request of an idea for an event. I was emotionally inspired by the events of the tragic day of April 16. I am inspired by the upcoming happy event of a B'day party. I am happy that other people are happy and sad when other people are sad, even if I don't know that person or persons very well.

Why are the arts important to a community?

I think it is part of the spirit of the community when art is present. It encourages the budding artist and validates the accomplished artist.

What role does the EastMont Arts Association play in your life?

I feel like it is the most exciting thing that has happened to me in years. Like it is an opportunitiy to explore my art in a new and adventurous land or time. I don't feel isolated now after meeting all the people from the EastMont Arts Association. I have found these lovely people understand where I am coming from and yet they have been there all along. I was hit hard by the downturn in the economy so all the time spent with the folks at the Meadowbrook is awakening.

Please recommend something to us: a good book, music, a recipe, another artist...

I have a glutten allergy so one of the exciting recipes that I have discovered is Creamy Pavlova named and created for the ballerina Anna Pavlova. It is heavenly!