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Ruffin Hobbs
The Chair That Walked In by Roger Person
Roger Person will never forget the day in 1990, when he was standing on a ladder cutting a limb from a large tree. The branch released, knocking him from the ladder resulting in a crippling spinal cord injury. In that instant, this physically active engineer and adventurer was fated to life in a wheel chair. That instant also was the beginning of the career of an important artist (http://persontopersonart.com).
Lunch with My Penguin by Roger Person
Roger Person considers himself a mixed media artist whose work often reflects his off-beat sense of humor. “I try to incorporate different materials in each piece that I create,” he explains. “I enjoy the challenge of designing large metal sculptures that are simple to build with standard materials and are visually different from the materials I use. For 25 years he worked in the engineering and construction business, and at one point, he ran a company specializing in building domestic elevators. Along the way, Person picked up a substantial knowledge of many materials and processes.
Over the years, Person lived a very physically active life. He was a horseback rider, skier, tennis player, sailor, golfer and runner. But, that all changed that day on the ladder.
As Person recovered, he began to work with stained glass, as his artist wife Linda was working on stained glass projects at the time. To satisfy his curiosity, Roger started incorporating ceramic sculpture into his glass projects which produced unusual glass pieces. Working from a wheelchair presented special challenges for an emerging artist. “I actually enjoyed figuring out how to accomplish complex fabrications from my wheelchair,” he remembers. “I wanted to turn large wooden bowls, so I designed a special lathe that accommodated working from a wheelchair.” No matter what art project he undertook, he did it with great enthusiasm. “We are only limited by our desires,” Person stresses. As time went by, Person developed a network of skilled crafts people who fabricated the elements of his large assemblages, always working according to his designs and engineering specs.
Two Wolves by Roger Person
Forrest Greenslade, President of the Chatham Artists Guild, comments: “When you look at a painting, sculpture or print by Roger Person, you can’t help but be impressed by the humor expressed in every piece. Person explains that, “When I was in the hospital, I had to find a way to make things lighter for myself. I met a lot of disabled people there, and I wanted them to know that you can have a really fun life.” Person began working with Very Special Arts (VSA), an international, nonprofit organization founded by Ambassador Jean Kennedy Smith to create a society where all people with disabilities learn through, participate in and enjoy the arts. “I especially like working with kids,” he says. Ambassador Smith was given one of his carved glass vases for her work by VSA Wisconsin.
Another hallmark of Person’s art is vibrant color, influenced by Native American themes. “I had a winter home in Tucson, Arizona, where I studied the work of Native American artists. I began incorporating their themes and colors into glass work, and it evolved into much of my sculpture, paintings and prints,” he explains.
The art that tells Roger Person’s story will be featured at the 16^th Chatham Studio Tour December 6 and 7; 13 & 14. Person now lives and creates in Chatham’s Siler City. His work is displayed at his studio and gallery, Person to Person Art, at wife Linda’s gallery The Other Person, and at the sculpture garden at their home.
A Handful by Roger Person
The stories of more than 50 artists will be told through their art in their own studios scattered throughout scenic Chatham. Visitors to */TheTour/* are guided by a Tour Map and Brochure available at restaurants and shops through the Triangle area, and on the Guild’s website at: www.chathamartistsguild.org. Specifically, brochures will be available at:
-North Carolina Museum of Art in the Raleigh Visitor Information Station located behind the Information Desk;
-DurhamArts in Durham;
-Aria Spa at Chatham Crossing in Chapel Hill;
-The ArtsCenter in Carrboro;
-The General Store Café in Pittsboro,
-Alamance County Arts Council in Graham.
Tour visitors will enjoy discussing art, the artists’ personal stories, and the process of creating unique art in the artists’ own environments..
Art-lovers can see a sample of each artist’s work at a _free_ public Opening Show at Carolina Central Community College (CCCC) in Pittsboro on Friday December 6th from 7 to 9PM. The highlight of the program will be the judging of the Show by nationally renowned painter Jane Filer.
Each artist’s work will also be on view from November 17-December 15 at The ArtCenter in Carrboro.
Chatham County Line's
November issue features
Chatham County Studio Tour
16th Chatham Studio Tour ready to dazzle
Art in the Heart of North Carolina
Chatham & Orange County Studio Tours - a holiday tradition in Central North Carolina
by Forrest C. Greenslade
“Sharon’s mother plans her yearly visit from Ohio to North Carolina to coincide with the Chatham Studio Tour” says Carol Hewitt, wife and Business Partner of renowned potter Mark Hewitt. She is describing one of the many art buyers that frequent the annual Open Studio Tours held the first two weekends of November and December.
The Chatham and Orange County Studio Tours are now a holiday tradition all over our region. Each year, more than 100 regionally and nationally known artists open their personal studios for visitors to experience the creative process, and purchase original works of art.
Click below for more . . .
Force of Nature
at the Carolina Brewery, PIttsboro
featuring Guild artists
Juan Pons & Forrest Greenslade
Show: October through November 2008
Artist reception: Sunday, November 1, 2008, from 4 to 6 PM.
Carolina Brewery, located on Route 15/501 just North of Pittsboro
When Juan Pons and Forrest Greenslade met only a few years ago, they realized that they had much in common. They both had technical backgrounds. They both were involved with the Chatham Artists Guild – Pons now serves as Vice President and Greenslade as President. Most important, they share a love of nature. They express that love with very different visions at the Carolina Brewery in October and November in a new Carolina Brewery and Grill Show, Force of Nature. Pons’ nature photography presents a life-like glimpse of the natural world he has loved and studied for years. Greenslade expresses a somewhat off beat perspective through his sculpture and acrylic paintings of animals and mythical creatures based on nature. Art- and nature-lovers alike can meet these artist friends at a reception at the Chatham Carolina Brewery on Route 15/501 just North of Pittsboro on Sunday, November 1st from 4 to 6 PM.
Warbler, phototgraphed by Juan Pons
Juan A. Pons was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the age of sixteen, Juan began attending high school at Chapel Hill-Chauncey Hall in Waltham, Massachusetts. “The school had an excellent photography program lead by an inspiring teacher, Alice Solorow,” Pons recalls “and it was here that my interest in photography began. Upon graduating from high school, Juan attended Clark University where he continued to pursue his interests in photography and gained experience working with the media. Following his four years in college, Juan's photography pursuits yielded to his professional career demands and he has pursued a very successful career as a computer engineer. After several years, Juan picked up photography with renewed vigor focusing on nature and wildlife. “I converted to digital equipment due to the tremendous advantages digital technology offers. Digital photography allows me to have the same control over images that I once had when I developed and printed my own black and white images,” Pons explains. While Juan now uses digital technology exclusively, his images are unaltered and present subjects as they appear in nature. Juan never ceases to be amazed by the natural subjects he photographs and hopes that sharing his photographs will inspire others to appreciate and respect natural life.
Click here to visit Juan's web site, www.wildnaturephoto.com
Forrest C Greenslade, PhD., views himself as a change artist.
“I have reinvented myself several times over the years.” he quips. In high school and college, he played jazz and rock guitar.
Educated as a molecular biologist, Dr. Greenslade conducted basic and clinical research at the Atomic Energy Commission and in the pharmaceutical industry. He then transformed himself into a manager and executive, holding leadership positions in both commercial and non-profit organizations. Most recently, he served as President of an international women’s health organization. Greenslade then evolved into a writer and speaker. He captured his experiences in his book, The Simple-Minded Manager: Cutting Through Your work-Life Chaos.
Benu's Promise, metal sculpture by Forrest Greenslade
Greenslade says, “In my dotage, I underwent yet another metamorphosis.” He became an artist. Forrest creates whimsical sculptures, primarily in metal and concrete, and acrylic paintings which he calls Forrest DwellersSM. “I am fascinated with surfaces,” he says. His sculptures employ unusual surface treatments, and his paintings are nearly sculptural. Greenslade’s work is stylized, to the point of being almost cartoon like. There is a naïve, even child like, quality his sculptures and paintings. “After a long life working on serious issues, it is refreshing to let the little boy out,” Greenslade smiles.
Click here to visit Forrest's web site,
www.forrestgreenslade.com
Click here to read a review in the Chatham County Line about this exhibit:
The recent firing of the new kiln at the W. M. Hewitt Pottery in Pittsboro, NC, has just been unloaded, and the pots have turned out wonderfully!
Each firing of this huge wood-fired kiln holds over 1500 pots and challenges master potter, Mark Hewitt, with big risks and exciting aesthetic opportunities. For this firing he made three massive “Obelisks,” 62 inches tall and 250 lbs., and two similarly-sized massive lidded storage jars, “bigger than anything I’ve ever made,” says Hewitt, and they’ve turned out spectacularly! He and his two apprentices have also experimented with some ruddy pink and soft blue glazes, along with dark alkaline greens, and pale celadons, so there is a new range of colors.
“I’m particularly happy with the large teapots and tall, elegant, “Art Deco” vases”, adds Hewitt, who has also made a several dozen lovely iced tea tumblers, smaller lidded jars, tall pitchers, cereal bowls, dinner plates, and nearly 100 mugs. All the pots in this firing are stamped with an “E”, identifying the fifth firing of the new kiln, along with each maker’s mark. Hewitt’s sales are always popular events, so the pottery will be open for two weekends this year to accommodate people’s summer travel plans, the weekend before Labor Day, and Labor Day weekend itself.
Mark Hewitt, master potter and author, is one of the featured artists of the Chatham Studio Tour. Born in Stoke-on-Trent, England, Mark is the son and grandson of directors of Spode, the fine china manufacturers. “As a student at Bristol University in the early 1970's, I read Bernard Leach's "A Potter's Book," and decided to become a studio potter rather than an industrial manager,” says Hewitt. This decision led to a three-year apprenticeship with Michael Cardew, and later another with Todd Piker in Connecticut, where Mark met his wife, Carol.
“In 1983, we moved to Pittsboro NC to set up our pottery”, Mark notes. Mark built a very large wood kiln and began making the distinctive functional pots for which he is known, specializing in very large planters and jars, along with finely made smaller items. He uses local clays and blends the different North Carolinian folk traditions together into a contemporary style that has attracted a sizeable following. He has recently made and fired two huge “Obelisks”, measuring 62” in height and weighing about 250 pounds.
His work has been featured in the Smithsonian magazine and on the cover of American Craft magazine, he has written extensively in the ceramic press, and he has exhibited in London, New York and Tokyo, as well as throughout the US. He is well-represented in museum and private collections.
In 2006 Hewitt co-curated a major exhibition with Nancy Sweezy entitled "The Potter’s Eye: Art and Tradition in North Carolina Pottery," at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC. The exhibition juxtaposed traditional pottery from around the world with the work of six contemporary potters and ran from October 30, 2005 – March 19, 2006. UNC Press published an exquisitely illustrated catalogue/book by Hewitt and Sweezy of the same title.
Mark's work was featured in the PBS series, "Craft in America," and in the accompanying book and travelling exhibition. The show was aired nationally in May 2007.
Also, customers are welcome to visit the pottery between kiln openings by appointment. There is always a nice selection of pots available. Just call or email: mark@hewittpottery.com or 919-542-2371 to arrange a time to visit.
Directions are at www.hewittpottery.com/directions.html.
Something Borrowed, Something New
at the Carolina Brewery
Tree of Life, a metal sculpture by Tamera Mulanix
Tamera Mulanix and Rita Spina know a thing or two about recycling --with a twist. They transform cast off objects into objects of art.
Mulanix says, “There’s nothing I enjoy more than taking a rusty piece of scrap metal and turning into something beautiful. Spina adds, “I find most of the materials in scrap yards, walks in the woods, rural roads and often on my front deck, as people who know my work pass "junque"along.”
Along with the comforting food and award-winning beers served up at Pittsboro’s Carolina Brewery, folks will be treated to an exhibit of“Reborn Beauty” in August and September. You can meet these unique artists at a free brew and bar snacks reception from 4 to 6 PM on Sunday, September 14th at the Brewery on Highway 15/501.
Tamera Mulanix grew up in Grand Blanc, Michigan, the youngest of three girls.
“Our personalities span the spectrum and I ended up as the tomboy. I come from a family of welders. My grandfather, my uncle and my cousins are all welders, and the process has fascinated me as long as I can remember.” she remembers.
She studied welding and blacksmithing atCarolina Central Community College, and continues learning on her own. She feels. “It is so fulfilling to finally take my vision and make itcome to life.”
“Tamera has the ability to give old and new industrial materials an almost spiritual quality,” notes Forrest Greenslade, President of the Chatham Artists Guild, the organization that produces the art shows at the Pittsboro Brewery. “I try to pull inspiration from the Source of our Oneness when I am in the process of creating and try to breathe that energy into each of my pieces,” stresses Mulanix.”If I can make something that moves someone to feel a small sense of peace, or brings a bit of joy to their heart, then my life as an artist is a life well spent.”
MountainScape, a multimedia assemblage by Rita Spina
Rita Spina, in her previous career as a Psychologist, put "people and ideas" together. Now, as an artist she puts "materials and ideas" together. “Life’s cycles, the power of nature and her changes, the tension between natural form and emerging technologies, the remnants of progress and the coexistence of variables are an endless table from which to choose for my work - nothing ever remains the same,’ she explains. “The materials often stimulate the origins of what I do.”
Spina’s work symbolically combines organic and man-made materials, to make a statement about what is happening around us. Although somewhat abstract, natural forms are often obvious to the observer. She has been part of the Guild’s Studio Tour since its inception 16 years ago, and has had several one person shows, as far away as Montana.
The Chatham Artists Guild is a non-profit organization of regionally and nationally recognized visual artists.Each year, Guild members open their studios to the public through the Chatham Open Studio Tour. Visitors travel throughout lovely rural Chatham County to meet artists in their own work spaces, and share their ideas on art and the creative process.
Carolina Brewery a locally-owned brewery and restaurant, has drawn international attention for its handcrafted beers and traditional bar fare in its Chapel Hill and new Pittsboro locations.
