Pastel Prisms & Reflections of Beauty: Works from the Pastel Society of North Carolina
November 6, 2009

STATESVILLE —Pastel Prisms & Reflections of Beauty, featuring works from the Pastel Society of North Carolina, will be on exhibit at the Court Street Gallery, 134 Court Street, in downtown Statesville from November 13-December 18.  The opening reception for the artists will be held Friday, November 13 from 6-8 pm. The Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10-5 or by appointment.  Suggested admission is $3.00.
    The original Pastel Society of Orange County was formed in 1993 by Lorie Callahan and twelve of her students at the Arts Center of Carrboro to encourage the use of the soft pastel medium as well as to promote standards of excellence. The Society’s first exhibition was held at the Carrboro Town Hall in 1995 and was followed by a second exhibit at the Chapel Hill Museum in 1999.
    In 2000, the Pastel Society’s name changed to the Pastel Society of North Carolina. Since 1996, the society has shared their creations with communities throughout North Carolina. The Iredell Museums exhibit will feature works by 24 members and will mark the first time that the group has exhibited in the Statesville region.
    For more information on the Pastel Society of North Carolina or to view member’s works, please visit: www.pastelsocietyofnc.com

Vibrant NC Landscapes & Imaginative Collages of Betty Powell
September 8, 2009

STATESVILLE—Iredell Museums will present the pastels and collages of Betty Powell of Wilkesboro, NC. The exhibit will be held at the Court Street Gallery, 134 Court Street, in downtown Statesville from September 18 through October 30, 2009.  The opening reception for the artist will be held in conjunction with the Downtown Statesville ART CRAWL on Friday, September 18, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.  The reception is open to the public, free of charge.  The Gallery is open to the public free of charge Tuesday through Friday from 10:00am to 5:00pm or by appointment. 
   Betty Powell has dedicated the last 25 years to making and teaching art.  Inspired by the North Carolina landscape, Powell utilizes the vibrant, rich, pure color of pastels to express what she calls, “poetic elements of atmosphere, knowledge, feeling, and inspiration.”  A lifelong learner, she is fascinated by the world around her and believes that, “as you go out into the landscape and not only look, but also listen with your heart as well as with your ears, the landscape will speak to you.  The importance of the landscape is its grandeur and power.”
   In contrast to her pastels that evoke the essence of the landscape around her, Powell’s collages are influenced by her imagination and intuition.  Combining paint with printed fabric, paper, and yarn as well as other found items, Powell’s collages employ the same bold use of color to create a magical world filled with mystery and prove that her imagination is just as powerful as the landscape that surrounds her.
    Betty Powell received a Bachelor of Science in Art Education from Appalachian State University.  After working as a visual art educator in Wilkes County Schools for many years, Powell focused her attention on creating artwork, pursuing a Masters of Art degree, and studying with many well-known pastelists including Wolf Kahn and Charles Basham.  She is currently represented by Hawthorne Gallery in Winston-Salem, NC, and Pura Vida Gallery in Asheville, NC.  An active member of the all women composed art group, Art Mix, Powell has received numerous awards throughout the years including Best in Show and 1st Place in Paintings at the Wilkes Art Gallery’s Northwest Artist’s League Juried Competition.  Powell’s pastels, paintings, and mixed media collages are included in private and public collections across the South including, Wachovia Bank, Bank of America, Wilkes Regional Medical Center and Yadkin Valley Bank.

Book Signing with Former "Revenuer" ATF Agent Bob Powell
September 8, 2009

STATESVILLE —Iredell Museums will host a book signing with George Robert (Bob) Powell, Sr., author of Moonshiners, Fast Cars and Revenuers: Moments from My  Life in Law Enforcement.  The book signing will be held at the Court Street Gallery, 134 Court Street, in conjunction with the Downtown Statesville ART CRAWL and the opening reception of an exhibit of the work of Powell’s wife Betty, on Friday, September 18, from 5:30pm to 8:30pm.

On a moonless night, the shadowy shores of the upper Northeast Cape Fear and Waccamaw rivers and the coastal wetlands can be dark as indigo.  The deep valleys and mysterious ravines in the Appalachian foothills can be dark, too.  People who hide their homemade distilleries tend to like dark, remote, deeply hidden places.  People who look for them learn to feel their way, to listen for sounds, and to read signs and minds.  The amount of patience and deductive discernment it takes to catch an illicit whiskey maker is unnatural.  Yet for years this was a major running cat and mouse game in many places in America, including these obscure corners of North Carolina.

   So begins Moonshiners, Fast Cars and Revenuers, the fascinating account of the exploits of former “revenuer” ATF agent Bob Powell and his work in the last decades of North Carolina’s burgeoning moonshine business.  From the mountains to the coast, the book contains stories that are humorous and offer insight into the days when revenuers and moonshiners engaged in the serious business of “being the hunter and the hunted.” 
   Bob Powell, 79, worked in law enforcement for over twenty-six years and self-published Moonshiners, Fast Cars and Revenuers in 2008.  He lives in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with his wife Betty, a professional artist.

RISE—Paintings & Sculptures of Ben Wesemann
May 26, 2009

STATESVILLE—Motivated by his spirituality, Ben Wesemann of Boone, NC explores life pathways through RISE—Paintings and Sculptures of Ben Wesemann.
   The exhibit will be on display at the Court Street Gallery, 134 Court Street, in downtown Statesville from May 29-June 26. An opening reception for the artist will be held Friday, May 29, from 6-8 pm. The Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Friday from 10-5, or by appointment, and admission is free of charge.
   Wesemann's two and three dimensional works serve as visual journeys that investigate relationships between color and form. This exhibit marks the first time that Wesemann’s body of work will be assembled in a one-person show.
    Born in St. Louis, MO, Wesemann won the Lutheran High School South (St. Louis) Outstanding Student Art Award in 2005 and received his BFA in painting and sculpture from Appalachian State University in 2009. He exhibited selected works in the 2006, 2007 and 2008 Art Expo Competitions at Appalachian State University; winning first place in the drawing category his freshman year and winning student pick for Best Painting and the Plemmons Student Union Purchase Award in 2008. He has also been commissioned to do a number of portraits. Wesemann plans to pursue an MFA in sculpture.

Art in Bloom to Feature Renowned Raleigh Designer
February 8, 2009

STATESVILLE—Iredell Museums will hold it’s annual Art in Bloom spring fundraising event on Thursday, April 2, 2009, from 9:00am until 1:00pm at the Statesville Civic Center, 300 North Center Street, Statesville, NC.
    In 1994, the late Amy Steele, a tireless volunteer and passionate advocate of the arts, conceived of an event to raise funds for the former Iredell Museum of Arts and Heritage. Fifteen years later, the idea has grown into not only the premier fundraising event for the merged Iredell Museums, but also a much-anticipated annual program called Art in Bloom.  In its 15th year, the event is built around a knowledgeable and entertaining guest speaker with expertise in floral design and arrangement, but also includes a gourmet-to-go bake sale and a boutique gift sale, as well as a live auction of flowers arranged in vintage and local artisan vessels.
    The featured speaker of Art in Bloom 2009 will be Cydney Davis-English of The English Garden, Raleigh, NC. Floral designer Cydney Davis-English is no stranger to the florist industry having made her first bouquet at the tender age of three at her Granny B's flower shop in Roseboro, NC. In lieu of normal kid’s activities like play dates or soccer practice, Cydney chose the florist shop as her favorite after school stop. By the age of ten, she was processing flowers, tying bows and making bud vases in her parents' florist shop in Benson, NC.
    Cydney’s knack for floral design has cycled through various trends and design periods. In the 1980s, she mastered the art of transforming floppy garden hats into magical door hangings complete with voluminous bows and silk flowers. In the 1990s, she channeled her energies into modern linear designs that echoed fashion trends. Following high school, Cydney attended Rollins College in Florida where she continued her interest in floral design as lead designer with Oui-Bits florist. Davis-English moonlighted creating window displays for a host of businesses up and down the city’s Park Avenue. At the same time, she developed a strong interest in marrying floral design with home accessories and gift items.
    Following college, Cydney worked as a free-lance designer with a host of florists in North Carolina before settling in at her parents’ florist, Four Seasons, in Benson, NC. For more than a decade Cydney worked with her family, building the florist into one of the largest and most successful in the state. Guided by her father, Richard Davis, an award-winning designer and commentator, Cydney developed an eye for detail that is evident not only in her design work but also in her interaction with clients. In the late 1990s, Cydney took a  brief hiatus during  which she pursued her second  love, music and  theater at The American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City where she was accepted after only a single audition.
    Afterwards, she successfully managed a Theater and Entertainment complex in Alabama juggling a variety of tasks from booking musical acts like George Jones to directing large scale historical dramas. Her talent in managing events led her to a non-profit theater Lexington, VA as Development Director and then back to Raleigh, NC as Development Director for Artspace where she successfully managed numerous fundraising events before taking time off to guide her young daughter, Vivienne, through infancy and her toddler years.
    In 2006, Cydney came back to her roots and opened The English Garden Florist. With an encyclopedic knowledge of flowers and experience managing over 1,000 events and weddings, Cydney has quickly come to the forefront as one of the industry’s young leaders. In less than three short years of business, Cydney and her husband, Warren, have received countless accolades for their dedication to the industry, to the community and to their customers. The English Garden was recently honored by Midtown Magazine as the "Best Place in Raleigh to Buy Flowers" and by the Raleigh Chamber of Commerce and The United Arts Council of Raleigh/Wake County with the "2008-2009 Small Business Supporter of the Arts Award."  In 2007, Cydney assumed the position as head of the Wake County Florist Association and is working to ensure that her peers receive the industry support and education to weather our trying economic times while remaining abreast of the industry’s trends.  A firm believer in continuing education, Cydney has recently studied with Els Hazenberg, an acclaimed Dutch designer, and Hitomi Gilliam, one of the country’s foremost authorities on Ikebana and Asian inspired design.
   “We are excited to have such a creative and innovative designer featured at our spring fundraising event. Cydney is so full of life and is willing to share her wealth of experience and knowledge!” says Theresa Golas, Executive Director of Iredell Museums.
    The ticket price of $35 includes admission to the event as well as morning refreshments and a catered lunch.  Tickets are on sale now and may be purchased at Iredell Museums, 134 Court Street, 704-873-4734.

Don Moore - Great Artists of the Western World
February 8, 2009

STATESVILLE —Created specifically for this exhibit, Don Moore's Great Artists of the Western World series reinterprets self-portraits of great master painters.
     Serving as a post-modern lesson in Art History, Moore's paintings mimic techniques and images of masters, such as Rubens and Michelangelo, and combine commonplace items identified with each artist.  A retired post-secondary art instructor, Moore not only pays homage to the many of the “heroes” of art history emphasized in college Art History survey classes, but also bridges the gap between past movements in art history by providing the viewer with “hints” as to why the master works are memorable and relevant today.
     Born in Birmingham, Alabama, Moore holds an MFA from the University of Alabama. He completed additional studies in art history at the University of Georgia and in painting and drawing at the Arts Student’s League, New York City.  Moore has spent most of his life teaching painting, drawing, design and art history beginning his career at Coker College in Hartsville, SC and retiring after 32 years from the position of Art Director at Mitchell Community College in Statesville, NC. He currently resides in Salisbury, NC.
      His works are included in collections such as the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa;  the University of Alabama, Birmingham; the University of Mississippi, Greenwood; Coker College, Hartsville, SC; Mitchell Community College, Statesville, NC;  Wachovia Bank, NC; Iredell Museums, Statesville, NC;  The Hiddenite Center, Hiddenite, NC;  Hanes Foundation, Winston-Salem, NC and Horizons Unlimited, Salisbury, NC.
      Moore is a Juried Member of the Associated Artists of Winston-Salem, NC; the Pastel Society of North Carolina and the National Oil and Acrylic Painters Society.  His work is represented by Hampton Galleries, Winston-Salem, NC; GG’s, Statesville, NC; Cascade Gallery, Salisbury, NC and Green Goat Gallery, Spencer, NC.
      The exhibit will be held at the Court Street Gallery, 134 Court Street in downtown Statesville from March 13 through May 8, 2009.  The opening reception for the artist and the kick-off party for the Downtown Statesville ART CRAWL will be held on Friday, March 13 from 5-7pm.  The reception is open to the public, free of charge.  The Gallery is open to the public Tuesday through Saturday from 10am-5pm.  Admission is free of charge.
     To view more of Moore's work, visit www.donmooreartist.com

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