GAINESVILLE - The Quinlan Visual Arts Center has announced details of its Winter Exhibitions, which will begin with an opening reception Dec. 10 and continue through Feb. 20:
*“re:constructed” artist Diane Speight
Diane Donaldson Speight divides her time between graphic design and collage/assemblage work. Diane’s design work has been recognized with several regional ADDY awards as well as a Golden Pyramid award for excellence in promotional design. She recently completed her MFA at Georgia State University and is an art director with Morton Vardeman & Carlson in Gainesville, Georgia.
Artist Statement: My collage work expresses memory and reflection on past events. Quiet and internal, my pieces reveal small moments that gain importance only after time magnifies and clarifies their meaning. I use aged materials, family snapshots and text from old letters to create the suggestion of a family album that is both universal and deeply personal.
Diane's collage and assemblage work has appeared in Southern Homes Magazine and in a number of regional shows. Most recently, her work was featured in a solo exhibition at Callanwolde Fine Arts Center in Atlanta. Group shows have included Artfields, Lake City South Carolina, 2014 and 2015; the 2013 National Collage Society Juried Exhibition and the 2013 AQUA Hotel Art Fair in Miami.
*UNG DoVA Faculty Exhibition: featuring artwork of 21 Visual Art Educators
The Department of Visual Arts (DoVA) at the University of North Georgia is a multi-campus, student-focused department that fosters quality education, service, inquiry, and creativity. DoVA provides an environment of academic excellence, cultivated by faculty role models, through high professional standards of scholarship, craftsmanship, and leadership. As an innovative community, the department promotes global and contemporary practices while honoring the rich cultural and artistic heritage of the region.
The faculty in the Department of Visual Arts creates diverse work in a wide variety of media and artistic styles, ranging from traditional drawing and painting, ceramics, sculpture, and printmaking, to video and mixed media works. Artists include: John Amoss, Stanley Bermudez, David Clifton, Isabell Daniel, Chris Dockery, Paul Dunlap, Adam Fischer, Jennifer Graff, Julianne Hogan, Jo-Marie Karst, Stacy Koffman, Alex Kraft, Vivian Liddell, Benjamin Lock, Jennifer Manzella, Michael Marling de Cuellar, Erin McIntosh, Jon Mehlferber, Aimee Miller, Craig Wilson, and Kate Windley.
*“Ranchlands: Embracing the West” artists Ann Goble and Amanda Lovett
Artists Amanda Lovett and Ann Goble embarked on a cross-country trip together to attend a week-long workshop with renowned artist Jill Soukup in Ranchlands, at The Zapata Ranch, CO.
The Zapata Ranch is owned by The Nature Conservancy, a non-profit organization whose mission is to conserve the lands and waters all around the world. The ranch is managed through a one-of-a-kind partnership with Ranchlands which consists of a 103,000-acre bison and guest ranch located on the eastern wall of the San Luis Valley of Southern Colorado. It borders the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, the newest National Park in the United States.
It was a dream come true for Goble and Lovett to study with Jill Soukup together. Her unique ability to share her artistic skill sets and teaching style gave way to very balanced critiques and sharing with workshop participants their “strengths and weaknesses and (most importantly) setting you up as an artist (not to fail) but to succeed.” However, make no qualms about it, “you have to KNOW your subject and you have to DO your homework first.” The week consisted of very structured painting exercises, something both artists aren’t typically accustomed to. The day would start with painting as early as 6 AM and regroup in the studio for critiques lasting late into the night. “We awoke… and talked art. We ate… and we talked art. We walked… and we talked art, and then slept. It was all about ART… and we couldn’t get enough of it.”
Hundreds of horses and over 2,000 bison roam this vast landscape of the Ranchlands. Goble, Lovett and 10 workshop participants had the opportunity to paint these creatures from life “and that’s the best way to learn”, Lovett says after visiting the ranch this year describing it as “a painter’s dream world”.
Halfway through the week Goble asked Lovett “Is this about as far away from reality you can get?”
The trip evolved into a journey of shared experiences that created an even greater bond between two friends. Lovett explains, “When you are with a good friend and travel cross-country on a plane and jump into a rental car to drive hundreds of miles across the mountains, then spend a whole week in this place together, you get to know the really special parts of people. It was incredible.”
During the plane ride home Goble and Lovett discussed how they wanted the experience to evolve and challenge them not to let the experience just end at Ranchlands. It was too significant to walk away from and just let go. From there the idea was born of a shared exhibition, and sharing the experience with others. An opportunity Lovett says “worth five lifetimes!”
*The Georgia Art League Juried Exhibition
The Georgia Art League is an art league that calls the Quinlan Visual Art Center home. They are a collection of artists collaborating to help spread the love and respect of the arts.Their mission statement: "To nurture and support the artistic growth and development of our members by providing opportunities to increase their skills and share their understanding and knowledge of visual arts through exhibition experiences, a variety of educational programs, and networking with other artists." This exhibition showcases painting, sculpture, mixed media and other art forms. They have four exhibitions annually in the Gordon and Jean Sawyer Gallery at the Quinlan and meet the third Thursday of the month to network and hear professional artist speakers and demos. For more information, please visit their website: www.georgiaartleague.org.
ABOUT THE QUINLAN
The Quinlan Visual Arts Center, 514 Green Street, N.E. is located in the heart of the historic Green Street district of downtown Gainesville, Georgia. A comprehensive visual arts center operating for almost 70 years for the benefit of the Northeast Georgia community, serving nearly 20,000 guests annually, the regular business hours of the Quinlan are Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 10:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Admission to view the galleries is always free to the public. For more information, please call (770) 536-2575, and for exhibition information and photographs, please view the website at www.qvac.org.
