Art World Happenings - Greer Station Fall Gallery Walk

Greer is joining in with all of the Fall Art activity this year with their 2nd Annual Greer Station Fall Gallery Walk. This upcoming Saturday, you'll be able to visit Galleries and Downtown Businesses in Greer that are presenting work by some of the area's local artists. When you've had your fill, come down to the Pendleton Street Arts District in Greenville to visit Village Gallery, along with the other great galleries and artist studios that make their home here.

Figure Drawing Demystified

I've had the pleasure of speaking to Andrew Cahner by email over the last few days. He's the author of The Art Model's Handbook and the man behind artmodelbook.com. He has been kind enough to list Village Gallery's Figure Drawing Sessions in his nationwide database of Figure Drawing classes on his website.

To my knowledge, The Art Model's Handbook may be the only book to cover the topic of modeling for artists that is available. Over the years, I've had the opportunity to work with a lot of models and, from an artist's viewpoint, there is a huge advantage when a model is experienced. I can remember a few people from the past that could have used some guidance. Fortunately, Village Gallery has been extremely lucky in being able to find both male and female models that have been very easy to work with. Typically, we only use models that have verifiable references and exhibit a great degree of professionalism.

A common misconception is that there is a certain "look" that is needed for Figure Drawing Models. Unlike the fashion and advertising industries, artists aren't always looking for a certain body type or age group. Models can be any age, gender, shape and size.

A Figure Drawing Session usually lasts for a few hours, starting with a series of short, dynamic poses to let everyone warm up. Then, the model will take a comfortable pose that will last anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. Longer poses allow the artists to fully articulate a drawing, capturing finer details than would be possible in a shorter session.

Drawing sessions are an excellent opportunity for artists of all abilities to sharpen their skills and develop new bodies of work. For artists like myself, who do not typically use the human form in my own work, drawing from a live model is akin to a concert pianist practicing their scales. The act of drawing what you see in front of you is the most basic form of art making, dating back to when our ancestors began documenting their lives with mud and charcoal on cave walls. A lot of people think that artists are simply born with talent, but the reality is that we have all honed our skills through years of practice. For aspiring artists, a drawing session is a great way to begin, following in the tradition of art training that goes back literally hundreds of years.

If you are in Upstate South Carolina, and you would like to join us for one of our Figure Drawing Sessions, we would love to have you! And if you are one of our readers from far away, check the listings on Andrew's page to find one near you.

Art World Happenings - Backpod

It never ceases to amaze me how far and wide connections in the Art World spread and how influential they can be. Kari Foster and Michael Peters are friends of mine from way back, and they are part of 3 person documentary project called Backpod. Projects like this are awesome because they allow artists the chance to do some of their best work while serving a cause greater than themselves. While Backpod travels through Central America documenting the lives of people who live and work there, someone else might create and exhibit portraits of 9/11 heroes, or even be a part of huge nationwide project to provide free portraits to those less fortunate than ourselves. Every artist I know has freely given of their time or talents to help raise money or awareness for non-profit groups and organizations. If you have the resources or time to get involved with a cause, please considering doing so. There are people like Kari and Michael who want to help me things better in the world, you can get involved with them here.

Art World Happenings - Brain Damage

From Brain Damage:

BRAIN_DAMAGE.Productions is an artists' simulation of the revolving and ever changing world around us. It is Light. It is Dark. It is that which combines both to create common ground. It is the persuit of knowledge; a creative & encouraging source to provide a platform for self-discovery including the understanding of the infinite micro & macrocosms of the universe & multiverses. The Productions we bring the public seek to inspire and allow for the expression of unconditional creation. We seek to take the world on a journey without leaving one's seat into the multidimensional worlds of existence; a break down of every day reality of that which you think you are.

BRAIN_DAMAGE.Productions is a new informal art organization in the Upstate and seeks to bring artistic, creative, and talented individuals to work together to build something new for the community. BRAIN_DAMAGE.Productions specializes in experimental & Avant-garde productions, including elements of dance, theater, music, and visual ecstacy in nonconventional & abstract forms.

Coming up this weekend, Victoria Ferrer and Mark Latta are holding auditions for their multi-disciplinary production "Vertical World" here at Village Gallery. On Saturday, August 22, up to 100 performers and visual artists will meet for the casting call and the beginnings of BrainDamage Production's first major production in Upstate South Carolina. These guys have more energy and ideas than anyone I've met recently. "Vertical World" fuses together the duo's design, choreography, visual art and ambient music backgrounds in an Avant-Garde performance of dance, video, and music. Village Gallery is excited to be a part of the project by providing space for auditions and the upcoming live performances.

Open call auditons for the performance cast as well as briefings for visual & technical artists will be held on Saturday, the 22nd. Please be sure to bring your resume or portfolio!

Saturday, Aug 22 @ 12 PM-4 PM

Village Studios & Gallery

in the Pendleton Art District

1278 Pendleton Street

Greenville, SC 29611

For more information, contact inquiries@braindamageproductions.com You can also help support their project financially by donating.

Art World Happenings - Katie Walberg :: Trashball

I met Katie way back when we were just young undergrads, sharing studio space and attempting to survive the torment of three hour long painting critiques. She went on to bigger and better things, namely an MFA from Maryland Institute College of Art. She is one of the few artists who works effortlessly in a variety of media without loosing sight of her original ideas.

The trashball series has been building and evolving over the last several years. It has been getting more sophisticated the entire time, tracking a trajectory through painting, drawing, photography, and performance art. Trashball wasn't just something to talk about in the studio, it was a concept that deserved to be out in the real world. I remember trashball appearing unannounced at a few art openings in Knoxville. Trashball was never just an object to be looked at, but rather to be interacted with. Made from the discarded remnants of modern life, trashball was created by the act of retrieval. Luckily, if you missed Walberg's MFA thesis exhibition like I did, you can get a brief (and funny) history of trashball here!