An Evening on William Bartram

On Friday, September 24, the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation will host “An Evening on 18th Century Naturalist William Bartram.” This event will last from 6 to 8 p.m. and is free to the public. Two new books will be featured: “The Flower Seeker: An Epic Poem of William Bartram,” by Phillip Lee Williams, and “Bartram’s Living Legacy: The Travels and the Nature of the South,” edited by Dorinda G. Dallmeyer. Landscape artist Philip Juras provided the artwork for both books’ covers, and more of his work will be exhibited that evening in “Searching for Bartram’s Wilderness: Studies from the Field.”

Williams, Dallmeyer and Juras will all be available to speak and autograph books. For more information about this event, visit OCAF, and to learn more about the books go to http://bit.ly/bPOnBc.

The Georgia Museum of Art has its own link to William Bartram. The naturalist’s work was highlighted most recently in the museum’s publication of papers from the Fourth Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts, “A Colorful Past,” which can be found in our online gift shop.

Art Around Athens (and Beyond)

It's one of those beautiful mid-spring weekends that leads to art events happening all over, especially those that take place outside, so here's a selection of what's going on in the Athens area.


The Madison-Morgan Cultural Center is putting on its annual "Madison in May Spring Tour of Homes & Gardens," a self-guided tour of homes and churches that are mostly within walking distance of the center, Friday (April 30) and Saturday (May 1), from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $25 per day, unless you bought yours in advance. There's also a Plein Air Paint Out Saturday that features Georgia artists painting the tour venues, then offering their work in a silent auction on the Cultural Center lawn at 5 p.m., and you can see a list of the venues on the MMCC's site.

Tonight, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Healing Arts Centre, author and psychologist Baraka Elihu signs copies of her book, "Birthing Ourselves into Being: A Year Long Women's Empowerment Program," while local quilter Sarah Hubbard, whose work is featured in the book, displays her unique art quilts.


Friday evening, Flicker Theatre and Bar will have a closing reception for "Zigzagland," an exhibition featuring paintings by John Stidham.


Saturday and Sunday (May 1-2), from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation will hold its Southworks Artist Market and Arts Festival, featuring 65 of the region's top arts and craft persons selling original works in a juried market that includes pottery, paintings, fiber art, stained and fused glass, jewelry, sculpture, photography and woodwork. There's also live music, a children's activity area and food vendors.


If you want to venture as far as Buford, Slotin Folk Art is having its Spring Masterpieces Sale. The auction starts at 10 a.m. Saturday and noon Sunday, and the full catalogue is linked from the Slotin website.


In Athens, the spring version of the Indie Craftstravaganzaa takes place Saturday from noon to 7 p.m. in the parking lot at Clayton and Pulaski streets downtown, with nearly 100 vendors and DJ Kurt Wood spinning awesome records while you browse.


Saturday night at 7 p.m. at the Lamar Dodd School of Art is the premiere of "Specters of the Outer Spaces," Athens artist Marie Porterfield's collaborative film project about the importance of the human belief in the unseen, followed by a reception.

Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m. at the downtown location of Transmetropolitan, is "She's Crafty!" an artists' market hosted by the ladies of Transmet. Check out jewelry, cards, gifts and more, then come home and relax for the last few hours of the weekend.

Art Around Athens (and Beyond)

There's a diverse selection of art events happening this weekend, starting this evening, with the grand opening of the brand-new Anchor Gallery, which is also a tattoo parlor, at 660 W. Broad, near the intersection with Finley. The opening will take place from 6 to 10 p.m. and conclude with an after-party at Ben's Bikes, downstairs. You can find more detail on the Facebook event page.



Also tonight, from 6 to 8 p.m., the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation's annual Southworks festival kicks off with a gala reception for the National Juried Art Exhibition (up until May 8 in the Main Gallery). Next door, in the Members Gallery, is the Directors Choice Exhibit of work by Wintervillian and UGA BFA alum Otto Lange (above), which runs through May 2. Both exhibits will be on display normal gallery hours (Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.) and each day during the Art Market, which takes place next month on May 1 and 2. This year's juror for the exhibition is Catherine Fox, ex of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and lately of ArtsCriticATL.com.

On Saturday, April 3, from 1 to 10 p.m. in the Madison Memorial Park and Gym in Danielsville is the annual Folklife in Georgia Festival, celebrating the traditional music, storytelling, dance and handiwork of rural Georgia and featuring more than 20 artists demonstrating and selling crafts, musical performances and an old-time barn dance. It's $5 for adults, $3 for kids aged 6 to 16 and free for the little ones.

And all weekend and beyond, the Georgia in Bloom Art Fest continues in downtown Madison, Ga. This community-wide arts festival celebrating artists from Georgia's Piedmont Region is ongoing through May 8. Swing by the Old Piggly Wiggly building, United Bank or Dog Ear Books for a chance to see one of the more than 100 works of art exhibited throughout Madison.

Check out the Railroad Arts District blog for more info on arty stuff going on around town.

Art Around Athens (and Beyond)

The Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation (OCAF) annual thrift sale begins tonight (Friday, March 12), with a preview night from 7 to 9 p.m. Admission is $5, and prices are double what they will be tomorrow (Saturday, March 13, from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.), but you get first crack at all the good stuff folks have donated to benefit OCAF, an opportunity to bid in the silent auction and wine and appetizers. More than 10,000 items will be available, meaning this is no mere church yard sale, and the cause is a great one.

Also Saturday, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, Blue Tin Art Studio is teaching a class in encaustic painting with beeswax for $40 (that cost includes materials). "Learn how to melt and mix colors, create a variety of surface techniques and incorporate collage and more." You can find a registration form on Blue Tin's site here.

Saturday and Sunday (March 13 and 14), from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., the Carlton Art Group will hold a free open house at 65 Lexington Rd., in Carlton. Stone and wood sculpture, monoprints, Ukrainian eggs, hand-made furniture, fused glass, metal sculpture and jewelry constitute some of the media of the many works on display. A portion of proceeds will benefit Georgia for Haiti.



Finally, Sunday from noon to 5 p.m., renowned local artist Lou Kregel is having an open house and rummage sale at 95 Carter St., here in Athens. She lists an astonishing amount of stuff on the Facebook page she's created for the event, as well as directions, and her latest update suggests there will be cupcakes in addition.

Art Around Athens (and Beyond)

The Railroad Arts District blog has already rounded up a good bit of what's going on this weekend in the arts, including an opening of work by the kids at Chase Street Elementary that will be going on display at White Tiger and the opening of Trace Gallery, which is pretty exciting!



Out in Watkinsville, at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation, there's an opening reception tonight (Friday, March 5) from 6 to 9 p.m. for the exhibition "Cattywampus," which features the printmaking art of UGA faculty and graduate students Andy Burkitt, Helen Farmer, Melissa Harshman, An Pham, Jon Swindler and Grace Zuniga. The exhibition runs through March 26, and while you're there, you can check out the exhibition for Youth Art Month drawn from Oconee County schools (also up through March 26).

This week's Flagpole lists the following event, about which we know no more than appears here, but it sounds interesting: Mar. 6: Call for location 9 a.m. 706-255-8528, mechanted757@gmail.com. Rose Creeks Clean-Up (Antioch Church Road): Artist Melissa Steele will document the clean-up of Rose Creek and Little Rose Creek as part of her art exhibit "Me'chanted." Breakfast and shuttle from Antioch Church provided. RSVP if you want your biscuits and coffee.

Saturday evening, from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Morton Theatre in downtown Athens, there will be an opening reception for "Refusés," a salon of works not included in the Lyndon House Arts Center's 35th Juried exhibition. The exhibition runs through April 19.



Finally, Sunday afternoon, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., is an opening reception for an exhibition of Claire Clements' paintings at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia. Claire's process, cut paintings, involves cutting mixed media painting on paper, and the Athens Banner-Herald ran a great story on her this past week.

Art Around Athens

It's your last chance to see the "23rd Annual Student Juried Printmaking and Book Arts Exhibition" at the Lamar Dodd School of Art, which has a closing reception scheduled today from 5 to 7 p.m. in the Suite Gallery, Plaza Gallery and second-floor Printmaking Galleries, and will come down tomorrow (February 4). The juror this year was Dr. Asen Kirin, who has worked with the museum on several projects.



Also, this Saturday (February 6), is your last chance to submit to the Juried Art Exhibition of Southworks, the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation's annual national juried show. This year's juror is Catherine Fox, who used to cover arts for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and has an exciting new blog project we're adding to our RSS reader.

Art Around Athens (and Beyond)

If you haven't had a chance yet to see "Tutorial," the exhibition at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation (OCAF) consisting of works by its instructors, today (Friday, January 22) is a perfect opportunity, as there's a free reception from 6 to 9 p.m. Visual artists showcased are Maria Dondero, Monica Jones, Leah Mantini, Walker Montogomery, Peggy Pitts and Dave Smiley, and the exhibition is up until the following week (it closes January 28).



At the very same time and place, OCAF is celebrating the opening of "Heart & Soul,” an exhibition that showcases the work of eight black artists: Gwen Patterson, Harold Rittenberry, John Ahee, Margo Candelario, Margaret Warfield, Sammie Nicely, Warren Fletcher and Yvonne Studevan.



Tomorrow (Saturday, January 23), the Lamar Dodd School of Art will hold a closing reception at 3 p.m. for its exhibition of work created as part of the UGA Studies Abroad, Cortona, Italy, program in 2008. The exhibition is on the third floor of the building, and a a reunion of students and faculty who participated in the programs will take place at the same time on the ground floor of the building. The work covers the studio areas of painting, drawing, watercolor, printmaking, photography, sculpture, ceramics, jewelry/metals, book arts, graphic design, interior design and landscape architecture. Art history, art education, Italian language and creative writing students are also involved in the programs.



Sunday, January 24, from 2 to 4 p.m., as mentioned earlier here, Ciné will hold a free reception for the silent auction of works donated by local artists for the annual Mental Health Benefit. The actual auction takes place next week, Sunday, January 31, from 6 to 9 p.m., also at Ciné, but this is a chance to browse and think about what might look good on your walls. The images of art donated this year are posted online as well.

Finally, note that the undergraduate Art History Society at UGA has started a Tumblr, which you might want to follow.

Art Around Athens (and Beyond)

There are plenty of different art related events going on in and around Athens this weekend. It’s a great time to get some holiday shopping done!

Friday:
Friday, December 4, from 2 to 9 p.m., the Chase Street Warehouses will host the First Friday Celebration and Holiday Market. Different shops and studios in the Railroad Arts District open their doors for the holiday market. You can expect unique handmade works, live music, coffee and cider and a wealth of holiday cheer! Visit www.railroadartdistrict.blogspot.com for more information.

As part of the sale, Trace Studio is hosting its own Holiday Show and Sale in the Railroad Arts District. The sale offers affordable, usable ceramic art by the Trace Studio Collective. You can find work from Annette Gates, Lauren Gallaspy, Jorire Berman, Rob Jackson, Mark Jordan and Andy Nasisse. The sale opens at 2 p.m. and will continue until 7 p.m. from December 4 to December 6. Call 706.549.6877 for more information.

The DeWitt Pottery Studio in Watkinsville is having a sale from December 4 to December 6 from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. each day. The sale features functional stoneware and porcelain pottery. Call 706.769.5361 or visit www.dewittpottery.com for more information.

Marmalade Pottery (585 Barber Street, in the D.O.C. building) is also hosting a sale this weekend. The sale opens December 4 at 5 p.m. and will continue until 9 p.m., and December 5 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. It features work by Maria Dondero and Tiffany Whitfield. Call 706.248.6899 for more information.

160 Tracy Street will host the closing reception for the exhibition "Six Hundred Seventy-Three Thousand, Nine Hundred Twenty Minutes” Friday as well, from 7 to 9 p.m. The exhibit features new work from UGA MFA sculpture candidates Doug Barton and Steven Abadie and is free. Visit www.abadieart.com for more information.

Flicker Theatre & Bar will host a free opening reception at 6:30 p.m. on Friday for an exhibition of shadowbox photographic collages by Alexei Gural. Visit www.myspace.com/flickerbar for more information.

The Lamar Dodd School of Art will hosts a free opening reception for “Exit Strategies,” an exhibition featuring the thesis work of BFA candidates in jewelry and metalworking, fabric design, ceramics, photography and sculpture. This reception begins at 7 p.m. and will end at 9 p.m. Visit www.art.uga.edu for more information.

White Tiger Gourmet Food & Chocolates will host a free reception Friday at 6 p.m. for an exhibition featuring paintings and sculpture by local arts and art educator Leonard Piha. Call 706.353.6847 for more information.
Bendzunas Studio and Gallery will host an open house glass-blowing demonstration and holiday sale. The sale opens December 4 from 6 to 10 p.m. and continues Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 706.783.5869 or visit www.benzunasglass.com for more information.

Saturday:
December 5 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Winterhawk Pottery (1101 Salem Road) is having an art sale featuring southeastern Native American art. Call 706.310.1893 or visit www.winterhawkpottery.com for more information.
At 1171 Freeman Creek Road, Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., there will be an art sale featuring stoneware and porcelain pottery, dinnerware, kitchen and tableware, garden pots and more from local artists. Call 706.769.8100 or visit www.pickettpottery.com for more information.

283 Bar in downtown Athens will host a holiday artists’ market Saturday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring an assemblage of handmade works by local artists alongside your favorite holiday cocktails. The sale features jewelry, paintings, ceramics, paper crafts, wooden toys, ornaments and handmade bags. Call 706.208.1283 for more information.

Blue Bell Gallery hosts the Blue Bell Open House and holiday celebration featuring over 40 local artists' work. There will be clay, glass, stone and steel from Tina McCullough, Barbara Bendzunas, Tammy Nance, Duane Paxson, Michael Shetterly, Beverly Babb and more. Call 706.783.4665 or visit www.bluebellgallery.net for more information.

Saturday, from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, December 6, noon to 5 p.m., downtown Athens hosts the Athens Indie Craftstravaganzaa. Pledge to stay out of the malls this holiday season and support your local businesses and artists! Quirky, raw and innovative arts from local and regional artists and crafters will be on sale and display in the parking lot that adjoins Agora at the corner of Clayton and Pulaski streets. Visit www.athensindiecraftstravaganzaa.com for more information.

Saturday, December 5 through Sunday, December 6 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Farmington Pottery (1790 Salem Road) is hosting a pottery and art show and sale. You can expect beautiful and unique art by potter Jeff Bishoff and various local artists.

Also Saturday from, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. Morgan Pottery in Danielsville is hosting a pottery sale. Potter David Morgan will be showing and selling his own salt-glazed and gas-fired pottery. Call 706.540.3295 for more information.

Flinn Family Pottery (on Hull Rd.) will have a free studio open house from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. Call 706.207.5923 for more information.

The same day, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., R. Wood Pottery will hold its annual holiday studio sale featuring ceramic dinnerware and unique collectables. Call 706.613.8525 for more info.

Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation is hosting its 15th Annual Holiday Market. The market features 70 of the region's top artists and includes pottery, paintings, fiber art, stained and fused glass, jewelry, sculpture, photography, woodwork and more. A $3 donation is requested. Visit www.ocaf.com for more information.

Also Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Farmington Pottery will have a free pottery and art show and sale at 1790 Salem Road, featuring beautiful and unique work by potter Jeff Bishoff and various local artists.

Sunday:
Aurum Studio is hosting a free opening reception this Sunday, December 6 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. for an exhibit featuring paintings by Christine Shockley-Gholson and John Gholson. Call 706.546.8826 for more information.

Also Sunday, Wolf Creek Pottery in Danielsville will host the opening reception for their Visionary Growth Gallery for "Our Way or No Way," an exhibit featuring new works by UGA Sculpture Professor Jim Buonaccorsi and painter David Barron. The reception is from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is free. Call 706.363.0393 or visit www.visgrow.com for more information.

The State Botanical Garden of Georgia will have a holiday open house on Sunday, from 2 to 5 p.m., which is free and open to the public. This year’s decorations celebrate birds in the garden with An Audubon Christmas. Musical entertainment includes performances by the Georgia Children’s Chorus, the Solstice Sisters and the Classic City Band, and there will be puppet shows in the children’s classroom at 2:30, 3:30 and 4:30. Mark Parsons Photography will be on hand to take photos of children (and adults) with Santa and Mrs. Claus for $10 each, payable to the photographer. The Garden Gift Shop will be open for your shopping pleasure, and you can purchase holiday treats in the newly renovated Gardenside Café.

Flagpole also has a great rundown of arts and crafts sales in the area, so check there too!

Art Around Athens

The opening reception for the First Annual Juried Student Exhibition at the Lamar Dodd School of Art will take place on Friday, Oct. 23, from 5 to 7 p.m. in galleries 101 and 307 of the Dodd, on UGA’s East Campus. Undergraduate and graduate students were asked to submit two works to be judged by Julian Cox, curator of photography at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta. Cox selected 82 works from 292 submissions, and they will be on display at the school of art from Oct. 23 to Nov. 10.



ATHICA: Athens Institute for Contemporary Art will host the event “Head Lines: News-themed Stories and Poems,” on Friday, Oct. 23, 2009, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. “Head Lines,” organized by Matt Forsythe, Andy Frazee and Ida Stewart, is part of the VOX Reading Series; in keeping with the theme of ATHICA’s current exhibition, “Free Press in Free Fall,” eight local writers will read selections that address the effects of news on the lives of its consumers. The participating writers are Erin Christian, John English (reading from “Good News, Bad News”), Jeff Fallis, Michael Ford, Matt Forsythe, Andy Frazee, Kyle Garrett and Nicole Higgins. Refreshments will be provided at intermission, and a donation of $3 to $6 is suggested.



This Saturday, Oct. 24, come see the scarecrows in the exhibition “Scare up a Harvest: Help the Hungry Scarecrow,” at the Lyndon House Arts Center. Bring your pop-top cans of ravioli to pay your entry fee and support the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia. Visitors will get the chance to vote for their favorite scarecrows and make their own miniature scarecrows with Georgia Museum of Art volunteers. This event is sponsored by the Lyndon House Arts Center, the Athens-Clarke County Recycling Division, the Food Bank of Northeast Georgia, the Junior League of Athens and the Georgia Museum of Art.



“Brick House Studio Exhibition, Fall 2009,” opens this Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 24 and 25, from 1 to 5 p.m. Works by Tex Crawford, D.M. Kirwin and Brian Reade as well as an ongoing sculpture installation by Doug Makemson will be on view through Nov. 22 at the Brick House Studio at 1892 Athens Rd., Crawford, Ga.



Sunday, Oct. 25, the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation will host its 10th Annual Wine Fest fundraiser at the Ashford Manor Gardens in Watkinsville, Ga., from 3 to 6 p.m. Along with the wine-tasting activities, there will be live music and a silent auction and raffle of original artwork, pottery, vacation properties and airline tickets. For more information, visit the OCAF Web site.

Art Around Athens (and farther...)

There is a ton of stuff going on this weekend, y'all, so you may have to pick and choose.



Today (Friday, Oct. 2), from 5 to 9 p.m., is a free open house in the Railroad Arts District of Athens, which has started a First Friday thing. Art and wares will be on display at the D.O.C. Building on Barber and the Chase Street Warehouses, around the corner from there, including works by Lou Kregel (the coordinator of all this), fused-glass jewelry by Annette Paskiewicz (see above), a hoop dance class at Canopy, and much more, including an art sale on the sidewalk in front of Mercury A.I.R. Click the link for a full list.



Just a little bit later (from 6 to 8 p.m.) and right nearby is an art opening at White Tiger for Casa de la Cultura, a pottery group for Latino women. The facebook page for the event says:

A brief history: Casa de la Cultura (House of Culture) was created in 2004 by a partnership of Casa de Amistad (a local non-profit that serves Latino families) and the Lyndon House to provide a creative outlet and an opportunity for support and friendship for Latino women. Since then, Casa de la Cultura has been offering free weekly clay workshops every Friday morning at the Lyndon House. Casa de la Cultura is an open group whose members are typically mothers of small children or women who work the late shift at the local poultry plants. Other members are our children, who join us while they are pre-schoolers and during the Summer months when they are out of school. We have also been lucky enough to have volunteer potters and non-potters offer all kinds of assistance: teaching workshops, providing technical help, giving rides to people, or just coming to make art with us. Our pots are sold in art sales around town. Artists are able to generate a small income by keeping 80% of the sale of their pieces. The other 20% goes to buy clay and glazes.

The exhibition closes with a Dia de los Muertos celebration Nov. 6.



From 6 to 9 p.m., a little farther away, is an opening reception at OCAF for two exhibitions: Profess, featuring work created by the art faculty from both the Oakwood and Oconee campuses at Gainesville State College, and Table’ de Art: Place Matters, an exhibition of placemats made in a variety of textile and fiber media produced by the Athens Fibercraft Guild. Mary Jessica Hammes had a great article in the Athens Banner-Herald about the latter yesterday. Both exhibitions run through Oct. 31.

Events start early on Saturday, with a Turning and Burning Day at Crocker Pottery in Lula, Ga., from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Click on the link for a map. This year will feature memorial exhibitions of works by Reggie and Anita Meaders, as well as a great selection of old and new pottery made by the Crocker family, many Meaders family pieces (from the ordinary to the very rare), unusual pieces by Bobby Ferguson and other Ferguson family members, and wares by Clint Alderman, Wayne Hewell, Roger Corn and other local potters. Michael Crocker, who sent out the email and has spoken at the museum's Henry D. Green Symposium of the Decorative Arts, notes, "Many potters in the Gillsville/Lula area will be out displaying and selling their pottery on this day. Be sure to pick up a Folk Potters Trail Map while here so you can easily find them."



It's also time for the R. Wood Studio fall sale, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., which you can find out more about here.

And, that evening, in Macon, Ken Burns will be in town for the opening of an exhibition of the works of William Segal, which the Georgia Museum of Art hopes to have at some point. The Macon Museum of Arts and Sciences doesn't have a lot of detail about the opening or the exhibition on its Web site, but here is a link to Segal's obituary, which explains some of what his work is about.

Art Around Athens

On Friday, September 4:

The Lamar Dodd School of Art will hold a reception for the 2009 Printmaking Invitational, “Divergent Impressions.” The reception is free and lasts from 7 to 9 p.m. Artists featured include Sarah Bryant (right image), Leslie Mutchler, Matthew Sugarman and Jason Urban (left image). The exhibition will be on display through September 17 in Gallery 307 at the art school. For more information, visit http://bit.ly/3wDvka.

The Next to Last Recession-Proof Art and Music Show will have an opening reception at White Tiger Gourmet Food and Chocolates from 6 to 9 p.m. This show is presented by the 2010 Next to Last Festival. Visitors will be able to listen and purchase the compilation of music “Next to Last Songs.” Featured art includes photographs by Todd Diedrich and Will Donaldson and drawings and prints by Heather Kohlberger. There will be acoustic performances by Theo Hilton of Nana Grizol and Colby Carter of Mouser. Admission and refreshments are free.

Artist Eric Simmons will have an opening reception for his paintings at Flicker Theatre and Bar at 6 p.m. For more information call 706.540.0206.


On Saturday and Sunday, September 5-6:

As part of the Perspectives Georgia Pottery Invitational, the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation will host a two-day workshop from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. The potters running these workshops are Katy McDougal (left image) on Saturday and Jennifer Graff (right image) on Sunday. The cost to participate is $65 for one day and $125 for both days. Breakfast and lunch are included in the price. To register, or for additional information, visit: http://bit.ly/Erqag or contact Cindy Farley at info@ocaf.com or 706.769.4565.

Art Around Athens

Tonight (Thu., Aug. 27) at 7 p.m. at the Lamar Dodd School of Art is an opening reception for PHYSICAL/METAPHYSICAL an exhibition of selected paintings by Rocio Rodriguez, Don Cooper (including the above image) and Betsy Cain, described as "an exhibition of abstract paintings that address the process and physicalty of painting--the gesture writ large or cloaked, improvisational and/or meditative. Additionally, these large scale paintings engage viewers in a physical relationship and question the nature of seeing and representation." The Dodd has a very cool schedule of exhibitions of which we'd encourage you to take advantage.



This weekend, beginning Friday evening from 6 to 9 p.m. with an opening reception is Perspectives: Georgia Pottery Invitational 2009, the largest pottery sale and exhibition in Georgia, at the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation. Perspectives is open Saturday, Aug. 29 through Wednesday, Sept. 16, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. More than 4,500 individual pieces of pottery provided by 50 of Georgia's finest potters are available for sale at this event, which has its own Web site, too.

And on Sunday from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia is an opening reception for The Wonders of Nature, an exhibition featuring silk painting, watercolor, oil painting, sculpture, photography and more.

Art Around Athens

Summer in Athens, which is only sleepy in comparison to spring and fall, continues, with lots of art events this weekend.



The second annual 5 Points Art Fest will take place Saturday, June 6, from 2 to 7 p.m., with paintings, hand-crafted jewelry, ceramics, drawings and more on display on the lawns of Five Points boutiques.

Saturday, June 6, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, June 7, from noon to 5 p.m., at 1790 Salem Road, is the JB & Friends Pottery and Art Show and Sale (Farmington) , featuring work by Carter Gillies, Caryn Curry, Jim Peckham, Michael Pierce, Keen Zero, Rebecca Wood and Jeff Bishoff. You can find images of a lot of their work by poking around the Good Dirt website.

Also, June 6 and 7, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., is an open house at Chappelle Gallery in Watkinsville (25 S. Main St. in Historic Haygood House) that will feature a mini craft fair with demonstrations of wheel throwing, raku firing, stained glass and weaving, plus bbq for sale.

Finally, at the State Botanical Garden of Georgia, in its Visitor Center, on Sunday, June 7, from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m., is the opening reception for the exhibition Out on a Limb--An Artful Journey, featuring works by artist Judy Bolton Jarrett.

You don't have to go this weekend, but the Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation (OCAF) in Watkinsville, opened its 2009 Members Exhibit today (June 5) and will run it through June 30 in its main gallery. The exhibition includes a diverse display of works from a variety of skilled artists who are also OCAF members. All of the works are for sale and include sculpture, paintings, drawings, textiles, jewelry, pottery and photos. One of the items featured in this year’s exhibit will be a signed, unpublished manuscript by award winning novelist Terry Kay titled “The Greats of Cuttercane,“ a book of Southern Humor short stories. This item will be available for purchase by a sealed bid process for the duration of the exhibit and all proceeds will go to benefit OCAF. There's a reception this evening, from 6 to 8 p.m., and we know some of our members have work in the exhibition.

Also tonight, from 5 to 7 p.m., there's an opening reception at the Lamar Dodd School of Art for an exhibition of paintings by Dan Barber.