While working as the Executive Director of the Montgomery Area Business Committee for the Arts, I always enjoyed getting to know the artist of the year selected to create pieces for the annual Business in the Arts Awards. Never did I dream I would one day be the artist of the year! What an honor to create pieces to celebrate those who support the arts which are critical to the quality of life in our community. Through vibrant arts organizations, individuals participate in, learn from, and are touched by the arts.
The impact of the arts extends beyond the walls of our cultural institutions and arts classrooms as they contribute to our quality of life. This series, “Art Around Us,” was created to remind us that everyday people make the arts a part of their lives for pleasure. The photographs spotlight various individuals including an award-winning high school French horn player who now marches in the band of one of Alabama’s universities and an active community volunteer who owns a small business and paints for pleasure. In honor of those who engage in many art forms is a photograph of sheet music – a key building block. A mother who danced in a local ballet company while in high school let her toes dance for the camera along with those of her daughter, a budding ballerina. And finally, a talented thespian who builds sets and performs on community stages in the River Region shared some of her set-building tools for this photo series. Click here for more info on how you can attend this year’s luncheon to celebrate the arts educators, the arts organization leaders, and the business supporters who touch countless lives through the arts that surround us.
Mother Nature never ceases to amaze me, and I witnessed the early arrivals preparing for their big flight to the Yucatan Peninsula’s Sierra Madre Mountains. The Monarch butterflies pause on the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay and can be enjoyed on the grounds of the beautiful Grand Hotel. I had to share a few of my photos from this past weekend with you.
At current I am facing the difficult task of selecting images to present at the show of my work at Studio 209 in Thomasville, Georgia, opening on November 14th during the first weekend of the Plantation Wildlife Arts Festival. I describe my photographs as being like children – I love them and want to invite them all to participate in the show. Which ones shall I choose?!