WVWS President Jeannine Romano was pleased for the organization to be exhibited at Gallery 842.

“During the past two years as president of the West Virginia Watercolor Society, I have been continually amazed and inspired by the caliber of talented artists we have in our state,” Romano said. “The motto ‘to promote and ensure a high standard of watercolor painting’ is demonstrated by many of our members, who mentor and teach watercolor painting throughout the region. It is exciting for us to bring our creative flair to the Huntington area.”

The exhibit was juried by John Farley, gallery director and adjunct art faculty member at Marshall University. A graduate of Marshall University’s Department of Art and Design, Farley’s work has been chosen for display in the Huntington Museum of Art and the West Virginia Culture Center, among others.

Farley encouraged the public to view this exhibit, noting the diversity and talent represented in the show.

“There are a wide variety of examples of various watercolor techniques – despite the fact that they are all under the umbrella of watercolor paintings,” Farley said. “Viewers will find everything from highly representational portraiture to gestural abstract paintings.”

Gallery 842 is both a community- and Marshall University-held space to promote local talent and initiative. The gallery is a free cultural experience for any artist or art enthusiast. Summer hours are as follows: Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays from noon to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays from 1 to 5 p.m.

For more information or questions about Gallery 842, or any College of Fine Arts events, contact Jaye Ike by phone at 304-696-3296 or by e-mail at jaye.ike@marshall.edu.

The Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Downtown Live Committee will host its 3rd Annual Children’s Art Festival Extravaganza (CAFÉ)

When: Saturday, June 12 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Ninth Street Plaza between Third & Fourth Avenues
The 3rd annual CAFÉ event will have activities for children 12 years old and younger. Some of the arts featured are the following: book making, stamp art, tie-dye art, sculptures, a children’s community mural and others.

The event is free for everyone.
Other activities will include performances by the Cabell County Public Library Puppets, Jeslyn Performing Arts Center and visits from a clown. The Cabell County Sheriff’s Department will be on hand to do children’s finger printing.

A Sidewalk Art Sale will run from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Various artists will display and sell their works on the plaza during the event. Arts for the sale will include: Photography, Oils, Pastels, Quilting, Jewelry, Hair Accessories, Miniature Framed Artwork and Outsider Art.

For more information, contact the Chamber at (304) 525-5131.

Earnhart’s and Kiley’s show consists primarily of sculpture, including installations and freestanding forms. Most are new works, but some are collaborative pieces. According to the artists, the work engages the viewer beyond the visual and uses space to create irreverence.

Kiley and Earnhart met in 2009 when Kiley started as the studio technician in ceramics at Marshall. Earnhart was the sculpture technician in the same building. Earnhart saw Kiley’s work and thought that it would fit in well with the Buswater group, with which he had started exhibiting work in Charleston. Earnhart arranged for Kiley to join the group also and start showing in West Virginia.

Kiley describes his work as having more than just surface value.

“I try to build rewards into my work for the viewer who takes the time to investigate,” Kiley said. “Mark and I decided to try and get a show set up together in not so much that our work is similar, but that we think about and approach art in the same way.”

That similarity in philosophy is apparent when the two speak about their work.

“The work that I am currently producing is rooted within my observational self,” Earnhart said. “I have found that by looking at the physical details of my own space and place I am able to create work that narrates subjectivity. My work is fundamentally based on my own circumstance but the resulting outcome in sculpture takes on an autonomous narrative. My philosophy is not to take on individuality in a heavy-handed way but rather look at the physical and conceptual details and play with expected outcomes.”

Earnhart earned a B.F.A. in sculpture from Ohio University. He came to Marshall in 2007 as an academic lab manager. Kiley came to West Virginia when his wife accepted a position as a federal park ranger with the Army Corps of Engineers.

Gallery 842 is both a community and university held space to promote local talent and initiative. The gallery is a free cultural experience for any artist or art enthusiast and is located at 842 4th Ave. in downtown Huntington.

Bottoms is the author of seven collections of poems, including the Walt Whitman Award-winning Shooting Rats at the Bibb County Dump, praised by Robert Penn Warren as having “a vision [in which] the actual world is not transformed, but illuminated.” Recent books include his selected poems, Armored Hearts, and Waltzing Through the Endtime.

He has earned fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation and the National Endowment for the Arts. Among his other awards are the Levinson and Frederick Bock Prizes of Poetry magazine, an Ingram Merrill Award, and an Award in Literature from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters.

As a Southern writer, Bottoms’ style is both narrative and contemplative, possessed of what James Dickey has called a “sardonic yet compassionate countryman’s voice.” His poems explore both our natural and human-created landscapes, uncovering the history of a place in the collective memory of its people. He holds the Amos Distinguished Chair in English Letters at Georgia State University.

Bottoms’ appearance is a featured presentation of the Visiting Writers Series, sponsored by the Marshall University English Department and the College of Liberal Arts. It is free and open to the public.

The Marshall Artists Series opera chat welcomes anyone interested in learning more about the art of Opera and the Artists Series production of Mozart’s Don Giovanni performing Monday March 15th at 8:00pm in The Keith Albee Performing Arts Center. The Opera Chat participants will gain insight into “What is Opera?”, “How do I listen to Opera?” along with a break-down of Mozart’s Don Giovanni. Refreshments will be served and this event is free and open to the public.

Dr. Larry Stickler is a Professor of Music at Marshall University where he teaches voice and is serving his second term as faculty senate chair. He has also served as the first assistant dean of the College of Fine Arts at Marshall. He earned his Doctor of Music degree in voice pedagogy, literature and performance; his Master of Music degree in voice and choral music; and his Bachelor of Music Education degree in voice and choral music from the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music.

Dr. Stickler served as the Dean for the West Virginia Governor’s School for the Arts in 1999, 2000, 2005, and 2006, and served on the faculty of the West Virginia Governor’s Honors Academy in 2002, 2003 and 2004. Dr. Stickler is active as a bass-baritone soloist, conductor, clinician, adjudicator and church musician. He is also President of the West Virginia Music Educators Association.

Tickets for Mozart’s Don Giovanni are on sale NOW, and may be purchased at The Marshall Artists Series Box Office, located in the Joan C. Edwards Playhouse, open Monday—Friday, noon—5 P.M. Or call the Box Office at (304)-696-6656. Adults tickets range from $45-$55 and Youth may receive a 20% discount. Tickets can be purchased on-line at www.marshallartistsseries.org, or www.ticketmaster.com.

Mozart’s Don Giovanni is sponsored by St. Mary’s Medical Center, HIMG, WKEE, WOWK, The Herald Dispatch, Marshall University, & The College of Fine Arts.

Dobbs will perform on a flute created by Chris Abell of Ashville, N. C., while Alves will perform on his new guitar made by John H. Dick of West Branch, Ia. Dobbs’ new flute is a modern Boehm system flute but is distinctive in that it is made of African blackwood like the other flutes he plays and has a dark, rich fullness of sound. Alves’ new guitar features the modern sandwich top design that enhances response and volume.

“Flute and guitar is one of the most satisfying of musical combinations and these new instruments seem to make the blend even more effortless,” Dobbs said.

Dobbs and Alves will perform music from a wide range of countries and historical periods from the 18th century through the 1990s. A sonata by the Italian High Baroque master, Pietro Locatelli, leads off the program, followed by a sonata from the early 19th century by Theodor Gaude. Moving to Spain, the duo will perform Joaquin Rodrigo’s “Morning Serenade,” then American Joan Tower’s “Snow Dreams” and conclude with Argentine composer Maximo Pujol’s “Suite Buenos Aires.” This last work musically describes in its four movements various locations in the city. For instance, the second movement, “San Telmo,” describes the city’s oldest neighborhood with its fast, syncopated dance rhythms. The last movement, “Microcentro,” describes the fast traffic and congestion of the city center.

“We have a diverse and talented faculty in our department,” Byron Clercx, chair of the Department of Art and Design, said. “In this exhibition we chose to feature our new and adjunct faculty. We wanted to announce the arrival of these new artists to the campus and local community. Additionally, we felt it was appropriate – and somewhat overdue – to allow the adjuncts to share the stage.”

New full-time faculty represented in the show include Miyuki Cook, Daniel Kaufmann, Natalie Larsen and Eric Ruegg. Adjunct faculty include Linda Anderson, Daniel Cook, Mark Earnhart, John Farley, Natalie Gibbs and Kristin Zammiello.

Farley, who is also director of the gallery, notes the breadth of the work displayed at Marshall University. “Among the numerous disciplines represented are painting, drawing, prints, sculpture, jewelry, photography and textiles,” Farley said. “The skillful and eclectic nature of this show illustrates the broad range of talent in our faculty.”

Clercx added that an exhibit of faculty work is particularly valuable for students to experience. “It is important for students to see that arts educators are also active arts practitioners and scholars,” Clercx said.

A reception will take place in the atrium outside the gallery from 6 to 8 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 3. The reception includes a “slide jam” at 7 p.m. in 154 Smith Hall. The slide jam is a compilation of brief visual presentations by each participating artist of a broader spectrum of his or her work.

The Birke Art Gallery is open from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 6 to 8 p.m. on Monday evenings. It is located in Smith Hall on the corner of Hal Greer Blvd. and 3rd Avenue in Huntington. Admission is free and all events are open to the public.