"Sero sed serio"

Frank Kerr

Watercolors & drawings

November 5 – December 3

Opening Reception: Saturday, November 5, 4-7 pm

Beaufort Art Center is proud to present the watercolors and drawings of artist and architect Frank Kerr, now in his tenth decade at 97 and living in Beaufort. The exhibited works span the early 1930s to the present. This is the artist’s first solo show.

Frank Kerr was born in Montreal in 1914. He spent his education years in Washington, DC, where in 1938 he earned degrees in Architecture and Fine Arts from George Washington University. His work years as an architect were in Minnesota.

He attended drawing classes on scholarship at the National School of Fine and Applied Arts in Washington, DC, while in high school. At the age of 18, Kerr created pen and ink cartoons of the history of baseball, which he researched at the Library of Congress. The drawings are on the level of portraiture. The Beaufort Art Center presents several of these cartoon strips.
A later drawing, “Early Christian Basilica” (Italy’s Orvieto cathedral) won First Prize and Second Medal in a contest for New York’s Beaux Arts Institute of Design for Archaeological Research in 1936-37. It is a work of art that conveys the soaring height and luminescence of this splendid cathedral.

Expressionistic impressionist Frank Kerr is also exhibiting over 50 plein-air and studio watercolors of natural and built landscapes of North America and Europe. Doing a watercolor requires the courage of certainty and simplification. A brushstroke is essentially a touch, a dance of paint. His mixing and application of paint ranges from the lightest possible wash to heavily pigmented darks. Each place he has visited over his long life has become a painting.

What is art? “You have form, water, air, fire and all of that. Expressions of art are expressions of what those forms can do. But the basics of art came first. “ -- Frank Kerr, 2011

Frank and his wife Mary now live in Beaufort in a house surrounded by flowering foliage on the outside and walls of vibrant art on the inside. Their daughter and son-in-law Kathleen and Mark Schurdevin live with them.

www.frankkerr.com

252-725-7162

Watercolor Class at BAC

WATERCOLOR CLASS

Instructor Jane Horner

Thursdays, 5:30 - 8pm

September 15-November 17

$20 per class

The medium of watercolor offers qualities that no other kind of paint can give: immediacy and portability. As with all paints, it adapts to simplicity or to the complex. There are endless discoveries of transparency/luminosity and layering, both flow and edge control, bold splash or intricate detail.

I. Practices of mixing paint, loading a brush, and control of flow of paint on paper

II. Basics of color theory and layering. Translucence.

III. Composition and drawing. Form. Light and dark. Texture.

For more info/supplies and to enroll contact Jane Ellen Horner, Instructor for the Beaufort Art Center

802-734-1002

janehorner7@gmail.com

Jane Ellen Horner

Columns:

Installation, Abstract Paintings & Assemblages

For those of you who haven't had a chance to see Jane Ellen Horner's show (and those who would like to see it again) we have extended it through this weekend. Special hours: Sat. 2-4 pm and Sun. 12-4 pm at the Beaufort Art Center, 204 Turner Street, Beaufort, NC.

Jane Ellen Horner, firmly established as one the leading Vermont based visual artists, has recently returned to North Carolina after living in New England for 40 years. Her mediums are painting, drawing, installation and assemblage.

Jane’s artwork is informed by process. It is exploratory and naturally ebullient work that is beyond product. Both the installations and the paintings are entirely grounded by the earth and yet impart at least a hint of some world far from our own; from seed to star, profane to sacred. The collections and assemblages are gatherings of disparate nature-made and man-made objects, which convey a time-stretch as artifacts.


Her use of light, a keen understanding of color, and a quest for elegance of form is consistent throughout her work. There is also a never-ending air of discovery that clearly illustrates the ability to integrate knowledge, wisdom and skill to realize her personal vision.

Jane earned a Master of Fine Arts from the UNC Greensboro, and is the recipient of several grants and fellowships. Her work is widely shown in galleries and universities. Bank of the Arts in New Bern is currently showing her work. To see more of her work visit her website: www.janehornerartist.net

Hours: Thursday-Saturdays 5-8 pm, Sundays 5-7 pm and by appointment. For more information call 252-622-8416 or 802-734-1002.

Columns: Installation, Abstract Paintings & Assemblages

July 30 through August 28, 2011

The Beaufort Art Center presents the work of Jane Ellen Horner. Firmly established as one the leading Vermont based visual artists, she has recently returned to North Carolina after living in New England for 40 years. Her mediums are painting, drawing, installation and assemblage.

Jane’s artwork is informed by process. It is exploratory and naturally ebullient work that is beyond product. Both the installations and the paintings are entirely grounded by the earth and yet impart at least a hint of some world far from our own; from seed to star, profane to sacred. The collections and assemblages are gatherings of disparate nature-made and man-made objects, which convey a time-stretch as artifacts.

Her use of light, a keen understanding of color, and a quest for elegance of form is consistent throughout her work. There is also a never-ending air of discovery that clearly illustrates the ability to integrate knowledge, wisdom and skill to realize her personal vision.

Jane earned a Master of Fine Arts from the UNC Greensboro, and is the recipient of several grants and fellowships. Her work is widely shown in galleries and universities. Bank of the Arts in New Bern is currently showing her work. To see more of her work visit her website: www.janehornerartist.net

Opening Reception July 30th 5-8 pm at the Beaufort Art Center, 204 Turner Street, Beaufort, NC. Hours: Thursday-Saturdays 5-8 pm, Sundays 5-7 pm and by appointment. For more information call 252-622-8416 or 802-734-1002.

Shibori~~~ Indigo Dye Workshop

Raleigh artists Susan Oliver Fennell and Janine LeBlanc will hold their third two-day indigo dye workshop at the Beaufort Art Center, 204 Turner Street, Beaufort, NC on Saturday, July 16th from 10 am to 5 pm and Sunday, Sunday July 17th from noon to 5 pm.

Indigo dyeing has been practiced all over the world for hundreds of years. Its characteristic blue color can range from a pale sky blue to nearly black and is still used to dye denim jeans.

In this workshop, participants will use a traditional Japanese approach to transforming fabric using stitching, binding, capping, pole wrapping and clamping. We will use a slow and meditative approach to the design and preparation of a piece of fabric to be used for a specific project -- an article of clothing, fabric for a garment, quilt or tablecloth. The fabric will first be dyed a solid color using Procion MX dye and then overdyed and discharged using indigo. Participants can either bring their own fabric or contact the workshop leaders for suggestions. No previous dyeing or sewing experience is necessary.

Susan spent her formative years in Japan and brings a deep understanding of Japanese culture. She has taught both Japanese language and indigo dyeing in Wake County schools, as well as Shibori workshops for Elementary School teachers. Janine brings her experience from her work with Japanese textiles at the Gregg Museum of Art and Design at NCSU.

To register for the workshop, call 252-622-8416 and leave a message or e-mail art.beaufort.center@gmail.com. The workshop is limited to 10 participants with a minimum of six. Please reserve your space by registering before July 12th. Cost is $115 which includes the cost of the dyes.

For additional information about the workshop:

Contact Janine at 919-881-8330 or jleblanc33@earthlink.net

Photos of Susan's work can be found at www.susanfennellstudio.com

Life in a Fishbowl

This weekend only! Opening reception tonight July 2 5-10 pm

Five members of the Beaufort Art Group: Craig Gurganis, Lisa Tuchek, Trista Hudzik Reynolds, Abigail Poray & Brett Harrison. Featuring art that ranges from pottery, sculpture, paintings, prints and hand-made jewelry. Inspired by life in a small coastal town, elements of the natural ocean setting and the interactions we have with it are reflected in their work.

Hours: Sat 1pm-7pm, Sun 12noon-4pm, Mon 10am-2pm.

Beaufort Art Center, 204 Turner Street

American Adventures of the Curiously Bizarre

Thanks to everyone who came to see the show. Special thanks to those who sent in dirt road samples from around the country. That project is still ongoing, so if you or someone you know would like to contribute let me know and I'll send you the specs. I'd also like to thank Hannah's Haus for supplying the refreshments for the opening. The response was overwhelmingly positive. If you weren't able to attend check out the slideshow.

Selected Photos from David Franck's upcoming show "American Adventures of the Curiously Bizarre"

David Franck's "American Adventures of the Curiously Bizarre"

      Coming May 28^th - June 12^th, the Beaufort Art Center will feature New York photographer David Franck’s visual odyssey of grand Americana at its twentieth century peak. Titled American Adventures of the Curiously Bizarre, his work highlights our nation’s more unusual folkloric history through images, multi-media, and installations. The opening reception will be at the Beaufort Art Center, 204 Turner St. May 28 from 2-5 p.m, and is sponsored by Hannah's Haus.

     The show is a culmination of David’s travels throughout the country. It features images of carnival-inspired roadside attractions, outlandish architecture, foreign replicas and eccentric art. The work captures the often forgotten corners that once made hitting the American road truly an adventure.

Reminiscent of an era when travel on planes was considered a luxury most could not afford and the road was still king, David shows just how incredible the American Road Trip really was, and aims to illustrate that this spirit lives on, waiting once again to be discovered by an entirely new generation.

David Franck worked as a photographer and graphic designer in New York City until his recent relocation to the coast of North Carolina. He has traveled extensively and his work has been shown in galleries around the country, as well as reprinted in numerous publications. David is currently working on a book documenting his travels and his love for the American road.

     Show hours are weekends, May 28th, 29th, 30th; June 4th - 5th and 11th -12th,  Saturdays 10-6, Sundays 12-6, Memorial Day 12-6. Thursdays and Fridays the show will be open June 2nd - 3rd  and  9th - 10th  from 10AM-2PM. Make sure to join our event on Facebook!

Anita Francis' Book Sculptures May 7- 22, 2011

The Beaufort Art Center will be exhibiting Anita Francis' innovating book sculptures May 7-22, with the artist opening from 2pm-4pm on Saturday May 7, 2011.

Anita explains, “I find it an exciting challenge to explore a way to give a relinquished book a new life. The process of remodeling damaged and discarded books into sculptural art pieces has developed over the past several years, stemming from my life-long practice of painting and of crafting objects of art by hand. Through the process of folding and cutting away the parts of a book’s pages revealing its interior, the remaining fragments are still attached to the binding and brought through or around the piece allowing the book to be viewed inside-out. In the spirit of recycling, by taking old and discarded objects and remodeling them for a fresh viewing, I cherish what books have given to me, by transforming their interiors and exposing their beauty in an unusual and ‘out-of-context’ form.”

As Elizabeth W. Jackson, writer for artsee magazine, notes: “…The show illustrates the variety in her work and the possibilities of the medium. Some flow into space while others remain compact, drawing the viewer close to read the text, to examine the intricate cuts and shapes. While some are abstract and symbolic, others offer up the forms already present.”


The May/June issue of artsee will have an article about Beaufort artist and resident Anita Francis and her work in the upcoming exhibit at the Beaufort Arts Center. Copies may be picked up at Handscapes Gallery in downtown Beaufort, NC www.ncartsee.com.


The Beaufort Art Center will be open for this show May 7-22, with the Opening from 2p-4p on Saturday May 7, 2011. The Center will be open: Saturdays 10a-6p, Sundays 12p-6p, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays 10a-2p.

For more information contact Flora Lea Louden at art.beaufort.center@gmail.com or 252-622-8416