Tuesday, May 3, 2011

May-June Display Gallery Exhibits Announced by Smyrna Library

Marvelous Junque by Marlis Cornett on display through June.

Artist Statement:

I've been an artist as long as I can remember. It probably started at the young age of five, when I decided to paint my dad's car with the exterior house paint. Needless to say, that didn't go over real well and I experienced my first art critic.

My artistic journey has been painting with acrylics, oil, pastels - whether portraits of people, pets, or landscapes, and then found I could mix mediums with surprising results.

Piano art: These unique works of art began with my own childhood piano which was beyond reasonable repair but held such sentimental value for the entire family that it broke my heart to simply toss it out like trash. I took all the keys and the hammers (little oval felt pieces that hit the strings) and made several unique pieces of art for family members. To personalize each piece, I added their favorite sheet music, special embellishments, names from Scrabble tiles, and other sentimental objects to make the family piano their own lasting piece of art.

Box art: these small sturdy brick size boxes were perfect to create a unique canvas and "shadow box" for art. Glued together, applied paper mache' and gesso for a painting surface, turning one the opposite way for special objects and box art was born. Again, recycled art.

I love creating art from precious objects buried in drawers or boxes in the attic, but which need to be seen and enjoyed - through recycled-to-art.


Go GREEN! Buy recycled-to-art!

 

Monday, May 2, 2011

May-June Art Gallery Exhibits Announced by Smyrna Library

Photography by Mike Nalley on display through June.

Mike Nalley is a professional photographer specializing in fine art portraits and commercial photography. Mike works a lot on series or themes such as The Abandonment which involves abandoned homes and the things left behind. Mike's major interests lie in abandoned buildings, factories, and homes. Also people down on their luck or in desolate circumstances. Mike spends time each year teaching and giving workshops across the southeastern US. Mike is the founder and president of the Paulding Photography Club, and president of Paulding Fine Arts Association. He is a member of The Artists Guild of N. W. Georgia, Marietta/Cobb Museum of Art, Atlanta Photography Group, and Museum of Contemporary Art GA.

Mike, a native Georgian, was born in Carrrollton, GA in 1955 and now resides in Dallas, GA, a small rural area in a larger metropolitan area. Mike first started using an SLR Minolta SRT 101 in 1974 at the age of nineteen. He began shooting and teaching himself photography and really fell in love with the process. In 1978 Mike started his schooling at the Art Institute of Atlanta, receiving an Associate of Arts in Photography in 1980. Mike worked at Foster and Associates as a custom color and black and white printer from 1979-1981.

Mike opened his first studio in Marietta, GA in 1981, and concentrated mainly on commercial work including lots of annual reports and architectural work. He stayed with the studio until 1984, when he opened a new business in irrigation and got married in 1985. Mike stayed away from photography for almost 21 years.

Mike went on to become a successful Realtor and after a great year in 2005 he decided to spend a month on St. George Island on the panhandle of Florida. He took along his old 35mm equipment and decided to try his hand at his old field. After a month of shooting all over the panhandle he actually had few printable images, but he was hooked again.

Mike went digital in early 2006 and since has won many awards and competitions. Mike now works with Canon digital cameras and has a great career in Fine Art Photography. He shows his work all across Georgia and surrounding states. He does workshops and classes in Georgia, Florida. and North Carolina. You can reach him at the following:

http://mikenalleyphotography.com/
mike@mikenalleyphotography.com
770-235-2355

 

Sunday, May 1, 2011

2011 Annual Spring Jonquil Festival Book Sale Concludes


The 2011 Annual Spring Jonquil Festival Book Sale concluded today. More than 40 volunteers operated the booth for 2 days over the weekend. Hundreds of books were sold and approximately $2000 was raised for the library. We wish to thank all of our shoppers and our dedicated volunteers.

Our next book sale will be at the Frozen Yogurt Social in July.