Paintings by Gordon C. James at Cornelius Arts Center.

Davidson’s Art on the Green art sale and community festival returns this April, and organizers are inviting artists to submit applications to show and sell their work. Deadline for applications is next Friday, Feb. 12.

Also, the paintings of Boyd Smith are featured this month at Davidson’s Homewood Suites, off Exit 30 of I-77.

ART ON THE GREEN APPLICATIONS DUE

Art on the Green is one of North Mecklenburg’s largest annual arts festivals and will be held on the Davidson Village Green April 24 and 25, 2010. This event will feature artist’s exhibits, demonstrations, live music, and festive cuisine.

Elizabeth Bradford, award winning artist, teacher, and Davidson native, will be this year’s juror. Applications are available by contacting Margaret Martens at mmartens@ci.davidson.nc.us or downloading an application from the Town of Davidson’s website www.ci.davidson.nc.us under the April is for Arts tab.

Artists must submit digital images of their work along with the application and specify the medium they are using. The exhibit must be original work attributed solely to the demonstrating artist.

BOYD SMITH PAINTINGS at HOMEWOOD SUITES

Boyd Smith's "Looking Forward."

Concord-based artist Boyd Smith is showing his real-life and historical paintings in a special Black History Month exhibit on the walls of the Homewood Suites hotel, off Griffith Street I-77 Exit 30.

Mr. Smith completed a bachelor’s degree in fine arts at UNC-Pembroke in 2007. He has had exhibitions at a variety of North and South Carolina venues over the past couple of years. He won an honorable mention in the Cabarrus County Arts Council’s “Raw Talent” show in 2007 and also has earned recognition for a mural he painted for the 125th anniversary of Grace Lutheran Church in Concord in 2008.

Mr. Smith’s work will be on display through the end of the month.

ALL ABOUT GICLEE PRINTING

Lake Norman Art League’s monthly meeting is Monday, Feb. 8, where Gary Kerr of Fine Art Impressions in Davidson will talk about the giclee method of reproducing original art works. Giclee is a process of digital printmaking that allows artists to reproduce original paintings on canvas or paper.

The meeting begins at 7 p.m. at Ada Jenkins Center, 212 Gamble St.

TALKING ABOUT PUBLIC ART

If you haven’t  caught it yet, there’s an interesting conversation underway this week in the pages of DavidsonNews.net on the topic of public art.

DavidsonNews.net columnist Brenda Barger opened up the can of worms in her Feb. 2 Around Davidson column. Writing about “Bouquet for Davidson” by Andy Dunnill, our town’s first public art sculpture, which sits outside the post office on Main Street, she called it “an assemblage of poorly weathering scrap metal.” Brenda says she’s giving voice to those in town who are afraid to comment publicly on the sculpture, which was installed last April.

There are other sides to the story, including the voices of those residents and elected officials who conceived of and carried a plan to make Davidson one of the few towns its size in the U.S. to have a public art program. Cort Savage, a longtime resident, Davidson College professor and sculptor, offered a reply to Brenda Barger on behalf of the Davidson Public Art Commission. His Thursday letter to the editor explains the rust on “Bouquet” and argues that art is supposed to generate conversation like this.

GORDON JAMES RECEPTION NOW FEB. 26

Gordon C. James

Last weekend’s snowed-out reception for the exhibit of paintings by Gordon C. James at Cornelius Arts Center has been rescheduled to Friday, Feb. 26, 7-9 pm at the arts center, 19725 Oak Street in Cornelius.

Mr. James’ work is on display Monday through Thursday from 9:00 am – 5:00 pm at the Cornelius Arts Center gallery through February 26. Offered by The Community Arts Project and the Cornelius PARC Department, the exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

Mr. James’ work has been exhibited in the New York, Missouri and Washington DC areas and is in the collections of the Hallmark Cards Illustrative Archive, Maryland Public Schools and the University of Delaware. Gordon C. James’ chosen artistic genre has its roots in Impressionism. Inspired by the works of John Singer Sargent, Nicholai Fechin and Henry Ossawa Tanner, Mr. James states “when people see my art I want them to say, ‘I know that person, I know that feeling.’”

The Community Arts Project, offers exhibits, classes, workshops, children’s birthday parties, arts and craft sales and more for ages. The Center is open 9:00 am – 5:00 pm, Monday- Thursday.

To view the latest Spring catalog or register online, go to www.corneliusartscenter.org.

GALLERIES & ART EVENTS

SATURDAY, FEB. 6, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Cornelius Arts Center/Community Arts Project, 19725 Oak St., Cornelius – “Have a Heart Valentine’s Party” for all ages. Come make a Valentine. All card-making supplies provided. www.creativeartexchange.org/

MONDAYS, 6-9 p.m., Creative Art Exchange, Cornelius – open figure drawing sessions, hosted by David Smith. $10 model fee. Contact davidbsmith@bellsouth.net to be added to the notification list.

"Bambini" by Magdalena Abakanowicz.

DAVIDSON COLLEGE BELK VISUAL ART CENTER, Main and Griffith streets – Through Feb. 26: sculpture by Magdalena Abakanowicz. Gallery hours: Weekdays, 10 am – 5 pm, Sat./Sun., noon to 4 p.m. Direction sand details on the college website. See also our Jan. 17 video report, “Sculpture by Magdalena Abakanowicz at Davidson.”

CORNELIUS ARTS CENTER/COMMUNITY ARTS PROJECT, Oak Street Mill, 19725 Oak St., behind the police station, Cornelius – Through Feb. 26: Works by Gordon C. James. Presented by The Town of Cornelius Department of Parks, Arts, Recreation and Culture (PARC) with The Community Arts Project. For information call: 704-896-8823 or visit www.corneliusartscenter.org. Hours: Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more info, contact the Cornelius Arts Center online at corneliusartscenter.org or Details: 704-896-8823.

LAKE NORMAN ART LEAGUE, gallery in South Main Square, 442 S. Main St. – Through March 26: 2010 Winter Exhibit and Sale, featuring work in all media by art league members.  Hours: Weekdays, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Free. Details: 704-620-4450 or www.lknart.org.

MERRILL-JENNINGS GALLERIES, 463 S. Main St. – Hours: Mon-Fri 10–5, Sat 10–3. For more information call 704-895-1213 and visit the website at www.merrilljennings.com

DAVIDSON TOWN HALL Atrium Gallery, 216 S. Main St. – Paintings by Jane Ellithorpe. Open weekdays during Town Hall hours, and other times during Town Hall events.

SUMMIT COFFEE, upstairs, 128 S. Main St. – “Through the Lens,” photos and photo creations by Marisa Cohen. On view during Summit Coffee regular hours.

CHRISTA FAUT GALLERY, 19818 North Cove Road, Jetton Village, Cornelius – Gallery hours: Tuesdays to Fridays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., or by appointment. Information: www.christafautgallery.com or 704-892-5312.

TUESDAY, FEB. 9, 7 p.m., Story Slam Arts Center, 1401 Central Avenue, Suite 103, Charlotte – Dr. Sketchy’s Anti-Art School, at the Charlotte Story Slam. Figure drawing, beer and contests. Bring your own supplies. No one under 18 admitted. Admission: $10. Details:
http://storyslamcharlotte.com/detail.aspx?id=96

ARTWORKS ON MAIN, 165 N. Main St., Mooresville – Current show: Botanical drawings from the “Field Guide to the Piedmont” as well as still lifes, by Betsy Birkner. Coming up, February Gallery Crawl Friday, Feb. 12, 6-9 p.m., Featured artist Carlleena Person Gallery hours: Mondays to Fridays, 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturdays 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Information: artworksonmain.com or 704-664-2414.

WOODEN STONE, 445 S. Main St. – Functional fine art and hand-made objects. February 1-day sale: Saturday, Feb. 6, with 10 percent off all merchandise and up to 40 percent off all collections. Gallery hours: Mondays to Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sundays, 1-5 p.m. 704-892-1449 . www.woodenstonegallery.com.

THE SANCTUARY OF DAVIDSON, 108 S. Main St. (next to Village Store) – Fine art and handmade crafts by local artists. Gallery hours: Monday to Friday, 10:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

ARTIST OPPORTUNITIES

Charlotte Arts & Science Council is accepting applications for Cultural Project Grants. These are aimed at increasing access to arts, science, history and heritage offerings in Mecklenburg neighborhoods and towns. Also available: Cultural Access Grants (increasing community access to African American, Asian, Latino, and Native American cultural experiences). Deadline: March 19, noon. More info at www.ArtsAndScience.org, under the Grants & Funding tab.
The Light Factory in Charlotte is seeking submissions for its third annual Juried Annuale, through Feb. 15. Details: www.lightfactory.org/