by Greg | Nov 22, 2021 | What Will You Create Today?
As one of GCCA’s most dedicated cheerleaders and ambassadors, Laird Green, a Certified Financial Planner at Abacus Planning Group, can often be found at our First Friday events and bringing her friends and colleagues to view our exhibitions. But her strongest pull is toward GCCA’s educational ARTalk series, which her firm has generously sponsored since 2019.
Abacus Planning Group is a fee-only financial advisory firm whose mission is to be a partner for entrepreneurial families with shared assets. Managing over $1.7 billion on behalf of its 250+ families, Abacus consists of a team of multi-disciplinary experts who work collaboratively to serve clients.
As we approach Thanksgiving, Laird explains that thankfulness is top-of-mind year-round for Abacus. “At Abacus, one of our cultural norms is to practice gratitude and we like to openly express our thankfulness in lots of different ways. We think that sharing gratitude is a joy, so we love times like this when we can give a personal shout-out to GCCA and the staff who make the mission a reality. We believe the ARTalks offer our audience the opportunity to interact with GCCA’s exhibiting artists from across the country and learn more about the creative process. “
Abacus Planning Group has three philanthropic pillars: social justice, education, and the arts. Their advisors practice their motto “create abundance” by helping their clients to set and pursue their financial goals as well as by giving back to the community. “We feel like by giving to organizations like GCCA across South Carolina, we can help everyone in our state live a more abundant life,” Laird explains. “We know that we thrive as an organization and individually when our communities thrive.”
When asked about why Abacus supports GCCA and what is meaningful about this partnership, Laird emphasizes how the ARTalks make arts education more accessible to the community and offer a chance for people from all walks of life to connect with the artists. “We think that the ARTalks beautifully connect the artists, and their stories and techniques, to fellows artists and others who are coming to listen and to learn more. Allowing the artists to share their stories is so powerful and the interactive format really engages the audience members who can ask questions and explore more.”
Laird and her colleagues at Abacus Planning Group are passionate about helping explore philanthropic giving with their clients. “We have a conversation with every client around goals for lifetime and legacy gifts,” she says, “and we help clients dovetail those philanthropic goals with tax-savvy strategies. For example, gifting appreciated securities, Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs), and using retirement account beneficiary designations to leave funds to a charity.”
To learn about the many ways you can give to GCCA to support our mission, please contact Chelsea Rudisill, Development Director, at Chelsea@artcentergreenville.org. Thank you for considering GCCA when planning your year-end philanthropic giving. Thanks to a generous donor, your gift of any amount will be matched dollar for dollar until December 31, 2021.
by Greg | Oct 13, 2021 | What Will You Create Today? |
For Jared Stanley, PhD, printmaking presents a fascinating and rewarding way to develop visual communication in his artwork. An Assistant Professor of Art + Design at Bob Jones University and the Chair of the Contemporary Print Collective (CPC), Jared was first drawn to printing in college and now passes on his knowledge teaching techniques in intaglio, relief, serigraphy, lithography, and additive processes.
“I’ve always been a bit of a perfectionist, which meant I keenly felt the ‘work’ side of ‘artwork,’” he explains. “As a graphic design student in my first printmaking class, Harrell Whittington asked us to play with gesso, cut paper, hot glue, sand, and whatever other scraps we could find. The process in making that first collagraph was immensely freeing. ‘Play’ and ‘art’ had not seemed to go together before that.”
In his role at the CPC, Jared works alongside other members to create, exhibit, collaborate, and educate through printmaking and within the contemporary dialectic of art. The group seeks to foster an awareness of original, hand-pulled prints by promoting exhibitions, educational opportunities, and encouraging the art of collecting prints.
CPC has enjoyed a partnership with GCCA for many years, using its facility as a meeting venue, for print fairs, and for exhibitions of local and international print exchanges. Now GCCA and CPC are poised to take their partnership to the next level with the opening of a new printmaking classroom as part of GCCA’s current upfit project, slated for completion in early 2022. “We are thrilled that GCCA has turned to our collective expertise to aid with the development of a printmaking classroom, and I am excited that there will be a shared space to help GCCA accomplish educational goals to expand the printmaking community here in Greenville.” Jared says. “The new printmaking space also will be a valuable resource for local printmakers to practice and produce their art. It can be difficult and cost-prohibitive for an artist to outfit a home workspace for printmaking. We hope that this space will encourage local artists to resume their exploration of printmaking processes and share their work and knowledge with our community.”
With this in mind, the CPC aims to make sure the space has the base necessities for a printmaker working in a variety of intaglio and relief processes. The classroom will include two presses, wash-sinks, paper baths, flat files, worktables, a clean room, and many other features.
by Greg | Sep 6, 2021 | What Will You Create Today?
Before painter Savannah Ralph was selected as one of the 2020-21 Brandon Fellows, Savannah admits, “I wasn’t creating much art, and I had zero connections with local artists. I was bad at maintaining a good practice ethic, I felt uninspired, and my skills and imagination were fading.”
Something about the pandemic prompted Savannah to apply for the Brandon Fellowship, and when selected, Savannah took every opportunity to practice and learn. “Somewhere along the line, I got my creative spark back,” Savannah shares. “Instead of being an artist who only creates sometimes, I became an artist who creates daily. Not only have I improved my diligence, I have also discovered new talents.”
When the fellowship began, Savannah had no idea that a passion for teaching would develop. Now committed to and inspired by passing on knowledge to others, Savannah has become a regular and popular GCCA instructor in acrylic painting.
Savannah has also created a new network of connections with artists and art enthusiasts, as well as Anna Grace Burch and Evan Givens, the other talented 2020-21 Brandon Fellows. “We have wildly different creative processes and styles, but even with our differences, I believe we were able to inspire each other to do our best,” Savannah explains.
The work of these three artists is now on display in GCCA’s Main Gallery as part of the Annual Showcase. They will also be sharing insights into their processes and experiences at an ARTalk on September 14 from 6-7 pm at GCCA that will also be broadcast on Facebook Live.
Savannah’s exhibition focuses on personal struggles with mental health. “The year of my Brandon Fellowship was one of the best and worst years of my life. I was given such an amazing opportunity, but I was also dealing with quite a lot of outside stress. My exhibition represents the complex intricacies of mental illness, my journey to self-discovery, and my search to find meaning in my hardships,” Savannah says. “For me, art is my catharsis. I have painful, overflowing emotions that I need to express. I’ve always found that expressing myself through visual images is easier than finding the words to describe it. Before I was a Brandon Fellow, I was much less confident in my artwork. As a neurodivergent person, I always felt like an outcast. I am confident in my work now, and my ultimate goal as an artist is to create work that viewers can look at and think, ‘I understand. I feel seen.’”
by Greg | Aug 16, 2021 | What Will You Create Today?
Effectively arranging the elements of a composition is key to achieving balance in any work of art. To Flavio Varani, that concept is fundamental. His career as an international concert pianist requires a balance between intuition and dedicated practice to truly thrive in that field. That sentiment should also be associated with his newest calling as an oil painter. “Visual art is simply an addition to my music,” he explains. “I already play music thinking through colors, shapes, and rhythms.”
Flavio recognizes the parallels between the visual arts and music. He chuckles, “Visual art is like music. You need an audience.” And he would know. Flavio plays classical sonatas across the globe from America to Japan and just about everywhere in between. When he is not traveling the world to perform in concert halls, Flavio can be found at GCCA in painting class, attending exhibition openings, or participating in the Annual Showcase. In each of the past three Annual Showcases, he has displayed a painting.
Flavio credits his entire painting class and instructor, Peggy Tanner Day, for the encouragement to exhibit his work. “My class is ideal for me.,” he says. “Peggy respects what I do, gives opinions, and answers my questions. She will find the best in you. That is exactly what I needed.”
Flavio continually seeks to learn, improve, and eventually, exhibit his work as a professional visual artist. His piece in this year’s Annual Showcase is titled “Artichokes and Flowers”. In the painting, he depicts an ensemble of artichokes in various sizes and colorations. He is intrigued by the nuanced greens in the petals in contrast with vibrant colors of their flower’s bloom. However, the importance of the vegetable reaches beyond that of colors. It also has familial ties.
“Artichokes were important in my childhood,” Flavio recalls. “My mother bought artichokes from a farmer. To make the farmer give us the beautiful artichokes, she made us kids play the accordion. So, we as kids, had to entertain the farmer for a better price.”
Be sure to see Flavio’s work alongside many other GCCA members in this year’s Annual Showcase that will be on display until Wednesday, September 22.
by Greg | Jul 19, 2021 | What Will You Create Today?
This week, GCCA Summer Art Camp instructors, Olivia Hueble, Neci Harris, and Kirsten Bush, would like to shine the spotlight on a very special camper. Eight-year-old Eliana Kim has attended nearly every week of Summer Art Camp this year. We wanted to know why, with so many options for youth summer activities in Greenville, Eliana and her family chose GCCA.
Eliana and her mom, Kim, talked with Program Director Liz Rundorff Smith about hobbies, favorite mediums, and future goals. We hope you’ll enjoy the conversation as much as we did.
Be sure to visit the Summer Art Exhibition on Friday, August 6 from 6 – 9pm to see what our Art Campers created this year!
GCCA: Eliana, can you tell us a little bit about you?
ELIANA: I am eight years old, and I love to draw and paint. I love biking, too. I have one brother and have one pet fish named Jelly.
GCCA: Why did you choose to come to art camps at GCCA this summer?
ELIANA: I chose to come to art camp at GCCA because I wanted to experience different kinds of art using different materials, and GCCA was perfect for that. Each week, I was able to work with different materials such as clay, printmaking materials, and fiber art.
GCCA: You’ve participated in several weeks of camp. Can you tell us which week of camp has been your favorite and why?
ELIANA: Clay camp has been my favorite so far because it was my first time working with clay, and I got to build a sculpture with it. It was very fun and a new experience for me. I learned that when clay is breaking, you use water on the clay.
GCCA: Why do you think art is important?
ELIANA: I think art is important because it brings out a person’s creativity and allows people to share it with each other.
GCCA: What kinds of art projects would you like to do more of in the future?
ELIANA: I would like to do more painting in the future because it is my favorite activity, and I can also learn about different types of paints to create my artwork.
by Greg | Jun 14, 2021 | What Will You Create Today?
Jordan Winiski first learned about Greenville Center for Creative Arts five years ago when she was a high school student attending the Fine Arts Center. Jordan wanted to get involved in the arts community outside of the classroom so she volunteered to help with the kid’s activity during a First Friday at GCCA and found a place where she could see that people of all ages felt included and supported. Jordan knew that being part of GCCA would help to foster her love of the arts and her desire to teach so she continued to find ways to get involved.
The arts have been important to Jordan for as long as she can remember. For Jordan, art provides a way of thinking, communicating, problem-solving, learning, and expressing herself. Growing up Jordan remembers her gramma taking her to art museums and always having a new package of Model Magic for her to play with. Because Jordan’s family values and appreciates art, she has always felt supported enough to pursue her interest. In addition to family support, Jordan credits amazing art teachers who inspired her and made her want to pursue becoming an artist and an art teacher. She recently graduated from Furman University where she majored in Sustainability Science and Studio Art with a concentration in ceramics.
With a Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Science degree under her belt, Jordan hopes to continue teaching and creating ceramic artwork before pursuing a Master of Fine Arts Degree in the future. Jordan is currently a lead art instructor for GCCA’s Summer Art Camps and will be offering Functional Sculpture for Teens on Tuesdays from 1 – 4 pm beginning July 13 and Sketchbook Design for Teens on Thursdays from 1 – 4 pm beginning July 15 this summer.
As a teacher, Jordan hopes to cultivate a community of young artists who are able to discover an artistic voice by bringing their interests to life through visual art. In the classroom, Jordan incorporates experiential activities and community engagement to help students develop a connection to a broader sense of self. She encourages students to consider how pulling from experiences outside of the classroom will impact how they choose to express themselves as artists. Jordan believes that education is critical at all ages and finds that GCCA is unique because it is an organization that provides programs for all ages and skill levels, combines an inclusive vision with community outreach, and fosters a deep commitment to education. As Jordan states, “GCCA is a crucial part of a thriving community that fosters collaboration, student ownership in their work, social activism, personal expression, and overall a lifelong investment in the arts.”
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