What's Up - Your guide to what's happening in Fayetteville, AR this week!
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10 WHAT'S UP! APRIL 26-MAY 2, 2020 I have ceramic chimp and monkey items, stuffed monkeys and monkey books. Several pieces in that collection are sock monkeys that include a stuffed Christmas sock monkey toy, a vampire sock monkey and a very tiny one-inch crocheted sock monkey. "The collection in my studio that garners the most attention, though, is a rather large grouping of antique watercolor tins," he goes on. "Most still contain the original paints. They range in size from the common Prang brand tin that has eight colors in it to very large tins with a color selection of more than 50. Many of the illustrations on the tin boxes are works of art that reflect the time they were manufactured, and the designs were obviously geared toward marketing to children. Several of the paint tins have been gifts from friends and collectors of my art. Being surrounded by fun collectibles in my studio helps to create a joyful mood that I try to reflect through my art." Taylor will also miss the opportunity to introduce smaller pieces of art — most of them 5x7 inches — that are acrylic on canvas, a new direction for him in the last few months. "I personally have little wall space in my home to add additional art, and I hear the same from other collectors," he says. "That's one reason I started creating smaller pieces. I thought perhaps collectors could find room for a tiny painting. And that seems to be true. And young art lovers find the smaller pieces an affordable way to start collecting. I love seeing my work, big or small, going to new homes. "The walk will return," Taylor concludes adamantly. "If not this year, we will be back next year. I'm looking forward to our 30th anniversary walk whenever it does happen. I'm also looking forward to the hundreds of hugs I'll receive at White Street." COVER STORY White Walk Continued From Page 9 Mary Springer Mary Springer is a sculptor and painter with a BFA in metalsmithing and sculpture from the Memphis (Tenn.) College of Art. In addition to helping start the White Street Walk, she is one of the founders of Eureka Springs School of the Arts. "My spirituality and creativity are the core of what I am. My maternal grandmother was a South- ern belle who made things. My maternal grandfather owned a candy shop and invented things. They told me I was very special, could do or be anything I set my heart on and had been given a special gift from God. I believed them." Email maryspringer37@ gmail.com Hilka Irvin Hilka Irvin is a Minne- sota native who made Eureka Springs her home just over six years ago. She is a self-taught artist who works in various mediums — oils, acrylics, watercolor — all reflective of her process and mood. "I believe that for art to truly speak to some- one else, it needs to speak to me first — so I paint or photograph what I see, what I feel, what touches or inspires me, without reference to a pre-conceived theme or some other construct. I have been called 'eclectic' more than once, and it's a moniker I wear with pride." theartstation.gallery Barbara Kennedy Barbara Kennedy grew up in a small conservative town in south- ern Oklahoma where she took the same art class as many times as she could and quickly started winning regional art shows, vari- ous contests and was presented the school's only art scholarship, the Arno Art Award. "Color and design in nature, character and emotion in people, images from my dreams and imagination — these are the things that inspire me to paint. Whether a portrait of a person, flower, place or situation, it's the light dancing off a surface that intrigues me." barbarakennedystudio.com Rigdon Irvin For his 12th birthday Rigdon Irvin's father took him to Eureka Springs, and he fell in love with the town, the people and the art. He vowed he would someday live and be an artist there. He made that vow a reality when he made Eureka his home in 2015. "I love color and watching it explode on the canvas. I love incorporating the architec- tural lines of the mid-century, as well as the atomic themes of the space age. Being an abstract artist allows me the freedom to create art from an 'anything goes' mindset. theartstation. gallery