Second Nature

Biological Aesthetics

2011-09-29T09:06:00.000-04:00

http://www.yorkarts.org/

"Biological Aesthetics: Investigating the Art in Science"
YorkArts Gallery
10 N Beaver St, York, PA
Event Dates: September 29 - November 19, 2011
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 29, 6pm - 8pm
...
YorkArts presents: "Biological Aesthetics: Investigating the Art in Science"
This exhibit showcases artists whose works reference biological subject matter, this exhibit seeks to inject our audience with the notion that science and art are not separate ventures, and that inspiration and innovation are closely linked. This exhibition intends to straddle two seemingly different worlds and bring them together to form an interesting cohesive experience. A variety of art mediums will be displayed.

Featuring artwork by Joan Austin, Ophelia Chambliss, Hollie Chantiles, Christel Emenheiser, Annalisa Gojmerac, Ian Hart, Amy Kopperude, Christina Nguyen Hung, Judeth Pekala Hawkins, Susan Scofield, Nicole Smeltzer, Abby Spangel Perry, and Amy Youngs.

Please join us for the opening reception on Thursday, September 29 from 6-8pm

Aquatic Synthesis

2011-06-20T22:29:00.000-04:00

Aquatic SynthesisThe closing reception of Aquatic Synthesis is this Friday 6-9pm @ WHQR Gallery.

Aquatic Synthesis

2011-04-07T07:57:00.000-04:00

Aquatic Synthesis

WHQR invites you to view the creative paintings of
Charmaine Ortiz and Abby Spangel Perry
"Aquatic Synthesis"

Join us Friday, April 22nd from 6 - 9pm
for the WHQR Gallery opening reception.
Meet the artists and enjoy complimentary wine and snacks.
A portion of all sales benefits WHQR.

Aquatic Synthesis brings together the work of two talented local artists, Charmaine Ortiz and Abby Spangel Perry. The artists describe the show as “Broad in theory: of or relating to the water, but synthesized through artistic process.” The works of Abby Spangel Perry and Charmaine Ortiz draw upon the unique biological and psychological structures surrounding the notion of the Aquatic for the inspired creation of their mixed media works. Abby Spangel Perry's work takes a biological approach by utilizing scientific drawings of plankton as a starting point for a series of mixed-media paintings. Perry’s focus on the most minute components of the aquatic food chain is an effort to draw attention to the creatures that form the basis of aquatic life as we know it. Charmaine Ortiz examines the physical and psychological structures related to the Aquatic using processes of abstraction. Ortiz’ graphite paintings and time-based media rely on abstraction’s unfolding dynamic to expose the structural and psychological essence of her unique subjects. These two complimenting bodies of work have been streamlined into a single show, Aquatic Synthesis on view at the WHQR Gallery.

Charmaine Ortiz grew up in the small farming town of Meadow, North Carolina. She moved to Wilmington in 2003 to attend the University of North Carolina, where she earned Bachelor of Arts degrees in Painting and Art History. She has participated in numerous group exhibitions and has hosted a variety of art historical presentations at annual symposiums conducted by the North Carolina Association of Historians and Savannah College of Art and Design. Prior to her graduate studies she assisted local artist Virginia Wright-Frierson in building Airlie Gardens’ Minnie Evans Bottle Chapel. In 2008, Savannah College of Art and Design awarded her the Combined Honors Fellowship to facilitate her completion of dual graduate degrees in Art History (MA) and Painting (MFA). After completing her MFA, she received the SCAD Encore Thesis Award for one of the most outstanding MFA thesis exhibitions of 2010. She is currently living in Carolina Beach, NC finishing her Art History MA and exhibiting her mixed-media works across the nation.

Abby Spangel Perry’s relationship to art developed out of a love of drawing from cartoons as a child in Pennsylvania. After a move to North Carolina to work with Americorps in Wilmington, Perry discovered an overpowering connection with the natural environment. In 2002, she earned a BFA in Painting with honors from East Carolina University. While there, Perry participated in the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources Environmental Education certification program and was awarded an internship through the NC Youth Advocacy Commission to work at Carolina Beach State Park. It was there that she developed her understanding of ecology and humanity's role within its framework. In 2004, Perry received the NC Arts Council Regional Emerging Artist Grant and returned to ECU in 2005. She received an MFA in Painting and Drawing at the end of 2007. Perry currently teaches Drawing, Design and Art Appreciation at Cape Fear Community College in Downtown Wi

Fritzi Huber Article for Wilma Magazine

2011-02-19T08:55:00.000-05:00

Here is a link to my latest article about Fritzi Huber for Wilma Magazine

Wildlife

2010-10-06T09:13:00.000-04:00

Project 30: Wildlife

Here is a link to Wildlife, an online juried show that I was accepted into in June. The following is a description for the show submission.

The earliest artworks known to us, cave paintings from over 30,000 years ago, prominently feature depictions of animals. It is suggested those subterranean images might have been intended as a form of "hunting magic", an attempt by ancient artists to summon up game and increase the yield of the hunt. Another theory is that prehistoric shamans believed that by retreating into dark, secreted caves and creating images of powerful beasts they could draw power from those images into themselves, perhaps even taking on attributes of the beasts they depicted.
Millennia later in Egyptian reliefs, gods were regularly given the form of half-human half-animal hybrids. Ra the sun god is depicted with the head of a falcon, and sores through the sky on a flaming ship bringing light to the world. Set, originally the patron of Upper Egypt, would eventually be depicted with the head of a jackal, and be associated with all things chaotic and evil. The animal form symbolically conveys to the viewer the god's nature and supernatural abilities.
On the other side of the Atlantic Ocean, Native North American peoples held a variety of beliefs centered around sacred spirit animals. In their arts, crafts, and religious monuments its apparent that a reverence for nature and a faith in the power of animals as spiritual guides was an intrinsic part of the belief system.
In modern art and culture, the human/animal divide is still a topic of interest: from the ever growing field of wildlife photography, to the embalmed sculptures of Damien Hirst, to the current cultural obsession with animalistic monsters such as vampires and werewolves.

Countertransference

2010-10-05T16:49:00.001-04:00

Countertransference
Here is a link to images from the show Countertransference.

Countertransference, a group exhibiton at UNC Wilmington ran from May 28 until August 6 at UNCW's Cultural Arts Building.

Featuring Lauren Frances Adams, Dan Brawley, Anne Brennan, Mei Ling Cann, Jonathan Cobbs, Adam Jacono, Abby Spangel Perry, Dixon Stetler, Jim Tisnado and Jan-Ru Wan.

The show was curated by Michael Webster.

Key Show

2010-05-09T08:54:00.000-04:00

My newest piece "Pandora". It was juried into the fabulous Key Show at Independent Art Company. The only limitations of the show were to play off the idea of a key. I played off the idea of genetic key.

It is a cut paper piece that I made slightly sculptural by using a shadow box and letting the DNA strand rise and fall from the backing. Definitely has given me ideas for more pieces.

Diva Made Show

2010-03-20T11:49:00.000-04:00

Diva Made Show this week at Bottega. 15 of Wilmington's finest women in one show! The reception is this Friday 6-9pm. My piece "Corporate Rats" is in the show and made the cover of Encore this week!

Art Sync Magazine

2010-03-11T18:32:00.005-05:00

I am the online featured artist of the week at Art Sync Magazine. Follow the link to check it out!

2010-03-05T18:57:00.002-05:00

Lauren Hodges interviewed me about teaching art for Wilmington Kids Magazine. I enjoyed the opportunity to put my teaching career in perspective. I had hard time focusing on my Dreams experiences rather than CFCC because CFCC dominates much more of my time.

Wilmington Kids

Elsie Boyce

2010-03-05T08:08:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to my most recent Wilma article. Elsie Boyce is a complete inspiration. She is an octogenarian with the mind and speed of a woman half her age. She is actively engaged in life and out in the community sharing her time and talents.

2010-02-15T18:39:00.002-05:00

The Paul Hartley show is to travel to the Greenville Museum of Art in Greenville, NC so that East Carolina University students can see the legacy that Paul has created through his teaching.

Here is a link about the show by Susan Hall of the Salisbuty Post.

...and another article by Blue Greenburg in the Herald Sun

No Boundaries International Artist Reception

2010-01-16T18:37:00.000-05:00

This Friday from 6-9pm Acme Studios is hosting a reception for the 2009 No Boundaries International. Artwork from 19 artists will be on display.

You can RSVP to the show and see images of some of the artwork here.

2010-01-10T08:31:00.000-05:00

The Legacy of Paul Hartley

The Lee Hansley Gallery has put together a show to honor Paul Hartley through the collected works of his former students. The show will open Sunday January 22nd from 2-5pm at the gallery's two locations in Raleigh. Follow the above link for more details and to view some of the work that will be in the show.

My piece "Corporate Rats" was selected to be shown.

Wilma Magazine's January Issue

2010-01-02T18:54:00.001-05:00

Here is a link to my Sandra Ihly article for Wilma's January issue

Frog Anatomy Finds a Home at the CAM

2009-12-19T11:39:00.001-05:00

Frog Anatomy has found a home as part of the permanent collection at the Cameron Art Museum. The piece was one of three handmade toys I created that were curated into the show Toying with Art. The piece was purchased as part of the museum's initiative to begin collecting artist made toys.

No Boundaries 2009

2009-12-19T11:13:00.002-05:00

This November I had the incredible experience of spending time at No Boundaries an artist colony held annually at Bald Head Island, NC. I wrote an article about No Boundaries for the November issue of Wilma Magazine and have posted the unedited version of it below. My personal experience was amazing. I jokingly called it "art camp, but with wine" to friends that asked about the time I spent there. It was an intensely creative environment. There were 15 artists of varying ages, backgrounds, and experience levels thrown together and told to create freely. There was collaboration, celebration, and unfettered conversation about how and why to make art. It recharged my batteries and reinforced why I make art. It was an absolute gift!

No Boundaries International

by Abby Spangel Perry

No Boundaries, an International artist colony that comes together on a biannual basis in early November, invites artists from around the world to spend two weeks on Bald Head Island for the sole purpose of creating art. The mission of the colony is to share ideas and culture with one another and the surrounding community with the belief that art has the power to break down political and geographic boundaries. Now in its 11^th season, NBI has been host to artists from across the globe.

No Boundaries came into being almost by happenstance. In 1994, Artist Pam Toll connected with the organizer of an artist colony in Macedonia through a friend studying in the newly formed nation. This connection set Pam on a path that bonds her to Macedonia to this day. Toll says she had “a profound awakening as an artist”. She found the freedom to create with what she endearingly called “her own tribe”. It was an experience that transcended nationality and reached the core of what it means to be an artist within a community of artists. The organizer of the colony charged Pam with the task of being an ambassador for the small nation. At the time, the country formerly part of Yugoslavia, had no embassy and was occupied by UN Peace Keeping troops. After returning home, she found support from a letter she wrote to President Clinton advocating the need for cultural exchange. A response came from the State Department encouraging her to start an art colony in Wilmington stating “art is the best diplomacy”. The following year artist Gayle Tustin made the journey to Macedonia followed by Dick Roberts. With the three working together in three years the goal became realistic and in four years it came to fruition.

The community support in terms of goods, services, and donations are what have sustained the colony over the years. Kent Mitchell and Bald Head Island Corporation each year provides housing and transportation to the island. Members of the community cook meals. Businesses such as Great Harvest Bread, Jackson Beverage, and Tidal Creek have provided food and drink. On one occasion a Bald Head resident cooked a Thanksgiving meal for the foreign visitors so they could experience the bounty of the American holiday.

No Boundaries has evolved over the years, receiving grants and creating alliances with organizations such as Wilmington’s Sister City Program and the international organization Paint a Future. It worked to bring artists from sister cities in China, Barbados, England, and Italy. Paint a Future provided Pam the opportunity to work with international artists in Brazil. This year Gayle, Dick, and former NBI participant Bonnie England travelled to France under the same program. The circle of ties to artists around the world continually expands.

In the year between hosting artists from abroad, the colony provides regional artists the opportunity to come together and broaden their artistic experience. When asked about her time as a participant in 2006 & 2008, Bonnie England jokes “each was a fantastic experience and a great opportunity to paint side by side with artists from all over the world; sharing ideas, techniques, visions, stories, and wine!” Bonnie looks forward to participating this year and sees the upcoming colony as ”another wonderful opportunity to meet, fun, interesting, talented artists from different parts of the globe and to paint, paint, paint without any tedious distractions “like paying bills, walking the dog, and cleaning the car!”

Paul Hartley

2009-12-13T09:01:00.001-05:00

Esteemed North Carolina Painter Paul Hartley Dies

GREENVILLE, N.C. -- A memorial service for Paul Hartley, 65, who died Thanksgiving Day after a 19-month battle with cancer, will be held Sunday (Nov. 29) at St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church in Greenville.

Hartley, a longtime professor of studio art at East Carolina University School of Art and Design, was a renowned painter. He was an exponent of mixed media painting in which oil, acrylic, collage and appropriated imagery are combined to make a single painting.

His own works were characterized by abstractly painted backgrounds with pristinely rendered realistic objects floating on the surface of the canvas. The objects in the foreground were always painted using an oil glazing technique practiced by the Renaissance painters.

Hartley joined the ECU faculty full-time in 1975 after having served as a lecturer at the university from 1970-1972. His final semester at ECU was the fall of 2008 when the cancer was diagnosed.

“There is no art instructor in this state who taught more students than Paul Hartley,” said Lee Hansley, the Raleigh art dealer who has represented Hartley for the past 17 years. “He has influenced more young artists than anyone in North Carolina’s university system. That will be his legacy, along with a remarkable body of work in collections far and wide,” Hansley added.

An exhibition, entitled “The Legacy of Paul Hartley,” will be held at Lee Hansley Gallery in January. It will feature works by outstanding students of Hartley, many of whom are now art professors.

A painting for the North Carolina Museum of Art’s collection is making its way through the approval process now, thanks to the largess of three Greenville art patrons--Nelson Crisp, June Ficklen and Mrs. Jordan Whichard III. Hartley has works in the collections of the Weatherspoon Art Museum in Greensboro, the Greenville Museum of Art, the Cameron Museum of Art in Wilmington, the Barton College Museum in Wilson and the Southeastern Center for Contemporary Art in Winston-Salem.

Additionally, his paintings are in the collections of private institutions like Bank of America, GlaxoSmithKline, Philip Morris USA, the Transamerica Corporation and Merrill Lynch, Inc. A suite of eight major Hartley paintings is permanently displayed at the Sheraton Hotel (formerly Hotel Europa) in Chapel Hill.

His work was the subject of over 25 solo shows and over 75 small group or themed exhibitions over the course of his career. His last show was entitled “Looking Back” which was in September and October of this year at Lee Hansley Gallery. In 2002 the Greenville Museum of Art organized a retrospective, complete with illustrated catalogue.

Hartley was born Dec. 30, 1943, in Charlotte to the late Paul Hartley Sr. and to Mrs. Kathleen Board of Winston-Salem. His early years were spent in Atlanta where he met his wife of 42 years, Lane Harville Crawley.

He earned a B.A. in 1967 at the University of North Texas in Denton and in 1970 an M.F.A. in painting at East Carolina University. After being hired to teach art at ECU, Hartley was named head of the painting program, a position he held until he entered a phased retirement.

In addition to his wife and mother, Hartley is survived by a daughter, Lorin, and son-in-law Mark Kaley of Greensboro; a son, Paul Randolph William Hartley of Chapel Hill; a brother, William Joseph Hartley of Winston-Salem; and two sisters, Susan Hartley Guinn and her husband, Gilbert, of Greenwood, S.C., and Kathy Hartley Smith and her husband, Robert Meier, of Boone; and one granddaughter, McLane Kaley of Greensboro.

Artist Made Toys @ the CAM

2009-11-29T08:01:00.000-05:00

"Toying with Art" at the Cameron Art Museum
When: 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.
Extended holiday hours are 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Dec. 22-24, 26-27 and 30-Jan. 3 and Exhibit hangs through March 28.

Great exhibit of artist made toys at the CAM!

War & Pieces by Lauren Hodges

2009-11-21T11:35:00.000-05:00

Coverage for Nature Wars in Encore.

Nature Wars

2009-10-31T10:13:00.000-04:00

Many things going on in November. I am putting the finishing touches on "Nature Wars". The reception is Friday November 6th 7-9 @ Independent Art Company's Wabi Sabi Warehouse. It is shaping up to be a fun night. Follow this link to Nature War's Gallery to check out the work.

The following information explains what the show is all about:

Nature Wars by Abby Spangel Perry- “A Small Group of Paintings with a Big Story”

@ Independent Art Company’s Wabi Sabi Warehouse

19 N Princess Street

Wilmington ,NC 28401

November 5 through December 13^th, 2009

Artist Reception Friday November 6, 2009 7-9pm

Nature Wars by Abby Spangel Perry is a small group of paintings with a big story. It is a cautionary tale that speaks to our current relationship with the environment. What unfolds through a series of children’s story book style images is a visual account of the abuses against nature experienced through the eyes of a few little bunnies and their choice to stand up to the rats that are at the bottom of the situation. These bunnies face many of the same issues we as a society experience every day. In the end, we all must “draw our own conclusions” and through an interactive piece viewers of Nature Wars are asked to do just that. What solution do you have to offer?

Independent Art Company

2009-10-06T12:39:00.000-04:00

Independent Art Company's Wabi Sabi Warehouse

Keep track of what is going on at Independent Art Company's Wabi Sabi Warehouse through their blog. Its the groovy little blue warehous on 9th and Princess where lots of art is happening!

Deborah Velders

2009-06-29T13:55:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to an interview I did with Deborah Velders, Director of the Cameron Art Museum, for the July issue of Wilma Magazine. I hope that the article will create inspiration and action in the arts around Wilmington.

CFCC Virtual Art Show

2009-06-02T14:52:00.001-04:00

Check out the work of some of my wonderful drawing students in the CFCC 2009 Virtual Art Show. Gene got Best in Show (#16)! and Sam received First Place Drawing.

# 9, 16, 33, 47, 49, and 26 are projects done in my Drawing I classes.

Surfer Girls

2009-05-23T11:15:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to an article about women of all ages that can be found surfing around Wrightsville Beach. Slightly misinforming article as far as my bio...

Surfer Girls by Allison Ballard

Michelle Masson

2009-05-23T11:13:00.000-04:00

Here is a link to Michelle Masson's
article I wrote for the March issue of Wilma Magazine

Breta Carnes Article in Wilma

2009-05-23T11:02:00.001-04:00

Sculpting Water

Sculpting Water is an article I wrote for the February issue of Wilma Magazine

Creative Wilmington

2009-05-23T10:59:00.001-04:00

Creative Wilmington

All things cultural in Wilmington

Dreams of Wilmington

2009-05-23T10:54:00.000-04:00

I work for Dreams of Wilmington an after school youth arts outreach program that offers free or reduced rate classes with professional artists, musicians, writers, actors, and dancers.

Natural Instincts

2009-05-23T10:51:00.000-04:00

Natural Instincts
Article written about my thesis show at Wabi Sabi Warehouse in Wilmington by Lauren Hodges

Second Look At Nature

2009-05-23T10:37:00.000-04:00

Second Look at Nature

Great article written by Nancy Sanders about my thesis show when it was at Kinston Council for the Arts.