Blog posts by Barbette Houser
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Boulevard Gardening Club Hosts Annual Roving Garden Party
Blog: Culture Briefs
Photo Credit: Barbette Houser
Durwood Pepper, Jim Taflinger and their dog, Biscuit, in front of a painting Pepper created in honor of RA Miller.
The Roving Garden Party, hosted annually by The Boulevard Gardening Club, is a festive event well worth donning your straw hat to beat the heat for. This year, these creative, urban gardeners offered up six gardens in the Lyndon-Cohen-DuBose corner of the Boulevard neighborhood, where visitors could explore the concepts of renewal and new growth. Most of the homes on tour had been built within the past 10 years; the small, accompanying outdoor spaces offered lovely views into the early stages of making a garden.
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'Ringer' at ATHICA Highlights Contemporary Portraiture
Blog: Culture Briefs
Photo Credit: Barbette Houser
Cole Holmes views Katherine Schuber's "Rossi Alabastri" at the opening of "Ringer" at ATHICA.
“Extended Selfie” by Ally Christmas might get the prize for most uncomfortable portrait in the new exhibit “Ringer: Contemporary Portraiture.” Curated by John W. English, this deeply satisfying show opened last night at ATHICA. More than one work in it gave this viewer the heebie jeebies.
One of several video works on view, “Extended Selfie” opens with a woman (Christmas) seated in an over staged setting, posed and still for an extended selfie. Her disarming and artificial smile metamorphoses over the 14-minute duration of the film into stillness and, later, boredom and discomfort.
Just like encountering someone working a smile for a selfie in real time, you avert your eyes and feel awkward. Encountering Christmas’ work, your instinct is to look away, but then you remember that, here, it is okay to stare. You are an intentional spectator. Christmas’ expression slowly evolves. She crosses her legs. Later, she checks her phone.
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Lauren Haynes of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Visits Athens
Blog: Culture Briefs
Lauren Haynes, Curator of Contemporary American Art at Crystal Bridges Museum, is the guest juror for this year's Juried Exhibition at the Lyndon House.
Lauren Haynes is working towards the day when it is the norm for female artists and artists of color to inhabit museum collections with the ease and frequency of white males. She also wants to get people excited about contemporary art.
Haynes spoke to a full auditorium last night at the Lamar Dodd School of Art. The Curator of Contemporary American Art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, she is in Athens to serve as this year’s guest juror for the Lyndon House Art Center’s 44th Juried Exhibition. Speculation is high among local artists about how the show might look and feel in the hands of this bold young curator. Babs Kall, a local artist who works with fused glass, said “I’m curious and anxious to see what Lauren chose for the show. I am expecting a vibrant and colorful, tactile exhibit.”
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Beth and Jason Thrasher Show Home and Art Collection for WUGA
Blog: Culture Briefs
Photo Credit: Barbette Houser
Beth and Jason Thrasher, with a painting by Matt Alston on the left and a photo by Jason on the right.
A low-slung brick ranch sits quietly among the wooded hills of serene Glenwood, as do its low-key neighboring houses. But the bright red door at the entrance, framed by plants in electric blue pots, hints at the artistic and vibrant family life within.
The home is a creative collaboration between its owners, Beth and Jason Thrasher. And on a recent weekend, like many artists in the Athens community, they opened their home to the public to benefit local public radio station WUGA.
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Jackie Dorsey’s 'Sound Check' Is an Ode to the Athens Music Scene
Blog: Culture Briefs
“What it Means,” a watercolor portrait of Patterson Hood by artist Jackie Dorsey, captures the intensity of someone who could pen the lyrics, “We want our truths all fair and balanced/ As long as our notions lie within it/ There’s no sunlight in our asses/ And our heads are stuck up in it.”
The work is part of “Sound Check,” a series of portraits of local musicians Dorsey created to express her gratitude for the Athens music scene. The show is currently on display at Hendershot’s, and a meet-and-greet was held for the artist on a recent Sunday night. Friends and family, including the staff of Aurum (where Dorsey is also showing paintings this month along with her mentor Kie Johnson), stopped in to celebrate. Two musicians portrayed in the show, Sam Burchfield and Wrenn, played an acoustic set afterwards.
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Poe-tober Artists Receive Literary Inspiration and Awards at ACC Library
Blog: Culture Briefs
A conspiracy of ravens fluttered throughout the Quiet Gallery at the Athens Clarke County Library on a recent Saturday afternoon. There were also plenty of black cats to be found on the walls and a bevy of beating hearts.
Many of the ravens were made by local fifth graders. All of the works were created by local artists of all ages in response to reading works by Edgar Allen Poe. The Poe-tober exhibit is a celebration of the macabre vision of Poe and is part of the community-wide celebration of his work funded by a NEA "Big Read" grant.
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Ray Lee's "Human Muse" at UNG Draws You In
Blog: Culture Briefs
Ray Lee’s drawings beckon you to lean in, to leave your companions and your everyday thoughts behind, and to become intimate with a total stranger: the model. This is partially because his pencil portraits are small. You have to get close to really see. Once you are there, you find you are inhabiting the space with his subjects. What you find is a quiet, simple and deeply compelling world. You are drawn in, seduced by the sensual and thoughtful graphite lines that compose a shoulder, an arm, a lock of hair, an unforgettable gaze, a memorable gesture.
The party held to open Lee’s "The Human Muse: Drawing from the Model" at the University of North Georgia’s Oconee Campus this week was challenging. The crowd that came out to congratulate the artist, including fellow Oconee Cultural Arts Foundation life drawing class members, local artists, models, UNG students and co-workers, were friendly and the conversation was good. But turning to the works, you would be pulled into a separate and silent place. It was almost like constantly transitioning from the secular to the spiritual.
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Artist Yvonne Studevan’s Home Reflects Extraordinary Family History
Blog: Culture Briefs
The home of painter Yvonne Studevan and her husband Russell is elegant and traditional, complete with earth toned walls, a stone fireplace and leather chesterfield chairs you can sink into. Hardly bohemian, it is remarkably different from many of the Athens area artists’ homes featured in WUGA’s Artist In Residence Series in the past. Yet, like all of them, the house, which was on tour last Saturday to benefit the station, reveals the artist’s unique vision and testifies to her craft, passions and beliefs.
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Kipley Meyer's Modern Works in Wood Open at Farmington Depot
Blog: Culture Briefs
The Farmington Depot Gallery kicked off fall for the rest of us this week, breathing life back into the Athens area arts community after another long, hot, quiet summer. “Within: New Work by Kipley A. Meyer,” a collection of abstract works created out of wood, hardware, milk paint and wax, opened at the space Friday night. Box fans strained to cool off guests, generally losing against the thick Georgia humidity. But that didn't deter people from coming out and celebrating with Meyer.
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Young Designers Shine on the Runway at Annual Fashion Show
Blog: Culture Briefs
Sewing machines and sergers hummed furiously last week, as a group of girls in T-shirts and jeans stitched, pinned and appliquéd in a mad dash to be ready for a fashion show. A week later, these same girls, made up and creatively attired in elegant dresses and stylish outfits, cooly and confidently walked the runway between dining tables at the Athens Country Club.
The girls are members of the Young Designers Sewing Program. The 4–12 graders meet twice a week after school from August to May to design and sew garments in preparation for an annual fashion show.
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India Book Club Hosts Holocaust-Remembrance Event in Unique Style
Blog: Culture Briefs
Photo Credit: Barbette Houser
Mamta Shetty, Rita Mathew, Sandhya Menta, Geeta Mehta and Gagan Jain of the India Book Club
The evening was a promising one. A book group was gathering in a lovely backyard garden blooming with flowers on a temperate spring night. Smells of cardamom and curry were sneaking out of foil wrapped casserole dishes. And, upon my arrival, the event’s guest speakers, all of whom are Jewish, were already deep in a heated discussion about interpretation of the 10 commandments.
This latest gathering of the India Book Club took place in the backyard garden of Dr. Ranjit Mathew and Rita Mathew. The group, formerly known as the Friends of India Book Club, has been around for about nine years and reads a diverse selection of titles.
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Winterville Center Welcomes in New Cultural Era for Small Town
Blog: Culture Briefs
When an editor suggests to me that I check out the inaugural art opening at the new Winterville Center for Community and Culture, I don’t know why images of Siberia pop into my head. After all, it is only five miles from Athens.
I do know that after arriving at the center on a recent Friday night to check out the show curated by Jimmy “Cap Man” Straehla, I was reminded of just how jaded I’ve become.
Walking in the door, the sense of community, enthusiasm and pride was palpable. Smiling arts council members took the time to introduce themselves and shake hands. The Executive Director, Jack Eisenman, made sure to welcome visitors personally.
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MFA Candidates Really Deliver at the Georgia Museum of Art
Blog: Culture Briefs
From the end of a long and glossy hall, they beckon you. Two totemic figures stand silently in the distance and you find yourself drawn to them. Organic and disparate in their modern architectural setting, they have a strange and commanding presence.
The Collective and For Her Forever are works by Aaron Obenza, an MFA Candidate from the Philippines. They are the sculptural emissaries who greet you as you enter this year’s “Master of Fine Arts Degree Candidates Exhibition” at the Georgia Museum of Art.
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AIDS Athens Celebrates Release of Athens Eats at The National
Blog: Culture Briefs
The National was especially pretty on a recent crisp spring afternoon. Sunlight streaming through the restaurant’s windows made the glassware and big dispensers of lemonade and tea sparkle. Fresh white linens topped with blue and white oil cloth were set off by fresh cut azaleas and a large pink and white orchid.
It was a serene setting to celebrate the long awaited release of Athens Eats: Recipes from theClassic City. The cookbook has been 11 years in the making and is a fundraiser for AIDS Athens.
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Community Unites for Celebration of Artist Harold Rittenberry
Blog: Culture Briefs
Photo Credit: Barbette Houser
Harold Rittenberry in front of his work commissioned for the Cobbham neighborhood.
One of the first things you notice at the Greater Bethel A.M.E. Church is the deference with which people treat each other. Titles are used and strangers are welcomed.
On a recent Saturday, its congregants opened their doors wide to welcome the larger community as people came from the far reaches of the Athens area to pay their respect to one man: folk artist Harold Rittenberry. Or Mr. Rittenberry, as he is always referred to in the modest but powerful church on Rose Street.
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Philip Juras’ The Wild Treasury Offers Meditations on Growth, Change, History and Place
Blog: Culture Briefs
Old Fire Hall No. 2, the headquarters of the Athens-Clarke Heritage Foundation, was recently the site of yet another discussion of history, change and preservation. This time, the historical gem in question wasn’t a landmark building. It was Little St. Simons island, that rare 10,000 acres of undeveloped wilderness off of the coast of Georgia.
The event was a reception for Athens-based landscape painter Philip Juras and his newly released book, The Wild Treasury of Nature: A Portrait of Little St. Simons Island. The party and book signing was organized by Avid Bookshop.
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41st Juried Exhibition is Challenging, Diverse and a Pleasure to View
Blog: Culture Briefs
Photo Credit: Barbette Houser
Jennifer Kirkpatrick's "Bent Corner" is made of masonite and house paint
The parking lot inspired creativity from the get-go at the reception for the 41st Juried Exhibition at the Lyndon House Arts Center on Thursday night. Visitors were trying to squeeze their cars anywhere they could, inventing parking spaces in their frenzy to make it to this beloved annual event.
Inside, attendees were well rewarded for their struggle, as the show delivers some fine work.
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Ray Lee Wins Solo Show Award at 'Reciprocal II: OCAF Members at UNG'
Blog: Culture Briefs
Georgia Strange’s “Residue” has the added benefit of an olfactory component. Viewers can experience the work from two feet away with their eyes closed. There is a familiar smell that perhaps you can’t quite put your finger on. The smell of almost used up bars of Dial soap.
From a distance, the work looks like one of those scraps of paper watercolorists create as they mix color samples. The bars of soap, which are nailed in tidy rows to a white board, have a luminous quality and appear to have subtly different values and color saturations.
Unfortunately, I couldn’t track Ms. Strange down to ask her more about her oddly appealing work at this week’s opening reception for "Reciprocal II: OCAF Members at UNG." But I did get to chat briefly with Ray Lee, the lucky winner of a future solo show that night.
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The Colorful Home of Athens Textile Artist Susan Hable Smith
Blog: Culture Briefs
Photo Credit: Barbette Houser
Susan Hable Smith in her art lined entry; the sofa is upholstered in Hable Construction fabric.
The brass fox knocker on the azure blue door hints at the surprises that lie within the Cobbham home of designer Susan Hable Smith. Inside, Moroccan textiles, bold wallpapers, pairs of diminutive chairs, assorted opera props, funky photographs and quirky ceramic eyes are arranged artfully in a visual feast.
On one of those sunny, warm surprise Saturdays in February, the artist was sharing her home with supporters of WUGA. The back door was wide open, welcoming the breeze and revealing camellias in full bloom and tea olives beginning to flower. The large kitchen table offered up heaps of pimiento cheese and other specialties by Marti’s at Midday.
It was plain to see that this Texas to New York City to Athens transplant has mastered the Southern hospitality thing.
Page 1 of 3, showing 20 records out of 44 total, starting on record 1, ending on 20
latest stories
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Culture Briefs | April 29, 2019 5:00pm
Boulevard Gardening Club Hosts Annual Roving Garden Party
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Culture Briefs | February 22, 2019 5:45pm
'Ringer' at ATHICA Highlights Contemporary Portraiture
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Culture Briefs | January 30, 2019 4:25pm
Lauren Haynes of Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art Visits Athens
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Culture Briefs | February 27, 2017 12:35pm
Beth and Jason Thrasher Show Home and Art Collection for WUGA
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Culture Briefs | October 25, 2016 10:40am
Jackie Dorsey’s 'Sound Check' Is an Ode to the Athens Music Scene
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Culture Briefs | October 18, 2016 11:02am
Poe-tober Artists Receive Literary Inspiration and Awards at ACC Library
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Culture Briefs | October 7, 2016 6:15pm
Ray Lee's "Human Muse" at UNG Draws You In
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Culture Briefs | September 18, 2016 1:15pm
Susie Burch Shows Her 'Rocks and Water' at Heirloom
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Culture Briefs | August 22, 2016 4:19pm
Artist Yvonne Studevan’s Home Reflects Extraordinary Family History
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Culture Briefs | August 13, 2016 4:55pm
Kipley Meyer's Modern Works in Wood Open at Farmington Depot
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Culture Briefs | May 26, 2016 5:05pm
Young Designers Shine on the Runway at Annual Fashion Show
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Culture Briefs | May 9, 2016 3:45pm
India Book Club Hosts Holocaust-Remembrance Event in Unique Style
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Culture Briefs | April 17, 2016 6:00pm
Winterville Center Welcomes in New Cultural Era for Small Town
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Culture Briefs | April 10, 2016 1:08pm
MFA Candidates Really Deliver at the Georgia Museum of Art
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Culture Briefs | April 4, 2016 4:02pm
AIDS Athens Celebrates Release of Athens Eats at The National
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Culture Briefs | April 4, 2016 12:37pm
Community Unites for Celebration of Artist Harold Rittenberry
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Culture Briefs | April 1, 2016 4:30pm
Philip Juras’ The Wild Treasury Offers Meditations on Growth, Change, History and Place
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Culture Briefs | March 25, 2016 6:00pm
41st Juried Exhibition is Challenging, Diverse and a Pleasure to View
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Culture Briefs | March 4, 2016 6:50pm
Ray Lee Wins Solo Show Award at 'Reciprocal II: OCAF Members at UNG'
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Culture Briefs | February 28, 2016 2:40pm
The Colorful Home of Athens Textile Artist Susan Hable Smith