ASCCT Exhibit

The Artisans of the South Carolina Cotton Trail will hold their first, in three years, exhibit at the Art Trail Gallery in Florence, SC on the corner of Evans and Irby streets.  The show opens Wednesday, January 8th and the opening reception is Friday, January 10th from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  The exhibit features oil paintings, water color paintings,photography, hand blown glass, fiber arts, jewelry, wood arts, mixed media sculptures and wall art. 

Members participating are: Anne Baldwin, Bobbi Adams, Carolyn Atkinson, Lee Benoy, Brenda Branson, Laurie Brown, Denny Stevenson Frankie Bush, Jim Fernandes, Bob Feury, Mike Gann, Jim Gleason, Gaye Ham, Janis Hobbs, Linda Humphries, Rachell Hyman, MJ Martin, Vicky McLain, Barbara Mellen, Suzanne Muldrow, Jackie Stasney, Denny Stevenson, and Ann Page.

Jim Gleason

Jim Gleason

The urge to create combines with a reverence for musical instruments, and the desire to preserve whatever life remains in the parts and pieces of an instrument. As a professional musician and a master technician in the repair of brass and woodwind instruments, I have spent much of my life devoted to extending their lives. Now, when the parts and pieces or whole instruments are no longer in a state that makes sense to repair them, I find myself giving them new life in a form that celebrates their previous existence, saving them from being discarded completely.

Greg Benner

Chesterfield County

Painting

I have loved great oil paintings since early childhood and visited many museums in my youth, pondering the masters' work with enthusiasm.  I especially enjoy painting the human form and other life forms, but try not to limit myself to that genre entirely.  

I believe that all art should give back to this world, that in which this world takes away from us. We all suffer from life's uproar. In art there exists a unique prospect for a ray of hope in our lives -- and in art, there is a fitting prospect to bring about a glimmer of expectancy.

I guess if you were to ask what makes a great oil painting, I would say a meaningful moment captured in time, which excites the soul. This "stirring of the soul" is best said with a balance of many facets of visual impression. All of these attributes coming together in one equalized statement of compositional lines, color statement (palette), light/contrast, color balance and economy/efficiency of brush strokes.

I also enjoy writing and composing music in my studio in Chesterfield, SC.

Contact:

Greg Benner
150 Main Street
Olde Towne Centre
Chesterfield, SC 29709
843.623.3200
800.605.5761
Greg@Benner.com

ASCCT Meeting to held on June 25th at the Art Trail Gallery

ASCCT will meet on Tuesday, June 25th at 6pm at the Art Trail Gallery.  Any artist or artisan interested in joining the group is welcome to attend this meeting.

The South Carolina Cotton Trail, stretching from I-95 to I-20, traces the influence of cotton on the lives and towns of the rural south.  Comprised of the towns of Bennettsville, Bishopville, Chesterfield, Cheraw, Clio, Darlington, Hartsville and Society Hill, the South Carolina Cotton Trail visits museums, gardens, market towns, cotton fields and homesteads.

The Artisans of the South Carolina Cotton Trail began with assistance from the South Carolina Arts Commission. Their mission is to bring together artists, artisans, and the retailers for the benefit of marketing, tourism, education and shared resources.

If you are interested in joining contact: 

Beth WickerThree Cats and A Dog Design Studio
843.910.0317 or ruralart@earthlink.net

Anne Baldwin

Photography

Darlington County

My formal education was in education and counseling. It was not until my retirement that I had the time to pursue my passion for photography and at that time I enrolled and completed a four year course in New York School of Photography. I have also taken many other courses in photography and attended conferences and workshops on photography yearly.

I prefer nature photography which for me is a form of worship. There is beauty in the tiniest object in nature and that is why Macro/close-up photography has become a special interest for me. Colors, hues, patterns, textures, lines, etc. in nature are endless. The challenge for me is to follow the rules of photography, composition, clarity, detail, exposure, to name a few, as accurately as I can. Photoshop is a wonderful tool which I use to enhance the digital images. HDR photography also interest me. Photography has given me new eyes to see the beauty in nature and my joy is sharing what I see with others.

Membership in the Carolina Nature Photographers Association (CNPA) offers me endless opportunities to learn including yearly conferences with well-known photographers. The also offer a midyear opportunity to spend a weekend with other photographers shooting at different sites every year. I am also a member of Artisans of the South Carolina Cotton Trail (ASCCT ), North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), Florence Art Alliance, and a local photography club.

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Brenda Branson

Brenda Branson

Chesterfield County

Jewelry

MSB Designs 
(My Sister's Beads)

by Brenda Branson

I grew up among the cotton fields and tobacco farms in North Carolina, with parents that were artistic in a survivalist sort of way.  Having grown up in a "mill town" with cotton farmers and mill workers, the artistic use of cotton and scrap metals in art and jewelry has special meaning.   Eight years ago, I began making and selling various styles of beaded jewelry, accented with hand forged components and designed to be bold, fun and functionable.

My art jewelry experience began as a thrilling diversion to explore various jewelry techniques such as silver-smithing, kumihimo weaving, fold forming, metal clay, polymer clay, cold connections, etc., which have since found themselves meshed together in eclectic, harmonious designs.  The unifying elements in each piece are created from copper, brass, sterling or metal clay and embellished with lots of texture and natural patinas. 

I have taught many classes from basic beading to Kumihimo weaving.  My strongest passion lies in the meshing of the various techniques to create a unique design that clicks with the wearers' personality. I believe jewelry should be a work of art and deserves to be noticed, deserves to be unique, and deserves to be individually yours.

To  Contact Brenda:

Brenda Branson

104 Will G Lane

Cheraw, South Carolina 29520

Phone: 803.984.1899  

Email: mysistersbeads@gmail.com

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Frankie Bush

Darlington County
Watercolor

Inspiration for my work comes from the beauty that is around us. Each of my paintings is a personal response to that beauty. My watercolor paintings are done in the studio. I photograph nature to get my ideas and record details that people often don’t see. As I work I am concerned about design, color and shadow. I continue to evolve as an artist.

I chose watercolor about two years ago as my sole medium. There is excitement to the transparency and the opaqueness of watercolor that allows for the bold as well as the delicate. I invite the viewer to share my experiences of painting flowers in close focus.

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