Happy Monday! The countdown to this year's Holiday Arts Tour is on--let's continue with our virtual tour of the Tour...
The Fabric Shop, at 100 Park Avenue, is truly a space to "create" as it's THE place to go for Pfaff sewing machines, as well as a large selection of fabric and sewing notions. The owners, Louise and Ron Adams, are very knowledgeable and helpful when you're just not sure what fabric is needed for your project. Louise has ordered many-a-zipper for me back in my wallet-making days, and Ron can sharpen your Ginghers to perfection. This year for the Tour they are opening their store for viewing while two special classes are held. Yes, they hold classes! Their site has a calendar that's full of classes, for beginners as well as experienced makers.
For this year's Tour, visitors can see an Anita Goodesign Workshop on Thursday. This class is part of Embroidery Club, which meets once a month for a lecture-demo on a new technique for your embroidery machine. On Saturday, the shop will be holding a Hands-On Take 5 Quilt Class, taught by Shellie Blake. If you stay on task, you can take home a completed quilt top. Sounds like a great way to prepare for the cold weather that's creeping in! If you're interested in registering for one of these classes or would like more information, give the shop a call at (318) 251-2400, or visit their site here.
Art Innovations, at 112 W Alabama, is the "brain-child" of artists/entrepreneurs Jacqueline Cochran and her daughter Alexandria Bozeman. The space will display "Exploration: The Art of Conversion," an exhibit that utilizes would-be discarded materials to create an array of functional & non-functional sculptural pieces. In collaboration with Crescent City Coffee and Counter Culture, plus the talented art students of Ruston Junior High School and Ruston High School, Art Innovations has created a unique, engaging space that brings audiences into a world built from society's runoff. As an added bonus, the first 100 guests will receive a FREE plant!
Studio 301, at 301 N Trenton, is Ruston's newest gallery, with 1100 sq. ft. of exhibition space. Artist Kit Gilbert has just opened the venue, and for the Tour it will feature an exhibition of her work. Kit is a prolific artist, and is at home with sculpture, large paintings, and smaller works on paper. Kit's Time Was series, paintings and sculptures that include farm implements, reminds me of one of my art-school favorites, and another Louisiana female artist, Clyde Connell.
I am drawn to Kit's works on paper, of which she says:
While my paintings are large, layered, and abstract, these mixed-media works on paper are smaller, more graphic, and more intimate. They are facets and fractions of geography, art, and architecture, drawing on my roots in the rural South and Southwest, my travels in Europe, especially Italy, and Africa, where the look of the land--some of the colors, the rugged hills and shallow gorges--reminded me of the Texas plains where I grew up.
So, once again, mark your calendars for November 21-24, when these sites and more will be participating with NCLAC's Holiday Arts Tour. It will be a great way to jumpstart your creativity and your holiday shopping! Here is the full schedule.