at ‘Ecletic Artists’ exhibit

By JENNY BENNETT

Staff Writer

Local artists have finally found a place they can call home in Troy, but before they move into their new home they have have an exhibit and reception to tend to.

The Troy Arts Guild will be exhibiting at The Emporium on Jan. 20 – 21. The exhibit, "Eclectic Artists," will have its "open meet-the-artists reception" from 6:30-8 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 20, and the exhibit will be open again from 1:30-3 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 21.

Pat Duke is the Troy Council on the Arts and Humanities member who will be hanging the exhibit.

"The exhibit will be a nice cross-section of mixed media and subject matter including landscapes, still lifes and portraits," said Duke.

Exhibitors for "Ecletic Artists: include Nita Crawford, glass objects; Larry Shillabeer and Pam Allen, paintings; Mary Ann Casey, paintings and collages; Jim Campbell, Marcia Rice, Jim Wilson, Ruth Walker, Mary Paige, Beverley Capozzoli, and Gail Davis.

Two of the Guild exhibitors, Larry Shillabeer and Pam Allen, are also TSU artists and professors, and Shillabeer will be exhibiting portrait paintings.

Another one of the Guild members, Mary Ann Casey, is the director of the Colley Senior Center on Elm Street and has implemented several art programs there.

The exhibit is presented by the Troy Council on the Arts and Humanities and is open to the public at no charge.

The Emporium is located at 116 W. Walnut St. in Troy.

The Troy Arts Guild, which was formed two years ago, is planning on moving into the lowest floor of The Arts Center (the old post office), and using it as a painting and ceramics studio and a gallery to display their work.

The Troy Arts Guild will contribute to the city of Troy and surrounding areas by "sponsoring and furthering art performances for schools," said Bobbie Swisher, member of the Council on Arts and Humanities.

The Troy Arts Guild was formed for the purpose of getting the visual artists in the area together and encouraging the conversion of the old post office into an Arts Center for the city of Troy. The Guild became one of the main instigators that motivated the purchase of the old post office for this purpose. The Arts Center will be used by the Pike County Chamber of Commerce, the Troy Council on the Arts and Humanities, and the Troy Arts Guild.

Marcia Rice, a co-founder of the Troy Art Guild, said the Guild hopes to sponsor exhibits and workshops in the space.

"We wanted to get the Sunday painters involved," said Rice.

Individuals interested in being a sponsor of the Troy Arts Guild by contributing from $25-250 to the Council on Arts and Humanities and become a patron of the arts.

"We have a lot of patrons in Troy and Pike County, a good support group," said Don Crapps, member of the Council on Arts and Humanities.

For further information on how to become a patron of the arts, contact Elaine Blair at 566-0834 or P.O. Box 606, Troy, Alabama 36081.