Author Archive

We are doubling our space and moving to 6866 Main Street, Mayfaire Town Center.  The gallery at 210 Princess Street, downtown, will close on July 9. The gallery at Mayfaire will open on August 1, 2022.

Our gallery team is excited to continue presenting original, new art.  Check out our schedule of featured art exhibits in 2022.  Shop on line or in person at 210 Princess Street Monday-Saturday and by appointment.  We continue to offer free local delivery, curb-side pick up, and shipping to other locations at reasonable rates.

At Art in Bloom Gallery, we start the New Year feeling grateful for everyone who is caring for the sick, working to prevent the transmission of the virus, and working to stay safe during the Covid-19 pandemic.  Thanks to our artists for continuing to create original art and to the gallery staff for finding safe ways for the gallery to stay open.  View our enhanced website, artists’ videos, and 360 video tours for a great experience seeing art from remote locations.

On October 2nd, Art in Bloom Gallery ended our fifth year and started our sixth year.  Our gallery team wishes everyone health and safety during the time of Covid-19.  Despite the many challenges of the pandemic, we continue to move forward with hope that balance will be restored soon within our communities with inclusion, equity, and diversity for all.

The gallery’s mission is to make original art and artists more visible, in the Cape Fear region and across the nation and world. Telling the story behind each artist and the art is a keystone of the company’s vision, which is to bring art to life. For more information on Art in Bloom Gallery, our exhibits and our regular artists, visit www.aibgallery.com.

Bradley Carter, Elizabeth Singletary & Jen Johnson

“One More Moment: Art by Bradley Carter, Elizabeth Singletary & Jen Johnson” is a new exhibit pairing contemporary artists with painting and paper. The exhibit opens on Friday, September 11 and continues through October 18, 2020.

One More Moment with Bradley Carter, Elizabeth Singletary and photographer, Jen Johnson features artists working with a wide range in media from paintings, collage and photography.  Bradley Carter’s unique style of painting is based predominately in Abstract Expressionism. Complementing Brad’s paintings are the exquisite and color filled “paintings with paper” by collage artist, Elizabeth Singletary.   Our photography feature is Jen Johnson.  Jen creates photographs that are a contemplative inquiry into psychological space, place, memory, loss, and longing.

The exhibit will be in the gallery and will have many virtual components including a virtual tour, artist videos and more. View the virtual tour!

Click here to view all of the work featured in the exhibit.

Due to ongoing COVID-19 adjustments, this exhibit will be in the gallery and online beginning on September 11th. The gallery is now open for gallery hours.   Face coverings are required and we do have additional supplies if needed. 

About the Artists 

American Artist, Bradley Carter, is an award winning, international selling artist who grew up pursuing his passion for art in Virginia before moving to the North Carolina in 2007, where he currently resides in Wilmington, NC. He predominately works in the medium of painting with his passion in Abstract Expressionism, but his works also include collage, paint skins, and furniture.

The colorful bits and pieces of Elizabeth Singletary’s life are imitated in her chosen art form of collage—a mix of down-home charm and sweeping sophistication. ​Her great appreciation for nature is incorporated in her artwork, which she describes as “painting with paper.” She works alone, with music playing in the background, and offers up a prayer that her works will be full of light and inspire happiness. She hides secret imagery in each piece, giving gazers a happy little hunt-and-find exercise each time they look at her collages. This fun and lively approach to art has garnered much attention. Elizabeth’s commissioned pieces are unique as they incorporate family photos, mementos, quotes, and personal imagery hidden within. Her artwork has been commissioned for many corporate and private collections.

Our photography feature, Jen Johnson creates photographs that are a contemplative inquiry into psychological space, place, memory, loss, and longing. Her dreamlike photographs explore the beauty and complexity of the search for home in our ever-changing interior and exterior landscape. Jen’s images reflect the metaphorical way she sees the world as a visually impaired photographer.

As of right now Fourth Friday receptions, held during the Arts Council of Wilmington’s Fourth Friday Gallery Night are on hold until January of 2020.  Stay tuned for other virtual opportunities! 

Jeri Greenberg “Tea for One”, David Norris “Three Pines”, Curtis Krueger “Moonrise”

Art in Bloom Gallery is excited to open a new exhibit on Friday, July 24.  The exhibit will be in the gallery and will have many virtual components including a virtual tour, artist videos and more!  The exhibit continues through September 6, 2020.

A New Exhibit with Jeri Greenberg, David Norris & Photographer, Curtis Krueger, features three artists working with a wide range in media from pastel, monoprints and photography.  Jeri Greenberg, a new pastel artist for the gallery, paints still-lifes, urban interiors, figures, fabrics, and the occasional landscape with a color-rich palate.  Complementing Jeri’s paintings are David Norris’ monoprints and drawings.  He continues to build on his long-standing series of regional cityscapes, land and waterscapes.  Our photography feature is Curtis Krueger.  Curtis has been creating work for over 25 years and has partnered with the gallery several times.  He has an eye for intricate detail and much of his work is inspired by travel.

Due to ongoing COVID-19 adjustments, this exhibit will be in the gallery and online beginning on July 24th.  While we still do not have public hours yet, we are trying to keep the gallery open when staff are in the building.  Typically, staff is on site Monday – Friday from around 10am until 4pm.  Please ring the doorbell if the lights are on!  And Art in Bloom is currently open by appointment seven days a week. Please call 484-884-3037 to schedule a time. Face coverings are required and available if you do not have a face covering.

Click here to view all of the work featured in the exhibit.

View the Virtual Tour of the Gallery!  

About the Artists

After many years as a fashion illustrator and sportswear designer, Jeri Greenberg turned her love of graphic design towards advertising for a while. Having time to devote herself to painting again – and falling in love with the pastel medium – has led to a new and interesting “next act” as full time painter and teacher. Recently relocated, Jeri teaches weekly classes at the Cameron Art Museum in Wilmington NC, and does demos and workshops around the country, as well as jurying pastel exhibits.

Wilmington artist, David A. Norris, has a BFA degree from the East Carolina University School of Art.  Long settled in the Port City, he finds the historic atmosphere of Wilmington and the natural beauty of the Cape Fear River and the coast provide limitless sources of artistic inspiration.  Most of David’s work reflects the landscapes of the places where he has lived or visited.  Through his interest in art history, his work has absorbed influences such as English watercolors, 19^th century engravings, Japanese woodblock prints, Dutch Baroque landscapes, and Van Gogh’s reed pen drawings.  David recently has begun a series of monoprints that combine printing techniques with color pencils and lithograph crayons. They build on and compliment a long-standing series of regional cityscapes and landscapes done in watercolor and color pencil. He also works in other media ranging from black and white pen drawings to silverpoint, scrimshaw, linoleum block prints, and collage.

Some of the Curtis Krueger’s earliest memories are of his father and him drawing at the dining room table. He was told our television broke down when he was in kindergarten, and his parents, although they could afford to repair it decided not to.  Curtis places much of his fascination with the art-world with their encouragement and direct participation. The lack of television as entertainment is another. Curtis studied art at Eastern Michigan University, earning a BFA, along with two teaching certificates. It was in school where he took a darkroom class and got the incurable photo bug.  For the last 25 years he has earned a living selling my photos at various art festivals and galleries across America. Traveling is a big part of his schedule. Half the year is taken up with either shows or photo gathering trips. On an average year, Curtis travels 30,000 miles and shoots 50,000 images.

As of right now Fourth Friday receptions, held during the Arts Council of Wilmington’s Fourth Friday Gallery Night are on hold until January of 2021.  The exhibit continues through September 6, 2020.

Clockwise: Kirah Van Sickle, Brian Evans and Dianne Evans

“Visions of Inspiration: Featuring Artists Brian Evans, Dianne Evans & Kirah Van Sickle” features three artists working in a variety of media and two photographers creating new work.

 These three Wilmington based artists are collaborating in this new exhibition. Brian and Dianne are ceramic artists who play with light and shadow on three dimensional surfaces in their functional and decorative pottery.  Kirah’s acrylic and mixed media works explore incorporating found objects and papers with paint glazes.

Stay tuned for small ” Meet the Artist” events. The exhibit  will be virtual and in the gallery which continues through July 19, 2020.

About the Artists

Brian Evans‘ work conveys inspiration that he finds in his surroundings. Sometimes something as simple as the blade of a saw or a bellows used to blow on a fire can inspire an entire series of work. This body of work conveys simple found objects that inspire minimal or complex linear forms. Brian Evans was born in Beaufort, SC, but was raised in Western Pennsylvania.  He graduated in 1993 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Studio Art.  He moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1995.  He studied ceramics through the Continuing Education program at Cape Fear Community College while searching for an outlet for artistic expression. Brian studied under a Japanese-American Potter,  Hiroshi Sueyoshi. Brian is currently serving as President of the Coastal Carolina Clay Guild.

Local artist and potter, Dianne Evans, has had a passion for art since childhood. She was born and raised in scenic Indiana, Pennsylvania. Dianne developed an interest in art while studying under an inspirational high school art teacher. This experience also inspired her to want to become a teacher. Dianne earned a BS in Elementary Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1994. In 1995 she moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where she began teaching in several private schools. Although she is no longer teaching, she works at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Continuing her love of art, she took art classes at UNC Wilmington in 2009-2010 where she focused on sculpture and ceramics. A field trip to Penland School of Crafts sparked an interest in pursuing ceramics as an art form.  Dianne is an active member of the Coastal Carolina Clay Guild and participates in local art shows. She predominately works in the medium of clay focusing on hand-built pottery.

Kirah Van Sickle is an adventurer at heart. Her early years set a foundation for travel, exploration and visual storytelling. Her acrylic and mixed media works explore incorporating found objects and papers with the paint glazes. These are deeply personal expressions of her memories and dreams. In addition to her studio practice, Kirah is a dynamic instructor and lecturer, leading custom studio courses through museum schools and local art associations, directed to both beginner and seasoned artists. She is an award-winning illustrator, graphic designer and studio artist, a certified Golden Artist-Educator, and active in community arts programming, preservation of cultural resources and enhancing arts education. Kirah lives on the Cape Fear Coast of North Carolina and is a staff instructor at the Cameron Art Museum, Johnston Community College, and Cape Fear Community College.

Click here to view all of the work featured in the exhibit.

As of right now Fourth Friday receptions, held during the Arts Council of Wilmington’s Fourth Friday Gallery Night are on hold until January of 2021.  Stay tuned for other virtual opportunities!

Thanks to each artist who shared a view of his or her studio and thoughts on life during the time of COVID-19.  See https://aibgallery.com/videos/covid-19-studios/.  Wishing health and safety to everyone.

I am grateful for support of the arts and for many acts of kindness, especially during this strange and difficult time of the COVID-19 pandemic.  Thanks to everyone who has purchased art to keep our virtual doors open and to support our artists!  Our building at 210 Princess Street is temporarily closed, but our website is open with free local delivery, curb-side pick up by appointment, and shipping at a reasonable fee to other locations.  Special thanks to our gallery team working from home. Best wishes for health and safety to everyone.

“A Group Exhibit”
Featuring Painters, Helen Lewis, Debra Bucci & Naomi Jones
and Photography Feature, Brian Peterson

This new exhibit featured three painters working in a variety of media along with our photography feature Brian Peterson.

Our photography feature, Brian Peterson, has been a passionate explorer of the creative life, as a musician, visual artist, museum curator, critic, scholar, and critically acclaimed author. Peterson’s photographs are in the collections of more than a dozen major museums including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Amon Carter Museum, the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, the Denver Art Museum, The Milwaukee Art Museum, and the Library of Congress.

“Ancient Practice: Encaustic Art by Helen Lewis” is a new body of work investigating new directions with an ancient practice.  Helen Lewis works predominantly with pigmented beeswax, either in the form of encaustic or cold wax with oil. Both mediums involve building up many layers, then excavating, carving into and highlighting certain portions of the surface. “I love the luminosity, depth and textures that emerge,” she says. “These techniques allow me to capture subtle nuances of color and texture details that may reference an allusion to a place, an object, or simply a feeling. Elements and marks that speak of the passage of time — weathered aging brick, peeling paint, old script and ephemera, lichen on stone — are fascinating and beautiful to me and frequently inspire my artwork. My creative process is an extension of my contemplative nature, which is evidenced in my finished pieces. Always, I endeavor to convey a sense of peace and tranquility through my art — that same calm centeredness I find along the coast.” Her paintings often appear understated and minimalistic in tone, but upon closer inspection, intriguing and quiet conversations are happening within them.

Debra Bucci is known for her vibrant and engaging floral paintings. Dynamic color palettes, moving compositions and translucency from layering oils all work together to enhance the depth and bring Debra’s art to life. Her inspiration comes from the high’s and low’s of the human experience and believes this tension makes the art connectable. Her style is rooted in realism and woven with abstract elements.  Debra is a published illustrator and has achieved success as a licensed fine artist.  She has public and private collectors throughout the US including Savorez Restaurant and Wilmington Magazine. She is an anchor artist at Art in Bloom Gallery and is showing work at The Cameron Art Museum.

Originally from New York, Naomi Jones currently resides in Greensboro, North Carolina with her husband, sculpture and mobile artist Jay Jones, their three sons, and dogs. She was awarded a BFA with Honors from State University of NY at Purchase. There she studied color photography, graphic design, sculpture and painting. She has worked in fashion, museum and trade show display, home furnishings and spent ten years as an elementary school art teacher. Besides painting, she loves food, reading and the ocean.

“Lemons and Limes, Motts Channel” Oil on canvas

Dine at Pinpoint Restaurant to view the new installation by artist, Angela Rowe, as part of our partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.

“Homegrown” is about local food and some of the local places that offer fresh food.  The paintings explore the movement of food from farms and waters to markets and to table.  Woven through these paintings are my food memories and stories,  a sort of autobiography in food.  Our local foods are a part of who we are and what makes a place home.

Wilmington artist, Angela Rowe, is a native of Pisgah Forest, North Carolina who grew up drawing, doodling, and creating imaginary houses from shoeboxes and paper. She has done many other things until April 2013 when she had the opportunity to focus on making art. Angela began taking classes at The Museum School of Cameron Art Museum and in October of 2014, she leased studio space at ACME Art Studios. She works in acrylic, mixed media, collage and print making.

PinPoint is located at 114 Market Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Arrangement in Ink” Acrylic, ink and collage on paper by Georgeann Haas

Art in Bloom Gallery is delighted to host a pop-up art exhibit at the MC Erny Gallery with original art by Georgeann Haas (acrylic and mixed media on paper) and H.M. Saffer, II (oil on canvas and panel) through January 17th, 2020.

MC Erny Gallery will be hosting a reception during Fourth Friday Gallery Night in Downtown Wilmington on Friday, December 27 from 6 until 9pm.

The MC Erny Gallery is on the third floor of WHQR Public Radio at 254 N. Front Street.

Regular hours are 9 am to 5 pm, Monday through Friday except December 24th – 26th.

Our gallery team continues to grow and to learn.  We started our fifth year on October 2nd, 2019.  Highlights this year include a national photography show in collaboration with TheArtWorksTM in a 7200 sf space with artists from across the US (August-September).  Also, we are experimenting with an additional 3000 sf space at 216 N. Front in order to exhibit larger art work through the end of 2019.  Our permanent gallery at 210 Princess Street continues to be a hub for creativity and originality. I am grateful to be surrounded by talented staff, original art, outstanding artists, and wonderful costumers.  Special thanks to friends and family for all of your help with Art in Bloom Gallery to grow from a start-up to an established business.

“Pretty in Pink”, Oil on Canvas, 48″x48″

Join us for the opening reception for “New Path: New Art by Debra Bucci,” Friday, November 22nd, 6-9 pm during Fourth Friday Gallery Night.  Meet the artist, Debra Bucci, and experience phenomenal oil paintings so vivid you feel as if you are inside the paintings.

Debra Bucci is known for her vibrant and engaging floral paintings. Dynamic color palettes, moving compositions and translucency from layering oils all work together to enhance the depth and bring Debra’s art to life. Her inspiration comes from the high’s and low’s of the  human experience and believes this tension makes the art connectable. Her style is rooted in realism and woven with abstract elements.

Debra is a published illustrator and has achieved success as a licensed fine artist.  She has public and private collectors throughout the US including Savorez Restaurant and Wilmington Magazine. She is an anchor artist at Art in Bloom Gallery and is showing work at The Cameron Art Museum.

Debbie has a BFA in Design from Drexel University where she studied oil painting and enjoyed a corporate career in Package Design. She lives in Wilmington, NC with her husband “Art” and dog “T-Bone”.

The exhibit will be located at 210 Princess Street and will be on view until January 19, 2020.

Please click here for a preview of the work in this exhibit.

Join us at 216 N. Front Street for a pop-up exhibit “It’s About Time – Pop Up Exhibit II”.   Experience the reworking of the unique, pop-up exhibit, which includes a wonderful selection of larger works by Art in Bloom Gallery artists. This show will be exhibited on the First Floor of 216 N. Front Street (the former Expo 216 Building) in downtown Wilmington, NC.  Plus view a selection of mid-century modern furniture, on loan and for sale, from Decades of Decor on Castle Street.

“It’s About Time – Pop Up Exhibit II” will feature additional artists including Laurie Greenbaum Beitch, Bob Bryden, Bradley Carter, Karen Paden Crouch, Elizabeth Darrow, Judy Hintz Cox, David Klinger, Joan McLoughlin, H.M. Saffer, II, Traudi Thornton, Gayle Tustin, Virginia Wright-Frierson, Visions of Creation Gallery among other guest artists.

View our Virtual Tour created by Angle Pros of Wilmington!  Preview the exhibit virtually to view all of the work in the show.

The exhibit will be on view during special hours until December 28.  Public hours are Tuesday – Sunday from noon until 5pm with additional hours on Fourth Friday Gallery Nights.

2020 is a new year which brings a variety of brand new art by Art in Bloom Gallery’s core artists to the gallery.  Feast your eyes on new work directly out of the artists’ studios.

Art in Bloom Gallery’s core artists include:  Bradley Carter (painting), Debra Bucci (painting), Richard Bunting (blown glass), Karen Paden Crouch (sculpture), Elizabeth Darrow (painting), Brian Evans (ceramics), Joanne Geisel (painting), Dave Klinger (photography), Brooks Koff (stained glass) Joan McLoughlin (painting), Gale Smith (painter), Traudi Thornton (ceramics), Gayle Tustin (ceramics), Angela Rowe (painter),  Michael Van Hout (sculpture), (Joe) P. Wiegmann (photography), among others! 

Our photography feature, (Joe) P. Wiegmann,  presents a group of work entitled is “Looking Beyond”created in November of last year.  Joe states “This abandoned house summoned to me as I traveled to the Outer Banks in November. I stopped and looking beyond the weathered and decaying façade, I saw a once dignified and beautiful home. Going inside, I felt the house’s unknown history, a beautiful story.”

Join us for the opening reception, held during the Arts Council of Wilmington’s Fourth Friday Gallery Night, on Friday, January 24th, from 6-9pm.   Visit with the artists and enjoy refreshments . The exhibit continues through March 8, 2020.

“Beach Path Theme” (Clockwise) Ann Hair, Joanne Geisel, Gale Smith, and Barbara Bear Jamison

“Take Four: New Art by Joanne Geisel, Ann Hair, Barbara Bear Jamison, and Gale Smith” is a new exhibit where each artist will paint her personal interpretations of iconic Wilmington scenes, including scenes from the Lower Cape Fear Hospice Garden. A portion of art sales and a raffle of an original artwork will benefit the Lower Cape Fear Hospice.

Joanne Geisel‘s love of drawing and painting began as a child. Her goals in creating oil paintings include capturing the feelings, sights and sounds of her subjects. She continues to experiment with texture, edges, brushstrokes, and palette knife and the layering of color to create depth, luminosity and beauty. 

Ann Hair is an award winning artist who draws her inspiration and palette from nature but enjoys tweaking the colors a bit and turning them up a notch.  She loves working en plein aire and from life.  Currently living on the coast of North Carolina, she finds inspiration everywhere.

Barbara Bear Jamison is a 4th generation Wilmington native, focusing on the beauty of her hometown in her art. She studied art at UNC-Chapel Hill.

Gale Smith studied at UNC Chapel Hill, and considers painting as an ongoing study.  Gale is an award winning artist with her works exhibited in galleries, private collections and corporate installations.

The Lower Cape Fear Hospice will receive a portion of art sales from each artist plus a match from Art in Bloom Gallery.  In addition, the four artists are creating a painting together to be raffled during the art exhibit.  All proceeds from the raffle will go to the Lower Cape Fear Hospice.

“Transference: New Art by Joan McLoughlin” is an exhibit featuring new paintings by the Wilmington based artist. This body of work includes abstract paintings as well as a new direction using photo transfers incorporated into the compositions.  This new series has evolved in order to evoke nostalgia by illustrating memories of the past alongside the contemporary art of the present.

Join us for the opening reception on Friday, September 6th from 6-9pm to meet the artist, hear about her artistic journey, enjoy refreshments and live music by violinist, Shirley Lebo.

Click here to preview the works in the exhibit.

Debra Bucci “The Organic Hotdog Connoisseur” Oil on canvas 18″ x 22″

View a dog inspired art exhibit in honor of the 30th Anniversary of Louie’s Hot Dogs, located a few doors down from Art in Bloom Gallery. Guest artists include Robert Brown, Debra Bucci, Jay DeChesere, David Klinger, Paul Muldawer and Gayle Tustin.

Join us on Wednesday, September 18 from 3-5pm to celebrate the 30th Anniversary of Louie’s Hot Dogs at 204 1/2 Princess St, Wilmington, NC 2840. Meet owner, Mary Garner, and Mayor Bill Saffo who will make brief remarks. Enjoy refreshments and live music By Sylvie Lippard.

Louie’s Hot Dogs regular hours are Monday – Thursday, 11 am to 6 pm; Friday 11 am to 3 am; Saturday noon to 6 pm plus 10 pm to 3 am; and Sunday noon to 6 pm. The art exhibit will be at Art in Bloom Gallery during the month of September. Amy Grant, owner of Art in Bloom Gallery, is delighted to showcase original art celebrating Louie’s Hot Dogs and owner Mary Garner, a great neighbor on Princess Street.

ART OF THE IMAGE ‘19
a juried photographic media competition and exhibition

Art of the Image ‘19 is a juried photography competition and exhibition designed to celebrate the medium of photography and its cultural influence by engaging the photography community with a showing of exceptional photo-based works of art.  This exhibition will feature artists working in two and three-dimensional mediums showcasing original works of art with a primary focus on the photographic medium, utilizing traditional and non-traditional processes.   This year’s juror is Beth Handler Riebe, PhD, Independent Curator and Art Consultant.

Art of the Image ‘19 will be installed and exhibited at Gallery Verrazzano, a 7200+ sq.ft., gallery and event space located in theArtWorks™ of Wilmington, NC, near downtown.  Gallery Verrazzano is a brand new home for visual and performing arts.  Art of the Image ’19 is organized by Art in Bloom Gallery and theArtWorks™.  Gallery Verrazzano is located at 200 Willard Street in Wilmington.

Click here to view a Virtual Tour of Art of the Image ’19 created by Angle Pros of Wilmington, N.C.

ABOUT THE JUROR:
Beth Handler Riebe, PhD, Independent Curator and Art Consultant 

Beth Handler Riebe worked in the NYC art world for twenty years, with curatorial stints at The Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum of American Art, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the Paula Cooper Gallery. She served as an art consultant to Donald B. Marron (one of ARTnews’ top 200 collectors). Beth received a BA from Oberlin College, and an MA and a PhD from Yale University, with all three degrees in art history. She is a former Trustee of the Cameron Art Museum and occasionally teaches art history at UNCW.

Handler Riebe founded LOCAL: art + ideas in 2013 in Wilmington, NC.  LOCAL is a think tank that supports art and ideas flourishing BEYOND larger metropolitan areas and cultural networks.  It promotes regional artists and introduces their work to new audiences nearby and nationally through a variety of programming, including private art viewings, site-specific installations, and temporary and online exhibitions.

 Ethan Allen, located in Wilmington, NC, is partnering with Art in Bloom Gallery’s contemporary and traditional artists to feature original art in the Ethan Allen Design Center on College Road.  The Ethan Allen Design Center offers a broad range of furniture and accessories, including quality living room furniture, dining room furniture, bedroom furniture and home décor. Customers can create the look they will love from classic to contemporary with free interior design help from Ethan Allen’s design pros.

The design pros are partnering with artists Bob Bryden, Debra Bucci, Richard Bunting,  Bradley Carter, Judy Hintz Cox, Elizabeth Darrow, Brian Evans, Joanne Geisel, Naomi Jones, Helen Lewis, Joan McLoughlin, Angela Rowe, Olaf Schneider, Gale Smith, and Traudi Thornton to create unique interiors with fine art.

Visit Ethan Allen’s furniture store from February 13 until March 8 to view the work. Additionally, 10% of art sales from this show will be donated to DREAMS Center for Arts Education.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PURCHASE THE WORKS ONLINE!

Photo Credit: hedgydesigns.com

UPDATE:  The restaurant is currently closed, except for take out orders.  But please view the work online.  We offer free local delivery. CLICK HERE TO VIEW AND PURCHASE THE WORKS ONLINE! 

Dine at Platypus & Gnome Restaurant to view a new exhibit “The Ways of Wax: Works by Liz Hosier“, as part of our partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.

Featuring new paintings by North Carolina abstract artist Liz Hosier, “Ways of Wax” celebrates the versatility of beeswax as a primary medium.  Included are works in oil with cold wax, encaustics (an ancient hot wax painting technique), and encaustic monotypes (a printmaking technique with encaustic pigment). As an abstract artist, Hosier finds freedom and a challenge within these time-honored “ways of wax.”  She is intrigued by how each unique process relies upon layering to build up surfaces and to create depth, texture, movement and luminosity. Each painting expresses a fluid dialogue between artist, medium, color and surface.

Join us for a special champagne toast and special reception for the artist on Thursday, February 20 from 6-8pm.  The reception is free and open to the public with complimentary champagne and appetizers. If you would like to stay for dinner, please call 910-769-9300 for dinner reservations.

About the Artist

Elizabeth (Liz) Hosier grew up outside of Asheville; the forest was her playground, while drawing and other creative endeavors her pastime.  Liz was fortunate to have teachers who recognized and nurtured her interest in art throughout her early education.  She holds an MBA and a BS in Mathematics and moved in the mid-80s to continue her Information Technology (IT) profession at UNC Wilmington.  While at UNCW she studied art history and studio art.  When the opportunity to retire presented itself, Liz began to seriously pursue her love of art and to seek her artist voice.

Obsessed with colors and light, her work has evolved into process-based abstract painting which gives Liz the freedom to consider a variety techniques, colors and materials. 

Liz’s strong connection with nature and innate need to be creative are reflected in her artwork.  She works primarily in oil, mixed media, encaustic, and occasionally acrylics. A teaching artist at Museum School at Cameron Art Museum (Wilmington) and member of Diverse Works Art Group (Wilmington), Liz’s work can be seen at Gallery Citrine (Wilmington), ACME Arts Studios (Wilmington), Platypus & Gnome (Wilmington, February 2020), and at local and regional exhibitions and shows throughout the southeastern United States.  

Enjoy the Fine Art of Dining!

Virginia Wright-Frierson “Wild Orchids” Oil on canvas, 30″ x 24″

“Connections: New Art by Brooks Koff, Michael Van Hout, and Virginia Wright-Frierson” features three artists from Art in Bloom Gallery’s stable of artists.  These Wilmington based artists have collaborated together on many projects and are bringing new work to the gallery walls.  The artwork will range from beautifully rendered paintings, to stained-glass mosaics, to incredibly detailed tie-wire sculpture.

Join us for the opening reception, Friday,  April 12th, from 6-9pm.   Visit with our artists and enjoy refreshments with live music by guitarist, Dargan Frierson. The exhibit continues through May 5, 2019.

Brooks Koff “paints with glass” creating unique stained-glass mosaics that beg for a sunny window to catch and transform light into brilliant color! Unlike traditional stained-glass work, her pieces are created without the use of patterns, giving her freedom to fully explore color and design.

Michael Van Hout started creating professional art over thirty-years ago after studying Forestry at NC State University and graduating with a BSA degree in sculpture from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in 1980. In addition to wire and metal sculpture, Michael creates wood sculpture, woodcut prints, mixed media, mobiles, paintings, and commissioned works.

Virginia Wright-Frierson earned her BFA degree in painting from the University of North Carolina, Greensboro, and furthered her studies in Cortona, Italy, New York and Arizona. She and her husband, Dargan, settled in Wilmington, NC in 1977.

E. Francisca Dekker “The Kiss” Acrylic on canvas, 48″ x 36″

“Go With the Flow: Contemporary Art with E. Francisca Dekker and Karen Paden Crouch” is a new exhibit playfully pairing two contemporary artists with painting and sculpture. Both of these Wilmington based artists design work that evolve fluently through the creative process.

Join us for the opening reception, Friday,  May 10th, from 6-9pm.   Visit with our artists and enjoy refreshments with live music by guitarist, Roger Davis. The exhibit continues through June 9, 2019.

The paintings and drawings, in acrylics, watercolor and inks, by E. Francisca Dekker, are a direct reflection of the experience she is having. What inspires her is simply nature, listening to music and see someone being quiet or people in motion or dance. Subjects are everyday people and life-models and as a self-taught artist and native to The Netherlands, there are no boundaries and judgments, just the freedom to express herself in gestural lines, motion and colors. Her ever evolving style in fluent movements – sometimes whimsical and abstract – with contrasting lines and choice in colors is often symbolic, vibrant and bold to deepen the sense in motion in body, heart and soul.

Karen Paden Crouch creates sculpture because she must. It is her passion, and every day that she is allowed to make something, it is an unexpected blessing.  Karen’s metal sculptures are grounded in the structure and movement of living things. “When I work in bronze, I begin with a flat sheet from which I cut shapes. I heat these shapes with a torch and beat them into contoured pieces which I then weld into the sculpture’s form. Files, various abrasives and chemical patinas give the sculpture its final finish. Although I begin with a vision, the sculpture takes its own direction; if I will listen it will be a better piece. The found metal pieces grow from collected shapes. Sometimes I have an idea; sometimes I just start juxtaposing parts until an image emerges. But I have always lived by instinct and, with assembled pieces, as well as the bronzes, the sculpture will tell me where to go if I am patient and listen.”

Mark Gansor “Ghostly Apparitions” Acrylic on canvas, 14″ x 18″

“Chasing Shadow and Light: New Art by Brian Evans, Dianne Evans and Mark Gansor” features three artists working in a variety of media.  These three Wilmington based artists are collaborating for the first time in this new exhibition. Brian and Dianne are ceramic artists who play with light and shadow on three dimensional surfaces in their functional and decorative pottery.  Mark is a landscape painter using impasto surfaces to capture fleeting moments caught in the light.

Join us for the opening reception, Friday,  June 14, from 6-9pm.   Visit with our artists and enjoy refreshments with live music by Myron Harmon on piano keyboard. The exhibit continues through July 21, 2019.

Brian Evans‘ work conveys inspiration that he finds in his surroundings. Sometimes something as simple as the blade of a saw or a bellows used to blow on a fire can inspire an entire series of work. This body of work conveys simple found objects that inspire minimal or complex linear forms. Brian Evans was born in Beaufort, SC, but was raised in Western Pennsylvania.  He graduated in 1993 from Indiana University of Pennsylvania with a B.A. in Studio Art.  He moved to Wilmington, North Carolina in 1995.  He studied ceramics through the Continuing Education program at Cape Fear Community College while searching for an outlet for artistic expression. Brian studied under a Japanese-American Potter,  Hiroshi Sueyoshi. Brian is currently serving as President of the Coastal Carolina Clay Guild.

Local artist and potter, Dianne Evans, has had a passion for art since childhood. She was born and raised in scenic Indiana, Pennsylvania. Dianne developed an interest in art while studying under an inspirational high school art teacher. This experience also inspired her to want to become a teacher. Dianne earned a BS in Elementary Education from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1994. In 1995 she moved to Wilmington, North Carolina where she began teaching in several private schools. Although she is no longer teaching, she works at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Continuing her love of art, she took art classes at UNC Wilmington in 2009-2010 where she focused on sculpture and ceramics. A field trip to Penland School of Crafts sparked an interest in pursuing ceramics as an art form.  Dianne is an active member of the Coastal Carolina Clay Guild and participates in local art shows. She predominately works in the medium of clay focusing on hand-built pottery.

Mark Gansor is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Out of several decades of work as a decorative finisher and classical musician, Mark Gansor’s career as a painter was born. Entirely self- taught he is now secure enough to tell people that he is an artist. He works in acrylics thickly applied to the canvas with knives, fingers, and occasionally brushes.  Since moving to Wilmington five years ago he has been caught up in the artistic vibe of the city, and the historical structures, nature, and the downtown all figure in his work. He has painted or restored original work in several structures on the National Registry which have added to his love of all things old or unusual. The beautiful old churches speak to him, bringing his love of sacred music and the pipe organ back time and time again.  For several years he has been painting works on canvas and hopes that this can be his career in retirement. His work is available at Art in Bloom Gallery. He has also recently become Director of Music Ministries at St Andrews Covenant Presbyterian Church in downtown Wilmington.  Mark Gansor is a native of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Kirah Van Sickle “Aspens” Mixed media and collage, 24″ x 12″

The new year brings a variety of brand new art by Art in Bloom Gallery’s core artists to the gallery.  Feast your eyes on new work directly out of the artist’s studios.  Art in Bloom Gallery’s core artists include: Bradley Carter (painting), Bob Bryden (printmaking), Debra Bucci (painting), Richard Bunting (blown glass), Elizabeth Darrow (painting), Brian Evans (ceramics), Susan Francy (photography), Mark Gansor (painting),  Joanne Geisel (painting), Dumay Gorham (sculpture), Harold Hodges (photography), Dave Klinger (photography),  Joan McLoughlin (painting), Jessie Robertson (painting), Gale Smith (painter), Traudi Thornton (ceramics), (Joe) P. Wiegmann (photography), and Kirah Van Sickle (mixed media and painter).

Join us for the opening reception, held during the Arts Council of Wilmington’s Fourth Friday Gallery Night, on Friday, February 22nd, from 6-9pm.   Visit with the artists and enjoy refreshments with live music by violinist, Shirley Lebo. The exhibit continues through March 23, 2019.

Click here to view the work that was featured in the exhibit. 

Robyn Gahr, “Beginnings” Watercolor on paper, 28.5″ x 22.5″

Cinematic artistic expression is a key element of the Wilmington Jewish Film Festival. Art in Bloom Gallery expands that element with an affiliated art exhibit, “Jewish Journeys“. Original art will be on view and for sale at Art in Bloom Gallery from April 25th – May 8th.  The exhibit aims to raise money and awareness for the 6th Annual Wilmington Jewish Film Festival.

This community project is sponsored by the film festival for the second year with guest curator, Amy Grant, owner of Art in Bloom Gallery, 210 Princess St. in historic downtown Wilmington in collaboration with Miriam Oehrlein, owner of New Elements Gallery. The original artwork that will be exhibited was chosen to encourage and expand the understanding of Jewish culture and art. Each artist expresses his or her own interpretation of “Jewish Journeys: An Art Exhibit,” so the art exhibit will reflect different points of view. The exhibit will feature special guest artists, including Elisa Agami (sculpture), Judith Yael Cohen (mixed media), Robyn Gahr (mixed media), and Owen Wexler, from New Elements Gallery.

Gallery hours are Tuesday – Saturday 10am – 6pm with special hours on Sunday from noon until 5pm and by appointment.

Click here to view the work featured in the exhibit. 

The Wilmington Jewish Film Festival has as its primary mission the presentation of films with Jewish content to advance and share common interests within the Jewish community and at the same time share Jewish heritage with the general public.

Each year, the North Carolina Azalea Festival brings hundreds of thousands of guests to our downtown business neighborhoods. This year, we want to make sure we do everything we can to ensure these guests cross through our downtown business doors. The Downtown Window Decorating Competition celebrates what makes our downtown businesses amazing by highlighting their creativity.

This is Art in Bloom’s first year participating in the contest. We are pleased to have two of our painters, Debra Bucci and Joan McLoughlin, designing and creating our window on Princess Street!

Art in Bloom Gallery’s newest exhibit features a group show of artists creating paintings with pigmented wax on surfaces such as wooden panels in “Ancient Art Revisited: A Group Encaustic Exhibit”.  The wax is fused or burned via a heat source creating luminous qualities and colorful depths of layers.  The exhibit features 5 artists working in a variety of media and techniques.  Artists include Judy Hintz Cox, Liz Hosier, Helen Lewis, Charles Robertson (New Elements Gallery), and Kirah Van Sickle. 

The Fourth Friday Gallery Night reception will be held on Friday, January 25th from 6-9pm.   Visit with the artists and enjoy refreshments. The exhibit continues through February 10th, 2019.

Click here to view a selection of work from the exhibit.

“What Tomorrow Holds” Acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 24″

Join us for a first look at the new work of abstract artist, Bradley Carter.  This exhibit features a selection of work fresh out of the artist’s studio.

Click here to view a selection of work from the exhibit.

American Artist, Bradley Carter, is an award winning, international selling artist who grew up pursuing his passion for art in Virginia before moving to the North Carolina in 2007, where he currently resides in Wilmington, NC. He predominately works in the medium of painting with his passion in Abstract Expressionism, but his works also include collage, paint skins, and furniture.

Gale Smith “Raspberry in Blueberry Swirl” Woven Copper, 20.5 ” x 29″

Join us for the new exhibit, “Traveling Light,” and a collaboration between artist, Gale Smith, and fashion designer, Alice Blake Powell. “Traveling Light” is an exhibition of both hard and soft materials, light, movement, color and structure. Fashion designer, Alice Blake Powell and artist, Gale Smith have collaborated to bring new “out of the box” ideas to this exhibit.

Gale Smith weaves RGB LED fiber optic fibers into several of her woven copper pieces that emit light into the design.  Along with the fiber optics, she uses color to express the light and movement into her sculptural pieces. Alice Blake Powell has created a series of clothing pieces using recycled materials along with new materials. This up cycled fashion is easy to travel with and reflects light through illumination and creates a feeling of buoyancy. Gale will be donating a portion of  proceeds from sales to The Arts Council of Wilmington and Alice will be  donating to Dreams of Wilmington.

The opening reception will be held on Friday, November 2nd from 6-8pm.   Visit with the artists and enjoy refreshments with live music. The exhibit will be shown in conjunction with the “Thirteenth Grade” Art Exhibit located in Gallery 2.

About Gale Smith
Gale Smith is an award winning artist, living and working in Wilmington, NC, with her works exhibited in galleries, private collections and corporate installations. Her newest interest is working with copper.  As a plein air painter, she began using copper panels as her canvas and loved how the copper made her colors warm and vibrant. She experiments with different gauges of copper and mediums and discovered that inks and oils on copper made colors radiate vibrantly. Gale will be donating a portion of  proceeds from sales to The Arts Council of Wilmington.

About Alice Blake Powell
Alice Blake Powell currently resides in Wilmington, NC where she has worked in the film industry for nearly 25 years. Her resume includes over 40 television and major motion picture film productions such as Dawson’s Creek, One Tree Hill, Good Behavior, The Secret Life of Bee’s, Secretariat and Iron Man 3 to name a few. When Alice is not working film, she promotes her business “By the Hands” producing charity fashion shows and designing for local artist. Alice will be donating a portion of proceeds from sales to Dreams of Wilmington.

Jessie Robertson “Banana Frog”

What do you get when you have five high school artists who have worked together for five years? You get a gallery show on their Thirteenth grade year! The artists Harry Antoniades, Robby Carl, Sarah Miller, Jessie Robertson and Holly Woodcock have each developed an original style of work and continue to experiment in multiple mediums.

Owner of Art in Bloom Gallery, Amy Grant first met the artists about one year ago and recognized the originality of the art and dedication of the artists. The students developed a detailed proposal for their own art exhibit at Art in Bloom Gallery. The student artists all attend Wilmington Early College High School and are taking art classes at Cape Fear Community College. They have all been mentored since their freshman year by Dr. Janna Siegel Robertson who is their art club teacher. Besides creating art, the students have been learning about the entrepreneurial side of art by participating in craft shows and art shows this past year. The opportunity at Art in Bloom Gallery is the first time their art has been exhibited in a commercial gallery.

The opening reception is Friday, November 2, 6-8pm with the exhibit continuing through Saturday, November 24. Visit with the artists and enjoy refreshments with live music. The exhibit will be shown in conjunction with “Traveling Light” A Collaborative Exhibit by Gale Smith & Alice Blake Powell exhibit located in Gallery 1.

“Art of the Gift” opens on November 30th and continues through January 5th .

The art exhibit celebrates the holidays by featuring one-of-a-kind gifts selected from our collection of original art. Choose from exquisite jewelry, works on paper,  ceramics, paintings, blown glass, sculpture, mobiles, stained-glass mosaics, and more. You will find something for everyone with prices suitable for the holidays.

Gift Receipts and Gift Certificates are available just in case you can’t find exactly what that special person on your list might desire.

Original works of art by local artists including: Debra Bucci, Richard Bunting, Bradley Carter, Brian Evans, JF Jones Mobiles, Susan Laswell, Joan McLoughlin, Cathie Schumaker, Gale Smith, Traudi Thornton, Kirah Van Sickle, Visions of Creation Gallery and many more!

The exhibit and sale will also be presented alongside “Colors of Expression: Bradley Carter” exhibit with complimentary gift wrapping available.

Art in Bloom Gallery will begin its fourth year on October 2nd, 2018.  I am grateful for the wonderful original art, staff, artists, customers, friends, and family who continue to make the gallery a reality.

Join us for a new exhibit “The Last Song of Summer” by ceramicist, Traudi Thornton, and painter, Pam Toll.  The opening reception will be held on Friday, September 7th, from 6-8pm.  Visit with the artists and enjoy refreshments with live music by violinist, Shirley Lebo.

Traudi Thornton “Stoneware Bowl” Ceramics

About Traudi Thornton
Traudi Thornton is a ceramicist currently showing Raku and Stoneware in Art in Bloom Gallery. She was born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Germany.  Traudi first studied music at Creighton University before studying ceramics with Henry Soreco at Creighton, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and then moving back to Germany.  The artist relocated to Wilmington in 1983.  Additionally, Traudi completed a Raku workshop with Paul Soldner in 1974 at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She wakes at 3:30 am to work on her ceramics.  She prefers not to rush, to take her time, to complete her work properly.

About Pam Toll
Pam Toll, an Associate Professor at UNC Wilmington, received a BA in Art and English Literature from UNC Chapel Hill has been painting since childhood. Her studio is located at Acme Art Studios (Wilmington) which she co-founded in 1991, as a work and exhibition space for artists. She also co-founded No Boundaries International Art Colony (Bald Head Island, NC) in 1998, a residency program that in the last twenty years brought over 200 artists from around the world with the goal of creating a cross-exchange of cultures and artistic practices to share with our local community.

“Two Trees and Fog” Photography by (Joe) P Wiegmann

Join us for the new exhibit, “Art of the Camera,” a group photography invitational exhibit curated by the Art in Bloom Gallery. This juried show invited an array of professional and amateur photographers to create a unique showcase of photographers working in a variety of techniques.

The featured photographers in this group show include: Gary Allen, Steve Bower, Ralph Colelli, Joe DiBartolo, Frank Fierstein, Susan Francy, William Fridrich, Leigh Gill, Harold Hodges, Charles Kernan, David Klinger, Kate LeCates, Barbara Michael, Jessica Novak, Daniel Rogers, Arrow Ross, Barbara Snyder, Rachel Thompson, and (Joe) P Wiegmann.

This exhibit will be on view in conjunction with the new exhibit “The Edge of Adaptation: Watercolors by Deb Kline Ahern.”

Join us for the new exhibit of watercolors and painting by Deb Klein Ahern. Her art is multi-faceted in its origins and its media, in its subject and its style, constant, current, and ever-evolving. She is a painter working in watercolor, oil, acrylic, print and mixed media.

Deb has enjoyed a life-long passion for art, entering and gaining recognition at several art shows early on. Her 3-year study with Dale Boatman, an accomplished watercolorist, in Sierra Vista, Arizona, in the late 1970s, and her University studies in fine arts and art history in Tuscany, Umbria, and Veneto, Italy and Egypt in the 1980s, helped her immeasurably to “see” vivid color in the world. After 30 years of living in Germany, Deb has recently moved to Amelia Island, Florida and expects the terrain and light will once again change her work. Her works can be found in numerous private collections both in Europe and the United States.

This exhibit will be one view in conjunction with the “Art of the Camera,” a group photography invitational exhibit curated by the Art in Bloom Gallery.

“Yackety Yak” Oil pastel and oil on canvas

Join us for a first look at the new work of Wilmington’s own, Elizabeth Darrow.  This exhibit will feature a selection of work fresh out of the artist’s studio.  The art includes figurative work and abstract expressionism with oil, oil pastel, and/or collage on canvas.

Elizabeth Darrow has made Wilmington her home since 1977. She works in a variety of styles depending on her medium, but usually does not work “from life” in the traditional sense. Most of the imagery that comes to her seems to hatch of its own accord, emerging from the process. Darrow enjoys working with color, repeating patterns and embedding humor (and angst) into her work. Each piece takes her on a journey of discovery where she hopes to lose herself to the process.

“Stairway to Temple Israel,” Black and White Photography by David Klinger

Cinematic artistic expression is a key element of the Wilmington Jewish Film Festival. Now that aspect is being expanded with an affiliated art exhibit, “Jewish Art: Diverse Cultures”. Original art will be on view and for sale at Art in Bloom Gallery from April 22nd – May 6th, with pop-up exhibits at Thalian Hall on Sundays and Mondays during the film festival.

This community project is sponsored by the film festival for the first time with guest curator, Amy Grant, owner of Art in Bloom Gallery, 210 Princess St. in historic downtown Wilmington. Artists of all religions and beliefs were encouraged to submit original art for the exhibit. The artwork that will be exhibited was chosen to encourage and expand the understanding of Jewish culture and art. Each artist was encouraged to express his or her own interpretation of this theme, “Jewish Art: Diverse Cultures,” so the art exhibit will reflect different points of view.

The Wilmington Jewish Film Festival has as its primary mission the presentation of films with Jewish content to advance and share common interests within the Jewish community and at the same time share Jewish heritage with the general public.

“Sage,” pastels on paper, 9″ x 14″ by Catherine Nicodemo

Join us for the new horse-themed exhibit honoring the humble beginnings of Art in Bloom Gallery. Established in 2015, the gallery is housed in the renovated horse stable built by the Quinlivan family of farriers in 1910 using old barn walls, heart pine, and ballast stones (c. 1749-1891). The show will feature artists working in a

The artists included Debra Bucci, Bradley Carter, Elizabeth Darrow, Jay DeChesere, Joanne Geisel, Dumay Gorham, Jacqueline Jahn, David Klinger, Nick Mijak, Catherine Nicodemo, Catherine Porter Brown, Janna Siegel Robertson, Pam Toll, and Roberto Vengoechea, among others.

5% of proceeds from sales benefited the Cape Fear Equine Rescue.

Bob Bryden, “Untitled No. 1″, Printing ink on paper, 16″ x 16”

OPENING ON FRIDAY!

“Ink on Paper by Bob Bryden” & “Photographic Reflections by Harold Hodges” is a new exhibit combining the work of two artists working in two very different media.

Ink on Paper by Bob Bryden

Bob Bryden’s work exists comfortably within the traditions of minimalism and optical art. Utilizing the simple elements of point, line and plane he creates abstract images which are highly structured and concise while at the same time are optically active and visually illusive. The perceptual experience of his work involves the interaction of seeing and understanding and is directly related to how vision functions.

Bob Byrden grew up in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. He is a graduate of Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. He went on to do graduate work in South Asian art history at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His desire for a greater involvement with creative arts lead to Kentucky and graduate work at the University of Louisville where he received a Masters Degree in Art with a concentration in printmaking. In addition to art he has worked primarily in graphic design and commercial printing. Today he pursues his creative endeavors in his swamp side home/studio in Wilmington, NC.

Photographic Reflections by Harold Hodges

Harold Hodges “Grass Whispers” Photography 14″ x 11″

The palette, from which all perception is formed, is not made of a bright spectrum of pigments and light, it is a palette filled with all the feelings and emotions people have toward all things. The perception a person has of things that are before him or her will ultimately be manifested from the palette of whatever media they choose to amplify the feelings and emotion they have toward the subject they have chosen.This is not by choice but it is the process of that which is truth finding light that gives vision to others of those things we see. All things of earth are of equal worth and beauty. Our perception is skewed by all our feelings good and bad. It is a wonderful life when we can see how beautiful our life is and recognize that much of the bad and negative is perception of our own mind. This earth, this life, have provided us with the broadest and most wondrous palette of imagery the universe has to offer. Rejoice, seize each moment, let not one get away from you. ~ Harold Hodges

Harold Hodges is a photographer, living and working in Wilmington, NC.

We learned a lot at Art in Bloom as we celebrated our Second Anniversary in Oct 2017.  We experimented with a traveling art exhibit, “Sea to Sandhills,” at the Belle Meade Art Studio in Southern Pines and enjoyed meeting people in the Pinehurst/Southern Pines community.  Thanks to the many non-profit organizations who worked with the gallery.  Special thanks to Donna DeGennaro and Unlocking Silent Histories for creating our first art exhibit with both English and Spanish art labels and information.

In 2018, we continue to change our art exhibits in the gallery more often, about once a month.  We now have partnerships to exhibit art in four other locations:  Pinpoint Restaurant, Platypus & Gnome Restaurant, The District Kitchen and Cocktails, and Waterline Brewing Company.

Thanks to everyone for supporting Art in Bloom Gallery and our wider arts community!  Art is truly a universal language.

“Tribute to Escher,” Painted collage, 29″ x 15″

“Art Explosions by Jeffery Geller” runs through February 24, 2018.

Jeffery Geller creates outside-of-the-box art including original art with paper, clay, paint, wood, and often found objects. Experience shadow boxes and art explosions outside of shadow boxes. View paper mobiles, mixed-media collages, paintings, and ceramics.

The artist will donate Fifty percent of the proceeds of art sales from “Art Explosions” to Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF).

Click here to view the art of Jeffery Geller at Art in Bloom Gallery.

“Ovum ad Mentem (Egg to Mind),” Oil on Linen, 26″ x 26″ by Catherine Porter Brown

“Gadgets,” Found objects, 12″ x 12″ by Jeff Brown

Two artists, Catherine Porter Brown and Jeff Brown come together in the new exhibit Synergy. The art presents an interaction and cooperation with a combined effect, which is greater than the sum of its parts.

The upcoming exhibit includes Jeff Brown’s newest assemblages with found objects along side luminous dreamscapes and portraits by Catherine Porter Brown, a classically trained oil painter.

“Self Portrait,” oil on canvas, 16″ h x 12″ w by Tatyana Kulida

Experience the extraordinary oil paintings of Tatyana Kulida and Mio Reynolds.

Click here to view the work that was on view in the gallery.

“Art of the Gift” opens on November 1st and continues through December 30th. The art exhibit celebrates the holidays and features one-of-a-kind gifts selected from our collection of original art. Choose from exquisite jewelry, paper art, hand-crafted wood, weaving, ceramics, paintings, blown glass, sculpture, mobiles, stained-glass mosaics, and more. You will find something for everyone with prices starting at $10 for woven paper art and with many works of art under $50.

Original works of art by local artists include: Debra Bucci, Richard Bunting, Brian Evans, Susan Laswell, Joan McLoughlin, Cathie Schumaker, Gale Smith, Traudi Thornton, and many more! 

The exhibit and sale will also be presented alongside “Traudi Thornton: From  the Studio to the Gallery” exhibit with complimentary gift wrapping available.

“Cloudy Night” Encaustic, oil pigment and ephemera on wood panel, 10″ x 10″

Meet visiting artist, Helen Lewis, during a special Pop-Up Exhibit featuring her latest encaustic paintings during Downtown Wilmington’s Fourth Friday Gallery Nights.

Helen Lewis concentrates her fine art in the areas of encaustic, cold wax and oil, and mixed-media collage.  In addition to Art In Bloom Gallery, she is represented by galleries in coastal Maine and along the shores of Lake Michigan in Door County, Wisconsin and Michigan as well as in Roswell, Georgia.

Click here to view some of the work that will be on view in Helen Lewis’ Pop-Up Exhibit. 

Art in Bloom Gallery presents a special artist showcase and studio sale by ceramic artist, Traudi Thornton. Traudi’s handmade, one of a kind ceramic work will grace the gallery with a special sale on Saturday, November 25th.  Traudi will be in the gallery from 11am until 2pm.  Guests will enjoy refreshments and get a start on holiday gift shopping.  

Traudi was born in Czechoslovakia and raised in Germany.  She first studied music at Creighton University before studying ceramics with Henry Soreco at Creighton, the University of Nebraska at Omaha and then moving back to Germany.  The artist relocated to Wilmington in 1983. Additionally, Traudi completed a Raku workshop with Paul Soldner in 1974 at the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

The artist showcase will be presented alongside “The Art of the Gift” exhibit and sale with complimentary gift wrapping available.

GALLERY 1

October 6 – 27, 2017
October 6, 6-9pm – Opening Reception

Details coming soon about Gale Smith.

Art in Bloom Gallery is pleased to contribute to the Arts Council of Wilmington and New Hanover County’s Pedestrian Art Program.  For the 2018-2019 cycle, we are hosting a sculpture, “Without Prejudice,” Corten Steel, by Paul Hill.  Visit our back courtyard to view this beautiful sculpture.  Also, as part of the permanent public-sculpture collection, view Paul Hill’s sculpture of a dog, “Straining to Be,” in Bijou Park near 225 N. Front Street.  Paul also created the sculpture of a Venus Flytrap, “Southern Hospitality,” at the foot of of Market and Water Street by the river.

Sib’s artist, Brooks Koff, was kind enough to sit down with us and chat about her journey as an artist, her life as a teacher and mother, and her Sib’s fellow artist and brother, Michael Van Hout.

The Sibs Show closes May 27th, 2017.

Begin Transcript

NB:What drew you to do a show with your sibling?

BK: Actually, Mike [Michael Van Hout] set it up. He asked Amy [Amy Grant, owner of Art in Bloom Gallery] about me showing in the gallery, and then it was her brainstorm to pair us together.

NB: Do you guys cooperate on a lot of stuff?

BK: No, not really much at all. I went to school for nursing. I’ve been doing this sort of work for twenty years. He’s [Michael Van Hout] been an artist for many more years than that.

JLP: What drew you to art after nursing?

BK: I was always crafty as well as he growing up. He was you know very much an artist drawing all the time and my mom always did craft sort of things. I was drawn to that, but I never pursued art as an option. So, before my daughter was born, I took a stained glass class. Then ended up working in the hobby store half-time while I was pregnant with her. Then started a painting career painting sweatshirts and t-shirts cause that was cool. So I did that for a number of years, and knew I wasn’t going back to stained glass, because I had kids around. Yeah, kids and glass, not a good combination.

When I really started drawing, I took a drawing class when I was pregnant with my son, my third child. So not until I was in my thirties that I started drawing.

JLP: So that must have been like a reawakening in a sense.

BK: It was great to learn, to be schooled in that sort of, to draw and all of that. I volunteered as an art teacher for twenty years for my kids’ school.

JLP: Was the reason you didn’t go into art might have been because Michael was doing that? I find that with siblings sometimes you feel like you can’t do the same things.

BK: The funny thing is that I always knew he was going to be an artist, but he didn’t discover that until he had dropped out of college. And then was twisting wire into shapes and someone said, “Hey, you can make a career out of that”. It was that realization for him that he could do that. It wasn’t that I was opposed to it; I just never been told it was OK to pursue that. It was never, “You should do this!”

NB: What other kinds of art do you like to do?

BK: I taught art for a number of years and I love doing that–teaching kids art. Drawing is a big thing with me, because people think they can’t draw. But it’s actually just that they haven’t learned, and they don’t stay with it. So when you get to sixth grade usually you’re like, “I can’t draw” (in a kid’s voice). People identify she’s a drawer, she’s a drawer, and I’m not. The ones that they are pointing to just love to draw and do it all the time. It’s like anything. Like soccer or any sport. You practice it really hard, you’ll do really well at it. Drawing is the same way.

I like drawing and crafting. Making jewelry. Doing anything.

NB: Which one of these pieces did you enjoy working on the most?

BK: Well, that’s hard to say, because when you finish them it’s like a wow, and that’s when I get enjoyment, the wow at the end of it. Blue Skies is amazing to me, because it has a lot of movement in it, like a Van Gogh-esque kind of play in it. There’s one called the Funky Bird that is just funky and strange and fun. I’ve been doing flowers for a long time. So the bird one was something.

JLP: We were just saying…

NB: Yeah when we were coming up with the questions, we were saying that [Blue Skies] looked definitely–

BK: And I was going to call it that. And my husband said, “You’re going to do a nod to another artist as a title?” And I was like “Yeah!”  And I called it Blues Skies. Coming up with titles is not my thing.

JLP: I’m terrible at that. Like I just take the first line [of a poem] and make it the title, and then I put a space and that’s it.

NB: Call it what it is! Titles are confusing. It’s a crab! Call it a crab!

BK: Yeah.

NB: How do you arrange your color palette? Do you pick certain colors for each one like green and blue…?

BK: Yes, when I go to do a piece I will be inspired by what the glass is. Unless I know I am going to do a sun, and then I go see what sort of yellows I have. But a lot of times I let the color of the glass direct me as to what to do.  

I feel like I have a good sense of color. So I’ll draw those glass pieces that I think might go and I will hold it up even, and do a comparison and decide, yeah, yeah, or no, that doesn’t work at all. I’m gonna go with this. But I usually have something in my mind of what color I am going to do. But not always. Sometimes I will play with it.

NB: Do you color the glass?

BK: No, it comes in sheets. So it’s sheets of…there’s a sheet of this color, there’s a sheet of that color. And some of them are this big and some of them are that big.

JLP: We were looking at this one [You are my sunshine], and some of it’s textured and some of it’s not. Do you make the texture, or does it come like that in a sheet?

BK: This green is textured like that, so it’s real bumpy and wavy. There’s a number of glass pieces that are like that. There’s one—the turtle—is bullseye glass; and so you see, it’s different textured glasses. Usually this other is like spectrum. It’s just a flat sheet of that color. This is kind of bubbled, kind of rippled—this yellow here (pointing to an example). So yeah, it just comes like that.

JLP: That’s neat that you can work with texture as well as color to create a sense of movement or depth. Like the sun really does look like it’s boiling over [You are my sunshine] , because it’s got the little bumpies.

NK: We wanted to know…a lot of the stained glass we looked at…they’re like mosaics. So how did you develop that style?

BK: I started with traditional stained glass. It’s very formed fitted. It’s like quilting with glass. You have to have a pattern and every piece has to line up exactly, because the solder can only hold it in place if it lines up exactly. I am not an exacting person. I did some traditional stained glass, but when I discovered this glass mosaic on glass, it totally freed me up completely to explore and enjoy making glass. Because there is no pattern, and there is no “this has to line up here, this has to line up there”. There’s none of that at all. I have a whole lot of freedom. I don’t use patterns at all. I just go to the glass and start cutting. So that gives me freedom too because they’re all my designs, they’re all unique, they’re all one of a kind. They may look similar, but they’re all done differently, individually I guess.

JLP: I’m pretty ignorant on how the glass is put together. We (JLP and NB) watched a YouTube video together where—

NB: What we watched was more like a traditional one. He took pieces of glass and wrapped something around it.

BK: Yes, foil, copper foiling. He had adhesive on it, and he went around the glass piece with it, and so it forms a little edge on both sides of the glass. That’s called copper foiling.

NB: Is it actual copper? Because it was like a different color.

BK: But if he were taking the glass piece like this. It’s like an adhesive copper foiling, and each piece has that on it. Then he lays the pieces together, and then there’s soldering.

NB: That’s what it was.

BK: Soldering holds it together. It’s a solder iron, and he’s melting it together. There’s like a thick coil of what looks like silver wire; and you’re melting the solder to wrap the pieces together. But that’s not what I do.

JLP: What you do—I mean they [traditional stained glass artists] have to measure it like really exact to get it in the frame, but what you do is more organic. So how does that work when you want to get it into a frame?

BK: So I take this frame. Let’s say I want to do a sun on that frame. Sometimes the frame will dictate what I do, and sometimes the glass will. What I would do is—you know what I’m gonna do…a sun on this—so I would grab my yellow, and I’ll cut that circle out. This framed glass has glass in it, so I’ve glued the glass into the frame. This is a sheet of glass [backing]. That’s how it’s a mosaic. So then I start and I glue the middle of the sun and then cut all my rays. You know, see so here, I cut a ray; but I need to make it fit the frame. So I cut it and make it fit the frame. Then I go back and then I cut these [the remaining] pieces for the background and everything is glued in place first and then after it sits for a while or whatever dries, then it’s grouted. The grouting holds it together and finishes it.

JLP: Is the grouting made with that lead sort of stuff?

BK: No, the grouting is like tile grout, except it’s black, black grout.

JLP: So, it’s a lot safer to do like as a woman, because you’re not using lead. That’s good to know.

NB: Did your work on the Airlie Gardens chapel influence anything done here?

BK: Um, that’s hard to say.

NB: Like after you did that [the bottle chapel], did you notice that you started doing things differently?

BK: Um, I don’t think so. But I do love myself a flower. So there were lots of flowers for the Minnie Evans things. That was a great experience to work with kids throughout the county and to have their work there. A side note is that one of my daughters—her stepping stone is right at the entrance to the chapel—and when we put that there, she said, “I’m gonna get married here one day.” And she is doing that in April of next year. She’s gonna get married there, yeah. So that’s really cool to see that full circle. Cause you can’t imagine that. Here she’s a kid at ten years old deciding I’m gonna do that; and it’s actually coming to be so that’s pretty cool.

JLP: How many of us get to live our childhood dreams?

BK: I know! And her own art work, you know. So that was cool. That’s a neat little thing.

JLP: What a beautiful place to have a wedding too. I love that chapel.

BK: Oh man, it’s amazing. Ginny [Virginia] Wright-Frierson who did it—she’s just an amazing artist and she was the one who proposed the grant for it. And drew the different artists into it. But she spent a whole year out there building that chapel. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears on that. But yeah, it’s cool. But I don’t know if it influenced me, or I influenced it.

JLP: Isn’t that how it goes with art? I don’t think it’s ever your own.

BK: No.

JLP: It starts as kind of your idea then you find the art tells you it wants to go its own way.

BK: Yeah, it’s true.

JLP: Do you find that true of yourself?

BK: Yeah I think so. I think so. I wouldn’t have known…this…this is my first show for a gallery I’ve ever had, and so I wouldn’t…I don’t know if I knew that when I was going to college to be a nurse that I would someday have a gallery show. That’s for sure. You know that’s pretty cool. And to share it with my brother. That’s also neat. That’s what I like about this whole thing.

JLP: That’s kind of full circle in a way.

BK: Yeah, it is, it is.

JLP: So what was it like growing up with “Mr. Michael” as we like to call him at DREAMS.

BK: Is this off the tape. No?

JLP: No, it’s on tape! You can tell us off the record…

BK: (whispers) OK, OK I’ll tell you. (normal voice) No, we were really close, because we were close in age. He’s much older. No. He’s older than I am. Let’s make that clear (laughing). So, we were closer in age, because there is a huge span in our family. The older sister is twenty-one years older than the youngest. Same mom. Same dad.

JLP: So there was a bit of surprise there along the way.

BK: Yeah, there were several of those probably. But Mike and I are right in the middle, so I always say I’m the well-adjusted middle child, and I’ll include him on that. But he’s a little neurotic (jokingly). I think we got along really well. I remember I was telling my daughter this weekend that I always remember him coming home from school…And the sisters would make him breakfast, make sure…We kind of, we spoiled him.

JLP: He was spoiled!

BK: He was spoiled, but he’s a really good guy, because he’s real comfortable around women. I think he was surrounded by girls his whole life so.

JLP: He sounds like he was a good brother, like he deserved all this extra love. Like he didn’t pull your pigtails and—

BK: No, no, we got along. Well, there was that one time where we didn’t get along very well. I mean he lives to this day to regret it. We were switching classrooms at the same Catholic school. And he pulled my chair out, and I didn’t know it. And I went to sit down and hit my head on the back of the chair.

JLP: Oh! He probably didn’t mean for that to happen.

BK: No, he didn’t. He thought I’d notice, but yeah it was not good. But other than that! When you grow up, you grow to appreciate your brothers and sisters a lot more than when you’re a kid. When you’re living with them, you can’t appreciate them very much.

JLP: But it sounds like you were close.

BK: We were, we were. Close in age, and because we enjoyed each other. He was a talented guy even early on. I have five children, and it took my having my fifth child to realize that kids come out who they are a lot of times. You as a parent come around them to try to provide as best you can for each one, but they’re really born who they are. So that was an interesting insight after seeing my kids, because you have the same parents but you’re so different. We have so many different personalities running around in our family. And you know we have the same parents, but personality-wise we’re very different.

JLP: You and Michael have both taught art, and how did your experience—like you said with your fifth child, realizing children are who they—how did that affect you as a teacher?

BK: Well, I love teaching art because, even though you present the same thing to each child, their expression of it can be so different. And it’s just so rewarding to see that. Like, hey, look at these dogs or whatever, and they’re all different. So I appreciated that a lot that art can be explored. You can present something, but what somebody does with it can be very different. Sometimes that took pressing in, directing kids more than they would have wanted (laughing). But I think that’s what made me a good teacher, because I got something out of them they didn’t know was in them. I think that for teaching art you have to have that sort of thing too where it’s not just “do whatever you want,” but you know, “if you laid it this way” you know, “look what it does.” So it’s that sort of thing. Exploring art versus just handing them stuff to do. And there’s a lot creativity in that, but I think it helps to do a little bit of both.

JLP: I always think of it as a the Kid and the Ed. When you’re writing you have to be the kid, and then you have to come back and be the editor. And the editor cleans up all the mess the kid makes. But you got to let the kid come out first. Like not saying no to your ideas.

BK: Right but then you need directing. “That’s beautiful. How about if you duh duh duh duh.”

JLP: My favorite art…do you have a favorite art exercise, Nydheri? Cause mine was always when I was a kid Drawing on the…

BK: Right Side of the Brain. That book, that book was a like a (explosion noise)!

JLP: Yeah I had a teacher who turned…I think it was like a Van Gogh chair…

BK: Upside-down.

JLP: Yeah, and I had a teacher who was like, “You’re gonna draw this chair.” And I was like, “I ain’t gonna draw this…it’s like Van Gogh.” She’s like, “No, we’re gonna put it upside-down, and you’re not gonna think of it as a chair.”

BK: Right, exactly.

JLP: And I was like, “Oh! I can draw!”

BK: And it turned out amazing. I did that same thing with my son when he was in second grade, and the whole push was we’re gonna do art notebooks. So we bought them all sketch pads. Everybody had a sketch pad. The first exercise was an upside-down drawing, and his was a hare, like a rabbit. And it was incredible. It was like “Oh my gosh! It’s amazing!” So I had gone to collect him, and he had drawn on the cover.

JLP: Hey, but that was a good opening!

BK: I was like…oh! (laughing) So that was pretty funny. Yeah, that’s a great exercise.

JLP: What about you, Nydheri?

NB: I don’t know…

JLP: One that opened you up? Like, “Oh, I can do that!”

BK: I got one. I took a drawing class for my brother, and we were doing measuring thing, so you see like they’re getting proportion. That’s six thumbs high and that’s…

JLP: Oh, so that’s what they’re—I always just thought that was a pretentious thing they did in movies.

BK: Yeah it is (jokingly). No, it’s not. It’s actually trying to see how proportionally…like how that whole canvas thing…it’s like, you know, if you did three at the bottom, and probably like eight or nine at the top or whatever. So that was that, but I couldn’t do it. Then, like he did line contour drawing, and that was an opening. For me, that was a launch into being able to draw was being able to look at something, and just drag your pencil. Have you ever done it?

JLP: Yeah.

BK: Either contour drawing or blind contour drawing. For me that exploded my being able to draw.

NB: This semester at DREAMS I wanted to draw, to cut a pineapple on a lino [linoleum] block, but all I had was a picture. And it wasn’t big enough to go on the thing [the block], so I copied it from my phone. Like without really looking. I just tried to follow it the best I could.

BK: Yeah.

NB: And it came out pretty good.

BK: It does, because that overrides what you think it is, cause when you think pineapple you think it has to be a certain way. But really it doesn’t ever really look that way we think it is. That was in that Drawing On the Right Side of the Brain. Like a cup of water, you know you want to draw it: two circles that go like that and a line across the bottom and the top. But it’s like no, if you looked at it from here, it’s just these circles. Or, you know, it’s how you look at something to draw it.

End Transcript

August 4, 2017 – Opening Reception

The amazing Elizabeth Darrow … co-conspiring with our own manipulator of the inevitable D Klinger … come together to offer us “Masks”.  Each mask is created without an overview or plan and we are assured that it has no specific purpose other than honoring the unnameable. Come see!

“Cardinal Sin” by Elizabeth Darrow and David Klinger

“Love & Marriage” Mixed media on canvas 36″ x 24″

Dine at The District Kitchen and Cocktails and view the many wonderful paintings and collages by Elizabeth Darrow. Elizabeth was born in Hartford, CT and currently lives in Wilmington, NC.  She has held many individual and collective exhibitions.  Her work is featured in public and private collections throughout the U.S.

The District is located at 1001 N. 4th Street in Wilmington, NC.

“The Gift of Peonies,” Oil on canvas, 36″ x 36″

Dine at The District Kitchen and Cocktails and view the many wonderful paintings by Debra Bucci. Debra is known for her vibrant and engaging floral paintings.

If you wish to have dinner at the District Restaurant, please call 910-769-6565 for reservations.

Debra is a published illustrator with paintings in public and private collections throughout the US. She is a new resident of the Wilmington community.

Click here to view the work located at The District Restaurant.

The District is located at 1001 N. 4th Street in Wilmington, NC.

“School of Fish” Tie Wire and painted fish by Michael Van Hout

Join us at Waterline Brewing Co. for an art exhibit featuring sculptor, Michael Van Hout. View tie-wire wall hangings and metal sculpted fish. The exhibit will run from January 17th until February 13th.

The art opening and reception will be on January 17th from 6-8pm. Come on down for a very special edition of Waterline’s monthly Wine at Waterline FREE wine and cheese tasting! This month we will be sampling a wide variety of wines from NC’s very own Sanctuary Vineyards. Paired each sample with just the right cheese with live music and an art showcase presented by Art in Bloom Gallery featuring works by Michael Van Hout! It’s the perfect date night!

Waterline Brewing Co. is located at 721 Surry Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Facing the Truth,” Acrylic on canvas, 48″ x 36″

Dine at PinPoint Restaurant to view the abstract paintings of Joan McLoughlin in partnership with CHECKER CAB productions.

If you wish to have dinner at PinPoint Restaurant, please call  (910) 769-2972 for reservations.

Click here to view all of the works located at PinPoint Restaurant.

PinPoint is located at 114 Market Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Because of You” Acrylic on canvas, 24″ x 24″

Dine at The District Kitchen and Cocktails  to view the new exhibit of abstract expressionist paintings of Bradley Carter.

About the Exhibit
Forgotten by the days or misplaced by convenience, who we want to be becomes diluted by who we’ve become to be. My art has no reprieve from the confines of its history and journey. It is in this direct opposition that I create based on moments, that singular moment of individualism and freedom. When color carries history, lines dance loosely, and texture tells a story that only you can transcribe. In this moment the possibilities excel, limitations become irrelevant, and being who you want to be becomes who you are. Life and Art happens fast and rarely ever completed in the way you imagined, so capture the colors, dance loosely, and memorize the moments. Much love and enjoy the show.     – Bradley Carter

American Artist, Bradley Carter, is an award winning, international selling artist who grew up pursuing his passion for art in Virginia before moving to the North Carolina in 2007, where he currently resides in Wilmington, NC. He predominately works in the medium of painting with his passion in Abstract Expressionism, but his works also include collage, paint skins, and furniture.

Click here to view a selection of works that will be located at The District Restaurant. 

The District is located at 1001 N. 4th Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Shine” Mixed media on canvas, 24″ x 24″ x 1.5″

Dine at Platypus & Gnome Restaurant  to view the contemporary paintings of Stephanie Mobbs Deady. This exhibit is in partnership with CHECKER CAB productions.

Platypus and Gnome is located at 9 South Front Street in Wilmington, NC.

The art exhibit “Elements of Creation: New Art by Brian Evans, Georgeann Haas, and Judy Hintz Cox opened on June 2nd and continued through July 29th.

All of the artists use elements of the earth as mediums to create art even though the artists are working in different mediums. There is a playful and symbiotic relationship among the art work including Brian’s ceramics; Georgeann’s acrylic, ink, pencil, collage, and mixed media on paper; and Judy’s oil and mixed media on canvas.

“Bok Choy Tulip” Limited Edition Scanograph

Dine at Platypus & Gnome Restaurant  to view the photography and scanography of Susan Francy.  

This exhibit is in partnership with CHECKER CAB productions.
Platypus and Gnome is located at 9 South Front Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Water in the Soul,” Mixed media on paper, 36″ x 15″

Waterline Brewing Co. and Art in Bloom Gallery present “Wine at Waterline” and Art Showcase with painter, Jeffery Geller.  Join us at Waterline Brewing Co. on Wednesday, March 14th from 6-8pm for a free wine and cheese tasting with live music by TK!

Jeffery Geller creates outside-of-the-box art including original art with paper, paint, wood, and often found objects. Experience shadow boxes and art explosions outside of shadow boxes. View mixed-media collages and paintings.

Waterline Brewing Co. is located at 721 Surry Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Love Story” Oil on canvas, 48″ x 48″

Waterline Brewing Co. and Art in Bloom Gallery present “Wine at Waterline” and Art Showcase with painter, Debra Bucci.  Her work will be on view in the taproom until April 9th.

Debra is a published illustrator with paintings in public and private collections throughout the US. She is a new resident of the Wilmington community.

Waterline Brewing Co. is located at 721 Surry Street in Wilmington, NC.

All this May sunshine and “The Sibs Exhibit”—which features new art by siblings, Michael Van Hout and Brooks Koff—has got me thinking about light.

Art is a lot about playing with light, and also, of course, light’s sister, shadow. Master painters and photographs know that light is the real medium. This is certainly true of Koff’s stained glass and Van Hout’s wire sculptures. However, in this case, it is about light passing through an object as opposed to creating the image of one.

Something about that notion strikes me as particularly intimate, because art is the filter that allows a viewer to visit the world of an artist’s mind. With these glass and wire pieces, there is both an emotional passing through and the literal passing through of light.

With Koff’s pieces you enter a vibrant, saturated world that is not like other stained glass universes, because the lines are not straight and the texture is varied. It makes the work more organic and animated. Sometimes the glass flows like water; other times it bubbles or sparkles. In Blue Skies, the Van Gogh-esque swirls trace the flight of a dragonfly. In Tea Pot, steam rises in choppy strokes, whistling with visual urgency. All this movement changes in varying degrees of daylight, leaving me with novel impressions all afternoon as I work in the gallery.

Then there is shadow. When the light shines through Van Hout’s wire sculptures, the shadows they cast let you know they are alive. I love to watch them move along the walls and the pedestals where they sit. I see spirits of pelicans and turtles fly and swim. I see the Grateful Dead sway and swagger to the silent music that is light itself.

What’s more is that you can interact with some of these sculptures by cranking a handle. The wings and fins flap and the so do their shadows!

It is this sense of play that is so special about the exhibit. It invites you into the dance, and you can become a child once more, open to possibility, casting your own story onto the world.

There will be a closing reception for “Sibs” on Friday, May 26^th from 6 to 9 p.m.

But I invite you to please come and see it on a sunny afternoon when those two siblings, light and shadow, are busy chasing each other through the gallery.

Art in Bloom is always seeking ways to interact with our Wilmington community in a positive way. This is why we are excited to partner with DREAMS of Wilmington, a youth development organization that is dedicated to building creative, committed citizens, one child at a time, by providing youth in need with high-quality, free-of-charge programming in the literary, visual and performing arts. You can check out their program more, here: http://dreamswilmington.org/

As some of you may already know, Art in Bloom has featured DREAMS student artwork in the past. Last spring, we were happy to host DREAMS in Bloom, a student art show juried and curated by three DREAMS Art in Bloom interns. It was a very successful show, and we thank all of those who participated and came out to the opening and closing receptions.

http://www.artsnownc.com/meet-jurors-dreams-bloom/

Now we are happy to announce that we have a permanent display here in the gallery presenting DREAMS student artwork, cards and DREAMS merchandise for sale. All proceeds from these sales will go directly to DREAMS students. The talent of these students is phenomenal, and you never know, your purchase of a print or other work of art may turn out to be a very sound investment to your collection.

The featured art exhibit, “Sibs: New Art by Michael Van Hout and Brooks Koff” continues through May 27th with tie-wire sculpture by Michael and stained-glass mosaics by Brooks (brother and sister).  Enjoy the originality and movement of this exquisite art.

Also, mark your calendar for Saturday, May 13th, 2-5 pm to meet renowned mobile artist, JF “Jay” Jones visiting from Greensboro, NC with his latest metal, polymer, and wood creations.

“Waves of Renewal” Oil on canvas, 48″ x 48″

SpringHill Suites Marriott at Mayfaire, in partnership with Art in Bloom Gallery, invite you to a special reception.  A pop-up exhibit “Coastal Colors: Oil Paintings by Debra Bucci” will be on view on Wednesday, August 29th with a reception from 5-8pm. Meet the artist and enjoy complimentary craft beer provided by Waterline Brewing Company.

Debra Bucci is a published illustrator and has achieved success as a licensed fine artist. Her art has been featured in Plow & Hearth magazine and can be found on ArtNeedlepoint.com. She has public and private collectors throughout the US including Savorez Restaurant and Wilmington Magazine. She is an anchor artist at Art in Bloom Gallery and is showing work at The Cameron Art Museum. She recently had a show at The District Kitchen & Cocktails and has exhibited at the Wilmington International Airport.  Debbie has a BFA in Design from Drexel University where she studied oil painting and enjoyed a corporate career in Package Design. She has recently moved to Wilmington, NC with her husband “Art” and dog “T-Bone”.

SpringHill Suites is located in the Mayfaire Shopping Center at 1014 Ashes Drive in Wilmington.

Pam Toll “Twister” Oil on canvas. 30″ x 40″

Join us for a champagne toast and special reception at Pinpoint Restaurant  on Wednesday, November 14th from 5:30-6:30pm to celebrate the visual narrative paintings in “The Familiar Distance in Going Home: Visual Narratives by Pam Toll” as part of our partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.

Enjoy the Fine Art of Dining!

About the Exhibit
My creative practice and visual language derive from a childhood steeped in family story telling. In these oral narratives, the men discussed the outside world – sometimes dark but often full of humor. Grandpa (Deputy Sheriff) Meeks delivered dark but true tales to the grownups, while my sister, cousin and I camped out nearby, listening but unseen. PaPa Wallace and his bachelor brother Floyd spun humorous stories about farming and animals and, later, vignettes about their adventures as high school janitors. The women delivered their stories while snapping beans, shucking corn or washing dishes. They covered birth and dying, and everything in between, and laced the details with gossip. Some of the women were like artists to me, working with thread, seed sacks and other found fabrics to make quilts.

These family narratives and experiences defined my childhood and are the genesis of this body of work. I set out to make a memoir, but soon the paintings develop story lines of their own. Using as source material family and my own childhood photographs (I received my first camera when I was 12), I constantly move among memory, myth, and the present, between the spoken and the unsaid, and between the conscious and the unconscious. Both photographic and mental fragments seem to swim in chaos, and characters come and go. At some juncture, the painting begins to lead the narrative, with intuition and intention resolving the various impulses. All that I am and know merge in the paintings, and I become the storyteller. ~ Pam Toll

About Pam Toll
Pam Toll, an Associate Professor at UNC Wilmington, received a BA in Art and English Literature from UNC Chapel Hill has been painting since childhood. Her studio is located at Acme Art Studios (Wilmington) which she co-founded in 1991, as a work and exhibition space for artists. She also co-founded No Boundaries International Art Colony (Bald Head Island, NC) in 1998, a residency program that in the last twenty years brought over 200 artists from around the world with the goal of creating a cross-exchange of cultures and artistic practices to share with our local community.

PinPoint is located at 114 Market Street in Wilmington, NC.

Gary Allen “At the Fair” Harris Shutter Technique – Photograph, 20.5″ x 26.5″

Dine at Platypus & Gnome Restaurant  to view an enticing photography exhibit by local professional and amateur photographers.  “Art of the Camera” will feature a variety of photographic techniques and interesting subjects.

The featured photographers in this group show include: Gary Allen,  Ralph Colelli, Doug Dupuis, Frank Fierstein, Susan Francy, William Fridrich, Leigh Gill, Bob Griffin, Harold Hodges, Charles Kernan, David Klinger, Barbara Michael, Jessica Novak, Daniel Rogers, Arrow Ross, Barbara Snyder, Jo Ann Tomaselli, and (Joe) P Wiegmann.

Join us for a special champagne toast and  special reception  for “Art of the Camera on Thursday, October 18th from 6-8pm.  The reception is free and open to the public with complimentary champagne and appetizers. If you would like stay for dinner, please call 910-769-9300 for dinner reservations.

Platypus and Gnome is located at 9 South Front Street in Wilmington, NC.

WHAT’S A MOTHER TO DO, Collage on canvas, by Elizabeth Darrow

“Small Collage Art by Elizabeth Darrow” at Waterline Brewing Co.

Waterline Brewing Co. and Art in Bloom Gallery present “Wine at Waterline” and Art Showcase with local Wilmington artist, Elizabeth Darrow.  This exhibit presents a selection of the artist’s collage art.

Elizabeth Darrow has made Wilmington her home since 1977. She works in a variety of styles depending on her medium, but usually does not work “from life” in the traditional sense. Most of the imagery that comes to her seems to hatch of its own accord, emerging from the process. Darrow enjoys working with color, repeating patterns and embedding humor (and angst) into her work. Each piece takes her on a journey of discovery where she hopes to lose herself to the process.

Waterline Brewing Co. is located at 721 Surry Street in Wilmington, NC.

Laurie Greenbaum Beitch “Niles Pond” Pastel on paper

Dine at Pinpoint Restaurant to view the new installation of “The Joy of Plein Air: Pastels by Laurie Greenbaum Beitch” as part of our partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.

For Wilmington based artist, Laurie Greenbaum Beitch, painting is about the process of capturing the atmosphere  and colors of serene and magical places.   In her work, Laurie tries to evoke a mood, to create a feeling of light and of atmosphere by experimenting with different materials and techniques. Each of her gorgeous, velvety pastels are painted en plein air (the act of painting outdoors) so that she stays true to the location’s beauty, tranquility, and fragility. 

Join us for a special champagne toast and  special reception  for “The Joy of Plein Air” on Thursday, February 7th, 2019, 5:30-6:30pm.  The reception is free and open to the public with complimentary champagne and appetizers. If you would like stay for dinner, please call 910-769-2972 for dinner reservations.

Enjoy the Fine Art of Dining!

Click here to view the work in the exhibit. 

PinPoint is located at 114 Market Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Sea & Sky” Oil on canvas, 36″ x 24″

Join us for a champagne toast and special reception at Pinpoint Restaurant to celebrate the captivating paintings of artist, Janette K Hopper and our partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.  Enjoy the Fine Art of Dining!

About the Exhibit
Hopper’s paintings, featured in this exhibit, strives to capture the senses of “Water & Sky”.  The feel of a breeze and the unique smells are communicated through the captivating  brushwork, the fluidity of the paint, use of striking color, nuanced luminosity and intriguing compositions. Hopper states:  These sky and water paintings are inspired directly by my experiences observing nature while on trips and around home. They capture my intimate feelings of a place, often using dramatic skies and reflective waters, taking one on a journey through space and time to where one was once and longs to be again. The Romantic tradition of panoramic painting that expresses the artist’s inner emotions and the sublime, can be seen and felt strongly throughout this show.

Artist, Janette K Hopper, received her MFA from the University of Oregon and has taught in Denmark, Germany and the United States.  She has the honor of receiving prestigious Fulbright grants from both the United States and Denmark to continue her work abroad with numerous solo shows in both Europe and the US.  In 2017 she was named a “Woman to Watch” in the arts by WILMA Magazine and is the 2018 Azalea Festival Art Show Juror and Judge.

PinPoint is located at 114 Market Street in Wilmington, NC.

Carolina Corona “Atardecer en la Playa Kure (Kure Beach Sunset)” Pintura Acrilica (Acrylic Paint) 16″ x 20″

Waterline Brewing Co. and Art in Bloom Gallery present “Wine at Waterline” and Art Showcase with painter, Carolina Corona.

Carolina Corona, aims to share her vision of the world around her through her paintings. View her newest paintings, inspired by the beauty of the Earth.

Carolina Corona was born in Veracruz, Mexico. As a child she did not receive an art education, but she looked for ways to express her creativity and free spirit through craft making and exploring her backyard. When she was ten, she moved to Wilmington, North Carolina. She struggled to settle in her new home, but one thing she loved was receiving art classes. After graduating high school, she moved to Winston Salem and enrolled at Salem College. She graduated with a Bachelors in Fine Arts and Art Education. She taught for two years before deciding to dedicate to her art full time. She is a painter and photographer. Her passion is nature and the beauty it offers. She started traveling after college and saw places she never imagined she would see. She enjoys going on road trips around the US, always recording the surroundings through her camera, paintings, and writings.

Waterline Brewing Co. is located at 721 Surry Street in Wilmington, NC.

Charles Kernan, “Crashing Surf” Photography, 9″ x 14″

Waterline Brewing Co. and Art in Bloom Gallery present a new art showcase with local photographer, Charles Kernan. This exhibit, “What Water Knows”, presents a new selection of photographs by the artist.  Join us at Waterline Brewing Co. on Tuesday, October 16th from 6-8pm for a free wine and cheese tasting with live music by TK!

Kernan states “This exhibit is about water – but more than that, it is about hiking ten miles into the Enchantments of the Cascades to capture the deep emerald waters of alpine lakes set against tall rocky spires. It is about stopping to appreciate the delicate beauty of wild flowers. It is about waiting for shafts of sunlight to slide through rifts in the clouds to watch them play tag on the far hills of sand.  It is about the joy of sunrises and sunsets, shifting colors and shadows. It is about my willingness to stop, wait and try to capture a moment. Here at Waterline Brewery I bring the wonders of the world around us that few have seen, to you.  Please travel with me to discover “What Water Knows”.

I want to thank Waterline Brewery and Art in Bloom Gallery for allowing me to share these images with you – enjoy!”

Charles Kernan is a retired Chemical Engineer from Wilmington who is an avid outdoorsman, enjoying camping, hiking, bicycling and kayaking. He has combined his enjoyment of the outdoors and photography developing a concentrated interest in scenic photography.  His work has been juried into photography shows and shown at Art in Bloom Gallery.

Waterline Brewing Co. is located at 721 Surry Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Jolly Lilies” Acrylic on canvas by Mark Gansor

Dine at Platypus & Gnome Restaurant  to view the brand new paintings by Mark Gansor in his new exhibit “Waking from Dreams.”

Join us for a special event “Munch and Art with Mark”  on Monday, October 15th, from 11:30am – 2pm.

This exhibit is in partnership with CHECKER CAB productions.
The reception is free and open to the public. Please call 910-769-9300 for dinner reservations.

Click here to view a selection of works that will be located at Platypus & Gnome Restaurant. 

Platypus and Gnome is located at 9 South Front Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Blue Downtown Rooftops” Monoprint on paper, 12″ x 8″

Dine at Platypus & Gnome Restaurant to view an enticing new exhibit of printmaking and drawing “Brayers, Brushes, and Color Pencils” by artist, David Norris, as part of our partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.

Wilmington artist, David A. Norris, has a BFA degree from the East Carolina University School of Art.  Long settled in the Port City, he finds limitless sources of artistic inspiration in the historic atmosphere of Wilmington, the natural beauty of the Cape Fear River, and the coast.

David recently has created a series of monoprints that combine printing techniques with color pencils and lithograph crayons. They build on and complement a long-standing series of regional cityscapes and landscapes done in watercolor and color pencil. He also works in other media ranging from black and white pen drawings to silver point, scrimshaw, linoleum block prints, and collage.

Join us for a special champagne toast and special reception for the artist on Thursday, March 14th from 6-8pm.  The reception is free and open to the public with complimentary champagne and appetizers. If you would like to stay for dinner, please call 910-769-9300 for dinner reservations.

Enjoy the Fine Art of Dining!

Click here to view a selection of the work that will be shown at Platypus & Gnome. 

Platypus and Gnome is located at 9 South Front Street in Wilmington, NC.

Gayle Tustin “Birch Bark Series #7,” Mixed media on paper 30″ x 22″

Dine at Pinpoint Restaurant to view the new installation by artist, Gayle Tustin, as part of Art in Bloom Gallery’s partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.  “TWENTY-TWO by THIRTY” ~From the flat files of  GAYLE TUSTIN is a selection of mixed media artwork all in the size of 22″ x 30″.  The art exhibit runs from June 5 – September 23, 2019.

PinPoint is located at 114 Market Street in Wilmington, NC.

Dine at The District Kitchen and Cocktails  to view the new exhibit of two artists, Bob Bryden (Printmaking) and (Joe) P Wiegmann (Photography).

Bob Bryden “Ephemeron”

About Bob Bryden   “Archival Ink Transfer Print”
Bob Bryden’s work exists comfortably within the traditions of minimalism and optical art. Utilizing the simple elements of point, line and plane he creates abstract images which are highly structured and concise while at the same time are optically active and visually illusive. The perceptual experience of his work involves the interaction of seeing and understanding and is directly related to how vision functions. Bob grew up in the Piedmont region of North Carolina. He is a graduate of Guilford College in Greensboro, NC. He went on to do graduate work in South Asian art history at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. His desire for a greater involvement with creative arts lead to Kentucky and graduate work at the University of Louisville where he received a Masters Degree in Art with a concentration in printmaking. In addition to art he has worked primarily in graphic design and commercial printing. Today he pursues his creative endeavors in his swamp side home/studio in Wilmington, NC.

 

About (Joe) P Wiegmann “New Photography” 

(Joe) P Wiegman “Two Boats”

As far back as I can remember, I was always engaged in creative endeavors such as drawing and painting. Throughout my school years, I was often involved in art projects and learned early that creating artwork for the school bulletin boards would gain me extra credit and brownie points. Two years of Civil Engineering at the University of Maryland did not provide me with the means to express my creativity. I changed my major to Fine Arts and while that didn’t make my parents happy, they were supportive of my new goals. After 43 years in the graphic design field and serving as a Creative Director, I retired and moved to the Wilmington area.  The beauty and natural energy of the people and places here have rekindled my own creative energy. I use my photography like any artistic media. I love to achieve strong lines, great contrast, textures and shapes in my photos. A strong composition is very important also. My goal is to capture an emotion or interest seen through my eyes and present it to you in a way that excites YOUR eyes. I hope you enjoy.

Click here to view a selection of works that will be located at The District Restaurant. 

The District is located at 1001 N. 4th Street in Wilmington, NC.

Join us for a champagne toast and special reception on Wednesday, July 11th from 6-8pm at Pinpoint Restaurant to celebrate the captivating paintings in “Unearthed: Landscape paintings by Topher Alexander and Kirah Van Sickle” as part of our partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.

Enjoy the Fine Art of Dining!

Topher Alexander “Sunny Point” Oil on canvas, 6′ x 5′

About Toper Alexander
Christopher (Topher) Alexander is a printmaker, art instructor, and gallery director currently based in Wilmington, North Carolina. He has a passion for travel and translating the resourcefulness skills he has acquired while abroad into exciting new artwork. Topher has a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Art from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He is fascinated by our society’s intimate connections to technology and loves exploring the ways these outlets mix into our analog world. After focusing primarily on printmaking over the past few years, painting became an outlet for a more ethereal side to his artwork. His series “On the River” has been an ongoing project for the past five years. Topher continuously painted over the same canvases, and the images originally formed from site specific locations along the Cape Fear River evolved into atmospheric studies of light, color and layers of paint. Details on his work can be found at his website: www. topheralexanderart.wixsite.com/taimpressions

About Kirah Van Sickle
Kirah Van Sickle is an adventurer at heart. Her early years set a foundation for travel, exploration and visual storytelling. Her acrylic and mixed media works explore incorporating found objects and papers with the paint glazes. These are deeply personal expressions of her memories and dreams. In addition to her studio practice, Kirah is a dynamic instructor and lecturer, leading custom studio courses through museum schools and local art associations, directed to both beginner and seasoned artists. She is an award-winning illustrator, graphic designer and studio artist, a certified Golden Artist-Educator, and active in community arts programming, preservation of cultural resources and enhancing arts education. Kirah lives on the Cape Fear Coast of North Carolina and is a staff instructor at the Cameron Art Museum, Johnston Community College, and Cape Fear Community College. Details on workshops, exhibits and work can be found at her website: www.kirahfineart.com

Kirah Van Sickle “Moonrise” Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 20″ x 20″

PinPoint is located at 114 Market Street in Wilmington, NC.

“Asylum” Oil and collage on paper

Dine at Platypus & Gnome Restaurant to view “Asylum” an exhibit of collages by Wilmington artist, Elizabeth Darrow, as part of our partnership with CHECKER CAB productions and local restaurants.

Elizabeth Darrow has made Wilmington her home since 1977. Born in Hartford, Conn. Darrow is a 1967 graduate of Oberlin College (Oberlin, Ohio), where she majored in painting. She has been working in oil and collage throughout her career, usually in the manner of Abstract Expressionism.

She works in a variety of styles depending on her medium, but never works “from life” in the traditional sense. Most of the imagery that comes to her seems to hatch of its own accord, emerging from the process. Darrow enjoys working with color, repeating patterns and embedding humor (and angst) into her work. Each piece takes her on a journey of discovery where she hopes to lose herself to the process.

Join us for a special champagne toast and special reception for the artist on Thursday, June 20th from 6-8pm. The reception is free and open to the public with complimentary champagne and appetizers. If you would like to stay for dinner, please call 910-769-9300 for dinner reservations.

Click here to preview the work in the exhibit! 

Enjoy the Fine Art of Dining!

Platypus and Gnome is located at 9 South Front Street in Wilmington, NC.

O-Jizo-San Shrine, Pastel, 19,5″ x 25″ by Carole Osman

Carole Osman was kind enough to allow Art in Bloom to interview her. It was a lot of fun, and Carole was a great host.

When Jamie and I walked in, Carole’s house had a welcoming floral scent from the fresh cut flowers from an ikebana arrangement that Carole was working on in the kitchen. We were amazed by Carole’s vast collection of objects from around the world: Germany, Turkey, Japan, Korea—even rare furniture from North Korea—and from other countries Carole had lived or visited over the years. She toured us around her home, and allowed us to preview several of the pieces that she planned to show at Art in Bloom. Inside her studio, she had an easel set up where she was working on “Auspicious Symbols,” and surrounding her work space were photos of schools where she had taught, and her ceremonial tea equipment.  After visiting her studio, we sat down at her kitchen table for the interview while she prepared tea and served us cookies.

1. How did you print the lace in “Riverside”? Did you use the additive or subtractive method? Or another method?

Carole told us that she used the additive method. Basically, what this means is that Carole cut the hexagonal shapes out of stiff waxed paper, inked them, and placed them onto the paper. Then, she ran the paper and the inked lace through a large flat-bed etching press. She repeated this same process three or four times to achieve the desired effect. Carole said that one of the advantages of the method is that it allows you to experiment.

2. What drew you to do a pastel on the O-Jizo-San? We read that the O-Jizo-San are depictions of a Buddhist saint who protects unborn children and kind people.

Carole told us that these statues are “ubiquitous to Kyoto,” and she “felt connected to” these mothers who personalized them. Sometimes the mothers would put bibs on them, crochet beanies, or even put out little ducks in a row by the statues. She decided to draw them, because she was curious about why the mothers did this.  “Did their child die, are they wishing for the health or success of their child?” She said it “made me really wonder about the spirit of someone…putting that energy into it.”

Carole told us that an artist’s statement is essentially “becoming intimate with the subject,” and that is what happened for her with the O-Jizo-San. She started feeling connected to the mothers who personalized them, taken care of them.

She said another reason she felt connected to the O-Jizo-San at the time was because while she was painting it she was looking after her mother.

3. What inspired “It’s a Bee’s Life”? Is this a free-hand design or is it based on a photo or a scene in real life?

Carole saw a lifeless bee on the ground near her studio in Germany, picked it up, and decided to paint and recreate it. Now when she looks at it, she thinks she was ahead of her time, since the bees are facing a threat to their survival.

Carole loves nature, and believes “nature is really very healing”.

4. A lot of the city scapes you depict seem to be taken from the angle of looking out of a window. Is this your way to remember scenes from the places you lived or visited?

Carole loved to paint landscapes when she lived in the country—often, en plein air. Then, she moved to the city of Kaiserslautern in Germany where she lived on the 3rd and 4^th floor of a four story villa. She studied the way the sky came down and touched the rooftops, and these roofscapes became her new landscapes.

5. I thought “Who Am I” looked a lot like the inside of a dollhouse, because the animals in the picture look like toys, and the girl in the dress looks like a doll. Was that your intention? Also, who is the person in “Who Am I”? We thought the painting looked like a saint, and so we looked up images of saints and found Saint Therese. Is it her, and if so, why did you choose her?

It turns out our guesses were correct, because the painting is based on a shadow box of memories from Carole’s life. The box includes a holy card of St. Therese from her aunt’s funeral, three toy horses for her daughter who loves horses, and a Barbie doll and another doll. Carole said everything in the box has a meaning and all is kept inside.

Thank you so much Carole for your time and sharing your work with us!

The exhibit presents a playful and serene mix of global and local scenes by Mark Gansor and Carole Osman.

Mark Gansor presents acrylic paintings of buildings, gardens, and fields in Wilmington and France.  Carole Osman presents pastels, monoprints, collages, oil, and acrylic paintings of various locations in Japan, Germany, Turkey, and the United States.

The opening reception is on Friday, February 10th, 6-9 pm.  View original art; meet the artists; enjoy catering from Whole Foods; and listen to music by Cameron Tinklenberg, jazz pianist.

The exhibit continues through Friday, April 7th.

A couple of months ago during the American Craft Walk, I purchased a stoneware mug by ceramicist, Traudi Thornton. I must have spent twenty minutes “trying on” each cup to see which one belonged to me. I have small hands, which through years of writing, crocheting, drawing, and chopping veggies for kimchi have become arthritic and a bit weak in the wrists. What can I say? I’ve expended myself on the things I love.

Of course, like Goldilocks, I eventually found my perfect match—a small tankard-shaped cup, with a handle big enough to fit my index, middle and ring fingers, and an indentation at the top of the handle to rest my thumb. I find it satisfying to believe this mark was surely pressed by Traudi’s own thumb. Store bought mugs certainly have their charms, but they often miss such details—these moments where you find the human hand in the work. It is a kind of intimacy, shaking hands across time.

Taking tea with my own special mug is a joy I look forward to each day. Tea resides in a special place in my memory. Growing up, there were few times when I could be close to my mother. She grew up in South Korea in the aftermath of the Korean War. Korea had been ravaged, cut in half, and plunged into poverty. Without saying too much, my mother had a difficult childhood. As an adult, these traumas manifested themselves into terrible anxiety and an often bottomless depression. Her struggles with mental illness combined with a language and culture barrier—I was raised in America—placed many walls between us. But we always had tea.

I felt quite special, and a bit full of myself to be honest, that I could drink tea—black tea!—when I was just four or five years old. Unlike other little girls, my pink, plastic 80’s tea set was filled with real hot tea accompanied by real sugar and real milk in the sugar and milk pots. Teatime was a special treat for both my mother and I—a good excuse to take a break from housework or school work. As I got older, we loved to go to thrift stores or small Asian grocery stores to look for beautiful ceramic bowls and cups. Having known poverty, my mother has always been tight with money, but she loves functional art. I suppose she sees it as a kind of investment.

My new daily mug is certainly one my mother would enjoy. I can see the influence of Korean ceramics in it—maybe a rustic, Joseon Dynasty tea bowl influence? There are rippled sides from when the wet clay was shaped on the wheel. There are even what appear to be flecks of ash in the glaze. This incredible blue glaze, which is darkest on the center groove marking the circumference, fades toward the top and bottom, naturally, like sky mirrored on water. This glaze is also thick, giving an encaustic look to the piece as if the glaze was actually wax. The inside and the bottom of the cup is rust colored with black bits of stubble. It is like drinking out of a well planted in the sky.

If my mother does come to visit during the summer, I will have to swing her by the gallery and show her the rest of Traudi Thornton’s beautiful bowls, cups and vases. And maybe, just maybe, I will let her borrow my cup.

“Twice Around: The Make-Over,” with new art by Elizabeth Darrow and digital images by Susan Francy opens on Tuesday, January 24th and continues through Tuesday, February 7th during regular gallery hours, Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm and by appointment.

Join us for a special reception, Friday, January 27th, 6-9 pm.  View Elizabeth Darrow’s new oil and collage on canvas and Susan Francy’s digital images.  Meet the artists.  Singer-songwriter Rebekah Todd will play guitar and sing.

Join us at 216 N. Front Street for a pop-up exhibit: “It’s About Time: Art by Elizabeth Darrow, Virginia Wright-Frierson, and Friends.” This unique, pop-up exhibit includes a wonderful selection of larger works by Art in Bloom Gallery artists. This show will be exhibited on the First Floor of 216 N. Front Street (the former Expo 216 Building) in downtown Wilmington, NC.

Featured artists will include Karen Paden Crouch, Elizabeth Darrow, H.M. Saffer, II, Traudi Thornton, Gayle Tustin, Virginia Wright-Frierson among other guest artists. Plus enjoy a selection of furniture provided by Decades of Decor on Castle Street. The furniture selected is for sale and will change throughout the exhibit.

The exhibit will be on view during special hours from September 27 until November 29. The exhibit will have extended hours on Fourth Friday Gallery Night on November 22 from 6-9pm.

Special public hours for viewing and shopping are Tuesdays – Sundays from Noon – 5pm.

Click here to preview the pop-up exhibit in our new virtual tour provided by Angle Pros of Wilmington.

Click here to view our four-minute film.  Thanks to the 2016 Cucalorus Film Festival for the chance to participate in the 10×10 Challenge  Art in Bloom Gallery was paired with filmmaker and visual artist, Johnny Bahr III on Tuesday, Nov 8th, and we had four days to make our film.  The film debuted on Sunday, Nov 13th! Thanks to the artists, musicians, virtual reality team, and others who contributed to the film including: Shirley Lebo, violinist, with the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra; Helen Welsh, baker extraordinaire; Jamie Pinkston, artist; Nydheri Brown, artist; Debra Williams, artist; Charles Kernan, fine-art photographer; and Janette Hopper, artist.

I am making no attempt to practice traditional Japanese or Chinese painting techniques. A Zen Buddhist monk brought Sumi to Japan in 1333. Zen Buddhists Priests used Sumi in their teaching and religion. Early Sumi painters were trained in Zen Monasteries. Very prescribed forms and symbolism developed and a very specific way of grinding the ink, holding the brushes, and working with the brushes was used to paint these certain images such as orchids, bamboo, plum blossoms, and chrysanthemum. The artists strove for improvement in their own lives, believing it showed in their paintings. Much patience was required to capture the life spirit, balance the forces, and practice both vitality and restraint.

Though I did not consciously study traditional sumi art or techniques, the very nature of what I was doing became like those works, though for me they were just my experience. First I chose Japanese paper Sumi-e, Kozo roll of 18 X 30 inch paper, a pad of 48 sheets of Hosho. I ordered the finest Sumi ink made from all natural ingredients promising a range of cool tones from deep black to soft gray and promising not to dry shiny. I ordered a Nyosui Sumi brush. I have long been a practitioner of ink washes alone and in combination with charcoal and pen and ink and Chinese white. This was to be my first experience with Sumi.

I made these works during the month of July while a resident at the Montana Artists Refuge in Basin, Montana. I am grateful for the creative research grant that I received from Central Michigan University to do this artwork in the mountains. I began with the small tablet. I had my supplies in my backpack and I simply walked out somewhere in the mountains until I saw what I thought was it and then I sat down and made my sumi painting. It took all my concentration and I couldn’t control it and the experience was love at first act. From the beginning I did two a day. My day was not complete without it and the time I did it made me feel whole. I put them up on my wall and they began to become a group. Then one day it rained and I thought I want to try my verticals. I worked on them first on a long table but then I pinned them on the wall and slipped a pad under where I would work and taped it to the wall to keep ink from coloring the wall. Using this approach, I could get enough distance to see what I was doing. I had to stand on a chair or stoop down to work.

I had discovered a beautiful place up what the locals called Cataract Creek. The creek looked like giants had thrown giant boulders at random and the water had to run under and around and over them. Above that were vertical cliffs and above that trees going all directions cutting into the sky. It seemed infinity both horizontally and vertically. I began on the vertical roll trying to put in that space. I drew with the point of the brush striving for simplicity. I put varying amounts of water into the ink and painted in different values. The different values of grey are made by the amount of water in the ink. Traditional Sumis were seldom symmetrical. My compositions too were composed intuitively trying to make a whole yet balance the forms. I wanted the expressive power of the crashing water. The sound of the water was very important and I was relieved each time I was back there and I could hear it. I used atmospheric perspective by decreasing the clarity to give a sense of depth in the distance. I liked how more water changed the paper and the soft forms also seemed mystical. The vertical hangings have foreground, middle and background. Something was opening up for me with the contemplation and concentration and aloneness. I found the newsprint paper I had laid on the tables to protect them while I painted had become very beautiful from the ink that accidentally leaked on to it and I began to write poems. When I stopped making Sumis, there were no more poems. These papers are what remains of that precious time.

In the end I have continued my love of sumi ink and found the difficulty and concentration on nature and filtering that experience onto the Japanese papers produces unique works of art and personal growth.

“Crooked Tree,” Sumi, 14″ x 11″ by Janette K. Hopper

Autumn is a kind of contradiction.

Autumn can be blustery. Kids return to school and parents resume their additional chauffeur duties. Adults also begin the next cycle of work tasks, gearing up for deadlines or embarking on new adventures. Not to mention, all that holiday shopping!

However, we often forget that autumn can be a time of stillness and reflection.  As the leaves thin, the mind also thins, increasing mental sharpness and clarity. One begins to think about what has changed hue or remained evergreen, and to assess which experiences have borne fruit and which are nothing more than husks to be abandoned.

Change, color, activity one moment, and rest and reflection the next—this is the dance of autumn.

Here at the gallery, autumn has come.  Artwork we have come to know and love has migrated elsewhere, and new work has come to nest in its place.

Amy Grant, our fearless leader—and now recipient of WILMA’s Women to Watch Award for the Arts!(http://www.wilmaontheweb.com/October-2016/The-2016-Women-to-Watch-Award-Winners/)—is looking back on what we have learned this first amazing year while also moving ahead into the gallery’s next chapter.

Regardless of which way the wind is blowing, there is something that endures and is always in bloom here, and that is great art—the kind of art that stops you in your tracks, tempts your gaze to drift away from your phone and your pumpkin spice latte into the world on the other side of our window.

So, we invite all of you to drop in and visit us sometime when you find yourself wanting to catch your breath and enjoy a moment of autumn stillness.

After all, winter is coming, and it is time to stock up on dreams including a look at “A Glimpse of Fall,” oil on canvas by Janette K. Hopper.

I wrote Visible Spectra artists, Janette K. Hopper and Charles Kernan, and they were kind enough to answer some questions for me. Before I even knew they were married, I saw a connection between their pieces, because the settings—the trees and waterways—were similar. I’m really inspired by how they use art to speak for the environment.

Ten percent of the profits from this show go to Cape Fear River Watch!

NB: How do you scope out your location for taking your photographs or paintings? Are any of the locations chosen to make a statement, such as landscapes that are not being protected?

JKH: I am inspired by what I see and the light at the particular moment. Some [pieces] I paint plein air and others I finish in the studio, or create in the studio but inspired by colors and effects of clouds, etc. that I have seen and recognize in the paint.

I really appreciate any wild places as I am inspired by the beauty and quiet that I find there. I hope that people will also appreciate the beauty of nature and the landscape because then I hope they will want more parks and to protect the environment.

The idea of giving a percentage of the profits of this show to the Cape Fear River Watch is wonderful because it will help give a voice through my art to protecting our source of water and also recreation and renewal.

I hope to give a voice through my art to encourage everyone to get involved in aiding in the conservation and stewardship of the earth. I did go to a location on the Cape Fear River to inspire several paintings and I just walk around and get inspired by a particular view.

CK: Locations for photography are not normally chosen beforehand (unless you count sunsets).  They are found almost accidently as I explore nature.

NB: (To Charles Kernan) For Sun Rays, how did you get the outline of the rocks to be so dark? Is the contrast due to lighting or did you use a special technique or camera setting to achieve this contrast?

CK: The camera was set to properly expose the sky.  The rocks are underexposed so they are dark, almost black.

NB: (To Janette K. Hopper) Why did you name the painting River Poem?

JKH: My paintings are influenced by the Romantic Movement in Art where the artist believed that their feelings and moods were reflected in the art… It was not just a surface picture of a particular place, but showed a sense of place or a place in the heart to be recognized by the viewer. This painting has that feeling of awe, feeling and grandeur sought out by the painters of that era. It is a double language just as a poem.

NB: Is the tree in Under the Oak (painting by JKH) and Reaching Madrone (photograph by CK) the same tree?

JKH: The oak tree in the painting is inspired by a particular oak next to the Cape Fear River near Fort Fisher. Each tree is so different… Each tells the story of its life. Colors are influenced by light and so the surface color becomes influenced by that…Imagine if I painted four trees at different times of day. Each one would be different colors. Monet did that with hay stacks.

CK: The Reaching Madrone tree is on Orca Island in the San Juan Islands of Washington State.  I came upon it while hiking and thought the red and green bark contrasted with the water and hillside [and thought that] would make a nice photograph.  Fortunately I was correct this time.

“Visible Spectra: Paintings, Drawings, and Prints by Janette K. Hopper & Photography by Charles Kernan” will continue through January 20th, 2017 at Art in Bloom Gallery, 210 Princess St., Wilmington, NC.

This joint exhibit presents stunning images of nature, people, and architecture transformed by light and shadow by the artists from their travels and time outdoors.  Renowned international artist, Janette K. Hopper will her exquisite paintings, prints, and drawings including sumi ink paintings on rice paper.  Emerging artist, Charles Kernan will exhibit his limited edition, fine-art photography and photographic prints.  Together, Janette’s and Charles’ art work present an evocative “Visible Spectra” spanning many medias, techniques, and subjects.

Ten percent of “Visible Spectra” art sales will be donated to Cape Fear River Watch.

Color

Based on Updraft, Fan Fare, Adventureland

Monarch butterflies migrate

to forests of Mexico.

A kaleidoscope of colorful fans

connected by vertical movement.

Birds of paradise dance

to the music of color.

Years ago while writing a column for a (briefly published) Houston paper, I wrote an article on the Menil Collection.  As I was doing the research for my piece, a docent there told me the founder, Dominique de Menil, saw art as a dialogue between the viewer and the divine. Due to this ethos, the walls of the gallery feature only minimalistic art tags and no signage to explain the art. If you want to know the name of the artist, you have to peer at a small tag on the wall about the size of your palm. There is nothing there to bias you towards favoring Rauschenberg, Magritte, or Rothko. It is just you, the visitor and the art, and whatever exchange might flow between.

Art in Bloom Gallery shares this sense of intimacy. The art stands alone with you and your thoughts. What’s more is that there is a unique, subverbal vibration that runs through the space. Perhaps, it is the spirit of the horses who once stabled here when the building was owned by farriers.  It is that feeling of refuge, of sanctuary, of welcoming presence. The gallery puts you at ease, inviting you into its ongoing conversation.  I don’t know where I heard the quote “prayer is listening,” but it applies. If you are willing “to listen,” to open yourself, the universe will speak to you here.

As my student, the gallery’s junior blogger and curator, Nydheri Brown, toured the space to search for a topic, she excitedly related the vast association of thoughts evoked by each unique piece.  One of the things I love about working with young people is that they don’t take anything too seriously, which is why they produce some of the most astute observations. No one tells them how to think or “to pray”, they just do. While gazing at Elizabeth Darrow’s abstract mixed media, Nydheri heard a multitude of stories populated by rivers, magic carpets, women in kimonos holding parasols, butterflies, birds of paradise, and forests of dancing creatures.

We adults are often hampered by internal judgments and preconceptions. However, art cannot judge you for what you are thinking; and in some ways, the most accessible pieces of art can be abstract in nature, because they can be experienced in many different ways. There can be a sense of exploration and play. As you gaze at something novel, you see the world anew as a child sees it. The only real challenge is allowing yourself to be present with the art. I suggest taking a beat to breathe, to let the meaning travel up through you. Do not be afraid to feel what enters, be it joyful, absurd, reflective, or sorrowful. Each feeling has its own purpose. After all, your prayers are your own, and so are the answers given.

I will close with this meditation on Helen Lewis’s encaustic work, Navigating.

 follow me

let your eyes travel
from that vast expanse of glazed

snow     to the momentary
glimpsed

palimpsest of an old map

secret path to someplace dear
but forgotten

when the moment is lost
let yourself be delivered

delta blue into ocean

with only the penciled
river

to guide you back

upstream to memory
only just having gone

through
yourself

I asked this question to some of my favorite artists and to others who love art.  “What art would you choose for your home if you could wave a magic wand?”  Some of the responses included art by Paul Klee, Georgia O’Keeffe, Ansel Adams, Robert Rauschenberg, Mary Cassatt, Johannes Vermeer, Francisco Goya, and Traudi Thornton.  If you wish to participate, please email your response to the question to grantamyn@gmail.com.  I am inspired by the variety of responses gathered in one day.  I am creating a collage using maps & images and will host a reception and gallery talk in the future celebrating art in the eye of the beholder.

Thanks,
Amy Grant
Art in Bloom Gallery
210 Princess Street
Wilmington, NC 28401

I am delighted to share that JF Jones is now showing his exquisite metal mobiles at Art in Bloom Gallery.  We have a 14-Leaf Ginkgo Patina Mobile in Gallery 1.  In the next few weeks, we will receive other mobiles including a 49-Leaf Ginkgo Fired Mobile.  Thanks to artist Paul Muldawer for introducing me to JF Jones!  For some summer fun for children of all ages, check out mobile kits by JF Jones.

Walking into Art in Bloom Gallery on Thursday, my spirit was full of expectations: joy, light heartedness, and excitement. When I walked in, splashes of light entered in my eyes; my heart was full, free, and reminiscent.

After my grandfather passed away and my grandmother had to leave her home, I would practice the art of remembering. My young philosophy was that if I could remember each step in my grandparents home, they would live; memories never dying.

Elizabeth Darrow: “Adventureland,” “Flower Waltz,” “Growing Wild,” “Nocturne.” Somewhere around the gold flowered couch and the wobbly piano bench in the memory of my grandparents home is where I found myself in Art in Bloom. Above the gold couch was this painting of a man at the ocean in a storm looking for something. This dark and saddened scene paradoxically reminded me of Elizabeth’s works. It was not the subject matter in the pieces, but the representation of what I carried with me when walking into the gallery. The surface level notions that titillated my memory and experience; the physical size and colors used in Elizabeth’s works. My memory could almost take the old seafaring man off the wall above the well-sat gold flowered sofa and replace it with “Nocturne.”

Dumay Gorham: Walking up to the piano, the one my grandmother’s father bought for her sat a plastic seagull figurine. About one foot tall, the seagulls stood flying stationary on thin black rod one right after another flying up to the heavens overlooking a brown plastic cliff below them. Walking to the front of the gallery, there it was. I could have run to this metal work, picked it up in my arms, and cradled it like my memories.

Have expectations and let those expectations take ahold of you, waltzing you into a place where you are free to remember. Do not be afraid to remember the people, pain, uncaring joy, but also do not forget the art in things, the art of objects, the art of paradox, the art of falling victim to how memories survive.

Art in Bloom, thank you for filling me with ineffable joy. Thank you for reminding me to hold on tight to my memories: to go to sleep with them, rise with them, walk into life with them, ever on the lookout for how they continue to live.

***

Read more from Abbey Starling Nobles at http://thenoblestarling.blogspot.com

Contact Abbey at abbey.starling@gmail.com.

***

“Nocturne“, Oil and Collage in Canvas, 24″ x 36”  by Elizabeth Darrow

I had a chance to talk with cermaist Traudi Thornton about her process as she creates all new work for an art opening on June 3rd.   The art show is titled, “Full Circle:  New Art by Elizabeth Darrow, Traudi Thornton, and Susan Francy.”  We are setting up the show this Sunday and Monday.  And, I am delighted and grateful to have Traudi’s ceramics, Elizabeth’s oil and collage on canvas, and Susan’s fine-art prints together in Art in Bloom Gallery.

Traudi shared, “Working with clay validates my existence.  During the plastic state, the relationship is that of master and a much beloved pet.  I tell the clay to stay and push it, but often I have to listen.  We have a rhythm.

Clay needs heat to be transferred to a hard material.  After the first fire everything turns from a state of grey to pink, and a slight estrangement takes place because they now look different than what they did before.

Glazes also look pink or white or grey before they are fired.  I imagine now how the optics will look in their final state, and after making choices the second fire takes over.  Total surrender is demanded by heat and flame.  After the firing is completed, the cooling period leaves my mood fluctuating between doubt and hope.  And, then only after removing the pieces from the kiln, can I say they belong to me.  They passed on into my consciousness.”

“Looking Within:  Encaustic Paintings by Helen Lewis,” opened on Friday, May 13 in Gallery 2 at Art in Bloom Gallery located at 210 Princess Street, Wilmington, North Carolina.

The exhibit closes on Friday, September 16, with a reception from 6 – 9 pm.  Musicians Shirley Lebo (violin) and Sarah Stoloff (cello) will play at the reception and are both members of the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra.

Artist, Helen Lewis is from from Carrollton, Ohio.   The encaustic process uses molten beeswax combined with resin and oil pigments that are fused with a blow torch.  Helen Lewis often includes bits of old script, text or other ephemera in her work.  She explains, “I particularly love the luminous qualities and depth of layers that emerge as I fuse the various elements and pigments together.”  The paintings in this exhibit provide glimpses and hints of those layers and invite the viewer to look deeper within.  Lewis describes her creativity as an extension of her contemplative nature, “In creating, I work to follow the nudges I sense within my spirit.  In essence, I am invited deeper and I seek to mirror that invitation through my art.”

Hey, this is the voice of Linda Abrams Fleming, new to AIB Gallery. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Debra Bucci, Featured Artist and David Klinger, Wood Craftsman. Debra’s paintings burst with color making me smile from the inside. David’s wood pieces, range from whimsical boxes to exquisite Mezuzahs.

Hope to see you at one of our great events in April and May.

Art in Bloom Gallery will be open 10 am – 8 pm on Friday and Saturday, December 11-12, during the Holly-Jolly Stroll in downtown Wilmington.   If you are looking for one-of-a-kind gifts, please stop by to view our wide selection of fine art.

Thanks to everyone who bought tickets for the art raffle on Friday, November 27th, the first day of the fundraiser to benefit Mother Hubbard’s Cupboard, an emergency food pantry.  The raffle ends on Saturday, December 12th at 6 pm.  You don’t have to be present to win.  Purchase tickets for $1.00 each at 210 Princess Street or via the Art in Bloom Gallery website.

For anyone who missed last Friday’s grand opening due to stormy weather, Art in Bloom Gallery invites you to an After-the-Storm reception on Friday, October 9th, 6 – 9 pm, at 210 Princess Street, Wilmington, NC 28401.  Light refreshments will be served.  The gallery is now open for regular hours on Tuesday-Saturday, 10 am – 6 pm and by appointment on Sunday and Monday.  For more information, email grantamyn@gmail.com or call 484 885 3037.

The art exhibit, “Debra Bucci: Living in the Moment” opened on Friday, February 5, 2016.  The closing reception took place on Friday, May 27, 2016, 6 – 9 pm

Debra Bucci is known for her evocative oil paintings of flowers and trees. Motivated by requests for commissions and for her love of dogs, she has expanded her collection with the introduction of a Modern Art Dog Series. In addition to her oil paintings, Debra is a published illustrator and has public and private collectors worldwide. She studied painting at Drexel University under John Formicola. Debra lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with her husband “Art” and dog “T-Bone”.

For more information, stop by the gallery at 210 Princess Street, Wilmington, NC 28401, or call the gallery at 484 885 3037.

Dumay Gorham, sculptor, is designing and creating the gate for the brick fence in the courtyard at the back of the building.  For the gate, Dumay is using horse shoes and farrier’s tools discovered during the renovation.  Stay tuned for the date and time of the grand opening of the courtyard and gate in late October or early November.