Art on the Lawn offers feast of local art

By Brenda Neugent

Published: May 1, 2008

The Danville Museum of Fine Arts and History will bring together some of the best local and regional artists this weekend for its 12th annual Art on the Lawn, running from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Saturday at the museum.
The event features returning artists Linda Gourley, Dry Fork, printmaking; Kenneth Bond, Danville, mixed media; Jonathan Scollo, Dry Fork, pottery, pastels and photography; Tim Moran and Janet Gaddy, Danville, pottery; Lee Farley, Danville, acrylic and scratchboard; Karen Shelton, South Boston, watercolor; Nell Fredericksen, Ferrum, stained glass and jewelry; William H. Moore Jr., Burlington, N.C., wood; Deborah Graham, Ringgold, oil; Charlie Smith, Roanoke, photography; Kurt Lindquist, Danville, photography; Tracy Isley, Colfax, N.C., jewelry; Gail Schaefer, Efland, N.C., pottery. Also Lynn Hope McNees-Sams Jamestown, NC, jewelry; Charles Michael Costello Jr., Willis, Va., wood sculpture; Cathy Farley, Danville, photographic keepsake collages; Carolyn Redding, Winston-Salem, N.C., photography; James Underwood, Bedford, pastels; Barry Koplen, Danville, photography; Doug Cave, Stanleytown, acrylics; Beverly Scollo, Dry Fork, textiles; Shelly Swann, Yanceyville, N.C., metal sculpture; Jeanne Lavinder, Ringgold, batik; Nancy Gosney, Danville.
Bob Rankin will judge the juried show.
“It’s going to be a lot of local favorites,” said Lynne Bjarnesen, executive director of the museum. “There’s going to be a great range of work.”
And a varied price range, she added.
“There will be something for everybody,” and the varied art makes Art on the Lawn an ideal place to purchase gifts for Mother’s Day or the upcoming wedding season, she said.
In addition to art, the event will feature blues music from Logie Meachum from 11:30 to 2:30 p.m. and tunes from Little Stuey and the Strangers from 3 to 4 p.m.
Meachum, a regional performer and regular favorite at the museum’s Storytelling festival, has been performing nationally for more than 30 years, and has lectured at universities across the nation including Harvard. He is one of the orginal founders of the Piedmont Blues Preservation Society and in 1995 he received the Keeping the Blues Alive Award for his work.
He appeared in the 2004 movie “Two Soldiers,” playing a blues singer in a bus station. Written by William Faulkner, the film took home an Oscar that year for Best Short Film.
Little Stuey and the Strangers features local musicians Mike and Kristie Strange.
Also, Art on the Lawn will feature a community canvas, giving everyone who attends a chance to explore their artistic sides.
“Somebody gets it started, and somebody adds to it,” Bjarnesen said. “It’s a lot of fun.”
And although “we’re not going to use the ‘r’ word,” she said optimistically, rain date is Sunday from noon to 5 p.m.
As a kickoff to the event, a collection of musician-inspired works by Harry Aron, owner of Harry’s Tattoo Shop, will go on display in the museum’s Boatwright Gallery.
The collection’s pieces range from Willie Nelson to Boy George and explore a variety of artistic techniques.
The Radford-born artist graduated from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he created his popular pen and ink series “Danville Profiles.”
A reception run from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday in the museum gallery.
For more information on either event, call the museum, 975 Main St., at (434) 793-5644.