Allied Arts recently closed its first Creator’s Club exhibit titled “Capture and Release” this month with interest for future exhibitions.
The Creator’s Club meets the last Saturday of each month at Allen’s Market at 10 a.m. and is for artists of all disciplines and media to” unite and share what they do, encourage each other, and teach their techniques.” Each month is a different focus and then in the afternoon of each Saturday members are offered studio time to participate in a group art challenge or work on their own pieces in Allen’s Market.
“This is something multiple art organizations do, where a photographer will submit a photo and an artist creates an art piece inspired by the photo,” said Allied Arts Executive Director Rebekah Tobar. “We thought this would be a good route to go because it would allow all mediums to get involved and be an easier first exhibit for all levels of experience as well.”
The photographers for the exhibit were Destyn Bailey, Andrzej Sikorski, and Rebekah Tobar. Artists that submitted pieces included Chad Wilson, Sandy MacPerson-Ireland, Andrzej Sikorski, Audrey Crumbley, Krista Kugaraj, Jane Ashley.
“We had a total of nine photographs and nine paintings of primarily water color, acrylic, and oil,” said Tobar. “Many artists recreated the image, but some took a more unique approach. For example, a photograph of a rose and another of a praying mantis were chosen by Chad Wilson and he created a piece highlighting the mantis on the stem of the rose. Another example is that one of our artists fell in love with the picture of a stump and did an acrylic pour because she saw faces in the stump and wanted to draw them out.
According to Tobar, there was a low turn-out for the exhibit due to stormy weather and other conditions but overall, the experience was positive.
“It was a beneficial experience and partnership despite the low turnout. For their first exhibit, the club was pleased with the outcome, and we received positive feedback from the community that did come to view the exhibit in Allen’s Market,” said Tobar. “I think it went well and our club is excited to do more exhibits in the future.”
For a future exhibit, Tobar wants to follow the same idea of “taking one person’s perspective and letting it inspire you” to promote collaboration between mediums, experience levels, and encourage the community to get involved.
“I do not want them to be limited but to find new ways to incorporate someone’s vision into their own work,” said Tobar. “We have yet to discuss if we will choose to do this particular exhibit again. We will meet in January to discuss potential future exhibits and what we could have done to improve this exhibit.”
To join the Creator’s Club, anyone can attend the monthly meetings or contact Allied Arts at 478-452-3950.