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Ann Stephenson, a gifted talent of C’ville Arts, explores the inspiring and dreamlike aspects of alcohol ink. She will be at the gallery during the Historic Downtown Mall’s First Friday celebration on June 7th, from 6 – 8 pm to share her impressive new collection.

Ann Stephenson has been creative as long as she can recall. Nature and wildlife captured Ann’s imagination very early in life creating works with birds, landscapes and abstract representations. Her use of bold, bright and vivid colors is characteristic throughout her work. She finds working with a vibrant, colorful palate makes her feel happy and alive. Using these lively colors with alcohol inks and their flowing unpredictable nature creates an organic sensibility she has not found in other mediums. Ann has developed impressive skills to maneuver the inks and create patterns inspired by the natural world.

Stephenson challenges herself to explore the endless possibilities with ink. In this show she will use her alcohol inks as a foundation for her playful collages, coasters, boxes, and plates. Portraying kittens at play, to geometric abstract designs, her technique creates a dreamlike quality in all her designs. Using her imaginative ink work Ann assembles high quality, custom made functional pieces sure to brighten any home.

To learn more about Ann and her work visit her on Facebook or email her astephenson2008@rocketmail.com

Mary Ellen Larkins, a gifted talent of C’ville Arts, explores the inspiring and magical aspects of fused glass. She will be at the gallery during the Historic Downtown Mall’s First Friday celebration on May 3rd, from 6 – 8 pm to share her glowing new collection.

“Twenty-two years ago I fell in love with fused glass.” Mary Ellen recalls the early days, “gradually, I moved beyond the artful geometry into more lyrical representations — landscapes of my favorite places. This technique involves “painting” with tiny fragments of crushed glass as though it were a liquid medium. Numerous colored and patterned layers are created on thin sheets of glass, and sequentially fired in a 1400-degree kiln to form deep images. Sometimes enamels are used to create fine details or even entire vistas. My life would be poorer without glass. Its beauty transports me to a place of tranquility and allows me to forget, for a while at least, the troubles of the world.”

Larkins builds layers of rich color and splendor that reflect her decades of experience. Her designs take a solid understanding of fused glass techniques, avoiding fractures and many other negative outcomes. She has carefully developed a successful strategy that produces a radiant peacefulness that flows from one piece to another in her latest work.

To learn more about Mary Ellen visit her web site www.maryellenlarkins.com

*Photographs taken by Gerry Bishop, living and working in Charlottesville.

Our talented tinkering guru, Allan Young will be our featured artist in April at C-ville Arts. He will be at the gallery to meet you and share his latest collection during the First Friday Event on April 5th, from 6 to 8 p.m.

Allan Young has been making clocks with a story to tell for over a decade. Finding time to make time is never a struggle for Allan it’s more like an act of love. His fascination with “what makes things tick”, paired with his creative nature and good sense of humor, allows this artist to transform old, toss-away items into functioning time pieces with a history we see with our own imagination. 

“What I love most about this work is that, it’s not work! I love what I do, I love that I am, not only able to be creative, but I am also helping the environment by recycling old junk that would likely end up in some landfill.” Allan describes this as a “win-win” process that inspires him to keep tinkering.  “It has been a great adventure! I have met some incredible people who eagerly donate materials that they would typically throw in the trash and I have seen the inside of more dumpsters than I could have ever imagined! Every clock I make is an original, with a history that we can only imagine. Every ding and dent tells a story. My clocks are not just time pieces but story tellers. Re-purposing old stuff into cool new stuff is what my craft is all about.”

In this show, Allan Young takes his audience on a journey – going from old to new, from junk to treasures.  With these creations, he opens your mind and captures your heart. 

To learn more about Allan Young and his work visit stuffmadefromstuff.net or send an email to allany99@gmail.com

Diana Branscome, a gifted talent of C’ville Arts, explores the inspiring and magical aspects of glass. She will be at the gallery during the Historic Downtown Mall’s First Friday celebration on March 1st, from 6 – 8 pm to share her glowing new collection.

Branscome has been dedicated to creating high-quality, unique pieces in glass for over 15 years. Her work is highly sought by collectors in the region and nation-wide. Her interest in the fluid nature of glass combined with the ability to exploit the appealing potentials of light, Diana produces “Spectra”. A new body of work, ranging from delicate gem-like jewelry designs to an array of sculptural vessels, bowls, and basins.

As an artist, she finds the properties of transparency, refraction, and magnification sets glass apart from other materials. Using techniques developed as a jeweler, Diana transforms the glass from individual sharp bits into succulent design elements that beg to be touched and adorned.

Light, textures, color, and refractions are the characteristics that dominate her sculptural journeys in glass. In her larger work, Diana has found a way to bring the illusion of movement and life to her vessels. Each piece reflects her joy with colorful patterns, shining designs, and a radiance you will find hard to resist.

To learn more about Diana Branscome visit her web site www.branscomeglass.com or locate her on Facebook at Branscome Glass, or call 434.466.3412.

February is the month when C’ville Arts will focus our work on Peace and Love, a group show, featuring all participating members of the cooperative. Please join us in February for this outpouring of joy and help celebrate the wonderful creations produced by a wealth of talented local artists.

This exhibit will involve a wide variety of mediums including fused glass, jewelry, woodworks, leather, paintings, mosaics, ceramics, knitting, wearable art and felting, quilling, photography and of course, chocolates! This gifted group will explore their passions, working from their hearts, to produce high quality, one of kind creations intended to tickle the spirits of any heart and soul.

If you’re looking for a unique gift for your loved one or a friend, C’ville Arts is the best place to find it! We’re offering handmade treasures to help you express a range of sentiments from sincere depths of love to humor and everything in between! We have charming solutions that are sure to elicit a smile.

All things grow with peace and love, and the gift of art.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery will feature “New Directions” for the inspirational photography of Ben Greenberg. He will be at the gallery to share his impressive new collection on Friday, December 7th from 6 to 8 p.m. during the Historic Downtown Mall’s First Friday event.

Ben’s inspiring and dramatic images are well-known throughout central Virginia. He has gained well-deserved recognition for his photography, receiving awards such as grand prize winner of an international competition and winning the first place blue ribbons for photography in the last two Waynesboro Fall Foliage Festivals. His images are displayed in numerous galleries and shops in central Virginia.

In this show Ben Greenberg will feature his latest dramatic landscape photographs from Virginia and other states as well as his new focus on wildlife photography.  The new work from Virginia will include images that will be featured in his new book scheduled to be published in 2019 with a working title of “Natural Public Lands of Virginia”. This book will include images from national, state and local parks, wildlife refuges, preserves and other protected areas found throughout Virginia. New work in the show from other states include recent photography from Glacier National Park in Montana as well as the Yellowstone and Grand Tetons National Parks in Wyoming and the wildlife of Florida.

The December show will feature Greenberg’s new images of wildlife in Virginia, Florida, North Carolina, Montana and Wyoming. The wildlife will include waterfowl, fox, elk, deer, moose, bison, and big horned sheep in their natural habitats. His goal in his wildlife photographs is to feature the animals interacting with their natural environments in interesting ways. Examples include herons and egrets building nests, a family of sandhill cranes strolling down a path, a fox returning home with dinner, and a flock of birds returning to their rookery in the setting sun.

Greenberg is also pleased to share during his “New Directions” show his return to black and white photography, which once dominated his portfolio. His black and white images provide excellent examples of how he chooses his landscape and wildlife subjects carefully from the natural world. He photographs them at the very special times when his images are most dramatic with the special quality of light with its direction and color that is usually found very early and very late in the day.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery will feature the inspirational art of Flame Bilyue. She will be at the gallery to share her impressive collection on Friday, November 2nd from 6 to 8 p.m. during the Historic Downtown Mall’s First Friday event.

Flame Bilyue’s art is two and three dimensional work she creates using water color, acrylics, colored pencils and pastels. Bilyue paints on canvas, paper or sculpted paper. Using her own handmade “sculpted paper” she recycles from office and art scraps, even junk mail is made into pulp, then formed and painted. This technique creates depth as relief style wall art, decorative mirrors, jewelry, and occasionally masks and bowls representing landscapes, dreamscapes, animals, trees and Dryads.

“The beauty and intrigue of the Blue Ridge Mountains has captured my imagination and inspires me to look deeper into the local history and folk lore.” Flame explains what motivates her creative process. “When we are open, we can also see with our mind’s eye not only what is here now but what might have been and what might be possible. We can see with our eyes but also with our hearts and imagination.”

Her imagination is timeless and vast, with a dreamlike quality that shines brightly in her recent body of work.

To learn more about Flame and her work visit her web site at www.flamebilyue.com

C’ville Arts celebrates autumn with a group show during the month of October. Various members will be at the gallery to share their latest work during the First Friday event on October 5th from 6 – 8 p.m.

October is a month full of colors, craftsmanship, and creativity! This is a time for our membership to shine, offering the finest work inspired by one of the most colorful times of year. You will find high quality work ranging from original oil paintings, hand knit items for children and adults, both fused and stained glass to wood works, jewelry and so much more.

We will have member demonstrations and you’ll enjoy seeing the magic of creative moments unfold right before your eyes. Discovering first hand the innovative techniques and the charming people who practice these skills with devotion and dedication not seen on such a large scale in recent history.

We will also be introducing Herson Cabrera, a Salvadoran artisan and entrepreneur who is visiting Charlottesville through the Young Leaders of the Americas Initiative. He will be learning about marketing and selling locally produced art, and exhibiting samples of products made in El Salvador. Come help us welcome him to Central Virginia.

C’ville Arts will be bubbling with activities all month long. This will be an impressive collection of creative minds working together to bring you a fun filled exhibit you won’t want to miss.