Downtown ArtWalk continues its 2011 season Thursday.

More and more downtown businesses are joining the effort to revitalize and reawaken downtown. ArtWalk brings people downtown, and once they see what it has to offer, they keep coming back.

Before the May 19 ArtWalk, Charleston Catholic High School students will be creating sidewalk art in front of ArtWalk venues for viewing this evening.

ArtWalk is the epitome of why more and more people are going downtown – to be part of a rich culture. Charleston offers food, ideas, expressions, shops and customs not found anywhere else, and we identify with the charm.

Visit www.CharlestonArtWalk.com for more information. ArtWalk runs from 5 to 8 p.m.

ArtWalk Locations

Art Emporium
Stray Dog Antiques
Gallery Eleven
Annex Gallery Taylor Books      
Good News Mountaineer Garage
Chet Lowther Studio
The Purple Moon
Modern by Design
Romano & Associates Law Gallery
Visions Day Spa
Studio 1031
White Oak Photography & 
    KD Lett Photographic Productions

 
Art Walk Highlights

White Oak Photography
& K.D. Lett Photographic Productions

New work by K.D. Lett & Michelle Krompecher will be shown in the front gallery and the permanent exhibit will be on display in the back gallery. 
 

Art Emporium 

Art Emporium presents Traci Higginbotham’s “Visual Navigations,” original acrylic paintings on canvas. The exhibit runs through June 11. An artist reception is scheduled during ArtWalk.  
 

Modern by Design

Modern by Design will feature works from California artist Leo Possillico and Charleston artist Joe Bolyard.

Leo Possillico, a native of Long Island, New York, has been a successful, award-winning artist for more than 30 years. His work is known and praised nationally and internationally and is widely recognizable through his signature brush stroke characters. He works in series.

The “Gallery” series, from which the pieces showing at Modern by Design have been chosen, expresses the various art works that one can be exposed to while in the gallery, or museum and is both humorous and serious.

Joe Bolyard is a West Virginia artist who moved back to Charleston in 1998. Joe works in acrylics, mixed media, ink and also produces pieces with metals, such as pewter, brass and aluminum. Joe’s work varies from small gallery pieces to large commission pieces for peoples’ homes and offices. Joe’s work usually explores depths of colour and texture, with styles ranging from the abstract to ethereal and even spiritual.

Taylor Books

The Annex Gallery will present “Modus Operandi: New works on paper by Natalie Gibbs Burdette and Kristen Zammiello.” This show features dry point etchings, graphite drawings, linoleum block prints by two talented young women from the Marshall Graduate program.

Purple Moon

The Purple Moon is pleased to present new works by Sharon Lyn Stackpole in a show opening during ArtWalk.Born in 1969, Sharon is a native West Virginian who studied painting and art history at Fairmont State and West Virginia University. After art school, she worked for some time as a newspaper reporter and columnist in West Virginia, and still maintains a daily blog. She is a strong supporter of arts in education and lobbies for the restoration of art instruction at the primary grade levels in West Virginia.

Romano and Associates

Miranda Fields, a West Virginia-based artist who specializes in photography, will be the featured artist at Romano and Associates. She is teaching Beginning Photography at Marshall University, where she graduated with her Masters in Art in 2010. She has displayed images from her series Six in numerous local galleries, as well as the Los Angeles Center for Digital Art and, most recently, was chosen as one of ten international students to exhibit in the third annual Breaking Boundaries exhibition in Pingyao, China.

Gallery Eleven

Cross Lanes artist Gloria Jean Pennnington will be the featured artist for the May ArtWalk at Gallery Eleven, 1033 Quarrier Street, Charleston. Her eclectic style will be evident in this show which features an new genre of paintings and collages of fish, corral, sponges and anything “Under the Sea”. Also included are some fish made of clay, Pennington’s love of the ocean was renewed following a snorkeling trip to the Virgin Islands and several of the new works reflect a Caribbean theme.

Good News Mountaineer Garage

Good News is pleased to present “Works by Kate Long.”Kate Long likes to paint pictures that tell stories with titles such as “Giant squashes barricade Capitol. Legislators flee,” and “Outraged sunflower.” In her photographs, she finds ways to frame ordinary details of life – a butterfly’s tail, an ice puddle – in an extraordinary way.

“I try to take pictures that make me – and other people – see ordinary things in new ways’,” she says. Long, a Charleston resident, writes for The Charleston Gazette and produces for public radio. This is her first public showing of her paintings and photos.

Downtown ArtWalk continues its 2011 season Thursday.

More and more downtown businesses are joining the effort to revitalize and reawaken downtown. ArtWalk brings people downtown, and once they see what it has to offer, they keep coming back.

ArtWalk is the epitome of why more and more people are going downtown – to be part of a rich culture. Charleston offers food, ideas, expressions, shops and customs not found anywhere else, and we identify with the charm.

Visit www.CharlestonArtWalk.com for more information. ArtWalk runs from 5 to 8 p.m.

ArtWalk Locations

Art Emporium
Stray Dog Antiques
Gallery Eleven
Annex Gallery Taylor Books      
Good News Mountaineer Garage
Chet Lowther Studio
The Purple Moon
Modern by Design
Romano & Associates Law Gallery
Visions Day Spa
Studio 1031
White Oak Photography & 
    KD Lett Photographic Productions

 
Art Walk Highlights

Modern by Design

The Purple Moon’s Modern by Design at 200 Hale Street will host its Grand Opening during the April 21 ArtWalk.

The Purple Moon has long been one of ArtWalk’s most vibrant venues featuring art and vintage mid-century modern home furnishings and accessories. Modern by Design brings to Charleston the same modernist style as The Purple Moon with new issuance furniture and accessories (blended with some vintage) and will showcase works by local, regional and nationally-known artists. 

Specially brought in for the opening of Modern by Design are works by California artist Leo Possillico. A native of Long Island, New York, Leo, has been a successful, award-winning artist for more than 30 years. His work is known and praised nationally and internationally and is widely recognizable through his signature brush stroke characters.

Romano & Associates

The Romano & Associates gallery will feature works by Ellen Fure and Michael Anthony Smith.

Fure is a fourth-year student at Marshall University, pursuing a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in sculpture. Although her primary interest is in three dimensional art, she enjoys working in many different media. Ellen is inspired by everyday objects and customs that have become routine and second nature.

Smith does not focus on a single medium.  Instead, the unifying focus of his study is the concept of memory and childhood.  This investigation is easily interrupted because at the age of 12, Smith suffered a catastrophic brain injury from a baseball crushing his skull.  Smith’s work investigates the fluid, shifting recollections of his childhood memories by fabricating objects that jar the viewer by presenting recognizable forms in an altered scale, combination, material or setting.

Taylor Books

“Egg. Flower. Soup. a made up story” is an amalgamation of work from Amanda Jane Miller and Staci Marie Leech-Cornell.

Art Emporium

Art Emporium will feature Sherry Zachwieja Powell’s “My Lucid Dream: In Retrospect,” a mixed media works exhibit, now through May. An artist reception is scheduled during ArtWalk.

Downtown ArtWalk is scheduled to start its 2011 season March 17 – St. Patrick’s Day – and the monthly event will be bigger and better.

The Charleston Area Alliance has signed on three new locations.

A group of artists operating as Studio 1031, at 1031 Quarrier St., has joined ArtWalk.

White Oak Photography and KD Lett Photographic Studio Photopro, meanwhile, are joining ArtWalk at 107 Hale St., Suite 100.

In addition, Purple Moon owner Chuck Hampsher is opening a new store called Modern by Design on the corner of Quarrier and Hale streets. Later this year, the upscale furniture store and art gallery will be yet another ArtWalk staple.

“More and more downtown businesses are joining the effort to revitalize and reawaken the area,” said Susie Salisbury, the Alliance’s vice president for community development.  “ArtWalk brings people downtown, and once they see what it has to offer, we hope, they keep coming back.

“ArtWalk is the epitome of why more and more people are going downtown – to be part of a rich culture,” she continued. “Charleston offers food, ideas, expressions, shops and customs not found anywhere else, and its people identify with the charm.”

Visit www.CharlestonArtWalk.com for more information. ArtWalk runs from 5 to 8 p.m.

ArtWalk Locations

Art Emporium
Stray Dog Antiques
Gallery Eleven
Annex Gallery Taylor Books      
Good News Mountaineer Garage
Chet Lowther Studio
The Purple Moon
Romano & Associates Law Gallery
Visions Day Spa
Studio 1031
White Oak Photography & KD Lett     
    Photographic Studio Photopro

Take a stroll downtown and enjoy the best of what Charleston has to offer.

Art Walk Highlights

Taylor Books

Taylor Book’s Annex Gallery will present works by Charleston artist Ray McNamara.

After serving in the Navy during World War II, McNamara decided to devote his life to the visual arts. He attended the Art Institute of Chicago and has fulfilled his vows for the past half century. Taylor Books will be taking a look back at the life and work of this dedicated artist with a collection spanning the past 50 years. The exhibit features original pen and ink drawings, oil paintings, lithographs, woodblock prints and more.

Romano & Associates

The Romano & Associates Law Offices will be hosting an exhibit by two artists for the March ArtWalk.

Tiffany Aliff’s photography includes ordinary things and everyday occurrences shown from a unique perspective. It’s mundane daily life turned captivating pieces of art.

Rebecca Burch’s paintings reflect an interest in the common techniques shared by early mosaic and fiber artists, the Impressionists and modern RGB computer graphics. These pieces speak of contrast.

The Art Emporium

The Art Emporium will feature the colorful and thought-provoking mixed media art works of George Walsh from Scarbro. Walsh recently earned his degree in Art Education at Concord University, and this will be his first solo exhibition in Charleston. The artist will be present at the opening reception during the March 17 Artwalk, and the show will run through April 15.

The Charleston Area Alliance has signed on two new members for Downtown ArtWalk.

One is a group of artists operating as Studio 1031, and the other is the graduate program at Marshall University. The Marshall students will be presenting  in the Blue Door Art Studio off Hale Street.    

In addition, Purple Moon owner Chuck Hampsher is opening a new business, in addition to Purple Moon, on the corner of Quarrier and Hale streets. This  upscale furniture store and art gallery also will be participating in the monthly ArtWalks.

The first Downtown ArtWalk of 2011 is scheduled for 5 to 8 p.m. March 17, St. Patrick’s Day. It is preceded by the We Love Our Community Awards program from 4 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 107 Hale St.

Last week’s snowstorm made it tough for many to go downtown for ArtWalk. So we’re doing it one more time in 2010!

Join us from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 23 as nine businesses open their doors to showcase the best of Charleston!

And get last-minute holiday shopping done while you’re at it.

Participating businesses include:

Art Emporium
Stray Dog Antiques
Gallery Eleven
Annex Gallery Taylor Books      
Good News Mountaineer Garage
Chet Lowther Studio
The Purple Moon
Romano & Associates Law Gallery
Visions Day Spa

Visit www.CharlestonArtWalk.com for more information.

Join us from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday as nine businesses open their doors to showcase the best of Charleston!

Enjoy the last ArtWalk of 2010 and get that last-minute holiday shopping done while you’re at it.

Participating businesses include:

Art Emporium
Stray Dog Antiques
Gallery Eleven
Annex Gallery Taylor Books      
Good News Mountaineer Garage
Chet Lowther Studio
The Purple Moon
Romano & Associates Law Gallery
Visions Day Spa

The motto for Romano & Associates is “Helping People, Supporting Community.”

For Shawn Romano, part of supporting the Charleston community is helping revitalize and reawaken the downtown area.

Romano

“We need more people downtown, and to get more people downtown, we need more retail downtown,” he said.

That’s part of the reason why, when he located his office at 230 Capitol St. in August, he decided to be a part of Downtown Artwalk, the monthly Charleston Area Alliance event that promotes local business and local art.

He learned about ArtWalk through another Alliance program, Leadership Kanawha Valley, and worked with Taylor Books to display pieces in the Romano offices. And for one evening each month, visitors are free to go into the offices and enjoy food, wine and art.

“ArtWalk is a way to encourage people to come downtown, even if they’re not buying anything,” Romano said. “It’s also good marketing for my business. It benefits us because we have 50 or more people each ArtWalk becoming familiar with my business.”

When Art Emporium relocated to 823 Quarrier St. and joined ArtWalk seven years ago, “we probably got 10 people in here,” said Traci Higginbotham, who works and exhibits art at the Emporium. “Now we get 200 on a bad night.”

Higginbotham

In recent years, she said, more shops have moved downtown. In response, more people are shopping and walking downtown.

“ArtWalk has definitely helped business,” Higginbotham said. “People don’t feel intimidated when they come in during ArtWalk. People might think the items are expensive and decide not to visit us otherwise. But when there’s a crowd, it’s easier to walk in. They say, ‘I didn’t know you had all this stuff!’ They come back, and we see residual sales.”

Romano calls downtown Charleston an “alternative to homogenization.” No other place can replicate the vibrancy of the downtown atmosphere.

More and more people want to support the local economy, and the downtown landscape is evolving into a trendy locale. The change was evident during the most recent ArtWalk, which happened on the busiest shopping day of the year, Black Friday. The participating shops were packed with people searching for holiday gifts and avoiding the stress of shopping elsewhere. The crowds returned Dec. 3 for Generation Charleston’s Holiday Open House, which showcased a variety of downtown shops after hours.

Promoting the virtues of supporting local business is easy. Giving people a good reason to do it is the hard part. ArtWalk is the epitome of why more and more people are going downtown – to be part of a rich culture. Charleston, like other cities, offers food, ideas, expressions, shops and customs not found anywhere else, and its citizens identify with the charm.

If you haven’t explored downtown in a while, you should. You’ll want to come back.

Join us the day after Thanksgiving as nine businesses open their doors to showcase the best of Charleston!

You’ll find some fanastic holiday gift ideas.

Participating businesses include:

Art Emporium
Stray Dog Antiques
Gallery Eleven
Annex Gallery Taylor Books      
Good News Mountaineer Garage
Chet Lowther Studio
The Purple Moon
Romano & Associates Law Gallery
Visions Day Spa

Take a stroll downtown and enjoy the best of what Charleston has to offer.

Click here to download a map for Downtown ArtWalk.

Join us from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursday as nine businesses open their doors to showcase the best of Charleston!

Thursday’s ArtWalk also represents the grand opening of Gallery Eleven’s new space at 1025 Quarrier St. 

Participating businesses include:

Art Emporium
Stray Dog Antiques
Gallery Eleven
Annex Gallery Taylor Books      
Good News Mountaineer Garage
Chet Lowther Studio
The Purple Moon
Romano & Associates Law Gallery
Visions Day Spa

Take a stroll downtown and enjoy the best of what Charleston has to offer.

For more details, visit www.charlestonartwalk.com.

The next ArtWalk is scheduled for Nov. 26.  

Art Walk Highlights

Art Emporium

“Emphasis on Red New Abstract Paintings by Emily Roles and Traci Higginbotham” will be the feature at Art Emporium and will run through Nov. 13.

Good News Mountaineer Garage

The East End Pet Food Pantry is sponsoring an art exhibit focusing on the perspective of pets at the Good News Mountaineer Garage during October’s ArtWalk.

This show will feature art about pets and art for pets. More than 20 artists are participating.

The purpose of the show is to raise awareness of the East End Pet Food Pantry and the plight of needy pets and pet owners.

Patrons are encouraged to bring donations of pet food and supplies to the opening. Well-behaved pets are allowed to attend. Local artist and teacher Rebecca Burch will have students available to pet sit dogs if their owners want to visit other galleries that evening.

Join us Thursday as nine businesses open their doors to showcase the best of Charleston!

Participating businesses include:

Art Emporium
Stray Dog Antiques
Gallery Eleven
Annex Gallery Taylor Books      
Good News Mountaineer Garage
Chet Lowther Studio
The Purple Moon
Romano & Associates Law Gallery
Visions Day Spa

Take a stroll downtown and enjoy the best of what Charleston has to offer.

For more details, visit www.charlestonartwalk.com.

The next ArtWalk is scheduled for Oct. 21.  

Art Walk Highlights

Art Emporium

Art Emporium is presenting new works by a small group of artists and graphic illustrators, including Jeff Pierson, Darin Allen, Squindo and Kevin Adams. Their work ranges from tiny, detailed pen & ink drawings to bold and colorful acrylic on bowling pins.

New works by Kathy Boland also will be on display.

Gallery Eleven

Larry Wolfe will be the featured artist for the month of September. The exhibit’s title is “Plein Air Paintings”.

Gallery Eleven is moving to 1025 Quarrier St. Oct. 1.

Good News Mountaineer Garage

The Allied Artists of West Virginia show “Luck of the Draw” is a celebration of the quirky attitudes of our society. More than 20 Allied Artists members will exhibit works that illustrate their inspirations for the attitudes and taste of this generation.  

Purple Moon

Charleston artist Amy Williams will present “Q&A: A Visual and Performance Art Experience.”

Every day our minds are filled with questions … about ourselves, about others. In this art experience, Amy Williams explores the ideas of questioning and answering our own and others’ questions.

Born from her experience of asking other people’s opinions more than trusting her own, the artist was called to explore what it was she truly wanted to know about herself and her life… and why she was always depending on someone else to answer these important matters for her.

In this exhibit, Williams combines a collection of question and answer word bubble paintings with a performance piece of the artist doing her personal take on Lucy’s lemonade/advice stand from “Peanuts.”

Romano & Associates

The Romano & Associates Law Offices at 230 Capitol St. will be hosting an exhibit by Rebecca Robinson, John Farley and Cristofer Botkin.