This week what is on my mind is that I don’t think we are prepared enough for the school musical. I am afraid that we are quickly running out of time and we are not ready for opening night. When I come home at night from rehearsal I find myself wondering if we were actually productive enough at practice. We rush through things, barely anyone pays attention, things are forgotten, nobody takes the time to practice and memorize outside of school, and our props, set, and costumes are definitely NOT ready. This is not due to our directors or parent volunteers help this is due to the immaturity of our cast. This year we find ourselves in a unique position, a majority of our cast is new to the school and do not have the maturity or understanding of what goes in to a high school musical. For those of us who have been involved in the musicals all throughout high school, it is very frustrating. I just fear that we are heading towards our deadline and that since we are not ready we are going to fail miserably. I mainly fear this because of last year. We put on an amazing production of Les Miserables and our follow up year should be just as good if not better and now here is our time to shine and we are not ready to go on stage and perform to the best of our abilities. Our show should be exceptional now especially due to the musical being on the chopping block for budget cuts. I am scared that because of how this show goes will partially impact the decision for budget cuts and I personally think that Vestal can not lose their school’s musical talent through getting rid of the annual musical. This has been on most of our minds this year, we all worry that for some of us we will not be able to have a senior musical and we will end our high school experience without one. For some of us this is all we do in our school, for instance, I don’t play sports so music is the only thing in Vestal I rely on. I am in Vestal Voices and the musical, if they cut the musical I have to go out of my way to be in a show which is not fair to any of us. The athletically inclined kids still get their sports and their competitions. For most of us musical kids, this is our competition, this is our time to show off our abilities. I just personally get so frustrated with everyone thinking that sports are amazing and the only way to go. I am not bashing sports or saying they’re awful or anything but sports are not everything. Not everyone can hit a home run, make a basket, or return a serve. Some of us instead can win gold at nationals dance competition, hit a high c, play instruments, or bring you from laughter to tears in 2 seconds on stage. Isn’t that good enough? At what point can someone say an extracurricular isn’t good for “well-roundedness” and deprive us of our passageway to show people what we can do and who we really are. Most of the people we are friends with, we probably wouldn’t be friends with if it wasn’t for our music department. We wouldn’t see half of them in a day without it and we’d lose a large percentage of our friends. I think that if the musical gets cut that Vestal will stop producing “well-rounded” kids, and there wouldn’t be a sense of unity in half of our school. The sense of pride that our school can not only produce athletes but great musicians as well.

Dancing through the BEST of Life

In one of my stories, the main characters name is Madison and goes by Maddi. Now in another story i’m writing i want the main character’s younger sister to be named Madelyn (pronounced with a lyn not line) and does NOT go by maddi, maddy, maddie, or anything like that. Just Madelyn.

Is it okay to do this? Please help!

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to show you how tall they are those ladies are 5'4"

I feel that the “Jeremy Lin Effect” is a good thing I think people need to open their eyes and realize that stereotyping is not cool. Stereotyping hurts people’s feelings and it is exceedingly rude as well. I think all people deserve the utmost respect and do not deserve anything less than that. I think the anybody who uses serious stereotyping honestly does not have a life or has nothing better to do with their time. I personally have a lot of friends that are Asian, but 2 people that stick out the most are my brothers Nathan and Alex. They are twins and they are opposite of the Asian stereotypes. For one thing they are anything but short, Nathan is 6’2″ and Alex is 6’3.5″ so they tower over me. Another thing, in addition to being tall they are also incredibly strong and athletic. They both can pick me up with one hand and carry me around is necessary. And yes, while they have good grades, they do not spend all their time studying and being “nerdy”. They love to have fun and hang out with friends and they can play every sport there is in the world (which kind of makes me a little bit jealous). But above all they speak perfect English so I do not understand why as soon as someone looks at an Asian person they magically can not speak English and they are “immasculine”, because Nathan and Alex would gladly stand up for themselves and tell you that your wrong.

Alex!

all of us i'm in the center

Dancing through the BEST of Life

I’m auditioning for a school group and I need a song to sing. I’m a guy and my bottom note is an F in the bass cliff below the staff. Thank you!

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The third annual Rotarians Against Hunger food drive will culminate on Apr. 28, 2012, when 50,000 bags – enough food for 300,000 meals – will be packaged, boxed and readied for distribution throughout Western North Carolina and internationally.

The group is in the process of raising ,000 for food and packaging.

The project is a partnership with Mission Children’s Hospital, Kids Against Hunger and MANNA FoodBank, with support from Thermo Fisher Scientific and Asheville-based artist Jonas Gerard.

Gerard has donated his painting, Primeval Virtue #5, to Rotarians Against Hunger to sell. The 40-inch-square acrylic on canvas has a retail value of ,550. The painting is on display in the Grove Arcade and will be auctioned to the highest bidder through bids submitted at (www.rotariansagainsthunger.org).

On Apr. 28, 2012, more than 750 volunteers will gather to prepare and package an estimated 300,000 nutritious meals, 70 percent of which will be distributed in Western North Carolina, the rest through Rotary International.

Tax deductible donations may be made to Mission Healthcare Foundation, Attn: Rotarians Against Hunger, 980 Hendersonville Road, Suite C, Asheville, NC 28803, with a notation on the check that the funds are for Rotarians Against Hunger.

Filed under: Asheville NC Visual Arts, Fundraisers, NC Visual Arts, WNC Visual Arts Tagged: Carolina Arts, Jonas Gerard, Kids Against Hunger, MANNA FoodBank, Mission Children’s Hospital, Rotarians Against Hunger Food Drive, Thermo Fisher Scientific, Visiting North Carolina, Visiting Western North Carolina, Western North Carolina
Carolina Arts News

It seems to me that Agatha Christie didn’t write all the Poirot mysteries, but after a certain amount of time another script writer or script writers began to write the stories for the TV series. Am I right? How many of them did she write? At what point did someone else take over the script writing?

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Hart Witzen Gallery in Charlotte, NC, is now accepting submissions for SHOWDOWN, a group exhibit to take place Apr. 28 through May 4, 2012.

Deadline for submissions is Mar. 23, 2012. Artists selected to participate will be notified by e-mail by Mar. 26, 2012.

Eligibility: All artists welcome to apply: paintings, drawings, sculpture, photography, installations, mixed and new media. Work does not have to be for sale. Artists may submit original, recent work (within 2 years) for consideration.

Consideration: For consideration send up to 5 images via e-mail by Mar. 23, 2012, to (hartwitzengallery@hotmail.com) with SHOWDOWN in the subject line. Please include your full name, address, e-mail address, web site, and a brief description of each piece, including size, materials and techniques used.

Fee: There is no submission fee. Artists selected to participate will contribute a fee of to cover exhibit and promotion expenses and best in show cash award (0) determined by patron vote.

No commission on the sale of works resulting from the exhibition. Work does not have to be for sale.

Notes: Work must be ready to hang.
20 pedestals available for 3-D works.
Selected artists will be required to ship their works or drop them off directly to the gallery during designated hours (TBD).

Hart Witzen Gallery is located at 136 E. 36th Street, Charlotte, NC 28206.

704-334-1177 or visit (http://www.hartwitzengallery.com/).

Filed under: Artist Opportunity, Call For Entries, Charlotte NC Visual Arts, NC Visual Arts, Piedmont NC Visual Arts Tagged: Carolina Arts, Charlotte NC, Hart Witzen Gallery, Visiting Charlotte NC, Visiting North Carolina
Carolina Arts News

Sculptor Jim Collins, whose exhibit, Absolutely Ambiguous, is currently on display in the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery, at Coker College in Hartsville, SC, will give three gallery talks, which are free and open to the public, at 9am, 1pm, and  2pm, Friday, Feb. 24, 2012, the final day of the exhibition.

Collins has an extensive exhibition record including numerous solo shows, invitational exhibits and competitions. Presently, he concentrates mostly on private and public commissions.

For his show at Coker he focuses on another large body of work consisting of collage and assemblage—the first term refers to a two-dimensional composition that uses found materials, while the latter refers to a three-dimension composition using that method.

“Jim Collins knows that every viewer brings unique experiences to the interpretation of art,” said Assistant Professor of Art and Gallery Director Larry Merriman.

“Consequently, the perceived message may vary from one viewer to another. While some artists find this discouraging, Jim Collins relishes the varied responses his colorful, nostalgic imagery elicits from his audience,” Merriman said.

Collins was a Professor of Art at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga from 1966 until 1983 when he resigned that teaching position to devote full time to his career as a professional artist.  He received a bachelor’s degree from Marshall University, a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan and a Master of Fine Arts in sculpture from Ohio University.

The Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery is located in the Gladys C. Fort Art Building on the Coker College campus.

For more on the gallery, go to (http://www.wix.com/cokerartgallery/ccgb).

Filed under: Arts Education, Arts Lectures, Hartsville SC Visual Arts, Pee Dee SC Area Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts Tagged: Absolutely Ambiguous Exhibit, Carolina Arts, Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery, Coker College, Hartsville SC, Jim Collins, Larry Merriman. Visiting Hartsville SC, Visiting South Carolina
Carolina Arts News

A copper coin from 1835, introduced by British East India Co. in the Indian subcontinent. How much it should worth in today’s market?

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Telfair Museums in Savannah, GA, will present the exhibit, A Native Son: Paintings by West Fraser, at the Telfair Academy from Feb. 24 through May 6, 2012. Despite coming of age at a time when modernism and abstraction had achieved a firm hold on the prevailing modes of art instruction throughout the country, West Fraser has remained a traditionalist, earning a place among the region’s leading practitioners of traditional realism. Fraser was born in Savannah in 1955 and has spent most of the past three decades working in the South Carolina Lowcountry and coastal Georgia. He is particularly well known for his luminous landscapes (many, though not all, of which are painted en plein air) and engaging city scenes.

A Native Son: Paintings by West Fraser considers the landscapes, marine views, and city scenes for which Fraser is best known, as well as travel paintings created around the world and figure-based compositions depicting family, friends, and the artist himself. Consisting of approximately 55 works, the exhibition also demonstrates the evolution of Fraser’s technique, beginning with his large-scale watercolors of the 1980s, which were painted from photographs in the artist’s studio. In the 1990s, his desire to begin painting directly from nature forced him to seek out a more flexible and adaptable medium, resulting in his switch from watercolor to oil. Today, Fraser continues to work in oil, and alternates between plein air painting and studio work (sometimes combining the two).

Fraser’s paintings have been exhibited in numerous solo and group shows at museums and galleries throughout the country, and his work is held in the permanent collection of Telfair Museums, Morris Museum of Art, Gibbes Museum of Art, Greenville County Museum of Art, California’s Laguna Art Museum, and many prominent private and corporate collections.

Cathy Solomons, interim director of Telfair Museums, stated, “It is with special pleasure that Telfair Museums presents this exhibition. Although West Fraser has garnered national recognition and numerous awards, this exhibition is his first solo museum show in Savannah, the city of his birth.” Courtney McNeil, curator of art at Telfair Museums, stated, “West Fraser has spent nearly thirty years methodically chronicling lives and landscapes in the South. Because his stylistic inspiration is largely drawn from the work of nineteenth- and early twentieth-century American impressionists such as John Henry Twachtman, Childe Hassam, and Edward Redfield, all of whom are represented in the Telfair’s permanent collection, it is particularly appropriate for the Telfair to be presenting this exhibition.”

This exhibition is sponsored by Byck Rothchild Foundation, Inc, Wells Fargo Bank N.A., Mr. and Mrs. J. Curtis Lewis III, Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Ramee, and Mr. and Mrs. David W. Solana.

Located in the heart of Savannah’s historic district, the Telfair is the oldest public art museum in the South. It encompasses two National Historic Landmark Buildings – the Telfair Academy and the Owens-Thomas House – and the contemporary Jepson Center. With three unique buildings housing three distinct collections, Telfair Museums bridges three centuries of art and architecture.

For further information call the Museums at 912/790-8800 or visit (www.telfair.org).

Filed under: Charleston SC Visual Arts, Coastal SC Visual Arts, SC Visual Arts Tagged: A Native Son: Paintings by West Fraser, Carolina Arts, Charleston SC, Telfair Museums, Telfair Museums in Savannah GA, Visiting Charleston SC, Visiting South Carolina, West Fraser
Carolina Arts News