The Laurinburg Exchange – Artists showcased
Mary Katherine Murphy
ARTScotland will showcase local artisans this weekend swhile also providing a venue for a bit of Christmas shopping.
ARTScotland’s first art fair will be held at the Storytelling Arts Center of the Southeast today from 10 a.m. – 3 p.m. and on Sunday from 1-5 p.m. during Christmas on Main.
“This is our first major event, and we’re really excited to have 16 or 17 people here with their art,” said Jan Schmidt, Storytelling Arts Center executive director.
The show will feature a variety of local artists selling works ranging the spectrum from oil paintings to jewelry.
“We’re going to have a really eclectic mix: soaps, jewelry, aprons,” Schmidt said.
One local artist displaying her creations will be Andrea Campbell, who makes a rather unique table lamp with cups, saucers, and teapots for stems. Campbell is one of the primary forces behind Lily’s Quilts, Crafts, and Things, located in Laurinburg.
“I love to go to thrift shops and antique stores to look for cups and saucers that I think are unique and have possibilities,” said Campbell. “I just love stacking cups and teapots – it’s a great, exciting find when I discover a teapot.”
Carol Lee also uses art to transform discarded items into a masterpiece, crafting aprons out of vintage linen.
“I just take different pieces and make something else out of them,” said Lee. “One of these was the end of a dresser scarf, some were tablecloths and napkins – these are all rescued linens.”
“I like to find things,” Lee added. “they can have tears and stains and I can use the pieces.”
The art on display for the fair has been pre-screened for quality.
“This is a juried art show, so we did look at the art to make sure that it was of the quality we wanted in the show,” said Schmidt. “There’s really a lot of talent in this county.”
Bringing to the public eye a hobby he has enjoyed since 1994, Andy Kurtzman will display his handmade jewelry and wire trees.
“I like trees, first of all, and it’s kind of fun making the leaves for the trees from different gemstones,” said Kurtzman. “It gets you interested in rocks and gemstones while also being artistic.”
Kurtzman refined his craft to create artworks that customers can wear.
“I started out with the trees, but there’s only so much you can do with that,” Kurtzman said. “Everyone’s got a stone they like, but sometimes it just sits on a desk, so with this I can make it into a wrap stone or a ring that they can actually wear.”
Showcasing her oil paintings and colored pencil drawings will be Patricia Evans, who rekindled a love of art after retiring from a career at St. Andrew’s Presbyterian College.
“I have reconnected with art since retiring two years ago,” Evans said. “Drawing and painting stir my soul.”
The fair’s diverse body of artists will complement other merchants downtown. Schmidt hopes that the obvious body of local talent will encourage shoppers to buy gifts locally.
“we thought that a Christmas arts fair would support downtown and bring local artists together to showcase their stuff, while supporting the buy local campaign,” said Schmidt. “We’re really all small businesspeople.”
