October 03, 2022 – Elkins – The Arts Center will host an opening reception for this year’s Fall Juried Art Exhibit on Wednesday from 5-7 p.m.
This reception is free and open to the public.
Arts Center Executive Director Kurt Barkley said he is very excited about this exhibit, as it is always one of the most popular of the year.
“The Arts Center is adding more and more events to our schedule as we continue to re-establish our fulltime programming for the community. Each year we strive to give the community a really beautiful show at Forest Festival featuring local and regional artists, and student artwork from schools in our region.”
This year’s juror is West Virginia artist Connie Mae Moeller, who grew up hiking in Michigan’s woods, drawing and painting from her experiences. She majored in fine art at Spring Arbor University and received additional education at the Kalamazoo Institute of Art.
Her early works were accepted into juried shows and galleries receiving honorable mentions. For several years, her artistic attention was devoted to teaching art classes.
Since moving to West Virginia in 2012, she enjoys the state’s wild and wonderful outdoors, and her art celebrates the beauty she finds. Her paintings have won awards and been accepted into several juried shows. An active member of her community, she has served on her local council for the arts and contributes to educational art programs. Her professional memberships include Tamarack: The Best of West Virginia and Allied Artists of WV.
“I create oil paintings that celebrate my love of nature,” Moeller said. “My work transports the viewer into the scene to experience the peacefulness that nature offers. Influenced by artists such as Asher B. Durand and Andrew Wyeth, my style unites the spirit I sense in each place with the joy I find in each detail.
“Working from my experiences in nature, I utilize plein air as well as photos for reference, creating an underpainting, then building up with color and glazing techniques similar to that of the old masters.”
The Arts Center’s Maxwell Gallery will offer a solo show by artist Seth Pitt, who operates an art gallery in Thomas called “Creature,” and a studio in the collaborative gallery and workspace The White Room, also in Thomas.
“I’ve decided that I deeply believe that all this work you see here, and all the work I will ever make, is a big team effort,” Pitt said. “We learn what we value by those who touch our lives through simply wandering around in their own simple, gorgeous ways, and we create what we do by looking into what we value. This stands to reason that everything I do is an echo of things I’ve learned from people, namely those who have shown me love, kindness or care.”
These exhibits will also be open to the public during the 84th Mountain State Forest Festival on Thursday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon.
After this week, the exhibits will be open to the public Tuesdays through Thursdays from 1-3 p.m. through Nov. 16.
For additional information contact The Arts Center office at 304-637-2355 or online at www.randolpharts.org.
