WAC Gallery Information for August 2008

The High Country Watermedia Annual Juried Exhibit in the Mazie Jones Gallery features twenty-some artists works in a variety of water media to include watercolor, acrylic, gouache, casein, pencil, paste, pen and ink, and the newest transition media such as water-soluble oil paints.

The High Country Watermedia Society (HCWS) was founded in 1997 in the western mountains of North Carolina with a primary focus on creating, promoting, discussing and learning about artwork made from water-soluble materials, such as watercolors.

Members include artists, art collectors, and community art enthusiasts who gather together for the creation, appreciation, and promotion of all art created using Watermedia.  Many of the members are part-time Watauga County residents and bring new perspectives and ideas to the club from their other residences. Members also come from a variety of professions and backgrounds – from professional artists, art students, art instructors, hobbyists, and art enthusiasts and collectors.

In the Open Door Gallery, Kent Paulette is a self-taught artist painting under the name Derfla.  He paints in oil on canvas, and since he began painting 7 years ago, has completed more than 375 paintings. 

Since Derfla’s January 2005 Jones House exhibit of portraits and abstract paintings, he has expanded the subjects of his paintings to include animals, flowers, cityscapes, and landscapes.

 “From the start of this journey I’ve opted out of symbolism, instead searching for a more direct way to express one core idea.  This has led me to give control over to a process that allows the painting to come to life organically,” he said. “The painting is able to occur as an uninterrupted event subject to the whims of chance.”

Derfla’s paintings are currently on display in Boone at Mauldin Family Chiropractic and Acupuncture.   He is also exhibiting his paintings in Hickory at Hickory Fireplace and Patio; Michael’s on 4th; and Taste Full Beans Coffeehouse Gallery.

Derfla has had one-man shows locally at the Mazie Jones Gallery in the Jones House in Boone; Cannon Memorial Hospital in Linville; and Hayes Auditorium at Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk.  He has had other one-man shows at the Hickory Museum of Art and the Newton-Conover Civic and Performance Place (the venue for the Green Room Community Theatre). 

Derfla has previously exhibited paintings in Boone at Our Daily Bread and The Bistro.  Elsewhere in the region he has exhibited at Twisted Tree Gallery, Artful Living, Right Up Your Alley Gallery, Drips’ Coffeehouse, Artist’s Café, the Lincoln Cultural Center, and the Caldwell Arts Council.  In 2005 he created the design for the Downtown Hickory Art Crawl poster.

His expansive website, www.derfla.tv, provides access to all 375 paintings.
 
These exhibits are on display from Tuesday,  July 29 until Friday, August 29 from noon to 5 p.m., Tuesdays through Fridays. The  Arts Council galleries are also open Thursdays from 7:30 to 11 p.m. during the acoustic jams at the Jones House and Friday evenings during the Concerts on the Lawn.

The gallery reception to welcome these exhibits is Friday, August 1 from 6:30-8 p.m. and is held in conjunction with downtown Boone’s First Friday Art Crawl. Free food and beverage will be served and the public is invited and encouraged to attend.

Also featured at this month’s gallery reception will be Judy Geary signing copies of her novel, Getorix: The Eagle and The Bull, is the story of a Celtic captive's search for honor in ancient Rome. The book has been praised by reviewers as historical fiction for both adults and young people. It is included in the national 'Accelerated Reader' program and has been endorsed for classroom use by the SREB educational technology cooperative including 16 states and the NCDPI (North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.)

The Watauga Arts Council galleries are sponsored in part by Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff and Grassroots Funds of the North Carolina Arts Council. The WAC’s offices and galleries are located in downtown Boone at the Jones House Community & Cultural Center, owned by the town of Boone.