CREATIVE PURSUITS

There are several art shows slated for the coming weeks and they are intended to help brighten up what might otherwise be a drab time of the year for the arts.

TRURO, N.S. – Brandt Eisner hopes the works of art in two upcoming shows will brighten the day and spark thoughts for those who take them in. He’s curating two art shows that include a variety of mediums.

The opening reception for New Beginnings will be held in the gallery at the Marigold Cultural Centre, Friday, Jan. 10 at 6 p.m.

“It includes mixed media sculpture and 2-D images, clay art, quilting, painting, rug hooking…,” said Eisner. “They’re all very different mediums and it’s introducing some new artists to the area.”

Participating artists include Miya Turnbull, Mark Hamilton, Laura Kenney, Shauna Macleod of Black Crow Pottery, Judith Newman, Anthony Clementi, Alan Syliboy, Heather Waugh Pitts, Lee Cripps, and Al Hattie, of Redneck Craft Creations.

Eisner will also have some of his own work on display.

“I’m working with a lot of natural materials and repurposed materials,” he said. “Sometimes I see an object that gives me an idea. Sometimes it’s a toy or something in a bag of odds and ends, and sometimes it’s something like thistles or chestnuts. There are times I know I need to take an item home because it will become something.”

The second show he’s curating in Truro this winter is the Truro Art Society’s third annual sculpture show, being held at the Mccarthy Gallery on the NSCC campus.

“Submissions are still being accepted and this is an open show; not juried,” he said. “I know how hard it is to find spaces that accept sculpture, and this is the only one I know of in Nova Scotia that’s strictly sculpture.”

Pieces can be free standing or wall mounted. Wall-mounted work must be able to hang from a wire/hook system.

To submit, artists should send an email to brandt.eisner@ gmail.com by Jan. 20, including a photo of the work, size, medium and price. Pieces that are not for sale can also be submitted.

The opening reception for this show will take place Feb. 5 from 5:30 to 7 p.m.

CONTRIBUTED This untitled piece by Nancy Roberts is part of the New Beginnings art show at the Marigold Cultural Centre. The opening reception for the show takes place Jan. 10.

CONTRIBUTED Self Portrait (Blossoming), by Miya Turnbull, is one of the pieces that will be on display during the Truro Art Society’s sculpture show, at the NSCC’S Mccarthy Gallery. The piece is made of papier-mâché, printed photographs and thermoplastic.