Works by area artists juried into Delta Exhibition
LITTLE ROCK — When the awards were announced June 8 at the member preview and reception for the 59th annual Delta Exhibition at the Arkansas Arts Center, no one was more surprised at the results than Daniel Mark Cassity of Hot Springs. He received an honorable mention.
“I found out last time (2014) that there are not that many awards given, so an honorable mention takes on a higher degree of importance in this show,” Cassity said, smiling. “You could say it’s more honorable than a normal honorable mention.”
Cassity won the award with an oil on panel titled The Wonderweapon.
Cassity is one of four local artists with ties to the Tri-Lakes Edition coverage area whose works were selected for the Delta Exhibition. Others include Ron Burcham of Benton, DebiLynn Fendley of Arkadelphia and Gene Sparling, also of Hot Springs.
Betsy Bradley, director of the Mississippi Museum of Art in Jackson, selected 73 works of art by 57 artists representing seven states. The works were chosen out of 1,120 entries by 497 artists.
Cassity, who grew up in northeastern Louisiana, moved to Hot Springs in 2013. He entered the 56th annual Delta Exhibition in 2014 and was chosen for that exhibit, earning an honorable mention that year as well.
“I’m honored to participate in the Delta again,” he said. “The longevity, scope and presentation of the exhibition deserve national attention.
“The Kingdom is my imaginary world, and this piece is part of that world,” he said. “These paintings seek to reward viewers by their nuanced paint manipulation, imaginative quality and surprising wealth of content. In this pursuit, I use metaphor and symbolism to speak to such universally familiar, primal concerns as joy, greed, fear
of the unknown, survival, etc. — often countering initial humor with underlying darkness, resulting in complexity of content.
“The Wonderweapon is a perfect example of this: horror wrapped in silliness,” Cassity said.
Cassity holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Louisiana Tech University, where he studied design and watercolor, then graphic design/ illustration before committing fully to fine art. He did postgraduate work at East Carolina University.
Following is a look at the other three local artists with works in this year’s Delta Exhibition.
RON BURCHAM
Burcham, who is participating in the Delta Exhibition for the first time, describes himself as an “artisan woodworker.”
His piece in the exhibit is a rocking chair he titled Bonaire.
The chair is made of red grandis eucalyptus and white oak.
“I was born and raised in Benton, where I currently live,” Burcham said.
“I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t constructing something, either functional or artistic, or both. I’m now retired from construction and get to spend as much time as I want in my wood shop,” he said.
“From my first Adirondack chair made from old shipping crates to my present rocking chair, I am a designer/maker — a furniture artist. I love the magic of getting a glimpse of an object in my mind’s eye and working to bring it into reality,” he said. “
“The problem with wood as an art medium is that you have to become proficient at the craft before you can do the art. Learning to harmoniously blend hand skills with machine skills is essential. But furniture as art is not only about function; it’s also about structure and expression — letting the sculptural beauty of the wood speak for itself while paring it down to its purest form,” Burcham said.
“From the great masters I have studied (Thomas Chippendale, William Morris and a long list of others), I learned the old ways but with modern tools and the flexibility to try new techniques,” he said. “Wood artists today can reproduce or even outdo anything that has come before; the trick is to make a piece of furniture that will not only last, but will have lasting appeal.
“I believe that there is no artifact so fascinating or that evokes so much feeling as a chair. I am very honored that my beautiful chair was accepted into the 59th annual Delta Exhibition. I’m already looking ahead to enter again next year.”
DEBILYNN FENDLEY
“This is my third time to be juried into the show, so of course, I’m delighted,” Fendley said. “This show is always the highlight of the year here in Arkansas.”
Fendley’s work in the Delta is an acrylic on canvas titled Being Slipshod. “I am an artist who works primarily in portraiture, either working with subcultural groups as a means of sociological exploration to produce pseudo social documentary (or true documentary, as the case is with my photography) or conceptual realism,” she said. “Being Slipshod is one of those works; the resource photography for the painting was shot at a bike rally deep in the woods in north Arkansas, where gawkers, strangers, cameras and those unfamiliar with the biker subculture are not welcome guests.
“Making art under those circumstances is tricky and requires familiarity with the culture, the ability to make strangers feel comfortable in the presence of a camera, and, most often, a chaperone known to the crowd if I myself am not known. In this case, I was chaperoned.”
Fendley holds both Bachelor of Science in Education and Master of Science in Education degrees in art from Henderson State University, as well as a Master of Science in Education degree in English. She has taught art and English at Henderson and art at Ouachita Baptist University. She is now a legal assistant in Arkadelphia.
GENE SPARLING
“I am so honored to have my work selected for the Delta Exhibition,” Sparling said. “This is my first time in the show. I am kind of pleased about it.”
His work in the current show is a wooden vessel made of bleached holly that he titled Tempest.
“The process of making art is often fraught with self-doubt and insecurity,” Sparling said. “It takes a certain amount of courage to overcome the uncertainty of risking my time, effort and concentration on what can sometimes feel like a silly, crazy idea or endeavor.
“But following and trusting and having faith in my intuition can bring the great satisfaction of creating something that causes an emotional or spiritual reaction in others.
“Being selected for the Delta gives me confidence in my vision and in my intuition. It gives me strength to go back into my studio to explore and to dream and to create.”
Sparling is an entrepreneur, naturalist and artist. Raised in southern Missouri, as a child he learned woodcraft from his father, an amateur carver and craftsman. Sparling has always had an interest in nature, natural habitats, forms and materials.
For many years, he has made a home in the Ouachita Mountains near Hot Springs, where he enjoys working on his farm and creating with wood in his shop. He has sought out wild and natural places throughout his life, exploring Arkansas’ Ozark and Ouachita mountains, the rivers and swamps of the Big Woods, as well as areas of the Rocky Mountains and Mexico’s Baja Peninsula.
“Much of my work draws upon the simple forms found in nature,” Sparling said. “It is fascinating how simple shapes
resonate within us and create feelings and moods. The power of a simple vase or bowl to comfort or invigorate intrigues me. I enjoy trying to evoke and create these feelings. The process of making is near to meditation. My art is a means to connect to my intuitive self and to explore that part of myself and others.”
The 59th annual Delta Exhibition will continue through Aug. 27 at the Arkansas Arts Center, Ninth and Commerce streets in Little Rock. There is no admission charge.
Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays. The gallery is closed Mondays and major holidays.
For more information, call (501) 372-4000 or visit www. arkansasartscenter.org.