Local artist’s work to benefit New Beginnings
Local artist Eve Nam Oh will be exhibiting her paintings and jewelry at The Cafe on Broadway to benefit New Beginnings Pregnancy Services.
An opening reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 19, and the artwork will continue to be on display at the cafe through the first week of May.
Oh’s award-winning paintings focus on landscapes and portraits. The exhibit will include seven watercolor paintings and three oil pastels, as well as jewelry handcrafted from materials such as sterling silver, freshwater pearls and leather.
Oh is a graduate student in John Brown University’s Master of Fine Art and Collaborative Design program. She earned her undergraduate degree in sculpture at Ewha Women’s University in South Korea, where she mastered wood and stone carving, terracotta, welding, acrylic and watercolor paintings. After she married and moved to the United States, she began to focus more on watercolor paintings.
Oh spent 10 years as a full-time mom before deciding to pursue her graduate degree. She believes God had given her some artistic
talent, but she explained that she didn’t see a way to use that talent to help others. Now she said that God and the university have helped her figure out how to use her art to help others.
“I am just thrilled to be part of this opportunity to make a positive impact with what I have been given,” she said.
Oh said she learned about New Beginnings Pregnancy Service from a professor’s wife who serves on the board and the non-profit was a natural fit for her project.
“I love their ministry,” she said.
“We were very excited and felt very honored that she was willing to give of her time and her talent,” said Wendy DeFoe, director of New Beginnings Pregnancy Services.
DeFoe described the organization as a crises pregnancy center that reaches out to women who weren’t expecting to be pregnant or need help with resources. The nonprofit offers free pregnancy testing, free ultrasounds, parenting classes and an incentive program that allows clients to earn “Mommy bucks” to spend in the organization’s baby boutique.
“We try to walk through their journey with them if they have no support system in place,” she said.
New Beginnings also reaches out to fathers, offering them a men’s fraternity, Bible study and help with life skills to equip them to take the next step.
Last year the nonprofit served 280 clients from Northwest Arkansas and Northeast Oklahoma, she said.
DeFoe said Oh approached the organization about the fundraiser.
“She is really talented,” she said. “The pictures she has done for this exhibit are phenomenal. I can’t wait for people to see them.”
The fundraiser is a collaborative effort, according to Oh. The Cafe on Broadway donated space for the exhibit and Larry Smith, a longtime supporter of New Beginnings, donated his woodworking talent for the show.
“This is such a joyful experience to see these collaborative efforts and we are thrilled to see what outcome we will have to provide resources to the people in need,” Oh said.
The artwork available at the exhibit will have a wide range of prices for all budgets, Oh said. Paintings will range in price from $350 to $700, and jewelry will start at $20. All proceeds will be donated to New Beginnings Pregnancy Services. During the opening reception, two commissioned portraits by Oh, valued at $500 each, will be sold at silent auction.