Two new exhibits to feature at SAAC throughout April
The South Arkansas Arts Center has announced two art exhibits that will open April 1 and hang through April 30.
Showing in the Price Gallery will be works by the students of Gay Bechtelheimer, who hosts an informal painting group at SAAC in an open studio environment, where she also demonstrates new techniques and critiques their work. Some of the artists in Bechtelheimer’s group have been painting together at SAAC for years, while others are new.
The new exhibit from Bechtelheimer’s class members contains paintings they have worked on during studio hours. Works on display were painted by Nancy Rae Kinard, Sylvia Henley, Bobbi Shepherd, Kathy Bowles Adcock, Rhonda Hicks, Allyson Menefee, Lee Scroggins, Ann Palculict, Kelly Campell and John Ginger.
In the Lobby Gallery, Fayetteville-based artist Jennifer Baugh’s exhibit “Found Unbounded” will be featured.
Using alcohol markers, colored pencils, paint pens and a rotary tool for texturing, Baugh creates pieces with bright, bouncy colors and shiny, leather-like textures. She designs her pieces using found objects — from car parts to lamp pieces to game tokens and naming each work according to the object chosen.
“My artwork is sensory based, encouraging viewers to see the world from different perspectives. When my children were small, we needed to participate in many sensory integration activities. Those activities have greatly influenced my artistic process,” Baugh said.
Baugh said she began painting after having to recover from persistent asthma. Her husband, Justin, bought her coloring books and Prismacolor markers, she said — anything to keep her sitting still.
“After filling multiple coloring books, he encouraged me to create my own drawings. There I found the freedom of expression,” she said.
An artists’ reception for the two exhibits is scheduled for April 2 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
Gallery viewing hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.
For more information on the exhibits, call the SAAC office at 870-8625474 or visit aacarts.org. SAAC is located at 110 E. 5th St. in El Dorado.