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Exposing Local Artists…By Georgia Griffin

Fly into Spring!

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mediums. Other services included are commissioned works for murals on canvas or ceramic tiles and family or individual portrait paintings.

Atelier International - Art Gallery & Café

528 Gordon St

Corpus Christi, TX 78404

www.aiartgallery.com

aiartgallery@hotmail.com

956-605-1221

Hours: 12-6p Monday thru Thursday, and 12-2p Friday & Saturday

Atelier International’s very first exhibit at their new location actually features yours truly, local artist and art columnist! My artwork will be on exhibit throughout the month of March. The exhibition is free and open to the public.

Normally I profile other artists, but long before I became the author of this column I was actually an interviewee, in the October 2009 profile written by the ever delightful Aletha Eyerman-Craft, author and gluten-free guru at Tango Tea Room. In case you missed that interview, I wanted to give you an idea of my work and what to expect in Atelier International’s inaugural exhibit, so I’ve written up a little background information…

As I Take Wing: Georgia Griffin, A Solo Show

I am a self-taught artist currently living in the Coastal Bend of South Texas. The central core of my work has related to the many issues that impact

women. These issues course through the trials of girlhood, motherhood and care giving, touching on illness and loss/mourning, through concern for the environment and its creatures, to historical and political gender issues. In all my work I hope to bring not only some expression to my own views and experiences, even if only in some subtle fashion, but to also open people’s minds to reflect and touch upon those topics within their own lives, perhaps in new ways.

Concepts and themes come to me from all directions: a chance phrase, a news story,

a memory, a photograph of a friend, a bird flying overhead, a commission request… thus my brain is my favorite tool – it makes everything possible.

Since taking up the mantle of ‘artist’ several years ago I have been invited to participate in an annual breast cancer fund raiser wherein “bird houses” decorated or created by artists and others are auctioned off to benefit a medical facility that has helped thousands of women. I’ve created both literal and conceptual works on the theme, and I happen to think they’re some of my very best work.

SSpring is a time for new beginnings! Atelier International Art Gallery & Café is putting action to those words. Co-Owner & Curator,

Rey Santiago, shared an apt quote by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: “With creative people, truly new horizons open up.”

“Yes,” says Rey, “we are expanding our horizons. In the beginning of 2013 we are working in partnering with a café, and will be operating as separate businesses under one roof to offer the local community an atmosphere of international and local art, as well as food. The gallery's future location will cater to a community based family oriented area in the heart of a developing cultural setting in Corpus Christi.”

“During 2012 we had discussed the possibility of applying strategies that would encourage people to appreciate artworks, who otherwise would not have the time to view art in a traditional gallery setting. The welcoming view of the new location with plenty of parking spaces is also an attribute that will render our services more accessible to guests and art enthusiasts.”

The works exhibited in the gallery and the café area will continue to include international artists as well as local artists. The adjacent Atelier (or studio) will house the AI Frameshop and a general workshop area for art classes given by resident artists Elizabeth Figueroa, Amarilis Rodríguez, and Reynaldo Santiago. Initially, the possible courses to be offered in 2013 include: Acrylic Painting, Painting with Phosphorescent Paints, Watercolor, Portrait Painting, Nature by the Sea Drawing & Painting Techniques, Printmaking (Relief, Lithography, Collagraphy, Intaglio, Serigraphy, Mixtography), All Level Drawing, Digital Photography, and Paper Making, among other traditional and contemporary

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At the moment I am working on a couple different projects. I have two paintings in progress as I continue to work on mastering figure painting in acrylic – I am more comfortable with oils but environmentally I’m trying to move away from relying on that media so heavily.

Figure work is one of my greatest joys and challenges. These two pieces are intended for an upcoming traveling exhibition organized by the South Texas Women Artists Group. Elizabeth Figueroa, Co-Owner & Art Director of Atelier International, happens to be one of STWA’s Co-Founders, along with McAllen artist Raquel Hinojosa. The submitted artworks will be juried by well known artist Joseph Bravo, Executive Director of the International Museum of Art and Science in McAllen, TX. Those works that are selected will travel to various art venues and museums throughout the state (and beyond?) in an exhibit called “Lives of South Texas Women.”

In addition to those two pieces, I am hard at work preparing for this solo exhibition at Atelier International. I am producing a large collection of bird related works, both in acrylic on canvas, and in various assemblage and sculptural pieces. The concept for this show came quite naturally.

As a child, birds were a part of our family lexicon – a griffin is a mythological beast whose back half is a lion and front half is an eagle, complete with wings and talons. Nicknames and personal cartoon characters were a part of my family. I think my mother is right when she says birds are a part of my personal programming from birth. As I examined my past works it gradually dawned on me that in some manner or another birds frequently seemed to be involved. Whether the direct subject or merely a bit player within a composition, birds were turning up everywhere.

This is the first time since my Barbie series that I have put a deliberate focus on carrying a single theme across multiple media and genre in such a large scale, and it has been fun to delve into the topic so completely. My work is truly taking wing.

"As I Take Wing: Georgia Griffin, A Solo Show” opens at the Atelier International Art Gallery & Café at the start of the month, with a reception on March 8, 2013 from 6 to 9 PM. Please come, bring a friend or bring the family – I hope to see you there!