Mark Your Calendars

Homewood’s Red Dot Gallery Marks 10 Years

with a Student-Teacher Exhibition and Open House

Red Dot Gallery, the art and teaching studio in Birmingham, is celebrating its 10th year of business with an exhibit entitled “DECADE.” The show will commemorate the art gallery and teaching space’s big anniversary, and an opening reception will be held Sept. 6, 5-8 p.m. at the gallery.

The works of Red Dot owners Scott Bennett and Dori DeCamillis will be exhibited along with paintings, pottery and sculpture by their students. Paintings by Annabelle DeCamillis and mixed media collages by Karen Leslee will also be on display.

Red Dot Gallery opened on Sept. 11, 2004, at Pepper Place. Three years later, DeCamillis and Bennett moved to their present location in the Edgewood neighborhood of Homewood, and have found it to be a friendly and auspicious site for their classes, working studio and small gallery. The gallery has exhibited local and national artists of note, and now focuses on the work of owners Dori and Scott and their students. Their popular classes have taught hundreds of students, and it’s not unusual now for classes to have waiting lists.

Red Dot offers painting, drawing and pottery classes for adults, as well as art classes for children. Bennett and DeCamillis balance the academic, technical and conceptual concerns of art with the equally important aspects of fun, relaxation and social interaction. Their students range from beginners with no experience, to practicing artists with graduate degrees in art.

“One of the things I most appreciate about taking classes at Red Dot is the way both Dori and Scott make their teaching positive, enjoyable and lively,” says Mary Kay Culpepper, who has studied at the gallery for more than seven years. “They’re amazingly responsive to the varied needs and abilities of their students. And because the classes are so inclusive, we students end up learning from each other, too, and often become good friends in the process. It’s a terrific atmosphere for creativity.”

The past decade has brought the realization of many artistic objectives for Bennett and DeCamillis, and Red Dot has been a source of inspiration. “Our students stimulate and teach us as much as we do them,” DeCamillis says. “Having a workplace of encouragement and motivation enlivens us and our work.” DeCamillis had a solo exhibit of her work at the Mobile Museum of Art in 2011 and is preparing for another solo show at the Huntsville Museum of Art in 2015.

Her husband, Scott Bennett, directed the Alabama Clay Conference for the past three years, and has brought many distinguished international artists to Birmingham as presenters. “Red Dot has served as a galvanizing influence on us in our artistic endeavors,” he says. “Our studio and classes are a home base that brings us joy and moves us to both create and promote the arts.” Over the past 10 years, Bennett has shown his work at notable exhibits around the United States, including the prestigious National Council for Education in the Ceramic Arts conferences.

For information about classes at Red Dot Gallery – and the art of Bennett and DeCamillis – call 870-7608 or visit www.reddotgallery.com.

Red Dot's Annabelle DeCamillis at Hama-Con

Annabelle hand made this fabulous costume for Hama-Con, an animation convention in Huntsville, Alabama. She is dressed as Elsa from Disney's Frozen, but don't tell Disney. 

Solo Exhibit for Dori, Huntsville Museum of Art

I am honored to have been invited to exhibit my work in a solo show at the Huntsville Museum of Art, February through June 2015. Watch for updates on the process of getting ready for a museum show.

Karen Leslee Exhibiting at Red Dot

Red Dot is now exhibiting the work of Colorado artist Karen Leslee. She incorporates collage and objects from nature in her works on paper to make provocative, humorous, and beautiful images. She also just happens to be Red Dot owner Dori's mom!

The images above are details of Karen's pieces. Check back for a full catalogue of her work.

Wood Store Adventures

I snuck in some photos while shopping at Woodcraft, our local wood store. I bought a new power tool for making frames for my paintings. (Upcoming museum exhibit to be announced soon!)

Redirecting you...

Please check out my personal blog for regular posts. 

The Story of Exhibit A

Exhibit A: Paintings of Alabama Places

I moved to Alabama in 1994, amazed by the historical and natural wonders that are largely overlooked by Alabamians. After exploring the United States full time for over 3 years, I chose Alabama as a favorite in my travels and endeavored to explore my new home state through sightseeing and painting. I received the Alabama State Council on the Arts Individual Artists Fellowship for 2006-07 which inspired a series of mixed-media panels based on some of my favorite Alabama places. The Mobile Museum of Art held an exhibit of the project from April to August of 2011.

I set out on field trips—some alone, some with family or my friend Anne Laplante—to discover, photograph, learn about, and get inspired by interesting places. Among other adventures, we sloshed around a muddy bog north of Mobile, hung out with Indians in Tuscumbia, huddled under thousands of cave crickets while wading in an underground river in a cave in the Paint Rock Valley, and got lost in the woods on a Sipsey Wilderness Hike. On each encounter I learned so much fascinating new information that the project would have been worth it for the education alone. Being from another part of the country rendered me just unfamiliar enough with Alabama’s landscape and history that I saw it as fresh and foreign—and thus very exciting.  In my paintings I attempted to highlight the things that struck me visually and intellectually. I got well-meant suggestions from others about what should be included, but ultimately I chose the things that made me say Wow. 

From the many photos I took on each trip, I patched together details in a random and scattered way. I found that using many different images in one piece better represented the way I saw the place than a straightforward realistic view would. In the studio I handmade ceramic tiles and inlaid them into a large wooden panel. The centers of the pieces are copper, and except for the tiles, the entire piece is painted with oils. My handy husband and ceramic artist, Scott Bennett, consulted on tile construction and completed all of the woodwork.

Through Exhibit A I got to connect with my community in an intentional way, and champion the parts of Alabama that most intrigued me. Each place I chose to depict had other champions of its own. A handful of dedicated (and usually overworked and underpaid) people watch over and tend the places I chose. I consulted with historians, biologists, rangers, and activists. They do the honorable job of maintaining, educating, raising money, and tenderly devoting themselves to their place. Their dedication inspired me to put my all into Exhibit A, and reminded me that we silly humans truly can do amazing things when we choose to. 

The photographs that follow represent the 12 panels that made up Exhibit A. They were completed between 2006 and 2011. The texts that accompany the images give a little info about the place, my experience making the piece, and the organization that maintains the place. My hope is that Alabama gets a little more appreciation, and that people from in and out of state get fired up about seeing the hidden, fascinating places that are everywhere around us.

Miss Dori's Junk Drawing Day

Today is Miss Dori's Junk Drawing Day at Red Dot. My kid class gets to sketch old stuff I find when I clean out drawers and closets. (They don't relate to the stuff on an emotional level, so they tend to pay attention more and draw better.) Kamilla, Bay, Mia, Rivers, and Katie drew the subjects below and came up with the drawings here.

First Landscapes

In my oil painting class I start students with a few exercises to get used to the medium. I then launch them into a few paintings of different subjects to give them broad experience at blending, color, composition, and other basic principles. I suggest a landscape as one of these first paintings, and I've included some examples of them here. You can see a wide variety of styles, skill levels, and gestures. Hopefully this encourages people to dive in no matter how "good" they think they are in the beginning.

Painting Student Step by Step

Red Dot painting student Jeanne Alexander painted this portrait and I took photos in class as she progressed to make this step-by-step demo. Attention new students: Jeanne has been studying at Red Dot for several years. She began with almost no experience!

She make a photo copy to make notations that help her draw out the piece. Every student has their own way of getting their image how they want it, and Jeanne's is quite methodical.

She painted the background a periwinkle blue (it looks gray here) and drew out the image with pencil.

She started with the t-shirt.

She used a fairly diverse portrait palette for the skin tones.

Hair!

Features! 

More features!

Hair touchup and more refining. 

Final polishing. More contrast, especially on the lower right side of the face. Each of these steps took Jeanne a couple hours.  

A Happy Place

​Scott's Bennett's exhibit of 50 live daylily blossoms per day for two weeks during the bloom season. Scott is a daylily hybridizer.

Red Dot Gallery is a happy place.  This has been our mission since we opened the gallery. Scott and I have been artists most of our lives, and after having several different incarnations in the art world we wanted to take the best of what we’ve learned and bring it together at Red Dot.  We’ve been university art students enmeshed in academia, endeavoring to find our own voice amidst the trends and traditions. We’ve been professional artists striving to make sales and still maintain integrity with our artwork. We’ve taught in universities and schools, hoping to inspire creativity and impart our own unique perspective under the constraints of having to give grades. Now, as gallery owners, art instructors, and practicing artists at Red Dot, we get to focus on and pass along what we think are the essentials of having a jolly good time making, viewing, buying, selling, and appreciating art.

Without a concerted effort, we weed out pretentiousness and condescending criticism (a hallmark of some establishments) to focus on developing skill, cultivating each student’s personal vision and voice, and fostering a sense of community. We want even the newbies who have never touched a brush to know they positively can improve and have fun, and that they will surprise themselves with what they accomplish The only sense of competition in the studio is within individuals, aiming to better themselves through inspiration from other students. We have little old ladies who paint flowers and birds, and we have students with advanced degrees in art focusing on contemporary themes. They often become good friends.

We don’t believe in skipping the basics in the rush to be a cool artist with a big idea. We’ve found that the tried-and-true fundamental principles and skills of art-making clear the most direct path to finding an artist’s unique creative signature. Students are given a wide-ranging skill-base that act as a broad springboard for whatever ideas and themes they want to explore and express. They also end up with the ability to enjoy the time-honored, meditative, and therapeutic act of simply making something well. Many Red Dot students call their art class their therapy and look forward to it all week. Some make life-long friends. The atmosphere is something akin to a knitting circle, where friends work together, support one another, laugh, and definitely grow.

Scott Bennett Bio and CV

Scott received a Masters of Fine Art in Ceramics at Ohio State University in 1989. He stayed in Columbus, Ohio after school, and was a prototype designer for Bath and Body Works and White Barn Candle Company for 7 years. He won the Ohio Arts Council Individual Artist Fellowship in 1998. He also exhibited his ceramic sculpture at galleries, museums, and art centers around the country. 

In 2004 Scott moved to Birmingham, Alabama where he opened Red Dot Gallery with painter, Dori DeCamillis. He continues to exhibit his work nationally, and won the Alabama Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship in 2011. In 2012 he became the director of the Alabama Craft Council and was the director of the Alabama Clay Conference for 3 years. He is also a current member of Ceramic Monthly Magazine's advisory board. 

Scott Bennett CV

Born 1962, Moundsville, West Virginia - Lives in Birmingham, Alabama - Attended Glenville State College, West Virginia 1980-81 - West Liberty State College, BS 1984 - Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky, MA Ceramics 1986 - Ohio State University, Ohio, MFA Ceramics 1989

Selected Exhibitions (look back for more recent updates)

2007

​Alabama Originals: Expanding Perspectives, Alabama Artist Gallery, Montgomery, AL

​The Grammar of Ornament, Sherrie Gallery, Columbus, OH

​Alabama: Nature, Industry, Art, Julie Collins Smith Museum, Auburn, AL
​
NCECA Clay National, Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft, Louisville, KY

​Bourbon Bottles in the Bluegrass, Louisville Stoneware, Louisville, KY

​National Juried Woodfired Exhibit, Thrown Together Clay Center, Louisville, KY

​2006
​
Between Form and Function, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD

​Ohr Rising: Gulf States Juried Exhibition, Gulfport, MS

​Comtemporary Alabama, Alabama Council on the Arts Gallery, Montgomery, AL

​Just A Head: A Survey of Ceramic Heads, University of Montevallo, Montevallo, AL

​100 Teapots, The Signature Shop and Gallery, Atlanta, GA

​2005
​
Many Splendored Things, Red Dot Gallery, Birmingham, AL
​
Blue Plate Special, Chester Springs Studio Gallery, Chester Springs, PA
​
Visions In Clay, University of The Pacific, Stockton, CA
​
Beyond Dolls, The Dairy Barn, Athens , OH
​
2004
​
Amaco/ NCECA exhibit, Indianapolis, IN

​Teapots a Go-Go 2, Mudfire Studios, Atlanta, GA
​
2003
​
Figures of Speech, The Ohio State University Mairon Campus, Marion, Ohio

​Wall Works, Baltimore Clayworks, Baltimore, MD

​2002

​Tastefully Tawdry, Wexler Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
​
Our Cups Runneth Over, The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, MA

​Show Us Your Undies, OXOXO Gallery, Stone Harbor, NJ, Baltimore, MD
 Gemantics, Carnegie Art Center, Leavenworth, KS
Humble Origins, Artspace/Lima, Lima, OH

​2001
​
NCECA Clay National, Winthrop University Glalery, Rockhill, SC

​Baltimore 25, ACC Anniversary Exhibit, Baltimore, MD

​2000

​New Artists in Craft, Charles Wustum Museum of Art , Racine, WI

​Evolution of the Common Cup, Hall of Fine Arts Gallery, West Liberty, WV

​Earth and Mystic, Dublin Arts Council Gallery, Dublin, OH

​1999
​
Pacific Tides, Lancaster, PA

New Work: Julie Byrne, Scott Bennett, Waldo's, Columbus,
OH
​1991

​NCECA Clay National, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
​
1989

​Scott Bennett: Sculpture, Burke Gallery, Denison University, Granville, OH

​Art As Play, Pearl Conard Galery, Ohio State University-Mansfield, Mansfield, OH

​1987
​
Works on Walls, Huntington Museum, Huntington, WV

​Works off Walls, Huntington Museum, Huntington, WV
​
1985
​
Works off Walls, Huntington Museum, Huntington, WV 

Publications
​
2009
​500 Ceramic Sculptures, Lark Books
​
2007
​Image Transfers on Clay, Lark Books
​
2004
​500 Cups, Lark Books
​
2003
​Craft On Craft by Glen Brown, January Ceramics Monthly

Dori DeCamillis Bio and CV

Dori DeCamillis Bio

Dori graduated with a BFA in painting and art history from the University of Colorado, Boulder in 1987. After college she lived on the road in a vintage motor home, selling her artwork at outdoor festivals around the country, where her miniature oil paintings gained popularity and recognition. After three years of traveling she chose to settle in Birmingham, Alabama, a favorite place encountered in her travels. More about Dori's travels.

She exhibited her paintings in museums and galleries across the country and abroad, including a solo show at the Birmingham Museum of Art in 2000. Sherry Frumkin Gallery in Los Angeles hosted 5 sell-out shows of her work from 1996 through 2002. Her work has been featured in national newspapers and magazines, and she has won over 40 exhibition awards.

Dori is now co-owner of Red Dot Gallery in Birmingham, a teaching space, art gallery, and working studio. Her paintings evolved into large, iconic mixed media panels that combine oil painting on wood and copper with handmade ceramic tiles. in 2007 she received the Alabama State Council on the Arts Individual Artist Fellowship, which inspired Exhibit A, Paintings of Alabama Places. The series was exhibited at the Mobile Museum of Art April through August of 2011.

Dori has written two memoirs. "The Freeway" recounts the three adventurous years she lived on the road selling her artwork. In  "My Steamboat" she tells stories of growing up with her quirky family in Steamboat Springs, Colorado as it was turning from a small rural town to a big-time ski resort. Link to Book page.

Dori's current work is a series of self-portraits depicting her own mind-states. Each piece is a character in a private mythology designed to personify ever-changing thought patterns, habits, and perspectives. The piece on the left was recently purchased by the Huntsville Museum of Art.

Dori DeCamillis CV

Born 1963, Steamboat Springs, CO
 _________________________Education
BFA, University of Colorado, Painting and Art History

2004- Present
Owner and Instructor, Red Dot Gallery, Birmingham, AL
________________________Solo Exhibitions
2011
 The Prominence of Place, Mobile Museum of Art, AL
Exhibit A, Red Dot Gallery, Birmingham AL
2007
 The Grammar of Ornament, Sherrie Gallery, Columbus, OH
2005
 Many Splendored Things, Red Dot Gallery, Birmingham, AL
2003
Drive By L.A., Frumkin Duval Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
 My Babies, Bare Hands Gallery, Birmingham, AL
2002
Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX
Wiregrass Museum, Dothan, AL
 The Freeway, Frumkin Duval Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2001
 Normal, Montevallo University, Birmingham, AL
2000
Artspedition, Frumkin Duval Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, a traveling performance installation including exhibitions at:
Hunter Museum of Art, Chattanooga, TN
Dayton Institute of Art, Dayton, OH
Harwood Art Center, Albuquerque, NM
 Yourworld, Birmingham Museum of Art, Dr. David Moos-Curator
 Games, Vices, and Addiction, Bare Hands Gallery, Birmingham, AL
1999
 Harry and Martha, Frumkin Duval Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1997
 In the Privacy of, Sherry Frumkin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 
1996
Other Voices, Other Rooms, Sherry Frumkin Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
1990
 Mr. and Mrs., Spark Gallery, Denver, CO
_________________________Selected Exhibitions
2012
Purchase Award, Red Clay Survey Biennial Exhibition, Huntsville Museum of Art, AL
2011
ASCA Alabama Artists Gallery, Montgomery, AL
Celebrating Contemporary Art in Alabama: The Biennial, Johnson Center for the Arts
 Masterpieces Center Stage, Exhibition Tour:
Berman Museum, Anniston, AL
Mobile Museum of Art, AL
Huntsville Museum of Art, AL
Montgomery Museum of Art, AL
2009
 Celebrating the Arts in Alabama, Johnson Center for the Arts, Troy, AL
2007
 Alabama Originals; Expanding Perspectives, Alabama Artists Gallery, Montgomery, AL
2006
 Just a Head, Alabama Clay Conference, Montevallo University, AL
2005
 Beyond Dolls, Dairy Barn Arts Center, Athens, OH
2003
 Limn Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2002
 Art Aficionado, Birmingham Museum of Art, AL
 Biennial Invitational Art Auction, Montgomery Museum of Art, AL
2001
 All Things Small and Beautiful, Greater Reston Arts Center, Reston, VA
Familiar Reality-A Celebration of Alabama Artists, Alabama Artists Gallery, Montgomery
2000
 Patterned Flowers, George Billis Gallery, New York, NY
Craighead Green Gallery, Dallas, TX
Art Frankfurt, Frankfurt, Germany
Nall Museum, Vence, France
Chateau Museum, Tourettes Sur Loup, France
Ken Elias Gallery, West Palm Beach, FL
Coplan Gallery, Boca Raton, FL
1999
Story Tellers, Art Institute of Southern California, Laguna Beach
1998
Maralyn Wilson Gallery, Birmingham, AL
1995
Brigitte Schluger Gallery, Denver, CO
Agnes Gallery, Birmingham, AL
__________________________Selected Awards
2012
Purchase Award, Red Clay Survey, Huntsville Museum of Art, AL
2011
People's Choice Award, Nature Conservancy Earth Day Celebration, Birmingham, AL
2006-07
Alabama Council on the Arts Individual Artists Fellowship
1994-1993
Over 40 top awards at the country's most notable outdoor art festivals
________________________Selected Bibliography
2013
 Art in the Family, Birmingham Magazine, Laura McCallister, May Issue
2011
Mobile Press Register
Labor of Love, B-Metro, Brett Levine
2010
Birmingham News
2009
HGTV, That's Clever, air date Mar 2
2008
Thicket Magazine
WBHM, Tapestry, air date Feb 7
2007
Columbus Dispatch
Birmingham News
Birmingham Magazine
2004
Black and White (Birmingham)
2003
Los Angeles Times
Black and White
2002
New American Paintings
Denver Post
Westword (Denver)
2001
The Artists Magazine
Birmingham Post Herald
Birmingham News
2000
Los Angeles Times
Santa Monica Mirror
Albuquerque Tribune
Dayton Daily News
Chattanooga Times
Chanel 13 News, Birmingham, AL
For the Record, Alabama Public Television
Black and White
Birmingham News
1999
Black and White
1998
New American Paintings
1997
Birmingham Magazine
Artscene, Los Angeles, CA
1996
Birmingham News
1995
Denver Post
1994
Orlando Sentinel
_______________________________Collections
Huntsville Museum of Art, Huntsville, AL
Portland Museum of Art, Portland, OR
Leonard Nimoy
John Elway
Joyce Maynard
Charles Gaines
Patricia Richardson
Kim Abeles
Nall
Gail Wellington
Todd Holland
Xavier Roberts
Henry D. Varnell III
Jim Dicke II
Gail Andrews
Laura Hull
Jack Drake
Jim Sokol
Mary Kay Culpepper
Tony Jonas
Susan Haynes
Riverchase Country Club
Rob Burton
 

The Grammar of Ornament

​by Dori DeCamillis

This series of panels are oil on board and copper with handmade ceramic tile constructions. They were completed between 2002 and 2006.​ Contact Red Dot Gallery for prices and availability.

Exhibit A: Paintings of Alabama Places

by Dori DeCamillis

The following paintings make up a series of panels I completed between 2006 and 2011. They are painted with oils on board and copper with handmade ceramic tile.

I moved to Alabama 18 years ago, amazed by the historical and natural wonders that are largely overlooked by Alabamians. I received the Alabama State Council on the Arts Individual Artists Fellowship for 2006-07 which inspired a series of 12 large paintings in my mixed-media panel format based on some of my favorite Alabama places.

In most cases I worked with a handful of extremely dedicated people who have devoted their lives to saving, managing, and promoting awareness of their place. The series was featured in a solo exhibit of the work titled "Prominence of Place"  from April to September of 2011 at the Mobile Museum of Art.

A printed book about the project, "Exhibit A, Paintings of Alabama Places" is available at blurb.com  Here is the intro to the book, explaining more about the story behind the project. 

2007, 48” x 45”    SOLD

Best in Shoals: The Cahaba River

I was most surprised on my Cahaba River canoe trips by the amazing amount of wildlife in and around the river. Every time Randy Haddock, the Cahaba River Society’s biologist, dipped a net into the water to show us river creatures, he pulled out an abundance of various snails, mussels, fish, and crawfish. Shiny, colorful dragonflies and damselflies darted around us all day. Each stop along the shoals became a treasure hunt for one of the many rare species of river fauna.

My astonishment is corroborated by statistics; the Cahaba contains more fish species per mile than any other river in North America. The river also holds the most snail and mussel species in the world. Rare plant life abounds as well; the shoals and glades host a variety of uncommon and endangered plant species, including the Cahaba Lilly, depicted at the center of my painting.

Unfortunately, the Cahaba River is also considered to be one of the top ten most endangered rivers in North America. Problems such as urbanization, soil erosion from forest clear-cutting, pesticide run-off from agriculture, and toxin discharge from mining and industry threaten aquatic life and affect one of the largest supplies of drinking water in the state. Birmingham receives over half its water supply from the Cahaba.

Organizations such as the Cahaba River Society are working to protect the Cahaba. Go to www.cahabariversociety.org for more information.

2007, 42" x 48"

Southern Belle: The Alabama Theatre

The Alabama Theatre was the original inspiration for my current painting format. I marveled at its lavishness, and soon after began using elaborate, architectural-inspired ornamentation not to decorate my work, but as the subject. When I walk into a cathedral, or a place like the Alabama, I imagine the artists who created it, the time they spent, the care they put into their craft. The magnitude of scale and intricacy of detail are a visual banquet, and a testimony of loving dedication to the meditative, slow, and time-honored tradition of being an artisan and manual craftsman.

Brought together in 1926, the leading theater architects of the day and artists from all over the world designed and constructed the Alabama—the biggest and most elaborate movie palace in the South. The fabulously opulent interior has stunned the imagination of visitors ever since it opened.

For 54 years the Alabama entertained the community with Hollywood feature films often preceded by an organ show played on the largest Wurlitzer organ in the South, a newsreel, cartoons, movie previews, and sometimes a vaudeville show. As the years passed and businesses moved to the suburbs, theatre attendance declined, and in 1981 the Alabama bankrupted and closed its doors.

A small group of citizens dedicated to reviving the theater formed a non-profit organization and re-opened the theatre in 1987. Birmingham Landmarks, Inc. now hosts public and private events and receptions, classic films, concerts, film festivals, and the opera and symphony. With over 250 events annually, the Alabama entertains over 500,000 people each year.

The Alabama Theatre for the Performing Arts is financially maintained by events held there and by public contributions. For more information go to www.alabamatheatre.com.

2009, 45” x 48”

Safe Harbor: Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge

Located on the Fort Morgan Peninsula of Alabama’s Gulf Coast, Bon Secour consists of 7,000 acres of protected beach and pine-oak woodlands, some of the state’s last remaining undisturbed coastal wildlife habitat. This relatively small area preserves dunes, marshes, wetlands, scrub and old forest habitats crucial to the survival of many animal species.

The tiles on my piece represent the animals, some endangered, found in Bon Secour either permanently or temporarily. Each spring and fall migratory birds can be sighted as they fly though toward their seasonal destinations. Summer brings nesting sea turtles and osprey, while October hosts the migration of Monarch butterflies. The endangered Beach Mouse makes a permanent home at Bon Secour, and feeds on the local sea oats, pictured in the center of my piece.

The botanicals around the outside of the panel were painted from photos from an October trail hike, when many wildflowers were in bloom, and the shells around the centerpiece were all collected previously from the beach near there. I felt it important to use plenty of white in this work, inspired by the sand, the light, and the reflections of the water.

Bon Secour is maintained by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and can be reached at bonsecour.fws.gov.

2009, 45” x 48”   SOLD

Gay Wah Nesah: Stonetalker’s Wall

Tom Hendrix began constructing a stone wall decades ago on his property 15 miles north of Florence, Alabama. His intention was to build a monument to his great great grandmother, a member of the Yuchi Indian Tribe, who was sent on the Trail of Tears. Once she arrived in Oklahoma, she escaped, and walked back all by herself to her home waters on the Tennessee River in Alabama. It took her five years, and she is the only person known to have done it. Her amazing story was passed on to Tom through his grandmother, and inspired his colossal undertaking, a winding rock wall that rivals any environmental project done by a single person.

Little known to most Alabamians, Tom Hendrix’s wall is known to people all over the world, especially in the spiritual community. The heartbreaking and uplifting nature of its inspiration, and the knowledge that one man dedicated himself to such an enormous task, offers a powerful, indescribable experience when visiting the wall. People of many faiths and nationalities come to the wall to experience that which can only be felt by going there. Describing the wall or showing images of it conveys little of what is important and amazing about it. One must visit it to understand why people say, “You just have to go there.” Gay Wah Nesah means “a spiritual place.”

Rocks sent from people all over the world have been incorporated into Tom’s wall, including rocks from the top of Mount Everest, the bottom of the ocean, from the Arctic and the Antarctic, from space and from the mines of South Africa. People give stones they have cherished their whole lives, and many of the rocks have incredible andmoving stories that accompany them. I have depicted some of those stones on the outside layer of my painting.

The “tiles” of this piece are not real stones, but are made from clay. The next layer represents a segment of the wall where naturally formed rocks with holes form an eerie spectacle. And finally, in the center I brought in patterns from the Yuchi tribe in the background, and used the Red Root plant, or New Jersey Tea Plant, as the centerpiece—the sacred plant of the Yuchis.

Before my Exhibit A project I’d not heard of the wall or Stonetalker (Tom’s Indian name, given to him when the Yuchi tribe adopted him.) My work on this piece started a friendship with a gentle and genuine man that exemplifies the best of the benefits this project has offered me. I spent afternoons at the wall just sitting, spellbound, listening to the wisdom, humility, and humor of someone I’ve come to refer to as my idol. I’ve seen a lot of art in my lifetime as a painter, and Tom’s self-less work rates high among my favorites, although he blushes to hear himself called an artist.

 2009, 45” x 48”

Pitch Black: Limrock Blowing Cave

I was guided on a cave adventure in north Alabama by Bill Finch of the Nature Conservancy, and quickly found that caves are not for sissies. I had a terrific time, but had to face utter darkness, creeping creatures, and bunches of bats. I came away with memories of a rich experience, and some stories that became funnier the farther I was from the cave. I darted my flashlight around constantly to make sure no monsters were coming at me, a bat flew in my face (which they supposedly never do), and I had to wade my way down an underground river, hunched over to avoid the ceiling, which was covered in thousands of blind, albino cave crickets.

Alabama, particularly the northern part, has one of the highest concentrations of caves found anywhere in the world. Deep deposits of limestone lie beneath north Alabama, and caves are formed when flowing water dissolves the limestone and forms tunnels. This area of cave formations stretches into Tennessee and Georgia and is called the TAG region by cavers. In Alabama alone there are over 4,100 caves.

It took many months of creative pondering to find a way to convey my impression of the cave, because the most defining feature, total darkness, has a serious lack of visuals. Everything we saw on our trip was by flashlight, and ultimately became the inspiration for the outside layer. The cave wildlife is highlighted as if in a spotlight, lending long, spooky shadows that communicate well how they made me feel. Most of the creatures portrayed in the piece are albino and blind, having no use for sight or pigment in the dark. Because caves are a unique and limited habitat, most of these creatures are rare or endangered. Alabama caves are habitat to two species of endangered bats, the Gray and Indiana bat. One cave in Lauderdale County contains the endangered Alabama cavefish that is found nowhere else in the world. It is one of the rarest of all vertebrate species.

For the tiles, I wanted to illustrate the fantastic flight patterns of the bats, which were darting around us constantly in the cave. I love bats, and my carvings ended up looking sort of cute, which pleased me. No light means no plants, and I struggled to come up with my usual botanical for the centerpiece of my painting.  My solution was to show the Trailing Wakerobin, or Trillium Decumbens, a lovely and rare local flower, outside a cave entrance.

The National Speleological Society, headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama, is dedicated to the purpose of advancing the study, conservation, exploration, and knowledge of caves. The NSS also contains groups who specialize in cave rescue and cave conservation, and can be found at www.caves.org. Limrock Blowing Cave is owned by the Southeastern Cave Conservancy, another excellent cave organization. For more Info check out www.SCCI.org.

2007, 41” x 48”

Italwas: Horseshoe Bend National Military Park

In 2006 I was commissioned to paint a historically accurate painting of a Creek Indian village. In researching the subject I found that much of Creek cultural artifacts have been lost, due to the shameful Trail of Tears. With a lot of help from Miriam Fowler (who put together the life-size Creek village at the Birmingham Museum of Art) I gathered the information I needed and found images of Creek patterns in rather obscure places. I delivered the painting nine months after the piece was commissioned, and felt like I lived in the little village I’d painted.

Because of my familiarity with the Creek culture, it was a natural choice of subject for one of my depictions of Alabama places. I knew immediately that my portrayal would include the Creeks’ wonderful patterns, which I only got to use on a small scale in the village painting. I chose Horseshoe Bend as the place to represent the Creek culture because it is the most accessible site designated to observance of Creek culture in the state.

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park commemorates the end of the Creek Indian War, when, in 1814, General Andrew Jackson defeated 1,000 Upper Creeks led by Chief Menawa. The battle took place on the lands around and between a sharp bend in the Tallapoosa River in central Alabama. After the war, Creek lands that covered three-fifths of Alabama were added to the United States and opened to white settlers, and the Indians were sent on the Trail of Tears to reservations in Oklahoma. My painting is meant to commemorate the Creeks and their culture.

I chose Creek patterns taken from their beadwork, pipes, clay vessels, and blankets. My intention was not to translate Creek symbolism inherent in the patterns. I took actual patterns from artifacts found in the Southeast, and put them together in my signature style, with more concern for depicting a kaleidoscope of visual harmony than for conceptual symbolic accuracy. I fear I may have stated something goofy in Creek language, but hopefully nothing too offensive.

Horseshoe Bend National Military Park is maintained by the National Park Service, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior. For more information, go to www.nps.gov.

2009, 45" x 48"    SOLD

Fall Out:  Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary

Dauphin Island, a 14 mile-long barrier island just west of Mobile Bay, has been sited as one of the ten most globally important sites for bird migrations. One of the featured attractions of the Alabama Coastal Birding Trail, Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary includes 164 acres with the widest possible range of habitats on the island: a fresh water lake, Gulf beaches and dunes, swamp, maritime forest, and hardwood clearings.

Bird watchers come to Dauphin Island from all over the United States and abroad to view the spring and fall bird migrations.  The island is the first landfall for many of the neo-tropical migrant birds after their long flight across the Gulf from Central and South America each spring. Here these birds, often exhausted and weakened from severe weather during the long flight, find their first food and shelter. It is also their final feeding and resting place before their return flight each fall. The name “Fall-out” is a term coined to describe the phenomenon that occurs during spring migration if the migrating birds encounter relentless weather over the Gulf, and are entirely depleted by landfall. They literally fall out of the sky.

A part of my research for this piece included participation in a bird-banding with the Hummer Bird Study Group, a non-profit organization dedicated to studying and recording migratory bird populations. Dauphin Island and neighboring Fort Morgan were teeming with bird-watchers from all over the U.S. and Canada. I spent the day watching bird experts catching various birds in very large nets stretched through the woods, then weighing, measuring, and banding them. Many of the bird depictions in my painting are drawn from photographs taken while bird watcher volunteers held the little subjects before setting them free with their newly banded feet. The banded birds, if found later during other banding sessions, teach researchers about bird populations, their whereabouts, etc.

I chose the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird as the subject for the center because its migration story most fascinated me. The tiny hummers fly alone, over 600 miles of ocean in all kinds of weather twice each year. My bird is feasting on the Alabama Crimson (or Coral) Honeysuckle, a native plant and a favorite of the hummingbirds. The birds depicted on the tiles are common to the Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary, and around the outside are birds I photographed at the banding. Botanical patterns on the piece represent some the various plants found in Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary.

Dauphin Island Bird Sanctuary is managed by the Dauphin Island Parks and Beach Board. The Hummer Bird Study Group is a non-profit organization which travels the United States banding birds to keep track of their populations and health.

2008, 43" x 48" 

Falling Awake: Sipsey Wilderness

The Sipsey Wilderness area is one of only two designated wilderness areas in the state of Alabama, and is the third largest East of the Mississippi River. Its topography is formed by the Warrior Mountains, the western terminus of the Appalachians. Numerous streams have eroded this part of the Cumberland Plateau forming lush canyons and wooded ridges. There are over 400 miles of canyons in this small area. Rocky bluffs from 50 to 200 feet in height drop away from the ridges. Some of the coves are so rugged that they have never been logged and are home to virgin and old growth trees. Sometimes called “land of a thousand waterfalls,” Sipsey hosts large cascades from 35 to 70 feet as well as hundreds of smaller ones.

As evidenced in my piece, my every visit to Sipsey has been in the fall (with no complaints from me.) I included imagery of many of the trees and plant-life, all drawn from brilliantly colored photos of my hikes. The two trees that stood out to me as being unusually prevalent were the evergreen Eastern Hemlock and the Big-Leaf Magnolia. Even with my complicated format, I found I could not include every visual aspect of the place, and so left out the rock outcroppings, dark canyons, and rushing creeks that signify the place as much as the beautiful forests. Perhaps in another painting…

Sipsey Wilderness is a part of Bankhead National Forest, maintained by the Forest Service. WildSouth is a non-profit organization that works to restore and protect the Sipsey Wilderness and other Southern ecosystems. For more information go to wildsouth.org.

2008, 39” x 48”

Working for Peanuts: Tuskegee Institute

I learned about Tuskegee Institute in elementary school, but did not grasp the inspiring story behind the place until my first visit there: two men spent their lives dedicated to the betterment of their people and their region.

The most striking thing about Tuskegee Institute, at first glance, is the buildings that make up the campus. I was overwhelmed by all the gorgeous, rich, red brick and white trim buildings in different architectural styles. I learned that the students and faculty made the brick from Alabama clay and built many of the buildings themselves.

Booker T. Washington, a former slave, came to Tuskegee in 1881 as its first principal.  He was only 25 and spent the rest of his life dedicated to the school. He believed self-sufficiency should be learned along with a scholarly education, and students had to learn practical skills that they could take back to their communities, such as farming, carpentry, bricklaying, and other trades.

In 1896 George Washington Carver was hired as an instructor in the agriculture department. I was so inspired by a film about him (shown at the George Washington Carver Museum on campus) I nick-named him the Mother Teresa of the South. Much more than a school teacher, he was a passionate, eccentric scientist, artist, and humanitarian. He taught progressive farming methods and even made “house calls” to farmers around the South with his Movable School—a horse-pulled wagon equipped for training. Even into old age he refused money and accolades in order to stay connected to his people.

The peanut in the center of the painting is the symbol that everyone associates with Carver. Among his many other accomplishments, he revolutionized farming and economics in the South by spreading the word about this easy, profitable, nutritious crop.

Tuskegee Institute National Historic Site is maintained by the National Park Service, a division of the Department of the Interior. For more information, go to www.nps.gov.

2008, 45” x 48”

The Carnivores: Splinter Hill Bog Preserve

Now owned by the Nature Conservancy, the Splinter Hill Bog Preserve is home to some of the largest and most beautiful pitcher plant bogs in the world. The site is located in the headwaters of the Perdido River, in the low hills of the East Gulf Coastal Plain in South Alabama.  Not your ordinary wildflower meadow, the open fields blanketed with white, red and green pitcher plants also host a dozen other carnivorous plant species.

In order to survive in the low nutrient soil some of the plants must resort to eating insects. The pitcher plant is large enough that the skeletons of small frogs and birds have even been found inside its trumpet-like leaves. Other meat-eating plants are covered with gooey dew-like drops to which insects stick and are digested. Many unusual and rare plants grow in the bog, and along with more common varieties, can add up to 60 species in one square yard.

In order for this weird and exotic landscape to thrive, it must be set on fire at about the same frequency that Mother Nature would set it ablaze with lightening: about three times a decade. Prescribed burns maintain habitat for fire-adapted species, restore nutrients to the soil, and help prevent large wildfires. The Splinter Hill site has been systematically burned with nature’s regularity since the time of the Indians, because the locals have endeavored to preserve the pitcher plant for medicinal purposes or to sell. Now it is the Nature Conservancy’s task to burn periodically. Interestingly, maintaining the site with prescribed burns is expensive. Legal and insurance costs are quite high, to protect adjoining privately-owned properties.

I toured the bog with a group headed by Bill Finch, Conservation Director for the Nature Conservancy. I wouldn’t have noticed all the smaller carnivorous plants and learned about the various species and hybrids of pitcher plants without his expertise. He knew where to find the one, tiny, rare orchid in acres and acres of fields, pointed out the holes of the endangered gopher tortoise, and taught us how to tell the native long-leaf pine from the common slash pine, among many other things. But I knew from the beginning that among all the striking and bizarre sights I was taking in, the glamorous pitcher plant would take center stage in my painting. I’d previously marveled at them at the plant nurseries in Birmingham, but here there were thousands of them, growing literally like weeds—lovely and strange, and all over the place.

The Nature Conservancy owns and maintains Splinter Hill Bog. For more information, see www.nature.org.

2008

45” x 48”

2009, 48” x 45”

Bounty: Jones Valley Urban Farm    

This painting is a tribute to all Alabama small, sustainable farms. I buy fresh food from local farmers whenever possible, and believe this practice to be important for the future of me and my family, our community, and our planet. Sustainability refers to farms that are healthy for the environment, can support themselves financially, and are socially conscientious.

I chose Jones Valley as the representative farm for this painting because it thrives in busy downtown Birmingham, setting a good example of healthy farm practices to many who normally don’t get out in the country or aren’t exposed to the benefits of fresh, organic food. Jones Valley is a non-profit organization that provides outreach programs for students and the local neighborhoods, teaching people first-hand where their food comes from, how to grow it, how it is prepared, and how it tastes. Small garden plots are offered to nearby residents, and money is raised through donations and by selling produce and flowers at local farmer’s markets.

My painting, Bounty, unfolded in an unexpected way. The title came first; I’m originally from Colorado, and after living in Alabama for 15 years, I am still amazed at how many and how well plants grow in Alabama. The several different patterns throughout the piece came about as I attempted to find abstractions of the idea of plenty. I began with botanicals and emerged with a rather kitchen-like appearance, appropriate because my connection with farms and food is most often celebrated in the kitchen.

The background of the center piece uses imagery that reminds me of an opulent palace—a version of abundance—where tiny fruit, veggies, and flowers are displayed on pedestals. Sunflowers are the most eye-popping element of Jones Valley, and I chose to reveal the back side of the flower because I found it visually interesting and a fitting symbol of the unusual urban nature of Jones Valley. The tiles are made from molds of vegetables from my own garden, Jones Valley Urban Farm, and other small local farms. The little farm landscapes are taken from small farms throughout Alabama, and are framed in the aforementioned fancy patterns. The outside of the piece continues and expands the general idea of bounty.

More information on Jones Valley Urban Farm can be found at www.jonesvalleyteachingfarm.org. Also, the Alabama Sustainable Farmer’s Network  educates and supports sustainable farming.

2010, 45” x 48”

Bible Belt: Saint Paul’s Cathedral

When I first moved to the South, I was astounded by the abundance of Christian churches. I learned that Alabama has a church for every 360 people, more than double the national average. Anyone living in Alabama is well aware of the prominence of religion in everyday life, and representing it in my series seemed a must. I explored many churches in Birmingham in my first years in the state, and found them all lovely. I labored over the choice of which church to feature in my piece, wondering whether to make my decision based on political, religious, or historical reasons. Ultimately, I chose to be as non-confrontational as I could. I chose Saint Paul’s because it is my church.

Founded in 1871, the same year as Birmingham, Saint Paul’s was the city’s first Roman Catholic Church. Its face has changed over the past century and a quarter, but renovations in the past 20 years have rendered it one of the most beautiful and revered buildings in the city.

Saint Paul’s interior splendor is known not just for its plentiful arches, carved reliefs, and ornamental moulding, but for its exuberant color. The centerpiece of my painting is the Easter Lily, a universal Christian symbol of resurrection. The representations of statues come from all over the church, and I chose to paint the parts that generally remind of me of Christian symbols. The tiles were inspired by motifs found in the fantastic stained glass windows. The outside border of the piece is a simplification of the walls and dome of the cathedral, with parts of the Stations of the Cross at the bottom. Complicated pictorial narratives fill the Cathedral and are what make it magnificent. However, in the interest of keeping the imagery from getting out of hand, I chose to depict only details of most of it.

Saint Paul’s Cathedral is supported by its parishioners and by the Diocese of Birmingham in Alabama. 

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