Nichols, Roux, Ed "Moose" Duke, and Springfest in Southern Pines

Please join the artists of Nichols Pottery tomorrow from 11 - 2. They'll be working at the wheel in front of Artist Alley, and they'll also be introducing the tenth and final piece in their "Women of The Bible" series. Also, from 12 - 4, we'll be hosting a book-signing good time with Ashlee Park and Kim Crenshaw as they share their first book, The Fabulous Life of Roux Toulouse. Please join us to hear more about the amazing animals and their adventures.

All of this will be happening amidst the Springfest festivities in Southern Pines. Amazing arts and crafts... fabulous fair food... entertainment on two stages... rides for children of all ages... bicycle races... and more.

Ed "Moose" Duke, one of your favorite Artist Alley Artists will be performing at Springfest this year at 3:00 0n the stage beside The Sunrise Theater. You may remember Ed's uber-creative metal art, and tomorrow you'll have the opportunity to witness his award-winning story telling too.

Ed is a nationally recognized award winning story teller who is a member of The National Association of Storytellers, The North Carolina Association of Storytellers, and The Triad Story Tellers Association. He was also recently chosen to be “The Piedmont’s Best Storyteller”. Ed's built a loyal following in the region, and he promises that he'll entertain with stories fit for the youngest and the oldest in the crowd.

It's Reigning Dogs and Cats...and Fish?!? at Artist Alley Tonight

Tonight's First Friday Opening will celebrate the much loved variety of Dog, Cat... and even Fish Artwork that our North Carolina Artists create. A few visual sneak peak is shown above, and I hope that we'll see you tonight between 5:00 and 9:00!

I could write a lengthy passage about my love of Rachelle Currie's Blue Dog Series, (Yes...I am a collector!) but I couldn't possibly say it any better than she has in the words that follow.

The first blue dog painting came to life around 2000 as part of an assignment for a painting class. The task was to paint a blue or yellow animal using your non-dominate hand, for me that was my left hand as I am naturally right handed. As for the choice of animal, it was simple-“DOGS”. I have always had a great love for the canine. So, the first two paintings in this series, “original dog” and “watermelon dog” were completed more than ten years ago and were done with my left hand. It was probably about two years after that-around 2002 that I began to showcase the series at Artist Alley-blue dogs’ very first venue. Luckily for me they seem to be a hit right from the start and with the success first demonstrated by the “Alley” sales, I have been able to expand to a few more stores in North Carolina as well as, other markets.

As for the method to my madness (aka inspiration)…my creativity manifests itself in all kinds of ways-from abstract paintings to sculpture to carpentry work and I enjoy it all. I love the process involved in having my ideas materialize into two or three dimensional form. So although my formal degree is in painting and drawing my main objective is creative illustration in whatever forms that may take. As for the blue dog series, well….if you have a dog or know a dog you too know that they can always provide material for new ideas. Some of the images I have painted were things that my dogs (or my dog’s friends) actually were caught in the act performing and some were a little coerced-though rest assured that no harm came to the animals while posing for pictures. I also discovered fairly early on that the blue dog paintings often make people smile and I think that, in itself has great value. These are the main reasons I have painted and hopefully will continue to it keep painting the blue dog series for years to come.

I am currently working on three more paintings to add to the collection and hopefully they will be completed within the next few months. I have to insert here that I had a hard time at the beginning of this year with motivation as one of my main sources of inspiration, my little 17 year old “red dog” jas, grew too old to be by my side any longer. My heart was broken as she was the most faithful, beautiful, loving companion that one could ever wish for. Now as time passes, it is getting easier to think of her most days without overwhelming sadness and just smile and I believe that when I am painting blue dog, she is still here and a little bit of her spirit continues to go into each image in the form of love….