Lyda Rose Art Gallery

MARLA KENNEY - I started looking at mixed media as an outlet for my energies in the late nineties. I was inspired to break out of the more traditional painting I had been and still do through portraiture. The freedom of creating a recognizable image from the chaos of acrylic ink manipulated by plastic wrap was a challenge I jumped into with both feet. I could combine my love of drawing and painting with multi media abstract. I always see nature in some form in my ink work manipulation and expand on that with markers, pastels,colored pencils, acrylic (or whatever works). Ultimately color is the most important thing . I love to see colors react to each other and the excitement of contrast. I find I am drawn to the warm/cool attraction more than adjacents. Its just exciting seeing reds and oranges up against blues and greens!

James Knowles is drawn to painting by balance, movement, color, contrast, transition and how these things play out on the canvas. He finds it is a continuing tightrope walk between recognizable imagery and pure abstraction. He tries to make pictures that draw you in, make you look for more, arouse some feeling in you.

Chris Lawson is artist-in residence in Fairhope, Alabama. He has exhibited and performed in Birmingham, Belfast, San Diego, New Delhi, Atlanta, Warsaw, and Phnom Penh. His work/reviews of his work has/have appeared in Rolling Stone, Artpapers, P-Form, The Writer, Manhatten Poetry Review and on National Public Radio. He's appeared in the films "Kent State", "Uncommon Ground", "Spontaneous Human Combustion" and "UFO". He co-produced and co-directed the award winning documentary Broken/Ground and is currently at work on a film about Cambodia.

In my work I provide an arrangement of color, form and texture to relay information relating to an eternal/internal dialogue of the soul. I relate it to the struggle not only against external forces outside of one's control, but also against oneself; one's greatest friend... or enemy. To this are added subtexts of jazz, blues and history. Themes related to boxing can be seen as a metaphor for the fight for recognition, for dignity, for strength in the face of adversity. My aim is to express an attitude of hope and optimism, not just for people of color, but for all people.

In September 1999 I decided to take a clay hand building class in hopes of relieving some stress. The price was moderate and it didn’t require much equipment. Also, it was only an eight-week commitment. Using common household items (i.e., cans, bottles, plastic cups, etc.) to drape over or around, or paper patters I devise on my computer, I create vases, bowls, wall pockets, candleholders and more from slabs of clay. I also make faces/masks from solid balls of clay. In 2004, the flowers in my yard inspired me! Could I reproduce them in clay? Needless to say, I have better success with some than others. All my flowers and leaves are hand-cut and shaped. Although I occasionally use stencil for leaves, most of the flora and foliage is cut individually from real leaves, cut from a pattern I make myself, or freehanded with a craft knife. Then I apply them to my vases, pockets and potpourri bowls and hope they make it through the fires. Luckily for me, they usually do! There are many kinds of clay but I use mainly raku and mid-range porcelain. Currently, I use commercial under glazes and glazes. As for firing my work, I use an electric kiln and a gas raku kiln. I enjoy my work immensely and am always looking forward to what I can create next.

Essentially a self taught artist, however studied briefly under W.W. S. Wilson at the Birmingham Museum of Art. He was instrumental in founding Times Eight, Inc., an alternative arts organization providing exhibition opportunities and educational art experience through life drawing sessions. He has been painting since 1979 and employs all media. His work is in many corporate collections such as Alabama Gas Corporation, Amsouth Bank Corporation and the Blount Corporation.

Gene Pollock is a local artist originally from Jackson Mississippi. He was a fighter pilot in the Second World War. After the war he attended Millsaps College in Jackson Mississippi and received a MBA from the University of Chicago, a BA from the Pasadena Playhouse College of Theater and a MA from Los Angeles State College. After a varied career in theater and motion pictures Gene turned to teaching. At the University of Southern Mississippi he was the stage designer and instructor in Stagecraft. He later was the director of drama for Jefferson State Community College here in Birmingham. In 1974 Gene embarked on a career in painting. For the past ten years he has been working with acrylics as a medium and in nonrealistic images in which color, texture and shape are of more concern than a simple list of visual facts.