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Mona Wu and
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Blackwell-Chapman

June 29 - July 31

Reception:
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Don Green and Mitzi Shewmake

Exhibit dates: June 1 - June 26, 2010
Reception: Sunday, June 6, 2 - 4 pm

Artworks Gallery presents a two-person exhibit of sculpture and drawings by Don Green and ceramic sculpture by Mitzi Shewmake.

Don Green is showing drawings of countryside images from New Zealand, and sculpture made from stone, wood and naturally oxidized steel. His art has always been inspired by nature— land, rocks, woods, water and the ongoing processes in nature—erosion, wear, rust and decay. Don says: "My life is shaped and influenced by my perceptions of the natural world around me. I find proof of the existence of a supreme being and a sense of spiritual renewal and guidance in nature’s landscapes. My forms are generally organic, inspired by trees or details of them, hills and valleys, rocks, roots, streams and rivers. Much of my sculpture is concerned with massive weight, compression and the resulting distortion apparent in the forms. I generally allow my processes of working and forming sculpture to be apparent in the finished work, including slight warpage from hammering and welding steel, file or other tool marks—even brush strokes in paint. I enjoy being outdoors and find it soothing and invigorating. My lifelong love of hiking and camping led me to hike part of the Appalachian Trail for the first time in the summer of 1986. I grew up in Chicago and was steeped in Midwest landscapes but since I made North Carolina my home in 1966, I have come to love the mountains and the impact they have had on my life and my art."

Don Green has a BA from the American Academy of Art in Chicago, a BFA in art from Illinois Wesleyan University, and a MFA in sculpture from the Univ. of Wisconsin at Madison.

Mitzi Shewmake is showing figurative ceramic sculpture and two drawings that emphasize snakes. Her work consists of several smaller sculptures of terra cotta, one of terra cotta and cement combined, two relief sculptures, and one larger sculpture. This consists of a semi abstract stone-like figure in cement reclining on a box-like rectangular work with open rooms that contain some terra cotta figures. Ms. Shewmake says, "This is to give the idea of all the thoughts, images, etc. that go on in our heads that we are often unaware of but that have great influence over our behavior."

Ms. Shewmake was born in NYC and grew up in Woodstock, Ny and Tucson, AZ. She received her B.A. at George Washington Univ. in DC, and her M.F.A. in Fine Arts from UNCG. She studied at the Corcoran School of Art in DC, the Cleveland Art Institute in OH, the Art Students League summer School at Woodstock, NY, and at Arrowmont School of Crafts and Penland School of Crafts. She is Emerita Professor of Art at Winston-Salem State Univ. She was the Co-founder and first director of Diggs Gallery, WSSU, and one of the founding members of Artworks Gallery. She has had two commissions of sculpture, one at Wake Forest Univ. and one at the North Carolina School of the Arts. Ms. Shewmake was the Winston-Salem Artist of the Year with Ed Shewmake.

The opening reception is Sunday, June 6, 2 - 4 pm.

The exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

Click on image for a larger view.
Don Green, Untitled, walnut and marble, 24"x15"x10"
Mitzi Shewmake, "A Hollow Man", terra cotta, 17"x12"x7"