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Each month, ArtsGreensboro brings you stories about artists, arts organizations, and individuals whose lives are infused with creativity. Join us in celebrating our vibrant city. ArtsGreensboro is dedicated to elevating the arts by creating awareness and promoting the vibrancy of our city; amplifying the impact the arts have in building strong and thriving communities for all citizens; and supporting arts organizations, artists, and teachers through grants, shared services, and technical assistance. For more information visit artsgreensboro.org
ARTIST IN FOCUS BY ANGIE THE ROSE
I’ve been creating artwork ever since I was a child. From the classroom, to my time alone in my bedroom, I knew being an artist was my future. My mother was the support and driving force that steered me on to this path early on. As a child artist, I mostly produced watercolor and pencil-drawn landscapes. I found a peacefulness in those creative techniques. Being from Western North Carolina, I was surrounded by poetic landscapes and I drank them in. I’ve shifted from that style and now I’m creating vibrant, colorful abstract paintings based on the molecular biology that we all share. This complete 180 sometimes has me lingering on the memories of those days of landscapes, which I occasionally go back to with commission paintings, but nothing feeds my being more than dancing with a canvas like I do so freely now. The act of creating large shapes of colors that embrace each other and paint palettes caked in paint that look like kaleidoscope glass stirs something deep within me. From the way I felt eating pastries, the different colors of green that I saw in a tree canopy, the shifting colors of a sunset. I siphoned as much as I could from anything and everything in my life. One day it struck me while listening to a podcast about the Cassini mission. From the planning, the execution, and the data that came back from that mission was the catalyst of what had me start to think about what it means to be a living being in the known universe. There’s a vastness that surrounds that we don’t understand a tenth of. The same can be said about the internal mechanisms inside us. Biology was one of those subjects that I was greatly in awe of in high school. Was I ever going to be a biologist? No, but there is a curiosity inside of me to seek out new information and developments in the scientific research that’s being done today. Knowing that I’d never have hands on experience with scientific studies myself, I decided to create these molecular beings that resided in me. There is some acknowledgement to the systems we know of in my titles, such as my work Mitosis. Other times the paintings are works inspired by my daily life and experiences. Time and again was one that was inspired by the jagged feeling of disappointment in my life. All the Floras that I’ve created are from moments of happiness and exhilaration that I’ve experienced. The Molecular Series shifts on itself from time to time. There is a continuity that I strive for with the palette. The shapes and movement are all from the gut and I’m ok with that. I look forward to where this series will take me in my artistic career. She’s been a constant companion in this journey and I’m thankful for the ray of light that she has brought to my life. For more information on Angie’s newest works and upcoming exhibitions, visit angietherose.com.
ARTS HAPPENING BY MADELYN GRECO
“Awake The White And Wint’ry Queen”, a concert celebrating the Winter Solstice, returns triumphantly to Greensboro for the 2019 holiday season on December 20 and 21. A beloved local production over its earlier 6-year run, the show is mainly comprised of original music by Triad-based composer, Scott Fray. The company features a majority of original cast members, including seven principal vocalists, musical soloists, and dance performers among them. The show’s momentum builds to peaks of great and flaming spectacle, as well as examining the quiet, contemplative beauty in the deepest dark of the year’s longest night. Ultimately, we are carried along with the musicians and characters to embrace the inherent joy of renewal as we celebrate the return of the light. Staging the updated 2019 production at the Van Dyke Theatre will give theatergoers a chance to experience this show anew in a more intimate setting. “Awake The White And Wint’ry Queen” will come alive with dance performances that weave gracefully through the storyline, and original video elements that serve as backdrop. This beautiful and captivating show is sure to delight a new generation of music-lovers and theatre aficionados, while making a heartfelt impression on the fans eagerly awaiting its comeback. For event tickets, visit thevandyke.org.
AG MAKING IT WORK By: DESTINY KING
Musician, UNCG student | ArtsGreensboro intern Music has shaped me into who I am today. Living in a rural part of North Carolina, I was exposed to the working class of carpenters, nurses, contractors, and more. However, none of the jobs many in my family had, interested me. I was first introduced to music in 3rd grade. During an assembly, our band director played all the instruments and I knew right then, the clarinet was it for me. (It was a plus that my favorite cartoon show, SpongeBob, featured Squidward playing the clarinet often.) Throughout the years, music has become an outlet. Finding my people, making music, and being exposed to new ways to view the world led me to where I am today. Even though I put down the clarinet, I am playing one of the best instruments there is: oboe. At the School of Music, I am studying under Dr. Barret, the professor of Oboe at UNCG, majoring in Music Education with a minor in Arts Administration. After my undergrad, I plan to teach elementary to middle school children the wonders of music. I decided on Music Education after completing my four years through high school marching band. Being clarinet section leader to eventually drum major, I was exposed to the various teaching aspects of music. The feeling of leading and helping students find their passion as I once did in the opening assembly back in 3rd grade is what I strive to achieve. Since High School, I’ve always thought ahead. And months before I came to college, I had already completed a Handshake application and submitted my Vmock resume. When I saw the internship application for ArtsGreensboro I was immediately intrigued. Adding this minor has helped me in many ways to understand the business side of the arts. It gives a broader perspective of all the inner workings small businesses undergo in the arts. Starting this internship has given me an opportunity to work on a small project named tiny exhibitions. I have seen what goes into what may seem as a small project to one, but something more grand that offers opportunity and experience to another. I plan to use my arts administration minor to help build knowledge of owning a private studio and/or working for a symphony.
AG MAKING IT WORK By: AUSTIN H. PRUITT
Graphic Artist, UNCG student | ArtsGreensboro Intern My name is Austin Pruitt, a senior studio arts major at UNCG from Charlotte, NC. Since the age of five or six years old, art has been a constant throughout my life no matter the form. My specialty and what I’m pursuing professionally is Graphic Design and illustration, but my interest also spread to photography, fashion, dancing, and music. I currently own a clothing brand that I also conduct all creative direction and I’ve been dancing since the age of nine. I also got into photography when I came to college. My family can confirm that my vision for my life has never wavered- I’ve never wanted to be anything else other than an artist. Being that God blessed me with this passion early, it’s always been a goal to turn my talents into a profession. My journey with ArtsGreensboro began this year and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here. This is my first internship relating to my field and I will definitely say that this opportunity has equipped me with more experience to prepare me for my future endeavors. The staff at ArtsGreensboro welcomed me with open arms and a lot of the times coming here tends to be my peace before my busy academic week. I hope that I have left a positive mark on this organization and I’ll always be grateful for the opportunity I’ve been given.
MY ART STORY BY PRESTON LANE
Growing up in the Blue Ridge, summer was my favorite time. It wasn’t only because of the all too short but then seemingly endless holiday. My neighbors and I had season passes to Tweetsie Railroad. I could hear the battles of Horn in the West through my open bedroom window. My dog Queenie and I got to accompany my father to his farm in Cove Creek and ramble up over the hillside to a ghost town of abandoned cabins. And on weekends, my parents sometimes took me to the Barter Theater. Two hours on wild Appalachian highways through East Tennessee, into Virginia, back into Tennessee, and then back to Virginia led us to the oldest professional theater in the US. The Barter was founded in the darkest days of the Depression because you could (still can) exchange produce for a ticket. By the time I was 11, my parents would even let me sit by myself—often all alone– in the balcony. I was thrilled by the expectation of the dimming lights, the footsteps behind the curtain and the revelation of the opulent drawing rooms and living rooms of other worlds far from my mountains. I can still remember the electrifying kick when Nora slammed the door in A Doll House, when Eliza Doolittle came back in Pygmalion, and when Inspector Rough left his hat in Angel Street. But it’s the shocking final moment of Hedda Gabler I remember most. Hedda drew a curtain against the others in the room, played a burst of piano music, silence, and—a gunshot. I jumped out of my chair with a scream and I was hooked. The theater had just taught me I could be moved far deeper than in my intellect. It punched me in the gut and stirred my deepest emotions. If it could do that to me, maybe, through it, I could do that others. In the roar of the curtain call, that 11 year old me alone in the balcony realized he had found his calling.
ART DOES A PUBLIC GOOD
The arts build strong, safe, and healthy communities that benefit all citizens; strengthen our economy; and play a fundamental role in our children’s education and development. Give generously to the arts. Give annually to the ArtsFund. Ways to Give: • Text ARTSGSO to 44-321 • Give online at artsgreensboro.org/support/donate/ • Mail a check to: ArtsGreensboro PO Box 877 Greensboro NC 27402
