Artisan Edition: Alabama Art Colony

by c.a. Marks

Well, today's Artisan Edition was going to be all about supporting your local art museum. I had planned to go to my local art museum, Huntsville Museum of Art, during lunch today and blog about my experience, but when I arrived at their doors today, I found them to be closed. I had no idea they were closed on Mondays. Which tells you that I am not a frequent visitor of the museum, which also should tell you that I had not been supporting MY local art community, not at that level anyway.

However, last week I purchased a family membership for the Huntsville Museum of Art and today was going to be my first visit as a member. I felt proud when I pulled up and parked right out front and deposited my fifty cents into the parking meter. I had high hopes of having a swell time in the museum. Ah, but it wasn't meant to be, not today anyway. I guess you can take a gander at what I will be doing tomorrow at lunch though. :-) At any rate, this brings me to another post I was going to do in the near future but I may as well do it now.

While surfing the internet for Alabama art events and whatnot I found this little gem; Alabama Art Colony. Now, I have done my fair share of art Googling before but I had never run across the art colony website, until now. This sounds absolutely amazing. I immediately emailed the point of contact and received a generous response - which I have posted below.

Dear Carol,

I am thrilled you would like to write about the Alabama Art Colony. I will be glad to assist you in any way I can. Our website www.alartcolony.org has all our information about our organization. We host the Sarah Carlisle Towery Art Colony the first week of October every year. The art Colony has been going on for about 17 years. It was started by the Carlisle Family in honor of Miss Sarah Carlisle Towery's birthday. All of her painting buddies from around the country gathered to paint every year. She was a fine lady and graduated from Black Mountain College. We miss Miss Sarah.

The Colony is a great week! It is a retreat for working artists to get to together to share ideas and grow. I learn as much from the other artists participating as I do from the instructors. We have 1-3 instructors every year. This year we have two instructors and an independent study class. We have 47 signed up so far. Harry's class has a waiting list. There are only a few spots left. The facilities are beautiful.

Children's Harbor is a very relaxing setting on Lake Martin. They have brand new facilities that we are very grateful that we get to use. We have a cook, Carolyn. She is wonderful and feeds us way too much! Night time socials are hosted by galleries. Stonehenge and Red Hill from Montgomery and Mac David's from Alexander City. We have informal group discussions lead by the instructors. We also have a very large permanent collection that we house at the Board of Education. The instructors choose the permanent collection pieces and the awards on the first night before they meet the artist participating. Each person is allowed to enter three.

I love the Art Colony and look forward to it every year! I can't wait to catch up with all my art friends and make new ones. It is very rejuvenating and we all encourage one another. It is not very often you get to be around so many people who share the same passion. There is so much positive energy.

Every year we have celebrated Miss Sarah's birthday, but last year was the first year she was not with us. We carried on the tradition and celebrated Hugh Williams birthday. He has been a huge influence and mentor to our colony for years. He was the first instructor when it started. He was awarded this year for the Governor's Alabama Arts Award. We are lucky to have him.

I hope this helps a little. I will be glad to answer any questions. I will also forward this to our president, Margaret George. She is incredible, it takes a ton of work to get this together each year. I will ask her to email you something also. Thank you so much for doing this. I would love for more people to know about the Alabama Art Colony.

Thank you, Catie Radney

WOW! Now is that not incredible or what? I LOVE art people! They are all so nice and kind and generous. And oh how I wish I could do art. I would go to this retreat in a second. I wonder if they would take people who couldn't paint a lick anyway? They all sound like so much fun to be around. Well, if you know of any artists then please feel free to pass this on to them. Alabama Art Colony's Mission Statement:

Alabama's Art Colony is committed to producing an enjoyable environment to educate, nurture and inspire artists through workshops. We will enhance the quality of life for the greater community by educating and providing opportunities to experience, appreciate and support the arts. We will contribute to the cultural enrichment of the city and its local communities through our on-going collection and exhibition of art and through partnerships with diverse community organizations that celebrate life and art. Alabama's Art Colony is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Service Code & incorporated in the State of Alabama.. Founded from one event by a handful of dedicated local artists, the Sarah Carlisle Towery Art Colony has became more than just a meeting for artist once a year.

Go check out their website for more information at Alabama Art Colony. ------------------------------------------

The Artisan Edition

The Lowe Mill District & Flying Monkey Arts Center

Hello there all of you art lovers. My name is c.a. Marks and I will be writing the bi-weekly column of all things art related. Now, me personally, I can't draw a straight line to save my life but I sure do love art and all that it represents, in all forms.

We are privileged enough to live in a state full of art supported endeavors. Let me highlight one such beast that is located right here in my hometown of Huntsville, Alabama. The Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment as well as Flying Monkey Arts.

First, from the Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment website:

...located in historic Lowe Mill, an old textile mill built in the year 1900. Lowe Mill ARTS & Entertainment supports a diverse community of artisans and businesses that are dedicated to the free expression of the arts in Huntsville.

The vision for Lowe Mill is of a true arts destination, where a community of artisans can practice their trade while improving their skills through interactions with other artists, all the while educating the public about art and its value.

Lowe Mill is home to a variety of different groups and artists, including The Flying Monkey Arts Center, Everett Cox’s new foundry, Susan Knecht’s glass blowing studio, Happy Tummy Restaurant and 34 new artists located on the recently opened 3rd floor. There are over 50 artist studios on site throughout the Lowe Mill building.

You can read more about Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment on their ABOUT PAGE.

Now, for the longest time I used to think that the Flying Monkey Arts and Lowe Mill A&E was the same thing but they are not. Lowe Mill is the whole entire complex that houses the artists and Flying Monkey is a non-profit that is within (or housed if you will) in the Lowe Mill A&E facility.

The Flying Monkey Arts Center includes a variety of participating artisans and groups such as The Film Co-op, Vertical House Records, and the Crash Boom Bang Theatre.

If you are looking for a grass roots art movement then The Flying Monkey Arts Center is for you. They put a whole new spin on the term Bohemian. It is my opinion that every town should have an art co-op such as The Lowe Mill Arts & Entertainment and Flying Monkey Arts Center. These centers benefit our communities in many ways and we should support them anyway possible. Some may only need volunteers to help out and some may have wish lists in which you can contribute.

Getting involved in a local arts community is rewarding. As I stated earlier I don't have an artistic bone inside of myself but that doesn't mean I am not creative. I love anything artisan related, I love being around it, so I get my own sort of reward by pitching in when and where I can; even if it's just writing about it and promoting the endeavor of another.

Future article topics will include individual artisans and their personal stories, art retreats, art festivals, galleries, and all art mediums.

Thank you for reading.