Meet Columbia Artist Renea Eshleman During Jasper's First Thursday at Sound Bites Eatery!

Join the Jasper Project and Sound Bites Eatery in welcoming our artist for the month of October, Renea Eshleman, by making Sound Bites one of your first or last stops during First Thursday this week!  And while you’re visiting us, why not grab a loaded grilled cheese, a twerky turkey sammy, or some delish spin dip with a glass of vino from the Sound Bites kitchen? It’s always a fun night at Sound Bites when you gather with friends, new and old, to celebrate an evening of art and good times!

About Our Featured Artist

Renea Eshleman writes, “I especially enjoy creating nature compositions from photographs I take while traveling around the beautiful state of South Carolina. I strive to lure the viewer into wanting to ‘be there’ in the painting to look for what is not obvious.  

“My art includes representational, dream compositions, and some objective abstract. Having begun painting in traditional transparent watercolor, I mostly paint and create collage on non-traditional surfaces using liquid and tube watercolor, gouache, acrylics, and self-printed papers.

“The traditional approach to painting watercolor, acrylic, and mixed media is where I know what the composition will be before I begin the painting. It is predictable. However, many times the process begins with loosely pouring or rolling paint onto the paper or a polypropylene sheet (called Yupo), gently manipulating the paint to blend colors, and making interesting textures, allowing the paint to dry, and developing the composition based on what the first layer suggests.

“This process allows me to combine imagined or suggested flora, fauna, insects, animals, and figures. Sometimes pieces begin with the pouring method hang in my studio for weeks or months before they ‘speak’ for development of the composition.

“This approach to making art provides wonderful opportunities for happy accidents, flexibility to adjust the composition, and intrigue in the work.”

Craig Houston's Compositions Opening at City Art

WALK IN THE FOG By Craig Houston

City Art is pleased to announce our newest exhibition featured in the main gallery space: Craig Houston’s Compositions. The show will run between September 22nd and January 2026.

One of the important things to Craig Houston is seeing his art in the hands of those who truly appreciate and enjoy it. His style is continually evolving as well as his sense of color, technique, layering and texture. Craig’s paintings are the product of his education at Ringling College of Art and Design in Sarasota, Florida in Commercial Illustration and Advertising.

Though he still does commercial pieces, his love is painting, both impressionist and abstractions.

Taking a concept or quick sketch and being able to make it come to life on board or canvas is a strong talent he possesses. Fighting the idea that the next painting is going to be his best, Craig isn’t willing to stop until he is pleased with it for himself. Large abstracts and non-representational art have produced a new-found freedom of expression in Craig’s work.

Realizing most of his free-form works have to get ugly to get pretty, helps keep his work fresh and prevents looking labored over. Putting paint down, stepping back, observing, and applying layers until the image starts appearing is his routine. His desire is to use his God-given talent to the max!

Please join us for an opening reception with the artist that will be held Thursday October 2nd from 5pm – 8pm. City Art Gallery is located at 1224 Lincoln St. in the historic Congaree Vista area in Columbia, South Carolina. For more information, contact City Art Gallery, at 803-252-3613. Visit online at www.cityartonline.com

TIDAL TRANSFORMATIONS: MY WORLD IN LINOCUT by LAURIE MCINTOSH Opens Wednesday at Stormwater Studios

Exhibit Wed, September 10- Sat, September 29. 

Open daily 11am-5 pm 

Sunday 2pm-5 pm

Stormwater Studios, 413 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC

Tidal Transformations features more than 60 works created using the linocut reduction technique, alongside mixed media pieces composed from the residual cleanup and cast-off materials generated during the printmaking process.

Laurie McIntosh is an accomplished South Carolina artist known for large, thematic bodies of work inspired by personal experience and visual exploration. She is the owner of Laurie McIntosh Art in Camden, SC—a working studio she established in 2016—and was formerly a member of Vista Studios/Gallery 80808 in Columbia.

Linocut reduction is a relief printmaking method where the artist carves a reverse image into a linoleum block, inks it, and prints it on paper. Layers are carved and printed sequentially in different colors, with each layer eliminating parts of the previous one. Because earlier layers cannot be changed once removed, the method is often referred to as “suicide printing.”

In 2023 McIntosh began noticing intriguing visual elements in the cleanup process and started creating mixed media works from the leftover paper and fragments generated during the reduction process.

“The design, planning, and execution of linocut reduction is an intricate and deliberate process,” says McIntosh. “Working with its byproducts gives me a chance to create from a more intuitive, spontaneous place.”

A South Carolina native, McIntosh earned a B.A. in Fine Art from the University of South Carolina and continued her training at the Center for Creative Imaging, the Penland School of Crafts, and other prestigious institutions. Her notable exhibitions include All the In-Between: My Story of Agnes, which inspired a companion art book in 2012; the South Carolina State Museum’s 30th Anniversary Juried Exhibition in 2019; and numerous juried, solo, public art projects and group shows throughout the state. In 2019, she was commissioned to design public art for Columbia’s COMET “Art Bus.” She returned to Stormwater Studios in 2023 with the solo exhibition Gatherings: My World in Linocut.

For more information on Laurie McIntosh, visit lauriemcintoshart.com. To learn more about Stormwater Studios, visit stormwaterstudios.org.




1714 Fair St.  
Camden SC  29020

Studio -1014 Broad St. Camden, SC

K. Wayne Thornley's A GATHERING OF CHAIRS at Jasper's Tiny Gallery Site is Selling Quickly!

K. Wayne Thornley is the kind of visual artist who keeps his patrons on their toes, never knowing what the innovative master-level artist will create next. His latest collection, A Gathering of Chairs, featured this month in the Jasper Project’s Tiny Gallery, is a perfect example. Comprised of nine unique depictions of chairs ranging in style from the beautiful chintz boudoir chairs to the functional and sturdy desk or dining chairs, and several in-between styles, this online exhibition meets the requirements of the Tiny Gallery series (pieces can be any medium but must be under 15” x 15” and under $200) and patrons are grabbing these little beauties fast!

Thornley is a mixed media artist whose work spans several media categories, but he spends most of his creative time as a painter, an assemblage artist, and a wire wrangler. His work has been juried into local, state, and national exhibitions across the U.S.

When not at his real job, Thornley works from his home studio in Columbia, SC. Recently, he has been teaching a series of project-based creativity classes, the ARTMAKERS BOOTCAMP series, with art partner Lucy Bailey.


Thornley says, “My work deals largely with the life-shaping power of memory, memory loss, and memory-imbued objects that ultimately become someone else’s detritus.”

This is my second time to be invited to show work in the Jasper Project Tiny Gallery. For me, it is an opportunity to do work slightly outside my normal themes. I’ve been wanting to do a series of chair paintings, so, using my usual materials and techniques, I’ve created these small works, a limited series I am calling “A Gathering of Chairs.” In the same way found or collected objects carry their history with them, chairs, whether heirlooms or institutional furnishings, reflect their own history through style, usage, ownership, and service. My hope is that one of these chairs sparks the viewer’s memory of a time, a relative, a place, or a feeling from their own collection of life experiences.

Thornley’s A Gathering of Chairs will be available for purchase online at Jasper’s Tiny Gallery site through September 30, 2025.

Visit the collection here.

What’s Going on at the Koger Center? Free Low-Cost Events Next Week & Jasper is Playing a Part!

The Koger Center is stacked with a wide array of free and low-cost events and happenings throughout the month of September! The first full work week of the month has plenty going on, so check out what they have to offer.

On Monday, September 8, we are co-hosting a free artist talk with Lori Isom in the Nook, where her artwork is currently on display. The Nook, for anyone who has not had the chance to check it out, is a gallery space located on the second floor of the Koger Center, adjacent to the Gallery at the Koger Center space, that is programmed by the Jasper Project. The talk will last from 6 – 7 p.m. All artwork in Lori’s exhibit is available for purchase.

On Wednesday, September 10, Preach Jacobs will host his second SoulHaus Session in the Gallery at the Koger Center. After the sell-out success of the first session, Preach is returning and this time, bringing renowned chef Amethyst Ganaway and artist Dogon Krigga in for a conversation. Tickets are available for purchase on EventBrite; doors open with a vinyl spinning session at 5 p.m., and the talk begins at 6 p.m.

The evening of Friday the 12th kicks off with another free concert in the “Koger Center Presents: Live Outside” series. Starting at 5 p.m., Charleston-based act She Returns from War will perform, with a to-be-determined opening act accompanying the evening. Hailing from the historically rich city of Charleston, South Carolina, She Returns from War is defining what it means to not only live in the modern south, but to be a trans woman and artist within this landscape. The full Live Outside series runs on Fridays in September and October; check out the whole series on the Koger Center website here. If the weather turns stormy, the concert will still happen, just inside on the Koger Center’s second floor lobby instead!

And mark your calendars for later this month when Jasper welcomes Photo-artist Jeff Amberg to the Nook Gallery —

Artist Talk with LORI ISOM - Jasper's Featured Artist for August at The Nook - FREE

By Emily Moffitt

The Koger Center for the Arts and the Jasper Project are excited to host Lori Isom for a free artist talk on September 8, from 6-7 p.m. The talk will take place in the Nook on the second floor of the Koger Center, where the audience will be surrounded by Lori’s captivating artwork as she discusses her artistic practices and the motivation behind her paintings. If you missed out on Lori’s opening reception, this is the perfect opportunity to learn more about her as an artist and engage with the exhibit!

Outside of the artist talk, the Nook is available for viewing at the Koger Center from 9 a.m. - 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and an hour before shows during the weekends.

Lori’s Artist Statement:

“It is fair to say that my life has been quite varied as an artist, and all around creative person. Years of my life were dedicated to working as a professional dancer, singer and actress in New York and Los Angeles, and I’ve had several interesting and fun entrepreneurial pursuits along the way, including owning and operating my own baking business! I am predominantly a self-taught artist, however, I studied illustration in high school, and later fine art and fashion design at Parsons School of Design.

I would say that I walk the line between illustrator and fine artist. While I work to tell a story with my art, I also produce paintings that primarily express a particular emotion. Artists like Mary Cassatt, Andrew Wyeth, and John Singer Sargent were ones who greatly influenced my work early on. I suppose that’s how I came to love capturing people.”

LaToya Thompson, Richland Library's Artist in Residence, Presents a Community Quilting Experience

From our friends at Richland Library —

Richland Library will serve as the setting for a collaborative artistic experience on Saturday, August 23, 2025, 2:00 p.m. at Richland Library Main (1431 Assembly St., Columbia, SC 29201), as Richland Library’s current Artist-in-Residence and fiber artist, LaToya Thompson facilitates AiR Presents: Community Quilts.

This free, hands-on event welcomes participants of all ages to design individual fabric squares that reflect personal experiences, cultural traditions, or moments from the community’s shared history. Each square, unique in its story and style, will be joined with others to form a single quilt—a living tapestry that celebrates unity and creativity.

No sewing experience is required, and all supplies will be provided. Attendees are encouraged to bring an open mind, a willingness to share, and a passion for building something meaningful together. As the quilt grows, so will the connections between neighbors, stories, and generations—stitched together in a work of art that belongs to everyone.

For more information please contact, Tacara Carpenter at 803-351-5616 or tcarpenter@richlandlibrary.com.

Ensemble Eclectica Brings Tapestry of Sound to Harbison Theatre Featuring Stan Gwynn, Clayton King, and Tracy Steele!

Classical Meets Bluegrass and Broadway in the new signature production by

Ensemble Eclectica

Tapestry of Sound:  Bluegrass to Broadway and More…

Classical Meets Bluegrass and Broadway in the 2025 Ensemble Eclectica production: Tapestry of Sound: Bluegrass to Broadway and More... on  Saturday August 23rd at 7:30 at Harbison Theatre, 7300 College Drive in Irmo, SC

Celebrated local performers Stann Gwynn, Clayton King, and Tracy Steele, along with  Carolina Bluegrass Style, will join with Ensemble Eclectica to present a groundbreaking new signature production this year!

In keeping with our tradition, the production features music, dance, and vocals, including the award-winning dance duo of Roxana Marinoff and Cesar Davalos, renowned for their musicality and dance craftsmanship. Local performer, Mattie Mount, will share her award-winning tap dancing skills and, rounding out the dance selections of the evening is Columbia Classical Ballet. Three styles of dance on one stage and one night! 

Clayton King and Tracy Steele will also serve as co-emcees for the evening. And new this year, acclaimed Columbia’s Inaugural Poet Laureate for the city, Ed Madden, will take the stage to share one of his poems in a unique way, accompanied by live music. Throughout the evening, photography by Jim Guzel will be featured to further enhance the production. 

ENSEMBLE ECLECTICA  is a contemporary and innovative ensemble whose mission is to stimulate audience appreciation of the arts through exposure to a wide variety of artistic collaborations featuring local musicians, dancers, visual artists and media professionals and is led by Suzanna Pavlovsky. Dr. Pavlovsky is a former Associate Conductor in Residence of the Etobicoke Philharmonic Orchestra in Toronto, and Associate Conductor of the Lake Murray Symphony Orchestra in Columbia, SC. An Assistant Conductor at Michigan State University, she was also a graduate assistant at the Eastman School of Music, as well as a conducting and teaching assistant at the University of South Carolina. 

 

Reserve Your Tickets Here!

NEW OPPORTUNITY: First Thursday Art Walk with Jasper's Keith Tolen

The Jasper Project announces a new addition to our First Thursday offerings. Yes, we’re still bringing our monthly First Thursday exhibition to Sound Bites Eatery, but we’re also offering a new First Thursday Art Walk led by Jasper Project board vice president and distinguished artist and arts educator, Keith Tolen!

For August, meet Keith Tolen in front of Stoners Pizza in the Arcade mall at 5:30 for a brief stroll to our sidewalk gallery at the Meridian Building on the corner of Sumter and Washington Streets. The gallery features work by Sharon Licata, Perry McLeod, and Adam Corbett.

Keith Tolen is a lifelong native of South Carolina who grew up in Batesburg. He attended SC State University and received a Bachelors in art education. He then earned a masters in education from Francis Marion University. He taught art at Camden Middle School for 30 years, retiring in 2017. Tolen has worked creating designs in photography, drawing, and painting for the past forty years and continues to do so.

Adam Corbett is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and visual artist from Lexington, South Carolina. His work is often whimsical, comes with a punchline, or fun story, and his subjects include wildlife and made up characters. He likes to experiment with various mediums in a variety of formats focusing always on exploration, play, and following his muse.

Sharon Collings Licata is a Sculptor/Photographer & Instructor, Shamanic Practitioner, Sand a member of the faculty for SC Faculty for Foundation For Shamanic Studies.

Perry McLeod is a retired high school teacher, a dad, and a photographer. Perry says, “Sports, Concerts, events, and just about anything else I can point a camera at. I love photography! Every day is a new adventure and I just want to capture the moments that will make people stop and think. Make people want to make a change. Make people smile.”

The event is free and everyone is welcome!

Koger Center and SoulHaus Partnering for a Brand-New Artist Talk Series

By Emily Moffitt

The Koger Center for the Arts and SoulHaus Gallery are excited to bring new arts programming to the Columbia community within the walls of the Gallery at the Koger Center. SoulHaus Sessions with Preach Jacobs is an upcoming series that features local creative minds from a variety of artistic disciplines in conversation with Jacobs.  The first session with Nikky Finney and Dre Lopez is scheduled for August 20, 2025 at 5 p.m. The evening will kick off with Preach Jacobs spinning vinyl, followed by a conversation with Finney. Lopez’s artwork will be on display easels throughout the gallery, and available for purchase.

Preach Jacobs

Preach Jacobs is a prolific DJ and two-time South Carolina Press Association Award Winner for column writing for “Fight the Power,” his column in the Free Times and Post & Courier Columbia. He is the owner of SoulHaus Gallery, and aims to bring the SoulHaus experience out of the former brick and mortar into the community, sharing the wonder of art through affordable and accessible means. He is the co-curator of the new SoulHaus Gallery at the Koger Center, a rotating exhibit space on the third floor of the Koger Center.

Nikki Finney

Nikky Finney was born in Conway, SC and raised in Sumter. She left South Carolina after high school with her eyes and heart set on becoming a writer. After living and studying primarily in the south, she moved to Oakland, CA then Lexington, KY to teach at the University of Kentucky. In 2013, she became Professor Emeritus at the University of Kentucky and accepted the John H. Bennett, Jr. Chair in Creative Writing and Southern Letters here at USC. She has authored five books and is on the Board of Directors for the Ernest A. Finney, Jr. Cultural Arts Center in Columbia. She is the author of several poetry collections including Head Off & Split, and On Wings Made of Gauze.

Dre Lopez

Dre Lopez has been working as a professional in the illustration and graphic design field for 14+ years as both a freelancer and in-house designer. He is self-taught, versatile, and can adapt his skillset to just about any requirements, be it from the subject matter or the type of client. He has worked with clients from all over the country and in Europe. His paintings and illustrations have been published in magazines and papers as well as shown in art exhibitions across the United States: Columbia, Charleston, Greenville, Charlotte, Asheville, Atlanta, Detroit, L.A., and Chicago, just to name a few!

Tickets are available on EventBrite here. Get yours today and don’t miss out on this extraordinary lineup!

Emily Moffitt is the visual arts editor for Jasper Magazine, secretary of the Jasper Project Board of Directors, Curator of Art for the Koger Center for the Arts.

Money Where Your Mouth Is Installation Thursday, July 31 at 6:30

“What moves men of genius, or rather what inspires their work, is not new ideas, but their obsession with the idea that what has already been said is still not enough.” - Eugene Delacroix


When Columbia-based arts advocate and influencer Jared Johnson decides to take on a project, HE TAKES THAT PROJECT ON, generously investing his wide and varied resources in bringing it to fruition. For the past few weeks Johnson has been working on the not-so-subtly titled MONEY WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS project with a group of individuals he assembled specifically to meet the needs of an artist whose work he’d like to see supported both culturally and financially. The artist is Monique Dove and a celebration of her work will be held Thursday evening, July 31, at 6:30 at 2001 Greene Street, Suite D.


According to Johnson, “The Money Where Your Mouth Is art event is a unique opportunity for Columbia, SC to change its approach to how we support local talent. This city loves the arts and we enjoy going to exhibitions and viewing art, but that love doesn’t always translate into purchasing art. The lack of sales have a direct impact on artists’ survival and ability to live and create more work/art.”

“Money Where Your Mouth Is,” Johnson continues, “aims to change the current narrative of the Columbia art scene. Yes, this event is free and open to the public and there will be free cocktails for guests. But the organizers will also be inviting and reaching out to those who appreciate art and have the means to pay for art. The goal is to work together as a community to sell art. … This event is the first of its kind and the inaugural artist is the talented Monique Dove and her wonderful work will be for sale. with 100 % of sales going to the artist and the hope and prayer is that these funds help her transition out of living in her car to and into safer housing.”

The event is free and open to the public. Drinks and light snacks will be served.

Who: Monique Dove
What: Money Where Your Mouth Is Art Event
When: July 31st, 2025
Where: 2001 Greene Street, Suite D, #ColumbiaSC




Jasper's Tiny Gallery Artist Also Featured at All Good Books July 31

At Jasper, we love it when the stars cross and Jasper’s featured artists have opportunities to shine across organizations and venues. For example, our Tiny Gallery featured artist for July, Jessica Ream, will be spotlighted at Columbia’s beloved indie bookstore, All Good Books, on Thursday July 31 from 5 - 6 pm.

Here’s what All Good Books says about the event:

Bookbinding Presentation with Local Artist Jessica Ream

Thursday Jul 31st, 2025 — 5:00 PM

Artist Talk

 734 Harden St, Columbia SC 29205

Do you love an old book? Do you love a good journal? (Even if it is just for collecting rather than filling). Have you ever been curious about how either one is made? Better yet, ever wanted to make your own?

Join local artist and bookbinder, Jessica Ream, for an evening of book chat to learn all about the ins and outs of how she creates her one of kind journals from linen, leather and repurposed old books. You will get to play with the different bookbinding tools, watch some live demos, ask all the questions your curiosity conjours and even get your hands messy making a small journal of your own. Just kidding, it won’t be messy, but it will be fun!

Jessica Ream was born in Columbus, Ohio early in the year 1990, but was raised in Carolina suburbia. She attended Savannah College of Art and Design where she graduated with honors and a BFA in Painting. A jack-of-all trades artist, she incorporates her knowledge of painting, photography, print, sewing and sculpture into her mixed media, abstract pieces. In recent years, she has rediscovered her love of hand binding books. While mainly self taught, she was first introduced to the world of book arts in a workshop she attended while studying abroad. Her hand bound journals are made from a mix of traditional materials and rebound, vintage books. After spending time in the High Rockies of Colorado, she and her husband have returned to their southeastern origins, where they reside with their son and newborn daughter.

~~~~~

So check out Jessica’s current online exhibition from the comfort of you own computer or mobile device anytime 24/7 at Jasper’s Tiny Gallery Site through July 31st — and then visit All Good Books on July 31st to learn even more about Jessica, bookbinding, and how you might be able to use that knowledge to create something beautiful yourself!

10 More Days to See Judy Bolton Jarrett's Art at Sound Bites Eatery in Downtown Columbia

There’s one more week to catch the art of Judy Bolton Jarrett at Sound Bites Eatery, 1425 Sumter Street, though the good folks at Sound Bites will be sorry to see Jarrett’s beautiful work leave their walls.

A household name in the greater Chapin area, Jarrett opened her own gallery space in 1990 and, on June 1, 2025, the artist celebrated the 35th anniversary of Art Can Studio at 108 Beaufort Street in downtown Chapin. Having served as a high school English teacher for 21 years prior to becoming a professional artist, Jarrett sees the title as her second chapter of life. “My training came from workshops, mostly in watercolor, with local and national instructors,” Jarrett says. “But the experience of picking up a brush and practicing consistently generated a style that was recognizable as mine. As I progressed in confidence, I eventually turned from watercolor into water media, gradually using acrylics and mixed media as my mediums.”

A graduate of Presbyterian College, Jarrett went on to become a juried signature member of the South Carolina Watermedia Society and the Georgia National Watercolor Society. While the artist has abbreviated studio hours of late—Art Can Studio is open on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, and all other times by appointment only—she still participates in the occasional juried art exhibitions in SC, Georgia, and Tennessee.

Jarrett’s current show at Sound Bites, “Small Works with Large Impact,” is a collection of acrylic and mixed media paintings that the artist says, “represent my love of spontaneity in both color and style, from impressionism to contemporary interpretations. Texture and color are significant elements in every painting. Mixed media works incorporate violin, clock parts, piano hammers, and words.”

Jarrett’s Sound Bites exhibition will be up until the morning of Saturday August 2nd, but if you miss the show, find Jarrett and her work at Art Can Studio in downtown Chapin and visit her website 24/7 to keep up with all this active and still-getting-it-done octogenarian artist is up to!

And mark your calendars for August - October 2026 when Jarrett celebrates her 85th birthday with a solo show at the Botanical Garden at UGA!

Gallery Exhibit Reception Double Feature at the Koger Center

The Koger Center for the Arts has been dedicated to rejuvenating its building with brand new art on the walls during the lull of summer break. On Thursday, July 17, from 5:30 – 7 p.m., they are hosting a large art reception for the newest exhibits: in the Nook in collaboration with Jasper, Virginia Russo will be exhibiting brand new work during the month of July. In the Gallery at the Koger Center, the winners of their annual call for art are exhibiting in the group show “The Koger Center Project Winners’ Exhibition.” This exhibition features Kelley Pettibone, Staci Swider, Jordan Dantzler, Jean Lomasto, and Marion Mason. The reception is free and open to the public.

To learn more about the featured artists in the Koger Center Project Winners’ Exhibition, visit the Koger Center website here. This exhibit will be on display through September 12, 2025.

Kara Virginia Russo is a mixed media abstract artist working with watercolor, ink, collage, pencil, and embroidery to create works with layers of meaning and symbol. After recieving her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Converse College in Spartanburg, SC, she lived in Asia and Europe before returning with her husband and two children to settle in Greenville, SC. Her work portrays the essence of things, bypassing realism and portraying what cannot be seen.

Jasper Presents Acclaimed Artist Stephen Chesley for Third Thursday Art Night at The Nook - September 21st

Please join the Jasper Project as we welcome acclaimed visual artist Stephen Chesley to Jasper’s little corner of the Koger Center — The Nook — a rotating 2nd floor gallery space for featuring some of the best of the Midlands visual artists.

According to Chesley, “This exhibition is the result of ghost prints from direct painting in a variant style of Sumi Japanese ink drawings. The inclusion of an Asian aesthetic in the manner of Zen brush drills is to obtain emotional content through understanding abstraction of tone and form. The sheer thousands in volume of process has the intent of teaching one's understanding of autography and brushstroke. The yin-yang of black and white references balance of nature embellished with concepts of summary outline and simultaneous contrast set forth by Ogden Rood's 1879 color treatise notably embraced by George Seurat.”

Sumi-e, which means back ink painting, is typically described as art created in monochrome with the use of sumi ink and handmade paper.

Chesley goes on to say that, “Images in this exhibition are a unique hybrid of direct painting and printmaking. Elements of mysticism in these works emanate from ideas of forerunners Morris Graves, Paul Gauguin, Walter Anderson, and George Inness, who all sought to reveal the spirit world always before us.”

Chesley continues, “These figure ground pieces present and lyrical and poetic rendering of the gift of the sublime ordinary found in life and nature. All life, both animate and inanimate, is in consideration of treatises of physics including: Big Bang, singularity, and concepts of deep time. It is apparent that we share atoms with all things and that there is unfathomable structure and connection that is universal, timeless, and infinite. Human sentience is not the only sentience. As we look at landscapes, trees, animals, plants, waves, clouds, and stars, we look at ourselves.”

Stephen Chesley was born in Schenectady, New York in 1952. He exhibited a natural proclivity for drawing and art almost as soon as he could hold pastels and pencils, which were often Christmas gifts from his family. Growing up in Virginia Beach in the late 1950s, he was exposed to the Beat Generation of musicians, artists, and writers when it was still a seasonal seaside resort. Self-motivated, he continued with his drawing and small paintings along with exposure to local artists. Recognized in 1981 by the Columbia Museum of Art as an emerging talent, he went on to win top 100 in the first National Parks competition of 1987. He continues his creative journey with an art spirit in Columbia, SC.

We are delighted to welcome Stephen Chesley to The Nook and invite you to view his work throughout September and October, and to join us for a small reception Thursday, September 21st from 5:30 - 7 pm.

Amy Kuenzie at Sound Bites Eatery!

Amy Kuenzie is Jasper’s featured artist at Sound Bites Eatery this month!

A native South Carolinian currently based in Lexington, Kuenzie says her artistic inspiration is the beauty in everyday life and attributes this policy to “the result of living in the moment and seeking refuge from memories of trauma.”

Kuenzie’s favorite medium is acrylic and she uses special techniques such as bokeh (bokeh is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in out-of-focus parts of an image) and brush work to create depth and focus.

Kuenzie studied art for seven years in her youth but did not pursue further education after high school. After retiring, she began painting as a means of therapy for C-PTSD. Her work has been included in over a dozen shows including Piccolo Spoleto 2022 at City Gallery, in Charleston, SC.

According to Kuenzie, “Borrowing subjects from my life or nature, I use color and depth of field to draw the viewer in to see the emotion and personality of each piece.” She continues, “Painting has helped me heal from Complex-PTSD and to connect with my truest self. Through use of value and contrast, I expose and preserve a moment in time and provide the viewer a new perspective on the beauty all around us.”

Kuenzie’s Jasper-sponsored exhibit at Sound Bites will be on view throughout the month of September at 1425 Sumter Street in downtown Columbia, SC.







Jeffrey Miller’s Exploration of Life Through Humor, Audacity, Absurdity and Juxtaposition

I was once told by someone that they did not know if they liked my work because I wasn't doing what everybody else was doing. I have never before been so complimented— Jeffrey Miller

Jeffrey Miller’s work traces a handful of related themes, ideas, and images through a variety of mediums. He is an artist always exploring and keeping options open—and he is Jasper’s featured Tiny Gallery artist for the month of September. 

Miller grew up in small-town Campbellsville, Kentucky, a “typical child except for an oversized imagination and an unrelenting curiosity.” While he did not grow up around art, he often drew in the margins of his mom’s old textbooks—deterred from marking up the walls of his home instead. Of all things, though, it was an encyclopedia that began the blossoming of Miller’s identity as an artist. 

“One day my father drew a polar bear sketch that he copied from those encyclopedias; excited, I asked him to do it again but instead he gave me the pencil and told me to do it myself,” Miller recalls. “That was all the encouragement I needed. I was about 5 years old then, and I got my first real commission at the age of 12—I earned $100 for painting a logo for a truck driver on both doors of his truck.” 

From this moment, Miller went on to commit himself to art, receiving an art scholarship from Campbellsville University and finishing his art degree at Murray State University 

“At University I was introduced to and gained more knowledge about materials and art history; as far as process, though, it seems more I just learned the name to call what I was already doing,” Miller says. “The biggest and most influencing thing was the atmosphere and the presence of so many other people involved in the creative process…that I really miss!”

BLACK CAT BLUES

Since getting his degree, Miller has continued to grow and expand his horizons. One of his greatest fears is being trapped in a box. As he says, there are “too many possibilities to explore.” In his mind, work predicts medium, so the more mediums one is familiar with, the more the subject matter can spread its wings. 

“Being a good painter or good in whatever chosen medium is a technical evaluation—creativity is something more,” he says. “Besides which, good is a relative term so it literally tells you nothing about an art piece.” 

And art is something Miller is always doing. When asked what he does when not creating, he says that he sees everything he partakes in within his everyday life as some form of artmaking. In that vein, Miller does not have a specific theme he chases—in fact, he sees this as one of the limitations people place around artists and their work. 

In his mind, work predicts medium, so the more mediums one is familiar with, the more the subject matter can spread its wings. 

“People ask what I was thinking when I did this piece or that piece. The only answer is my thinking was absorbed in the piece I'm working on at the time. Anything else is an afterthought,” he says. “The work is complete when I've done my job as an artist and I'm on to the next canvas. The important thing is what [the viewer] brings to the piece, what do [they] think. A piece of art is not complete without the viewer, and each viewer will bring thoughts of their own.” 

If he could find a throughline in his piece, he would say it is all, in some way or another, a celebration of life in all its forms, regardless of the themes and emotions within. If art is in his every day, his art also shows the everyday.

VENUS OF THE BAYOU

“There is an ebb and flow, a push and pull, a transitoriness about life that must be reflected in one's art if that art is about life. The imagery, ideas, and concepts are a reflection of day-to-day life which I personally tend to express through humor, audacity, absurdity, and juxtaposition,” Miller says. “I was once told by someone that they did not know if they liked my work because I wasn't doing what everybody else was doing. I have never before been so complimented.” 

In this Tiny Gallery show, Miller shows off these juxtapositions of life in his newest medium: printmaking, of which he has had an introductory class and, so far, is “finding nothing about it that [he doesn’t] like.” Adjacently, he has started exploring digital art, and he has found himself particularly connected to a new digital image he made—the cover photo of this article.  

“[The piece] totally reflects the art that is me—the art just described to you in the above paragraphs. I usually work from a fleeting mental image in response to something I've seen, heard, or read,” he says. “The mental image may or may not come immediately but it always comes in the same way, like a light brush across the cheek or a fast, flashing image like from the old slide projectors. I turn to get a better look and it is gone. There are times when I only see it when the piece is done—I like it that way.”

THE FALCONER

Perhaps it is this mindset that has led to Miller winning a handful of art contests, including an advertising award from Doe Anderson Advertising Co., as well as serving as an educator for the Lexington Library Adult Education Program for four years.

 Today, he displays at various festivals and community sponsored events, and you can see—and purchase—his work 24/7 until the end of September at Jasper’s online gallery space. After the show, interested patrons can follow his journey on Facebook and Instagram @ Jeffrey Miller Artworks.