Jasper Partners with SC State Museum to Present Screening of the New Iteration of Wade Sellers' Film PETER LENZO: IN MEMORY OF HIS MEMORY

Friday July 17th @ SC State Museum

12 pm — Artist Talk with Roxy Lenzo Douthit

6 pm — Screening - Peter Lenzo: In Memory of His Memory

by Wade Sellers

IF I ONLY HAD A BRAIN BY PETER LENZO

Join the Jasper Project at the South Carolina State Museum (301 Gervais Street) in the Lipscomb gallery on Friday night, July 17th at 6 pm for the screening of Wade Seller’s expanded film Peter Lenzo: In Memory of His Memory.

Originally created for the Jasper Project’s February 2026 exhibition Peter Lenzo: A Retrospective and Remembrance at Stormwater Studios, Sellers says, “This current screening expands on the existing film by adding interviews with his brothers Anthony and Steven, as well as his sister, Lisa.” He expects there will be a third and final version of the film at a later date.

“I never knew  Peter Lenzo,” Sellers says. “There were many moments we were probably in the same room, but we never met. I knew his work through his notoriety and through his art dealer and never quite understood why it drew me in so much. This film allows me the luxury to not only meet the man through his family and those that loved his work, but also through his own thoughts and words.”

Lenzo, known world-wide for his reliquaries and facejugs that married his unique style with traditional ceramic vessels prominent in the southern US, came to South Carolina in the 1990s. As Paul Matheny, Chief Curator and Director of Cultural affairs at the SC State Museum, writes in the book, Peter Lenzo: In Memory of His Memory (The Jasper Project, 2026), he “had an almost immediate impact in a state already rich with ceramic history.”

Lenzo, born in 1955 in New York died on October 6, 2024, after decades of seizures and their repercussions from a bike incident early in his life. He grew up in Detroit, and later lived in California, Illinois, and Columbia, SC.

Filmmaker Wade Sellers reflects on his film project, “I am fascinated by why artists, artists who have no choice other than to create, are drawn to the work they make. Peter’s story of a lifetime as an artist, a lifetime of seizures and dependency on others, and finding a home in the work was a story I couldn’t resist exploring and sharing with others.”

Sellers is an independent filmmaker and producer based in Columbia, SC. He is a four-time Emmy nominee whose production company, Coal Powered Filmworks, focuses on producing documentary and independent film projects. His work has been seen on cable and PBS stations nationwide and independent theaters and festivals throughout the United States and Europe. He began work in independent film as a cinematographer and in the late 1990s he followed this work to New York City, where he began establishing a strong resume of work with independent film and corporate clients. After returning to the south he turned his focus to producing and directing, and founded Coal Powered Filmworks, producing work for local, regional, and national clients. His work has been recognized with Addys, Tellys and numerous other awards and he is the 2025 recipient of the SC Governor's Award for the Arts.

The celebration of Peter Lenzo’s contribution to culture will begin at noon on July 17th with an artist talk presented by Lenzo’s daughter, Roxy Lenzo Douthit. Both events are free and open to the public.(Full disclosure, Lenzo Douthit is a member of the Jasper Project board of directors.)

To purchase the book, Peter Lenzo: In Memory of His Memory, scan the QR code below. 

Jasper Project Presents 3rd Thursday Featured Artist Sonya Diimmler in The Nook @ Koger Center

Opening Reception - Thursday, July 16th 5:30 - 7

Join Jasper and Friends this Thursday evening our Nook Gallery space at the Koger Center for the Arts as we celebrate the opening of Sonya Diimmler’s new exhibition of highly emotive abstract.

Part of a collaboration between the Jasper Project, the Koger Center, and the Congaree Vista, Jasper programs a monthly rotating gallery on the second tier of the Koger with an opening celebration each Thursday.

Blossoming Romance by Sonya Diimmler

According to the artist, “Sonya Diimmler brings dramatic color to dreamy contemporary landscapes and larger than life abstracts.” The artist “discovered painting during a season of caring for her aging parents. Serendipitously painting became a way to process loss, navigate grief, and rediscover hope. The dynamic color, loose brushwork, and expressive mark-making, convey emotion and energy.”

Diimmler paints colorful South Carolina lake and landscapes along with her favorite subject and muse, her Bulldog Smedley. Sonya’s work has earned awards at the SC State Fair, Union County Arts Council, and Crooked Creek Art League.

Having just started painting in 2015, Sonya fell in love with the process and quickly began a daily painting practice. She continually seeks to improve through frequent workshops and has studied with the late Mary Bentz Gilkerson and Michael Story.

In 2016 she joined the Crooked Creek Art League in Chapin, SC where she served as Workshop Coordinator and President and remains an active member. She has participated in a number of community art projects including her popular “Ship of Drools” sailboat from The Arts Sail into Chapin project in 2019. She also created the colorful canine and feline portraits on the fence outside Chapin Veterinary Hospital on Columbia Avenue in Chapin.

Diimmler now paints full time from her home studio in Prosperity, South Carolina.

Enjoy Diimmler’s art at the Koger Center during standard opening hours as well as before and after all Koger Center events throughout July and until the third week of August.

One Columbia Announces Cultural Layers Community Celebrations, Unveiling New Public Murals Honoring Columbia's African American History

"For us, public art is more than just what you see; it's about creating connections …" — Xavier Blake

Artist - Daniel Esquivia-Zapata

From our Friends at One Columbia …

One Columbia for Arts and Culture will host the Cultural Layers Community Celebrations, two free public events marking the unveiling of new public artwork honoring the stories, people, and places at the heart of Columbia's historically African American neighborhoods. The celebrations take place Saturday, July 18, at 2:00 PM at Richland Library Edgewood and Sunday, July 19, at 3:00 PM at the Richland Library Main Auditorium. Admission is free and open to the public.

The new artwork honors former residents and legacies of the Booker T. Washington, Ward One, and Wheeler Hill neighborhoods. Cultural Layers is a public art and storytelling initiative led by One Columbia and funded by the Knight Foundation and the Central Carolina Community Foundation. The project preserves and amplifies histories from these communities through photography, videography, oral histories, archival research, and public art, centering the individuals who shaped the city and the schools and neighborhoods that served as cultural and social anchors for generations.

At each celebration, attendees can view the completed murals and public artwork, meet several of the individuals depicted in the work, and connect with the community members, historians, and cultural partners who helped bring the project to life. The events are designed as community gatherings grounded in memory, local history, and collective pride.

Featured artists include Daniel Esquivia-Zapata, Visual Artist and Educator; Nora Williams, Photographer and Cultural Worker; and Malcolm Vanhannegeyn, CEO of Perspective Cinema and Cinematographer. Community members featured in the work include Crissandra Elliott, Deacon Richard Caughman, and Raymond Richardson.

"For us, public art is more than just what you see; it's about creating connections," said Xavier Blake, One Columbia Executive Director. "Through Cultural Layers and the incredible talents of Daniel, Nora, and Malcolm, we hope to create a lasting impact that honors the lives, spaces, and histories that shape our city."

The celebrations are made possible with the support of community partners and sponsors including Central Carolina Community Foundation, Knight Foundation, Richland County Library, the A'ja Wilson Foundation, the Center for Civil Rights History and Research at the University of South Carolina, Columbia SC 63, the Ward One Organization, and Friends of African American Art & Culture.

More information is available at onecolumbiasc.com/public-art/cultural-layers-project/.

FROM THE PRINT ISSUE - PART THREE IN OUR SERIES ON KOGER CENTER PROJECT WINNING ARTISTS featuring WILMA KING

Wilma King

by Cindi Boiter

Photography by Brad Martin

“I  remember an incident in fourth grade that helped me focus in on my love of art and design,” Columbia-based visual artist and winner of the 2022 Draw Jasper competition, Wilma King begins. “My teacher, Ms. Hendrix, knew how to inspire and cultivate creativity. She read to us, held in-class competitions, and infused applied learning into our coursework way back then. Our school was on a military base in Fort Greely, Alaska. My mind was full of dreams of being a nurse like Clara Barton until Ms. Hendrix announced a fashion design competition. My classmates convinced me that I would surely win – but I didn't. So, I launched this compulsion to design paper dolls for my sisters, friends, and anyone who would let me do so. It was an experience that allowed me to delve deeply into individual, and cultural preferences for design, color, shape, size, and form.” 

That lesson, to persevere despite all odds, has served King well as a guiding force driving her to accomplish a life full of achievements and broken barriers that serves as an inspiration to artists and women and people of color today.

Born in Lexington, SC, King, who has a BA in studio art from the University of SC and a MA in journalism from Texas Southern University in Houston, says she grew up both in Lower Richland County and Alaska. “I have lived in 11 different states and done domestic and international sabbaticals that took me to a cumulative 9 months of slow travels and teaching abroad in Italy and in Canada. After more than 30 years of doing some of the things I found interesting and exciting, and to become my mother's primary caregiver, I moved back home to SC.”

But that was not before teaching art at the Art Institute in Houston, O’More College in Franklin, TN, SUNY, and serving as an associate professor in PR at both Western Kentucky University and well as the Rochester Institute of Technology in upstate New York. “I always felt there should be a collaboration between words and images. I taught graphic design, computerized design, or some form of public relations design most of my career, beginning with launching, teaching, and designing the first courses and curriculum in commercial art here in Columbia at Benedict College.”

King was the first Black faculty member in the Department of Journalism and Broadcasting, and she stayed there for 16 years where “they allowed me to do things I never dreamed I could do.” One of those dreams-come-true was launching an international conference on diversity and inviting groundbreaking photojournalist Gordon Parks to the school for three days of lectures and hands-on learning. “It was then that I started to specialize in art and storytelling,” King says, reflecting on her time with Parks, whose documentary style photography was instrumental in the fight for civil rights but who went on to be the first Black person to produce and direct major motion pictures, including 1971’s revolutionary film, Shaft.

I came to love a very well-written painting,” King says, adding that “art should tell a story,” an endeavor she strives for in her own work. “I enjoy telling my stories as well as those of people I have met along the way. An avid nonfiction reader, I try to incorporate a level of authenticity, through descriptive and narrative detail in my paintings. I focus on the story to give it broader meaning – that is, the painting’s relationship-building potential. People often comment on my style. I paint from memory, not photos (unless commissioned to do so), and I rarely use references. Various elements in each painting are carefully outlined to show that the story is a composite of different places and spans of time.”

King’s medium of choice is acrylic. “My very wonderful art professors at USC, particularly Jim Edwards, taught me that acrylics are extremely adaptable and can convincingly disguise as other paint mediums.” And as for her technique, “I would say that I have either a ‘gentle’ realism or perhaps a somewhat ‘rigid’ surrealism style,” she says. “I am not painting from photographs unless I’m commissioned to or as reference. The white outlined objects in my work come together in my memories from myriad places and times.”

Among her greatest influences are Dony Mac Manus, sculptor/founder of the School for Sacred Art in Florence,  Italy, and Giancarlo Polenghi, the school's director of the master’s program who is an Italian art historian and teaches theology of the body. “They both helped me to understand that the purpose and power of art is to elevate the status of individuals in communities and in society.”

“Now, each day, before I begin to paint, I study some of the great Christian art. I enjoy Biblical stories through the eyes of Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni, Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, Peter Paul Rubens, Cristofo de Predis, Rogier van der Weyden, Rembrandt, Vincent Van Gogh, and even Salvador Dali.”

But she adds that, “Jonathan Green has given me some very good advice and critique on my work, as well,” counting Greene as one among her three favorite SC artists. “I love his use of color and form, and the stories of the African American experiences in the South. He depicts an enjoyment, pride, and love for life that is seldom seen these days. His viewpoint and perspective are necessary against a backdrop of sadness, anger, and bitterness in the world.”

Her other two favorite home-state artists are Gerard Erley and Phillip Mullen. Of Erley she says his technique is “akin to that of the ‘great masters,’ not only in his artistic ability, but also in the way he commands his storytelling.” From Mullen, her former drawing professor whose work she says she “has always loved,” King says, “I learned to be meticulous in the details and still develop a style distinguishable from everyone else.”

With a CV replete with honors, awards, grants, and fellowships, listings of lectures given, international conferences organized and attended, publications in books and esteemed journals as well as listings of books and publications she designed, and truly, more accomplishments than can be recorded here, King’s humility is overwhelming. It is beyond anticlimactic to mention her recognition as the winner of a competition as prosaic as the Draw Jasper contest, but it must be done.

It is on the cover of this issue of Jasper Magazine that Wilma King’s painting, Jasper is published, the winning entry in the 2022 Draw Jasper Competition. “My art is of hindsight, unable to catch up with the present – because the present becomes the past too quickly. Nonetheless, each of us are where we need to be when it comes to our art,” King says. “The Jasper painting expresses the joy of being where I am now, and the struggle of recognizing significant moments and collaborative memories from multiple sources. Through the colors and imagery, I try to describe my vision of a world that is seeded and then grows from my South Carolina and Louisiana Creole cultural roots. It also speaks of my age that notices and shares the pivotal history of two generations before me.”

“These days, I read less than I used to (a book each week), and paint more,” King continues. “I am painting each day, whether it is on canvas or glassware. Art is a way of praying. It helps me find positivity in whatever I am confronted with throughout the day – good or bad. I am seeking ways to put the events of the day in proper perspective and finding a way to reconcile my day in gratitude. I began what I hope will become a series of painting based on contemplative and spiritual exercises. I believe art should elevate the status of persons and communities. Finally, I have had a happy life, despite a few calamitous events I certainly hope the happiness is what my art passes on to others.” 

 Wisdom from Wilma King: I think there's a need to not only expose the world to Columbia arts, but to also expose Columbia arts to the world! There are ideas and opportunities for collaborations that are not being explored. Let's create some opportunities for collaborations and universality through perhaps Sister Cities for starters.

On my wish list? It's time for a women's museum, a children's museum, and an independent art school. The spirit and excitement of art is apparent in Columbia’s eclectic art community. Still, the more we venture out, explore, and study the universal art world, the less repetitive we become.

This article appeared in the Fall 2022 Print issue of Jasper Magazine.

FROM THE PRINT ISSUE - PART TWO IN OUR SERIES ON KOGER CENTER PROJECT WINNING ARTISTS featuring COLLEEN CANNON-CARLOS

Welcome to the second article in our series on the Koger Center Project’s Winning Artists. You can get the background on this series in yesterday’s article on Kate Timbes, and learn more about the project and the other winners from an earlier Jasper Online post. Today we’re featuring Colleen Cannon-Karlos and sharing the article by Emily Moffitt that appears in the spring issue of Jasper Magazine!

~~~

Colleen Cannon-Karlos:

Left Brain, Right Brain – One Artist 

By Emily Moffitt

Photography by Perry McLeod

The intersection of art and science is sometimes explored only in name, particularly in academic settings. However, for Colleen Cannon-Karlos, the two fields are inextricably intertwined both in her art and her personhood.

Cannon-Karlos' upbringing took her across the country to both coasts—born in Los Angeles to native New Yorker parents, she ended up moving to New York after her parents divorced. During her school years, she excelled in all subjects, participating in gifted student programs and having a strong handle on both sides of her brain. The left brain seemed to dictate her path slightly more as she had not considered being an artist when she was younger. She still enjoyed creative endeavors, however. According to Cannon-Karlos, “I never had a formal art class growing up in school, and the gifted programs in the Bronx that I participated in had music as the cultural enrichment.” This did not stop Cannon-Karlos from pursuing artistic hobbies at home as her mother taught her how to knit, sew, and crochet. At home, she made her own art projects that combined her budding fiber arts skills with recycled materials like popsicle sticks and old fabrics. This resourcefulness has resurfaced years later in the Cannon-Karlos work we see today.

Even as the designated artist of the family, Cannon-Karlos still initially enrolled in schooling oriented toward a career in math or science. “I went to the Bronx High School of Science and had an affinity for math and physics,” says Cannon-Karlos. “There was a drafting class available if anyone wanted to be an architect or engineer, … I absolutely loved taking it. The precision, tools, and learning how to transfer schematic drawings into three-dimensions—I use these skills in my work today all the time.”

Precision is the key to much of Cannon-Karlos' artistic practices today. She developed these tools even further when she studied at Stanford University and worked in the physics lab. Her curriculum was strenuous and extremely scientific, but she always had art in the back of her mind. While in college at Stanford, the artist’s aunt asked her to make some art for her. This became an “a-ha” moment for Cannon-Karlos, whose time spent in the lab, identifying subatomic particles of smashed atoms, did not leave much time for creative hobbies. “I rediscovered my love for making stuff, using materials as simple as magic markers,” she remembers. It was time for her to find her path not only as someone with a knack for science, but also as an artist.

Cannon-Karlos decided to take a gap year from her Stanford studies and moved back to New York City to, hopefully, establish a career as an artist. She spent her days teaching herself how to paint, exploring museums and creative communities, and communing with playwrights, artists, and musicians. “This was during the 70s, so a lot of the community’s creative endeavors coalesced with different sociopolitical movements of the era,” Cannon-Karlos says. “There was this explosion of creative, dynamic energy that was so immersive and different from today.”

Working on her art career paid off early as she had her first gallery representation when she was 19-years-old. She began dabbling in photography and even convinced the staff photographer at the Studio Museum of Harlem to let her work with him in the darkroom. After spending the year building her portfolios in a variety of media, drawing, painting, and photography, she went back to Stanford and switched her major from sociology to art with a concentration in photography.

 She flourished in the field while also continuing to experiment with other media. The inquisitive Cannon-Karlos always had a knack for trying and learning something new and says that “some artists do the same thing for decades, but it is my nature to explore.” In her twenties, she began to bring back her fiber arts skills to simultaneously turn a profit and make some serious work; she was introduced to fabric design by her former husband, a fellow artist. She began to sell her handmade fabrics and clothing in flea markets, then boutiques and stores in New York. Eventually, Cannon-Karlos took the lessons she had learned practicing her art and began to apply them to something new: academia.

Throughout her career, Cannon-Karlos has instructed students of all ages, from elementary school through college. Since her methods of problem-solving combine both artistic and scientific approaches, she uses this thought process to her advantage in the classroom. She teaches her students that they may have analytic tools but they still need to be able to think outside the box.

The artist has also created curricula based around projects in which students can learn scientific concepts by making art. In Durham, NC, for example, she worked with the local art council and taught classes to elementary schoolers in which they studied ocean science through technical concepts but also had opportunities to create sculptures like jellyfish and tube worms with plastic bags, paper tubes, and other recycled materials that can, unfortunately, easily be found in oceans and bodies of water.

While she lived in Hawaii, she created curricula that truly captured the intersection of her interests. “I was finally able to make a proposal for an Art, Science, and Technology Class that collaborated with the marine science department,” says Cannon-Karlos. “We had a mix of art and science majors in the class, and we were allowed to use lab equipment, including their scanning electron microscopes. This allowed us to see the intricacies of the designs of a particular specimen at a microscopic level and beyond.” The designs found on the plates were only black and white, so the students would then learn how to use Photoshop to add color to their discoveries. While this was an art project in essence, Cannon-Karlos made sure that all students flexed both sides of their brains and wrote explanations of each step of their project, including why they dissected the image in a particular way, how they manipulated the image, and what they learned from the experience. The science-minded students loved the opportunity to express their inner creativity, and the arts students jumped at the opportunity to exhibit their talents on an academic level.

Thess lessons were among the many ways that Cannon-Karlos exhibited her proficiency in seeing things beyond the material plane and comprehending, on a deeper level, the use of an object or material for something completely different. Using recycled materials for creating artwork started in her childhood, and it has manifested contemporaneously as her preferred medium.

Piles of cardboard boxes inevitably piled up across Cannon-Karlos' cross-country moves. After collecting so many, but not wanting to throw them in the waste, she decided to express her resourcefulness by stripping, cutting, and tearing the boxes apart. “Being a science aficionado, I like to experiment with my materials and am always in that mindset of play,” says Cannon-Karlos. “I realized I could make some imagery with these strips.”

Cannon-Karlos had started to experiment with cardboard in 2019, but it was not until after the pandemic and a final move to Columbia that she seriously started to create with it. The cardboard allows Cannon-Karlos to work as a scientist again, finding ways to challenge herself and test new hypotheses regarding how she can use the cardboard and adapt the surface to do different things. One such test of skill was born out of observing sweetgrass basket weaving. “When I saw the weavers … I asked myself if I could simulate the weaving process with the corrugated cardboard.” This process also made Cannon-Karlos reflect on the resourcefulness of African artists, especially with recycled materials of their own. Her work is a constant conversation between culture and science, always looking to explore what that conversation could look like on a surface with one of the most accessible materials available. “A lot of recycled materials are brought over and dumped into Africa,” notes Cannon-Karlos. “The artists are very resourceful; they can go to the dump and pull fabrics, electronics, and other trash then turn it into the most amazing work. I am very inspired by people who look at things differently and turn them into something new.”

Like many other artists, Cannon-Karlos' career path did not follow a straight trajectory. The moves, twists, and turns provided great opportunities at each bend, but nothing necessarily consistent. “If I followed my trajectory out of grad school in the 90s, I may have become more prominent in the art world,” says Cannon-Karlos. “I have had to put my career aside working as a single parent. It is hard to be an artist when you are taking care of a family.” While working in Hawaii, she had first-hand experience with the exorbitant costs of shipping artwork, and the transience of teaching positions in higher education. Her trips across the country, while pursuing her dreams, created different bumps along the road. But when asked if she had the chance to do everything all over again, Cannon-Karlos admits that she may not change anything at all. Her life experiences and her way of approaching art, as both an academic and a creative, are what make her portfolios so alluring, with viewers waiting with anticipation to see what she’ll create next.

FROM THE PRINT ISSUE -- Jasper Writes About 5 of the 6 Koger Center Project Winning Artists (and we're adding the 6th to our story bank!)

At the Jasper Project we have nothing but praise and appreciation for the work the Koger Center for the Arts has done to bring more diverse arts disciplines to their halls. In addition to providing Jasper with a designated space called The Nook to offer monthly openings in conjunction with The Vista’s Third Thursday celebration (thanks Koger!), over the past few years they have elevated SC visual arts appreciation by sponsoring their own visual arts contest (sort of awkwardly) titled The Koger Center Project. Jasper has written about this year’s winners already via Jasper Online, but we were happy to find that we have already written about 5 out of 6 of the winning artists in the pages of Jasper Magazine. Let’s take a look back at these stories by visiting the Jasper Magazine archives.

Photo by Perry McLeod

Kate Timbes: Right Places, Right Times

By Emily Moffitt

Ten days after Kate Timbes graduated from Wofford University, she moved halfway across the world to Germany. This was a decision that became integral not only to her career, but to her life as an artist.

Timbes graduated from Wofford’s studio art program in 2023 with a minor in business and film. She grew up in a creative household, amongst a sister with an affinity for art and a father who worked as an architect. The creative spirit of her family spanned multiple generations; Timbes’ grandfather is an artist as well, and her mother often brought her to bead crafting shows growing up. “I credit my parents and their support and belief in me to be an artist,” says Timbes. “They never questioned my career choice.” Her parents were there to watch her artistic abilities flourish from coloring with crayons, to creating commissions for their family friends. Even now, Timbes’ studio where she perfects her craft is at her parents’ house.

Growing up, Timbes knew she wanted to pursue art after spending her childhood years painting and making jewelry, but she originally considered graphic design as a career. It was not until her undergraduate years at Wofford that she discovered and fell in love with studio art. While studying studio art, she got to explore with a variety of mediums and pursued as many opportunities as possible to learn what she could. “I accepted a work study at a school in Tennessee where I learned to spin my own wool,” says Timbes. “I saw so many other artists honing their craft, and they were all so encouraging and eager to share their knowledge with me.”

Photo by Perry McLeod

As her studies progressed, one of her professors at Wofford approached her and asked if she had any experience making paper. “I told her I had seen it be made, and I spent the next two months learning as much as I could about the medium,” Timbes says. “I was going to help lead a class on how to make your own paper. The next thing I knew, I could not get my hands out of paper baths.”

Awakened with a sense of wonder in how to push the limits of this newfound medium, Timbes started to see motifs from her existing practice reawakened. She found that she resonated with the low-to-zero waste practice of making paper from scratch and wanted to learn how to use plant fibers to make new sheets. Timbes says, “I felt very connected to a tradition that is starting to disappear in certain places around the world.”

At the beginning of her papermaking practice, Timbes would experiment with sheet pulling to see what would happen, figuring out if the sheet would be used for painting, sculpture, or just exist as a sheet of paper. Now, just a few years later, paper making is Timbes’ primary method of creating building blocks for her art in her daily routine. “When I am on the journey to find what possibilities exist within paper, and what it is going to do to push me...I find it to be a very conversational art practice.”

Photo by Perry McLeod

Conversation itself is integral to many of Timbes’ artistic endeavors. The paper that Timbes creates is made through a conversation of intention: what will a specific piece of paper be used for, what kind of fibers are needed for the sheet, and how will it react to the additives? Timbes even casts her own body in handmade paper for some of her projects. The resourcefulness of the artist is not reserved for making paper from scratch, however, as she is proficient in using fabric to create stunning installation and performance work. One notable medium that Timbes has visited multiple times in her career is a simple bedsheet. “In 2022, when I was working on my senior project, Roe V. Wade was overturned,” says Timbes. “I looked for an outlet for rage, and turned to tearing up bed sheets, weaving the strips into rage rooms.” The accessibility of bedsheets made the project’s foundation easy to start. Using leftover paint from a previous mural project, the rage room installation came to fruition by throwing the watered-down paint all over the stripped, cut, and torn bedsheets until they dried. Afterwards, she created circular installations with the strips by weaving them together to create a microcosm of rage and relief.

The experience with this project followed her from Spartanburg to Garmisch. In a setting with no formal studio or ample space to create like she had in college, Timbes made sure to immerse herself in the culture of the small ski resort town she worked out of. After spending time researching the local ecology and energy of the town, it prompted her to reflect on her own desires as an artist. “I had to ask myself, ‘What am I passionate about? How do I narrow everything down? Am I a sculptor, painter, or something else?’” She ended up cultivating all these thoughts and experiences with her surroundings into her notable performance piece/sculpture/photography series, “I Cut My Arms Off So That I Could Fly.” In her hotel room, Timbes found an ample number of bedsheets once again to be her canvas. “The piece is a fiber sculpture turned performance that was inspired by a glacier that melted off the top of the highest mountain in Germany,” says Timbes. “There were so many tours going up there, but no acknowledgment of the glacier itself. It was almost like a tourist attraction that did not exist.” Some church groups in the area hosted funerals for the glacier, which pushed Timbes to create a remembrance of her own. After tearing and dyeing the bed sheets, she wove them into a set of arms she could wear. It was not until right before the ski season ended that Timbes came up with the perfect idea: “I took the piece up into the mountain and decided to ski down while wearing it. That’s where the photos came from.” What resulted was a stunning coalescence of movement, reverence, and originality that has reappeared throughout Timbes’ portfolio.

Now in the present day, Timbes has taken all of her life experiences and creative endeavors and melded them into a path she is sure to take with aplomb. Timbes has joined an artist collective named Zerospace, participated not only in exhibits across South Carolina, but as far away as California and Denmark. Building a community and participating in one that exists amongst her artist peers is the most important thing to Timbes’ artistic practice. At Woven Studios, Timbes creates murals and takes commissions, emphasizing the importance of understanding her clients. Building relationships with clients fosters trust, while collaborating with other artists inspires creativity and new ideas, especially now that she's returned to South Carolina. “Within the last year, tapping into the Carolinas’ creative communities has really fueled my practice, and I have acknowledged how important creative spaces are,” says Timbes.

Photo by Perry McLeod

Upcoming projects for Timbes include participation in the Koger Center’s annual art competition exhibit, where a jury-selected panel of SC artists is featured and Timbes was awarded first place. Additionally, Timbes is developing a new collection of fiber and paper-based works inspired by German folklore. Timbes’ explores subject matter and artistic concepts with the originality and passion of someone who has given themself the grace to create without self-imposed boundaries: a tenet passed down from her father. “It is hard to navigate the world right now, let alone as an artist in her 20s,” says Timbes. “But I have to be okay with failure, comfortable with vulnerability, and just reiterate to myself that whatever happens, I got this.” With a knack for storytelling and working with intention, she is well on her way to fashioning herself as one of the young artists to watch in Columbia, SC or wherever her journey takes her.

 This article appears in the current issue of Jasper Magazine, Spring 2026.

Return to this space to read about Koger’s Featured Artists Anna Byars, Lori Isom, Wilma King & Colleen Cannon-Karlos. And to keep up with Jasper’s ALL-ARTS news & articles between print issues, go to JasperProject.org, find Magazine on the front page, then scroll down for Jasper Online. Recent articles have included local theatre reviews, news about Columbia Classical Ballet, calls for art, the SEPF, SCSM artist talks & everything about our current Big Thing,

Jasper’s Play Right Project.

Jasper Welcomes SC Photo Artists to the Jasper Alley at Tapp's for First Thursday in July

The Jasper Project is excited to announce our July First Thursday lineup for the Jasper Alley at Tapp’s. Still Here is a group photography exhibition featuring the work of SC photographers Jackson Campbell, Perry McLeod, Nora Williams, Alexander McDonald, Jr., and TuJuan “TJ” Huiett.

Please join us on Thursday, July 2nd from 6 – 8:30 PM to view their photography and spend some quality time with all of our artists. There will be wine & beer for purchase, music (TBA), and new issues of Jasper Magazine. When you enter the building through the front door at 1644 Main Street, head all the way to the right where you’ll find the Jasper Alley. Our featured artists will be on hand to answer questions about their work and processes.

Artist - Alexander McDonald, Jr.

Featured Artists

Alexander McDonald, Jr.

Alexander S. McDonald Jr. is a photographer whose studio has been the American highway for eighteen years. A long-haul truck driver by trade, he has crossed nearly every road in this country – building a quiet, sustained practice of documenting what most people drive past without seeing. His work focuses on landscape, sky, and the charged stillness of in-between places: cloud formations, mountain ranges, open plains, and overlooked roadside moments. McDonald's images don't reach for spectacle. They reach for honesty – the feeling of a place, alight a second that insists on being remembered. He is based on the road and everywhere in between. 

Artist - Perry McLeod

Perry McLeod

Perry McLeod is a Fullbright scholar, retired high school teacher, a photographer and avid traveler. He shoots sports, concerts, events, “and just about anything else I can point a camera at,” he says. “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. Make people go –‘Damn’ or ‘Nice’ or ‘Wow,” he says. “Photography is the most perfect art - we all get moments that will never happen again. It's frozen in time forever - how cool is that?”

A USC alumnus, McLeod taught Social Studies and Digital Media Production in both Richland District One and Richland District Two for 31 years. During his teaching career, he established a digital media production program at Richland Northeast High School, which fueled his love for photography and his fascination with video production. After retiring from education, McLeod's passion for photography continued to grow, and he has worked for several local and national media outlets. In addition to photography, McLeod has a deep love for travel. He says, "When I travel, my mind races with all the new things around me. I see a face, an old building, or an amazing vista, and I have to capture that moment." He believes that "a photograph is magic!"

Artist - Nora Williams

Nora Williams

Nora Williams was born and raised in South Carolina. As a fine-art, documentary artist, she explores the complexities of identity, place, and history in the American South. Her work examines themes of resilience, belonging, and social change, often focusing on underrepresented narratives.

Williams’ photographs have been exhibited in galleries that include the Elder Gallery of Contemporary Art. Williams has covered stories for The New York Times, The Washington Post, Rolling Stone, Huffington Post, and The Wall Street Journal. She is an FAA-certified drone pilot and a member of Black Women Photographers, Diversify Photo, NPPA, and Alternate Roots. She is currently pursuing her MFA in Studio Art with a concentration in Photography at the University of South Carolina. 

Artist - TJ Huiett

TaJuan "TJ" Huiett

A photographer based in Columbia, South Carolina, Huiett says his work is “all about capturing the real and raw moments of life through the lens of my camera. I’m inspired by documentary style photography and strive to tell authentic stories through my images. As an African American artist, I also aim to showcase the diversity and beauty of Black culture and experience. My love for travel has taken me all over the world, allowing me to capture stunning landscapes and unique cultural environments.” He continues, “I hope my photography can transport you to a different time and pace and make you see the world in a new light.”

Jackson Campbell

Jackson Campbell is a photographer based in Columbia, South Carolina. His work moves between abstraction and observation, often focusing on atmosphere, form, and texture. His images balance recognizable subjects with mood-driven compositions.

The Jasper photography exhibition Still Here will be on view in the Jasper Alley at Tapp’s throughout July and until the first week of August.

Spotlight on Jasper's Featured Artists in the Jasper Alley at Tapp's in June: Jackie Bobo, Michael Morris Zamora, and Barry J. White

This month, Jasper is featuring three artists in the Jasper Alley at Tapp’s that we want to make sure everyone knows about—Jackie Bobo, Barry J. White, and Michael Morris Zamora.

Artist - Barry J. White

Barry J. White is a Blythewood, SC-based self-taught multi-disciplinary artist whose works center the beauty, strength, and vulnerability of Black men. Guided by intuition, personal experience, and emotion, Barry’s paintings explore themes of identity and self-acceptance through expressive realism and atmospheric color.

Barry’s work has been featured in the following exhibitions For the People, Crowned by the Roots, Jasper Degenerate Arts II, as well as at Gemini Arts, Stormwater Studios, Roc Bottom Studio, and Drummond Studios. His work has been recognized for its depth, honesty, and visual storytelling. 

White says that his exhibition at the Jasper Alley has given me the confidence to start working on more pieces daily. I'm creating a collection I'm naming, I Drew Him. It's a collection of people that I have known over the years that inspire my current artistic expression. My next show is By Any Means, curated by KELA, with the opening reception on Juneteenth at REDUX Studio in Charleston, SC.”

Continuing, White says he is inspired by many local artists including Dre Lopez, Skrilla, Cam Moore, Keith Tolan, Damion Johnson, Sanford Greene, Jahnna Blyden, Ija Monet, and Tyrone Geter, but he really appreciates the work of his show-mate, Jackie Bobo, saying, “I can't look at Jackie's work without thinking about the kindness she extends to the people around her. Before I ever spent time with her artwork, Jackie encouraged me to embrace vulnerability and find the courage to share my own art and show up as my authentic self. That same spirit lives inside her paintings. In her work, what's typically viewed as different or spooky becomes a strength instead of something to hide or be ashamed of. Little Lonely Ghost feels less like sadness and more like an invitation to be seen. Her "Happy Spooky" aesthetic reminds me that belonging isn't about fitting in, it's about showing up as your authentic self. Spending time with her art feels like receiving permission to take up space exactly as you are.”

Artist - Jackie Bobo

Jackie Bobo is the vibrant force behind Bobo to the Max, an art practice and brand that creates emotionally immersive art and experiences inviting people to feel deeply, express fully, and belong as their most vivid selves.

Informed by nearly a decade as a speech-language pathologist—and more than three decades of living at the intersection of queerness, Blackness, and neurodivergence—Bobo approaches painting as its own language, one capable of holding nuance from the playful to the profound.

Through her signature “Happy Spooky” aesthetic—bright, bold colors paired with ghosts, spiders, and other whimsically macabre motifs—her work explores what it means to unmask, authentically connect, and belong. Each piece acts as a symbol of self-acceptance, affirming that belonging doesn’t mean blending in—it means revealing who you already are.

Bobo, who is currently an artist-in-residence with One Columbia for Arts & Culture at the Garage Studio, says she is “in the ideation phase of another immersive experience, but I'm being intentionally tight-lipped about it for now!”

About her show-mate Barry J White, Bobo says, “Barry captures the power, in both strength and tenderness, of Black masculinity in a way that's magnetic. His work makes you feel, in real time, suspended between society's limited understanding of and ability to hold space for Black masculinity, showcased through his daring vulnerability and technical skill.”

Artist - Michael Morris Zamora

Michael Morris Zamora was born in Puerto Rico to a South Carolinian father and a Puerto Rican mother. Mostly self-taught, he began creating art at the age of ten, and by fourteen, was painting in oil and acrylic mediums with a tendency toward abstract expressionism.

A chemist, film actor, writer, poet, and drummer, in Puerto Rico Zamora is also a Certified Artisan specializing in wood carving and sculpting, harkening back to his childhood interests in iron sculpting, wood carving, miniature buildings installations, and jewelry-making from natural seeds and seashells. In 1972 he published some of his first poems and stories. In 1980 he published his poetry book, Telarañas (translated, Cobwebs). 

Zamora also taught elementary art and later studied art at the San Juan Art Students League under Professors Rafael Rivera Ortiz (drawing and painting), and Hiram Rosado Poupart (ceramics).

According to Barry J. White, “I've met Michael on several occasions, and what stands out immediately is his warmth. He's a natural storyteller, always ready with a conversation, and he has a genuine enthusiasm that makes people feel welcome. That same sense of curiosity seems to carry into his artwork. Michael's paintings move between dreams, emotions, memory, and abstraction. Two pieces that especially resonate with me are Depression and Dreaming in Green. While very different in mood, both feel deeply human. Depression captures a quiet heaviness and vulnerability, while Dreaming in Green feels expansive, imaginative, and full of possibility. Michael’s paintings don't simply depict a subject; they create space for reflection and emotion. Like the stories he tells from his life experiences, they stay with you long after you've walked away.”

Bobo agrees adding, “Michael's work makes me feel like I've found a visual escape hatch from this reality into a world where my thoughts, galloping as they may be, are supported by his artistry the whole time. His use of color and the integration of various subjects on his canvases invite ease and reflection while maintaining presence—like a daydream.”

Zamora returns the sentiments about both his show-mates. “When I met Jackie for the first time in person at the Jasper Magazine release party a couple of months ago, it was a magical moment. For some reason, we recognized ourselves immediately,” he says. “Since we were notified we were going to be in the June Tapps show together I was touched by the magical vibrance of her creations. Her work and personal energy really synchronized with me and we spent over an hour engaged in a wonderful exchange of ideas and artistic views.”

He continues, “About Barry I can say we connected from the first moment as well.  He is such a humble being with a spiritual aura that you can feel every time you coincide with him on any artistic venue. His sensibility can be felt both on his great artistic expression and his person as well. [Barry is] always ready for a fraternal hug with his contagious smile. I feel so honored by being with both great artists. Thanks to the Jasper Project for this memorable experience.”

The work of all three artist will remain on display at the Jasper Alley at Tapp’s until the end of June when the group photography exhibition, Still Here, is installed. Still Here features the work of Jackson Campbell, Perry McLeod, Nora Williams, Alexander McDonald, Jr., and TaJuan "TJ" Huiett.

Read about showing YOUR work via one of the Jasper Project’s gallery spaces throughout the city and apply today!

Thursday Night at the Koger Center Brings You the Opening of Ginny Merritt's Exhibition, the Opening of the Koger Center Project Winners' Exhibition & the Closing of the Late Laura Spong's Show

Artist - Ginny Merritt

When we first saw the work of Ginny Merritt years ago at a Contemporaries exhibition at the CMA, we knew she had something special. That’s why Jasper awarded her the Best in Show prize (2018) and wrote a feature on her in the next issue of Jasper Magazine. In the years since, it’s been such a trip to watch this retired art educator pour herself into her own art, after decades of nurturing the art in her students, and grow and grow and grow.

That’s why we’re excited to welcome Merritt back to the Jasper Nook Gallery at the Koger Center this Thursday night from 5:30 - 7pm.

And we’re even more excited to invite you to her opening reception which will coincide with the Closing Reception for the Koger Center’s beautiful exhibition of the late Laura Spong’s work, as well as their Opening Reception for The Koger Center Project Winners’ Exhibition – all three happening at the same time!

About Ginny Merritt

Ginny Merritt was raised in Denver and settled in South Carolina in 1987. She graduated from the University of Georgie and has two master’s degrees from USC. She studied art education and taught art in public schools for 30 years, also teaching as an adjunct instructor at USC.

Her work is centered on mixed media collages inspired by the stylish women from her grandmother’s day which she recreates using vintage and contemporary papers. She has mounted exhibitions of her work all over town as well as  in Charleston, Lake City, Augusta, Brooklyn, NY, and a solo show at the Etherredge Center Gallery at USC Aiken, SC. Merrett published her book Tall Women in 2024, which offered a collection of ekphrastic poetry based on her art.

Ginny Merritt

About Laura Spong

Laura Spong (1926-2018) is remembered as one of SC’s leading Abstract Expressionist artists. Originally from Nashville, where she graduated cum laude from Vanderbilt University, Spong took her first drawing classes in 1948 before moving to Columbia, SC and studying under Gil Petroff among others. Spong was a favorite of the late Wim Roefs and Eileen Waddell of the former If Art Gallery, Waddell wrote of the artist, “Laura was a genteel Southern woman with a Tennessee accent whose ‘Coming Out’ party as an artist was on her 80th birthday.” Spong died at the age of 92, painting until the end of her days.

About the Koger Center Project Winners’ Exhibition

The Koger Center Project Winners’ Exhibition is a group exhibition in the Gallery at the Koger Center. The exhibit features the winning artists from their 2025 call for art sponsored by the Koger Center: Kate Timbes, Lori Isom, Anna Schumann Byars, Colleen Cannon-Karlos, Max Hardy, and Wilma King.

This opening reception coincides with Third Thursday Art Night featuring Ginny Merett.

About the Winners

Kate Timbes (1st Place) is a South Carolina based interdisciplinary artist whose work investigates the narrative and functions of materiality.  Working primarily in painting, video, and sculpture, she weaves mediums together, carrying objects, paintings, seeds, weavings, and sculptural handmade paper through physical, emotional, and digital landscapes. Timbes contemplates sourcing of resources, rethinking use as an individual effort to engage in a curious ecological practice. Timbes has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, with recent exhibitions at the Richardson Family Art Gallery, Greenville-Spartanburg Airport, the Spartanburg Public Library, and the DIS Student Hub in Copenhagen, Denmark. In addition to her studio practice, Timbes teaches papermaking workshops that have been supported by the Tri-State Sculptors Association and Wofford College. Timbes received her BA in Studio Art from Wofford College in 2023. (Read more about Kate Timbes in the current issue of Jasper Magazine, on newsstands now.)

Lori Isom (2nd Place) 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.

Anna Byars (Honorable Mention) is an artist based in Columbia, South Carolina. Anna grew up in Lexington, South Carolina, and received a BA in Studio Art and Art History at the College of Charleston. Her work has been shown in exhibitions at the Southern Graphics Conference, Sawtooth Visual Arts Gallery, and the Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. Anna primarily focuses in printmaking and is currently exploring the idea of transcendence within her work.

Colleen Cannon-Karlos (Honorable Mention) was born in Los Angeles, raised in New York City, and currently resides in Columbia, SC after living in Hawaii for 20 years. Over the years she has worked in a variety of mediums including painting, drawing, photography and ceramics. Conceptually her work is based on quantum physics and ancient metaphysics exploring the illusive abstract nature of reality. Inspiration for her work includes indigenous African, Native American, Asian and Polynesian art forms. (Read more about Colleen Cannon-Karlos in the current issue of Jasper Magazine, on newsstands now.)

Max Hardy (Honorable Mention) Artist Statement: I’ve always loved to draw and paint and make things and have done so since I can remember. When I was in high school I took a few art classes but other than that I’m self- taught. Lately my paintings have been sculptural and deal with illusion in some way. My process is quite slow with visual art; I only produce a handful of pieces a year.

Wilma King (Honorable Mention) endeavors to combine her experiences of living in 11 states (including Alaska) with her educational background into a visual storytelling collaboration through her painting. Her pursuit and passion goes beyond a daily practice of technique and development. She believes that universality — seeking common ground — is what makes art purposeful. She taught public relations, communication studies, advertising design, publication design, and photography for more than 30 years in American universities in Kentucky, Tennessee, New York, Virginia, Texas, and South Carolina, and taught Study abroad courses in Italy several years. She was an associate professor of Public Relations at both Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green, KY) and Rochester Institute of Technology (Henrietta, NY), and served on faculty at Benedict College (Columbia,  SC), where she wrote the curriculum for, and taught the first courses in the college’s now defunct commercial art program; O’More College of Design (Franklin, TN); Texas Southern University (Houston, TX); The Art Institute of Houston (Houston, TX). (Read more about Wilma King in the Fall 2022 issue of Jasper Magazine.)

Artist Talk with Sanford Greene This Friday, June 19 at 12 p.m. - SC State Museum

From Our Friends at the SC State Museum …

Join us for this Artist Talk as Sanford Greene sits down with Ramon Jackson, Curator of Cultural History, to discuss several pieces Greene has donated to the Museum and the stories and meaning behind them.

This artist talk series highlights artists featured in From the Vault: Art from the Museum’s Collection, currently on view in Lipscomb Art Gallery. These programs will give artists the opportunity to discuss their work and offer visitors a chance to hear firsthand the ideas, experiences, and processes that fuel artists’ creative journeys.  

Each conversation will center on the artist’s practice, the themes that shape their work, and what it means to create in South Carolina today. Some talks may include mentor and mentee pairings or collaborative discussions, while others will focus on individual artists sharing their stories and perspectives. 

Above all, the series is designed to create an open and engaging space where artists and audiences can connect, ask questions, and deepen their understanding of the work on view.

About Sanford Greene

Sanford Greene is a nationally recognized illustrator and comic book artist originally from Greeleyville, S.C. Known for his work on major titles like Black Panther and Batman, Greene’s dynamic ink work and layered narratives explore culture, place and resilience.

GODBODY: THE FEMME An Art Exhibition Exploring Power, Vulnerability, & the Sacred Politics of Identity

From our friend, Ty Davis, Curator of GODBODY: THE FEMME at Summerville’s Public Works Arts Center …

GODBODY: THE FEMME is a group exhibition that centers Black Women as powerful carriers of divinity and continual transformation. Through painting, mixed media, photography, and installation, this exhibition positions Black Women as active, sovereign, forces; complex, self-determined and fully in command of their own narratives. The exhibition gathers artists whose practices confront the many ways Black Women are simultaneously revered, policed, exploited, and politicized. The works move between deep tenderness and unapologetic defiance, engaging themes of gender, class, spirituality, and survival.

Firmly rooted in Black cultural thought and lived reality, GODBODY rejects any false divide between the sacred and the everyday. Here, presence itself becomes altar and archive.

Pleasure exists alongside grief, labor alongside intimacy, each asserting the undeniable right to self-authorship in a world that so often tries to deny it.

“GODBODY: THE FEMME is about reclaiming full authority over how Black Women are seen, valued, remembered,” says artist and curator Ty Davis. “It asks what becomes possible when Black Women are placed at the center.”

This exhibition continues Davis’s curatorial commitment to work that challenges social structures while remaining deeply personal, placing equal weight on clarity, material honesty, and rigorous conceptual depth.

Featured Artists

Kela, Samira, Kanish, Kalah, Jada, Tiana, Nathalie, Kei, Denise, Antonette, Christine, Skigh, Desiree, and Barinwa

GODBODY: THE FEMME

May 20th-July 11th

Public Works Art Center, West Gallery

135 West Richardson Ave
Summerville, SC 29483

For  more information, please contact

Ty@TiguereContemporary.com

News from Pickens: Upstate Artists Susan Perry and Susan Lenz Present Concurrent Art Exhibitions - Cascades

Pickens County Museum of Art and History

307 Johnson Street, Pickens, SC

May 16 - July 4, 2026

Opening reception: May 16, 2026 5 – 7 PM

Artist - Susan Lenz

Have you been missing longtime Soda City Artist Susan Lenz? We have too! But we can all get a Susan fix by visiting her upcoming exhibition, Cascades, at the Pickens County Museum of Art & History!

Here’s what we know:

Susan Perry and Susan Lenz, two Upstate fiber and installation artists, will present solo shows responding to concepts found in their joint exhibition title, Cascades. The exhibit opens at the Pickens County Museum of Art and History, 307 Johnson Street in Pickens, SC on May 16 with a reception that day from 5:00 – 7:00 PM.

Elan DeHaro will take viewers on a musical journey during the reception.

The exhibit runs through July 4, 2026. Perry and Lenz will be showing new work that explores traditional and experimental combinations of paper, fabric, and found materials. Both artists create sculpture forms, immersive installations, and incorporate reusable, natural, and man-made materials. Yet, their individual approaches are uniquely different.

Artist - Susan Perry

Susan Perry’s kinetic, kite-like sculptures developed from a contemplative practice of Sumi ink drawings, marbling, and paper-making. Some of these three-dimensional works will be suspended from the ceiling; others will sit below suggesting a stream of conversation. Her collages were inspired by local waterfalls.

Susan Lenz’s work also suggests the movement of water. More than one-hundred units of collaged fabrics will meander across three walls as if tracing the route of one of the area’s many creeks. Strips of lace hand-stitched into eight-foot long, plant-life strands will cascade down another wall.

However different, Perry and Lenz’s works complement one another. Both acknowledge the changing face of land use, the natural world of the Upstate, and how plant/fiber materials connects us to land, lakes, and rivers. The two artists are linked through textiles, something that defines local industry, history and even the very identity of Pickens County.

For well over a century, Upstate women saved fabric scraps, buttons, paper, and photographs. These seemingly mundane objects served as reminders of personal stories and special memories. Perry and Lenz are no exceptions to this habit of intuitive collecting. They both use their saved materials in their studio practices. Found objects are featured in both artists’ shows. Perry will use a traditional, wooden apple tree ladder in her area; Lenz has incorporated found objects stitched into tidal wave profiles.

Though Perry’s and Lenz’s work will be presented in two different parts of the second-floor museum space, the two have been in regular communication regarding their concept and the progression of their individual presentations. “I think we’ve pushed one another to think broadly about our materials and especially about the way we respond to our chosen theme, Cascades,” says Lenz. Perry agrees, stating, “Throughout this past year, I’ve been inspired to find new ways to use paper to express water as a central feature of our Pickens County landscape.”

The Pickens County Museum of Art and History is open Wednesday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM and on Saturday from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. The museum can be reached at (864) 898-5963.

For more information, please contact the artists through their websites:

www.susanlenz.com

www.susanperry.art

Jasper Does Artista Vista with Adam Corbett and More - Friday Eve & Sunday Afternoon

Artist - Adam Corbett

All of us at the Jasper Project are excited about our upcoming Artista Vista celebrations this weekend at Coal Powered Filmworks!

We kick things off on Friday evening with an exhibition from our featured visual artist, Adam Corbett, who will be showing his art right in front of Coal Powered Filmworks on Lincoln Street from 6 - 9 pm. But come on inside, too, to see a variety of art curated by our host and Jasper board president, Wade Sellers.

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 characters of his own creation. He likes to experiment with various mediums in a variety of formats focusing always on exploration, play, and following his muse. In addition to his visual artistry, Corbett has been a part of the Columbia music scene for almost 20 years. An accomplished musician and singer-songwriter, he’s been in several bands, including Guitar Show, The Restoration, and Husband to name a few — and he has performed with with local artists Marshall Brown and Rachel Kate.

You can also catch Adam Corbett wearing musician hat when he performs at Stormwater Studios at 1 pm on Saturday, April 18th.

If you’re a member of the Jasper Guild — at any donation level — you’re invited to join us again on Sunday afternoon, April 19th from 4 - 6pm for a special happy hour just for you! We’ll have drinks and light snacks to nosh on for an hour before and then during a portion of Live On Lincoln, which will be happening just outside our door. And if you want to be there but haven’t gotten around to joining the Jasper Guild, no worries, you can do so by clicking here and we’ll welcome you to the Jasper family on Sunday afternoon.

You’ll also be rubbing elbows with many of the artists performing in the event because, in keeping with the Jasper mission, we’re serving as a “Green Room” for any performing artists who need a place to change their clothes and/or grab a granola bar or a bottle of water after they perform.

For more information about Live on Lincoln, check out the line-up and ticket availability, as well as everything the Vista has planned for the weekend (hint: it starts Friday morning at 11 am with the unveiling of new public art, Maria DeFelice’s, “Kaleidoscope on Columbia” on the corner of Lincoln and Taylor Streets) at Vista Columbia.

Join the Jasper Guild Today

State Museum Announces Artists Selected for “In the Making: Contemporary Craft from South Carolina”

Feet Firmly Planted by Clay Burnette

The South Carolina State Museum is pleased to announce the selection of 12 artists from across the state for the upcoming juried exhibition, In the Making: Contemporary Craft from South Carolina, opening October 10, 2026. The exhibition will coincide with the museum’s annual Artist Homecoming event, which will take place October 8-9, 2026. 

Organized as part of Handwork 2026: Celebrating American Craft, a nationwide initiative led by Craft in America, the exhibition will highlight South Carolina-based artists working in fiber, ceramics, wood, metal, glass, mixed media and other fine craft media. The exhibition will feature new works alongside recent pieces, offering a look at the depth and versatility of contemporary craft practices across South Carolina. 

“This exhibition celebrates the incredible range of talent and creativity happening across South Carolina,” said Maia Payne, associate art curator at the State Museum. “We’re excited to showcase both established and emerging artists who are shaping the future of contemporary craft in our state.” 

The artists selected were Jim Arendt (Conway, SC), Kristy Bishop (Charleston, SC), Clay Burnette (Columbia, SC), Katty Cassel (Greenville, SC), Bill and Pam Clark (Greenville, SC), Charles Clary (Conway, SC), Jessica Downs (Clemson, SC), Matt Garton (Hanahan, SC), Bill Harris (McConnells, SC), Christine Tedesco (Clemson, SC), Jennifer York (Charleston, SC), and Valerie Zimany (Clemson, SC). To learn more about the artists, visit scmuseum.org. 

Artists were selected based on the strength of their portfolios by a panel of jurors that included Rebecca Elliot, associate curator of craft, design and fashion at the Mint Museum in Charlotte, North Carolina; Maia Payne; Harriett Green, former visual arts director of the South Carolina Arts Commission; and Ariel Zaccheo, curatorial director of the Museum of Craft and Design in San Francisco, California. To learn more about the jurors, visit scmuseum.org. (Full disclosure: Maia Payne is a member of the Jasper Project board of directors.)

Final works for the exhibition will be selected during studio visits, with the possibility for artists to create new pieces specifically for the show. Final selections will be made by the Museum’s curatorial staff. 

In the Making: Contemporary Craft from South Carolina will open to the public on October 10, 2026. For more information about the exhibition, artists, and jurors, visit scmuseum.org. 

Art Reception Double Feature with the Jasper Project and the Koger Center

By Emily Moffitt, Visual Arts Editor, Jasper Magazine

The Koger Center for the Arts is excited to bring its patrons two new art exhibits in its second-floor gallery spaces: the Gallery at the Koger Center and The Nook, the latter of which is presented by the Jasper Project.

On April 10, join the Koger Center in celebrating Colin Dodd and Sarah Scruggs for their new art exhibits! There will be a joint opening reception for the two shows that evening from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. The event is free and open to the public, and complimentary wine and light fare will be available.

Sarah Scruggs is the newest artist to take up residence in the Nook at the Koger Center. Sarah is a South Carolinian painter focusing on oil and watercolor. Her alla prima style is relaxed and playful, with attention to color. Most always, her paintings are a celebration of storms, the ever-changing clouds, flora, and fauna. Many of her materials are hand ground pigments collected from local areas in the pursuit of play. She has sold/exhibited her work at multiple art fairs like Cottontown Art Crawl and the Brandywine Festival in Harrodsburg, KY. Her work will be on display through early May.

Colin Dodd is exhibiting a new body of work in the Gallery at the Koger Center, titled Homage to Ukraine: Big Bavovna and Other Works. The exhibit began on March 24 and is on display through June 7, 2026. Colin Dodd was born in Northumberland and grew up in Newcastle upon Tyne. As a young teenager his interest in art began to develop and he decided to go to art college as soon as he finished high school. He first attended Leicester Polytechnic and then Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham, where he completed an undergraduate degree in fine art. After two visits to the U.S. he moved permanently in 1980. He attended the University of South Carolina and completed a graduate degree in 1984. In the same year, he began teaching at Midlands Tech as an adjunct instructor. This position eventually became full time and he taught classes in drawing, painting, art history, and Film as Art until his retirement in 2018.

Homage to Ukraine Artist Statement:

It’s the artist’s duty to reflect the times in which we live.” – Nina Simone.

This quote struck a chord with me, especially due to personal circumstances. Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24th, 2022, and by coincidence that was the day I had open heart surgery, following a heart attack on February 22nd! I watched the footage on CNN of Russian tanks firing on civilian targets from my hospital bed. I have since followed the war on an almost daily basis, strongly identifying with the cause of the Ukrainian people, and seeing in them a nation standing alone against a tyrant just as Britain did against Hitler’s Germany at the outset of World War II.  Ukraine has managed to survive, against all the odds, for four years.

The imagery from FPV drone footage I found strangely alluring and fascinating, even beautiful, although the results and intended consequences were destruction and death. This dichotomy is what led me to start painting images based on often distorted and grainy images, abstracted to a degree, by the process of recording and transmission. This resulted in a twenty-panel work resembling a bank of monitors, titled Homage to Ukraine: Big Bavovna.   In addition, a triptych dedicated to Ukraine consists of a portrait of a young Ukrainian woman wearing a traditional flower crown, titled Flower of Ukraine.  An image of trench warfare reminiscent of images from the First World War and I borrowed the title We Are Making a New World from Paul Nash who was an official war artist in both world wars. Lastly, an image derived from a video taken in 2023 in the Donetsk region, of a Russian ammo dump explosion, which became known as, Ammo Dump Jesus.

As the war has progressed it seems like it has been largely forgotten about by the news cycle which moves on unrelentingly, but the struggle and the suffering continues for the Ukrainian people.

For more information about the visual arts at the Koger Center, inquiries can be directed to kogercenter@sc.edu. The gallery spaces are available for public viewing Monday-Friday, 9 am – 5 pm, and an hour before any performance in the center.

It's FIRST THURSDAY & JASPER is BACK ON MAIN STREET - As well as at our LAST FIRST THURSDAY at SOUND BITES!

Artist - Jarid Lyfe Brown

Hey Jasper Family! We’re excited today because TONIGHT we’re celebrating that the Jasper Project is BACK ON MAIN STREET!

Please join us tonight as Jasper features not one, but two great Columbia-area visual artists sharing their talents with the world!

Start out by popping into Sound Bites Eatery for (sadly) our last First Thursday gallery opening event. We have loved our time at Sound Bites and can’t express enough gratitude for Terri Mac and the gracious Sound Bites team that has always made us feel so welcome. But due to a change in their hours of operation under new ownership, we won’t be able to continue our stewardship there any longer. (But you better believe we’ll still be stopping in for delicious lunches and great service!)

So, Jasper is celebrating our Sound Bites swan song by featuring the unique art of Jessica Ream tonight!

Unbinding: A Tale of the Book That Never Was – Jessica Ream Opening Reception - SOUND BITES 5:30 - 8

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 the time in the High Rockies of Colorado, she and her husband have returned to their southeastern, coastal origins, where they reside with their son and newborn daughter.
(Full disclosure —Jessica is also a new member of the Jasper Project Board of Directors, but this show has been scheduled long before she joined our board.)

After you’ve checked out Jessica’s work come on over to the Shoppes at Tapp’s for the opening of the Jasper Alley at Tapp’s. As mentioned, our featured artist for April is Jarid Lyfe Brown.

The Jasper Alley at Tapp's with April's Featured Artist - Jarid Lyfe Brown

Born in Atlanta and raised in Columbia, Brown has lived in Gilbert for the last 17 years. A construction worker by day for the past 30 years, Brown attended SCAD but is, for the most part, self-taught. His work will occupy the Jasper Alley which is located on the far right side of the building.

Jarid’s work is incredibly evocative and can run the gamut from whimsical to terrifying, but it’s always interesting and it always commands that the viewer spend some time with at the painting and enjoy the process.

We’re delighted to feature both of these fine artists and hope you’ll visit us at both venues.

Happy First Thursday from all of us at Jasper!

The Jasper Project Presents PETER LENZO: A RETROSPECTIVE AND REMEMBRANCE

STORMWATER STUDIOS

OPENING RECEPTION APRIL 3 — 6 - 9 PM

Jasper Guild Members are Invited to Join Us at 5 pm for Early Entrance

The Jasper Project is honored to present PETER LENZO: A RETROSPECTIVE AND REMEMBRANCE at Stormwater Studios, April 3 – 12, 2026. In addition to exhibiting more than 30 rarely shown facejugs and reliquaries created by the late Peter Lenzo, the project also features the launch of a new commemorative publication entitled PETER LENZO: IN MEMORY OF HIS MEMORY and the premiere screening of an accompanying film by Columbia, SC filmmaker, Wade Sellers. 

The Jasper Project worked closely with Lenzo’s daughter, Roxy Lenzo Douthit, to curate this exhibition, which includes ceramic pieces from the last few decades of her father’s life, as well as intimate family reliquaries in which the artist preserved and annotated treasured artifacts and keepsakes going back to the artist’s family of origin. For Lenzo, his facejugs were a homage both to traditional Southern pottery practices and to the friends and family who inspired the work he so lovingly created. Lenzo, who suffered a head injury early in life that resulted in seizures, epilepsy, and ultimately dementia, used his art as a way of channeling his despair as well as his elation.  

The photographs of Lenzo’s face jugs and reliquaries reproduced in the new publication, PETER LENZO: IN MEMORY OF HIS MEMORY, many of which on the reverse side also bear the artist’s notated perceptions of the work itself, have been intimately annotated by his daughter. Lenzo Douthit also wrote an enlightening introduction and acknowledgments for this book which contains a foreword by the SC State Museum’s Paul Matheny and an essay by the late Wim Roefs. Peter Lenzo: In Memory of his Memory was published in April 2026 by the Jasper Project, which has an imprint via Muddy Ford Press, and is available for pre-order here.

PETER LENZO: A RETROSPECTIVE AND REMEMBRANCE opens at Stormwater Studios (413 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC) on Friday April 3rd with an opening reception from 6 – 8:30 (early admission for Jasper Project Guild members at 5 pm).  

The film, In Memory of his Memory, will be screened on Friday, April 10th at 7 pm.  

Both events are free and open to the public. For more information, feel free to contact the above individuals or consult The Jasper Project or Stormwater Studios. 

About the Jasper Project – The Jasper Project is a project-oriented, multidisciplinary arts facilitator serving the greater Columbia and South Carolina communities by providing collaborative arts engineering and community-wide arts communication. The Jasper Project is committed to four integrated priorities: Process – illuminating the unique processes endemic to all art forms in order to provide a greater level of understanding and respect for that discipline; Community/Collaboration – nurturing community both within and between arts disciplines; Narrative – creating a more positive and progressive understanding of SC culture; and Economy – being efficient stewards of arts funding committed to creating more with less. For more information or to support the Jasper Project please visit JasperProject.org.

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SCSM Presents the First in their Artist Talk Series with Sam Wang - Sat., March 28th

Want to learn more about the art presented in the South Carolina State Museum’s Lipscomb Gallery?

Our friends at SCSM are making it easy!

Join Sam Wang on Saturday March 28th at 11 am in the Lipscomb Gallery of the SCSM to learn about the artist from the artist himself.

The art collection at the South Carolina State Museum is home to more than 4,500 pieces of art from traditional portraiture and decorative arts to contemporary work and more.

South Carolina art plays an integral role in the state’s culture and history, both in the past and today. In addition to featuring changing exhibitions on South Carolina art, the museum also features artwork throughout four floors of permanent gallery space, in our planetarium lobby and even outside on the museum grounds.

This program series highlights artists featured in From the Vault: Art from the Museum’s Collection. These programs will give artists the opportunity to discuss their work and offer visitors a chance to hear firsthand the ideas, experiences, and processes that fuel artists’ creative journeys. The series is designed to create an open and engaging space where artists and audiences can connect, ask questions, and deepen their understanding of the work on view.

The program on March 28 will feature Sam Wang in conversation with his former student and mentee, Talbot Easton Selby. Together they will discuss their individual photographic practices, their shared connection through Clemson University, and the role mentorship has played in shaping artistic careers in South Carolina.

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Jasper Does Artista Vista Featuring Visual Artist Adam Corbett

Artist - Adam Corbett

Join the Jasper Project on Friday, April 17th from 6 - 9 at Coal Powered Filmworks (1217 Lincoln Street, right across from Blue Marlin) for an evening of visual arts, music, and many more surprises as we celebrate Artista Vista.

Check out art by Adam Corbett outside and pop inside for music and a copy of Jasper Magazine.

Find out about everything happening in Columbia’s Historic Congaree Vista for the whole weekend by visiting Artista Vista.

Announcing The Jasper Alley at Tapp’s With Our Inaugural First Thursday Opening Reception - April 2nd Featuring Jarid Lyfe Brown!

We’re Back!

In service to our mission of finding and programming gallery spaces for Midlands-area artists wherever we can, The Jasper Project is delighted to announce that we are back on Main Street starting on Thursday April 2nd and we’re featuring Jarid Lyfe Brown as our first First Thursday Artist!

That’s right, we’re back! In partnership with our host, the Shoppes at Tapp’s, Jasper will be presenting group and solo shows right on Main Street once again and we couldn’t be happier! Our friends at the Shoppes at Tapp’s have graciously allocated a nice long corridor to the right of the showroom where, starting in April, you’ll find Jasper-curated art from our beloved local artists—and we’re naming it The Jasper Alley at Tapp’s.

We’re so happy to welcome the art of Jarid Lyfe Brown to these welcoming walls!

Jarid Lyfe Brown lives in Gilbert, SC. He was born in 1974 and, as a young artist, earned a perfect score of 5 for the portfolio he entered into an AP art contest at Harvard University. Brown was awarded a scholarship to attend Savannah College of Art and Design in 1992. From 1994 until the present, Brown has mounted multiple shows in locations that ranged from galleries to coffee shops around SC, NC, and Michigan. Brown says, “I paint every day, and complete around 7-10 new paintings per month.” Brown is married and has three children. When he is not painting, he is doing construction work and thinking about what he'll paint next.

For his artist’s statement Brown writes, “All of my hard work is about everyday life. It is hard to predict or explain because I submit myself to create in an unplanned method. I paint from what I hear, learn, experience, opinions, perspectives, joy, hurt, and reactions. It may make sense or not at all, and that is similar to life. I just want to be raw and honest, but not crude. I try to paint directly and literally. I enjoy literature and writing so I apply that to my painting. I also enjoy an attempt to bridge expressionism to realism and I don’t want to be classified as either. I want to be better, different, or more in all of these experiences. I use animals to express mindsets and characteristics of a person.”

We’ll be announcing our full line-up for 2026 soon, but for now, be sure to add The Jasper Alley at Tapp’s to your First Thursday agenda. Stop by to have a beer or a glass of vino, view Jarid’s exhibition, chat with the artist, and bump into all your old and new First Thursday Friends.

We’re back on Main, y’all and we’re so happy to be there!

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