TENNYSON CORLEY K. WAYNE THORNLEY
SHELBY LEBLANC BETSY KAEMMERLEN
B.A. HOHMAN GINNY MERRETT
RON HAGELL ASHLEY BENNETT
BOHUMILA AUGUSTINOVA RENEE ROUILLIER
LORI ISOM
Jasper’s Tiny Gallery began in October 2018 as a fresh opportunity for artists and art lovers alike. With the goal of offering small pieces at small price points, the Tiny Gallery series provides artists the chance to create special worlds in compact dimensions and provides patrons, who may have smaller budgets, be burgeoning collectors, or longtime collectors with little remaining wall space, to enjoy new artwork.
In June of last year, Jasper decided to re-focus Tiny Gallery into a virtual show so that artists could tell their stories and continue to do the work they love in challenging, unprecedented times. We are so glad that, in 2021, we will be able to continue this journey with over 12 wonderful artists.
Get to know them and their work below, and be sure to mark your calendars for their shows!
January: Tennyson Corley
Our year has already kicked off with Tennyson’s Corley’s show, Microcosm. Her show of nature paintings sold so quicky, she had to add more pieces to her exhibit.. You can still view and purchase pieces from her show until January 31st: https://the-jasper-project.square.site/tiny-gallery
Corley is a contemporary painter living and working in Columbia, South Carolina. Showing professionally since 2010, she has been honing her painting style in acrylics and mixed media. She works out of her studio on her small farm minutes from city proper. Corley attended Columbia College for a degree in Fine Art.
Tennyson captivates her audience with depiction of native flora and fauna. Her pieces pay homage to her work as a horticulturalist and love of nature. Seeking out new inspirations through her travels, she strives to portray the beauty of the South East region to her viewers.
You can see more of her art on Instagram at @tennyson_corley_art and on Linktree at linktr.ee/TennysonCorleyArt
February: K. Wayne Thornley
K. Wayne Thornley’s show is coming up in just over a week, starting Monday, February 1st.
Figure Studies serves as an initial purview into larger works that will be shown at Stormwater Studios in May 2021 alongside the clay work of Lucy Bailey. They also continue a theme he has worked on for many years, “figures surrounded by or floating within minimal, barren landscapes—emerging from my father’s Alzheimer’s experience.”
Thornley is an artist working in mixed media painting and assemblage and is a graduate of the University of South Carolina where he studied art, design and marketing. His award-winning work has been shown in group and solo exhibitions throughout the Southeast and purchased for several private and corporate collections including The Greenwood Genetics Center and Wells Fargo.
Recent juried exhibitions include the South Carolina Watermedia Society Annual Exhibition (Signature Member) and the Greenville Artists Guild Annual Small Works Exhibition. Mixed media work by the artist has been selected for exhibition at Artfields (2018 & 2019), an annual art competition and survey of Southeastern art held annually in Lake City, SC.
Check out Wayne’s work on his Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kwaynethornley/?hl=en
March: Shelby LeBlanc
Shelby LeBlanc’s bright colors and beautiful imagery will decorate “little pieces” in the month of March.
LeBlanc is a contemporary painter from Columbia, SC, and has been active since 2015. She favors acrylic paint for most of her work, however some of her works delve into watercolor, inks, crayons, or mixed media incorporating book pages, maps, or glass.
Much of her works are inspired by the time spent away from home, from the Low Country of South Carolina to her trips to Africa, Costa Rica, Mexico, Europe, and Thailand. LeBlanc paints in a variety of styles and mediums over many different subject matters, however, her work is always recognizable- beautiful, dramatic, and demands attention.
You can see Shelby’s work on her Facebook and Instagram as well as her website: https://www.shelbyleblancart.com
April: Betsy Kaemmerlen
Betsy Kaemmerlen’s striking ceramic creations will take us through the month of April.
Kaemmerlen is a Landscape Architect with strengths in graphics and planting design. As an outgrowth of her profession, she has been working in clay since 1994. Originally taught on the wheel by John Macomber of Greenleaf Pottery, Betsy turned to hand built forms soon afterwards. She originated an active potters group called Clay Arts East in Connecticut and organized the Open Studio Tour of Northeast CT with up to 75 artists, for many years before moving south in 2006.
Concentrating on functional ware, surface texture and decoration are key to her clay forms, with transparent glazes pooling in the depths. Her inspiration for exploring textured surfaces comes from the origins of pottery when clay was used to protect cooking baskets from the fire. As food was cooked, the clay was fired and so the basket weave impression remained.
In 2013, Betsy won an Artist Residency in Little Switzerland, NC at Wildacres Retreat to work on both functional pots and sculptural pieces. She enjoys both taking and giving workshops and has learned many hand building and carving techniques. As a garden designer, leaves and natural designs play heavily in her work. And having studied the gardens in Kyoto Japan for five months in 1979, her fascination with Asian motifs is ongoing. She carves roller stamps with cloud, water, Chinese, and Celtic motifs to add richness to her pottery. Lately her focus has been on tiny teapots and vases, along with Ikebana vessels for Japanese flower arranging.
You can check out some of Betsy’s work on an interview Jasper did with her last year: http://jasperproject.org/what-jasper-said/tag/Betsy+Kaemmerlen
May: Ginny Merett
Known for her quirky collage pieces, Ginny Merett has been an artist in the Columbia community for over thirty years. She has used various media to create art but for the last decade chooses collage techniques and processes to represent what she calls “characters.” These characters will be ready to walk into your life throughout May.
Ginny’s work has won several awards and accolades. Recently, Ginny exhibited her work in the Alumni Exhibit at the University of South Carolina School of Visual Arts and Design McMaster Gallery. She is the cover and featured artist in The Jasper Magazine, Spring 2019 edition; and received First Place and Second Place Awards at the Rosewood Art and Music Festival, Best in Show at Time for Art sponsored by the Jasper Project; and participated in Women Speak Art Gallery at SC State Library 2017, ArtFields 2019, and numerous other exhibits.
Ginny was born and raised in Denver and has lived in South Carolina since 1987. Art sustained Ginny throughout her life and is the cause for her every success. She constantly sewed, created, and treasured drawing as a child, and sought out every art opportunity in school. Because art was such a passion of Ginny’s youth, she pursued a BS in Art Education from the University of Georgia. She later went on to earn an MA in Art Education and MEd in Educational Administration from The University of South Carolina, where she also served as adjunct for several years. Among some of her greatest accomplishments, Ginny taught art in public schools for 30 years.
Her influences include David Hockney’s joiners, Robert Rauschenberg’s combines, Hannah Hoch’s timeless collages, and the beautiful execution of John Singer Sargent’s portraits. Ginny is a member of FigurativeArtists.org, the SC Arts Alliance, and South Carolina Artists groups.
You can preview Ginny’s work at Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and at www.ginnymerett.com
June: B.A. Hohman
B.A. Hohman’s unique and soulful perspective on life, often seen in grand murals, will make their way into smaller selections in the summer month of June.
Hohman grew up in Ohio and graduated cum laude from Ohio University with a BFA. Art has always been her ground. She met her husband, Bob, there, and after her graduation they married and embarked on a new life, moving to West Columbia, SC, in 1981. Their two girls, Haley and Taryn, were born here several years later. She moved back and forth across the country before settling back in SC where she taught. Teaching Art was both gratifying and frustrating due to the vast scope of student abilities and behaviors grouped together in often overcrowded classes. Several years later, B.A. made the decision to leave teaching and become a successful muralist and trompe l’oiel artist, painting for clients too numerous to mention, across the state. As the subject matter knew no bounds, B.A. discovered her hidden ability to adapt both subject and style to client desires. Her Art had never had a specific style so this vocation fit well.
Painting murals was lifesaving before, during, and after the sudden death of her husband Bob in 2005. Her amazing friends are more precious than gold. Attending art and music events kept her sane and provided well needed inspiration. Finally selling the family home in Irmo, finding her perfect little West Columbia home and studio in 2015 was tonic for the soul. She met more and more of the creative folks who encompass the Art community in and around Columbia and lasting friendships were formed. She continues to revel in their caring inspiration.
B.A. has struggled to create during this past year. Searching for a deeper connection has helped find a sense of peace and hope. Her current artistic goal is to focus on the little things that bring joy as well as the rambling depictions of a mind grasping for meaning. Her new pieces will be depictions of her inner wanderings and glimpses of the small things that keep her mind from spinning off into the gaping chasm.
Check out B.A.’s work on her Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bahohman/?ref=page_internal
July: Ron Hagell
Ron Hagell’s artwork, which is largely narrative based on social issues, portraiture and dance, will take us through July.
Hagell is a media artist. His primary work in the past was in film and photography. Ron became an artist so that he could work more individually and creatively across a variety of media. He taught media art practice at Royal Holloway - University of London and at the Rhode Island School of Design, Columbia University and on a Fulbright grant in Germany. He has exhibited work in Europe, Canada and the US. His most recent exhibitions were in the UK, Berlin and South Carolina at Artfields 2016, 2018 and 2019.
Recently Ron has been experimenting with bold color figurative and portrait works in acrylic on canvas as well as revisiting still images from his former dance productions as small individual statements on creative movement.
Ron has a Master of Fine Art degree from Columbia University and studied at UNC, Rhode Island School of Design and American University. He now lives in Columbia, SC, and has a studio at the Tapps’ Outpost where he invites visitors to see his work by appointment.
In another life, Ron was an Army Captain with service in Vietnam after which he created many hours of arts and documentary programs for PBS stations including the only ever nationally produced jazz music series, At the Top.
You can see Ron’s work on his Facebook and his website: http://www.ronhagell.com/
August: Ashley Bennett
Spirited dancer and jewelry artist, Ashley Bennett, will finish off the summer with her August show.
Bennett moved to Columbia, by herself, in 2007 and made it her home. She danced in the city's first fringe arts company, Columbia Alternacirque, and became a well-known performer at the Art Bar. For several years, Ashley was a staple shop girl for secondhand store, Sid & Nancy, where she consumed countless iced cappuccinos from Adriana's and smoked a small mountain of cigarettes on the busy sidewalk in front of Delaney's Irish pub.
Over a decade later, she opened her own artist studio at Tapp's Arts Center, started the Movement Arts Co-op there, and later served a short term as Director of Operations. In 2019, Ashley opened her own communal artist space in West Columbia, Sage Studios. Thanks to the pandemic, the company's vital signs are weak, but stable. She spent the majority of 2020 pacing her house, homeschooling her 5-year-old, eating cheese, and soldering jewelry from sterling silver.
Check out Ashley’s jewelry on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/covenitesilver/
September: Bohumila Augustinová
Bohumila Augustinová’s fantastical wire work, often coupled with her clay creations, ranges from mugs and bowls to gallery pieces. This unique variety of work will be featured in her September show.
Augustinová was born and raised in communist Czechoslovakia, now Czech Republic. She has a degree in fashion design, and she was always an artist. Bohumila came to the United States in 1998, and after winning Runaway Runway, she quickly became part of the Columbia Art scene. In 2015, she took over Anastasia & Friends Gallery, which closed in 2019. Bohumila is a leader of Yarnbombers of Columbia. She works at the Columbia Art Center where she not just makes art, but also teaches art to others.
See Bohumila’s art on her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/art_by_bohumila/
October: Renee Rouillier
Renee Rouillier’s sculptural explorations will unravel their stories in October.
Rouillier has been involved in the arts since her twenties. Raised in upstate New York, she received an MFA in Ceramic Sculpture and 3D Study from the University of South Carolina, BFA with a concentration in Ceramics and a BS in Interdisciplinary Arts for Children from SUNY College at Brockport, and a Certificate of Fine Arts from Rochester Institute of Technology.
She strongly feels art not only defines who she is, but also mirrors her personal life as well as worldly events and outcomes. In reflection on 2020, she is emphatic that the deeds of humanity will continue to have a profound effect on harmonious existence and the survival of all. The past year, 2020, has proven that nature and all forms of wildlife can flourish without human interaction and she questions this relationship within her artwork. Rouillier also believes a resurgence of mythology, folklore, magic, and wonder would add a positive dimension to today’s world.
You can explore Renee’s art on her website: https://www.reneerouillier.com
November: Lori Isom
Lori Isom’s distinctive reflections on life through portraiture will be up to view throughout November.
Isom has experienced a varied career as an artist, dedicating years to professional dancing, singing and acting. A figurative and portrait artist for over 20 years, she has been commissioned to do hundreds of individual & family portraits.
Lori's work has been featured in a plethora of places including American Art Collector. She recently completed a one-year artist residency for the City of North Charleston, during which she had the privilege to work on several community-focused projects. She is currently working to grow in greater artistic expression that moves beyond the influence of societal values.
Check out Lori’s work on her Instagram and her Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/artinthenow/
December: Multiple Artist Ornament Show
For December, we are offering a holiday-oriented show sure to get you in the spirit for your favorite holiday, whichever it may be. Whether you want something to hang on your tree, set on your mantle, or show as a keepsake from 2021, support a local artist with an irreplaceable piece.
Look out for our upcoming announcement of our list of artists for our December show!