Jasper Presents Fall Lines - a literary convergence Volume IX at Richland Library

Join the Jasper Project on Saturday, March 25 from 2 - 5 pm for the release of Fall Lines - a literary convergence Volume IX at the Main Branch of the Richland Library on Assembly Street.

Poetry and prose accepted for publication in this year’s Fall Lines journal include the following

Fruit – Gil Allen

The turning – Ken Autry

The last battle in Alabama – Ken Autry

Bachman's Warbler – Ken Autry

Bird – Libby Bernardin

with spoiled fruit – Evelyn Berry

Dear Raphael – Al Black

Porcelain doll – Al Black

If I were a man – Cindi Boiter

Prudent – Cindi Boiter

Seamstress – Carolina Bowden

Signs that say what you want them to say (not signs that say what someone else wants you to say) – Lucia Brown

Before we turn on the table saw – Lucia Brown

walking a half-marathon through your hometown – Lucia Brown

Members of the backyard church – Tim Conroy

Nasty Bites – Tim Conroy

How to cut up a chicken – Susan Craig

Touching Wyse's Ferry Bridge – Susan Craig

The Older Poet Yearns to Carpe the Diem – Debra Daniels

Dream Three – Heather Dearmon

Bring Me Something – Heather Dearmon

Across the River - Marlanda DeKine

talking to themselves -  Marlanda DeKine

For my cat, every Sunday afternoon – Graham Duncan

Ghosts in Poems – Jo Angela Edwins

Stricken – Jo Angela Edwins

Nana Lencha – Vera Gomez

You don't know what you don't know – Vera Gomez

Coattails – Kristine Hartvigsen

River – Kristine Hartvigsen

A Quiet Love – Jammie Huynh

A ghazal to my father – Jammie Huynh

Bad Idea Boyfriend, or White Jesus – Shannon Ivey

D. – Suzanne Kamata

Red Bird / Blue Bird – Bentz Kirby

Hunter's Chapel Road – Len Laurin

I love you 3000 – Len Lawson

Crown – Terri McCord

Space – Terri McCord

For a 20% Tip – Rosalie McCracken

"Yes, please" – Melanie McGhee

Cycles – Joseph Mills

Office hours – Joseph Mills

Those of us with bushy white beards – Joseph Mills

So long, Greenie – Eric Morris

Chopin all over her – Eric Morris

Old photos (for Ahmaud Arbery) – Yvette Murray

Thundering shadows – Frances Pearce

Gone to the birds – Glenis Redmond

"Praise how the ordinary turns sacred" – Glenis Redmond

Strangers in a Strange Field – Aida Rogers

Pre-Columbia Intersections – Lawrence Rhu

Meaningless – Michael Rubin

Small things I notice – Randy Spencer

Next Day Now - Randy Spencer

Above the poplars – Arthur Turfa

For the Love of Mz. Joe – Ceille Welch

The Broad River Prize for Prose this year goes to Tim Conroy for his short fiction, Nasty Bites and the Saluda River Prize for Poetry goes to Jo Angela Edwins for her poem, Stricken.

Carla Damron was the adjudicator for the prose prize and Lisa Hammond judged the poetry prize.

Both contributors and the public are invited to attend. Contributors are also invited to read from their included works during the event in the order in which it is published.

Thank you to Carla Damron, Lisa Hammond, Richland Library, the Friends of Richland Library, One Columbia, and Muddy Ford Press for their support of this project.

Richland Library Hosts a Celebration of Words with Yomi Sode, Jennifer Bartell Boykin, and Students

On Friday March 17 at 7 p.m. at the Main branch of the Richland Library, Yomi Sode, Jennifer Bartell Boykin, and students from Keenan High School, Spring Valley High School, Allen University, and the University of South Carolina will gather for a Celebration of Words.

Richland Library says this ceremony seeks to honor “the importance of different voices that help youth make sense of the world around them.”

Yomi Sode is a Nigerian British writer, and a recipient of the 2019 Jerwood Compton Poetry Fellowship as well as a finalist for the 2022 T.S. Eliot Prize. His latest project is a book of poetry titled Manorism, which was released in October 2022. These poems explore the complexities of generational trauma, family, and being a Black man in Britain.

Sode—in partnership with education coordinator and poet in his own right, Peter Kahn—will also be hosting poetry workshops around Columbia high schools and colleges the week before the celebration.

Jennifer Bartell Boykin is the City of Columbia’s very own poet laureate. She teaches at Spring Valley High School where she won Teacher of the Year in 2019, and she has had poetry published in Callaloo, PLUCK!, Blackberry, Fall Lines, and of course, our very own Jasper Magazine.

The main event will be preceded by a light reception at 6:15. It is free and open to the public! More details on the libraries’ website.

Previewing the Parker Quartet’s Beethoven Cycle

“The length and impact the Parker Quartet has had on the School of Music is unique. The level of commitment they have to us is unparalled.” - Dean Tayloe Harding

“Although I know these works well, this will be the first time in my life that I’ve heard the complete cycle live. For our community and our students, this is really a once in a lifetime experience.” - Dan Sweaney

Photo by Beowulf Sheehan

It is an impressive feat to complete and perform a Beethoven string quartet. It is even more impressive when you perform all 16 of them in the span of one week. Despite the daunting task, the Parker Quartet are up to the challenge.

Founded and based in Boston, the Parker Quartet are the current quartet in residence at the University of South Carolina’s School of Music. Founded in 2002, the group currently consists of Daniel Chong (violin), Ken Hamao (violin), Jessica Bodner (viola) and Kee-Hyun Kim (cello). This year marks their tenth year of working with the music department, providing masterclasses for the dedicated students of USC and concerts for all audiences across the Midlands. They have grown so close with the music community and capital altogether; according to School of Music Dean Tayloe Harding, it is evident among the faculty and staff at the School of Music that the Quartet thinks of the city “as a second home.” Everyone at the School of Music has enjoyed getting to see the growth and development of this quartet alongside their own Gamecock musicians. “The beautiful thing about this quartet is that they’re young, but each member plays like they’ve been playing for decades, like the Emerson Quartet,” Harding said. “They play like they have been together as a group their whole lives. There is a unique symbiosis within the group and with the school that makes the residency so easy to sustain.” Associate Professor of Viola Dan Sweaney and his students have gotten to work extensively with the members of the quartet, and to him, all the members “have really become like family.” Alumni of the University continue to attend the concerts and often invite their own students to attend with them. Other projects that the Parker Quartet have accomplished through their residency include visiting schools in the area, working with the USC String Project and performing for the inmates at the DJJ Juvenile Detention Center.

To the untrained ear, this concert series may not sound so intimidating. In the past, the School of Music has conducted series of musical cycles for individual composers; one such cycle presented 32 of Beethoven’s piano sonatas as a concert series with Dr. Scott Price, the School of Music’s Coordinator of Piano pedagogy. Harding said, “That kind of series is way more common than the complete quartet cycle. It is rare for something on this scale to be done since the quartets make up a half, quarter, or full concert length on their own.” There have been other cycles of concerts for other famous composers at the School of Music, like a community Mozart festival back when Harding first arrived at the School of Music. There is a poignancy that this Beethoven cycle has that is incomparable to anything the department has ever done in the past, which automatically sets this series above any expectations audiences may have. The rarity of this Beethoven series is unmatched and a major incentive for audiences to attend. Beethoven’s string quartets are considered the pinnacle examples of the genre, and Carnegie Hall’s short guide to the group separates the pieces into three groups: Early Period, Middle Period and Late Period. The tones vary from the “introspective and tempestuous” Quartet in C-sharp Minor, Op. 131 to the “humorous” Quartet in F Major, Op. 59.

The School of Music and the Parker Quartet are partnering with Historic Columbia to host four of the six concerts at historical locations around the city. Each of these concert venues-Rutledge Chapel, the Robert Mills House, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, and the Seibels House-all existed during Beethoven’s lifetime. “Chamber music was originally meant to be played in the home and later in small venues,” Sweaney said. “The historic homes are precisely where chamber music would have been played during the classical era.” This cycle bolsters relationships between local Columbia organizations and departments within the University umbrella and develops the foot traffic among the involved facilities further.

The venues and lack of price tag for tickets all contribute to the mission of making classical music accessible to audiences across Columbia. The growth in accessibility provides a pathway to a newfound appreciation for the genre, which is exactly what Sweaney and Harding want audiences to experience. “We hope to reach people who love chamber music and some people who’ve never heard a string quartet before,” Sweaney said. “They might just become chamber music lovers after this.” According to Harding, even though several of the venues have already sold out, the larger venue performances are located on campus-specifically in Johnson Hall of Darla Moore School of Business and the School of Music Recital Hall-and there will be livestreams available for each performance.

You can reserve seats for any or all concerts online through Eventbrite. For more information or if you have any questions, contact Audra Vaz, the Assistant Dean for Advancement for the School of Music, at audra.vaz@sc.edu. If you want to read more about the quartets, check out the Carnegie Hall’s guide.

“Our Story” in Paint – Quincy Pugh’s artistry comes to the Koger Center

After over three decades of support for and appreciation of Columbia’s Koger Center for the Arts, local artist Quincy Pugh will show several of his pieces in the Koger Center’s Nook gallery. The exhibit opens Thursday, March 16th, and there will be an opening ceremony starting at 6:00 p.m., including a brief speech from the artist himself at 7:00.

Pugh, who was born in Atlanta, moved to Columbia in 1988 and witnessed the opening of the Koger Center in 1989. He received his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art from Augusta University and his Masters of Librarianship from the University of South Carolina. He then went on to serve as the Film and Sound Librarian at the Columbia branch of the Richland Library from 1989 until his retirement in June of 2018. Since his retirement he has had much more opportunity to paint and has used this time to focus on developing an extensive body of work that focuses on reflecting his community and southern heritage.

When asked about the opportunity to present his work at the Nook gallery, Pugh says, “I've attended many special cultural events at the Koger Center since my arrival in Columbia. Although most of my visits have been for musical events, I've always been in awe of its modern architecture and the large-scale non-representational artwork in the atrium, which I assume is part of its permanent collection. Art in its various forms can uplift us and evoke our emotions. I am happy that the center has begun to have more opportunities for visual artists. I am particularly thrilled and honored to have my work in this space. Although the Nook is a small space, I've selected pieces that fit well with the expansiveness of the architecture and the artwork that is already present. The work selected also works well as a collective unit. Although the work I selected for the show is figurative, I think it will fit well in the space and relates to all humanity.”

It’s unsurprising to hear that Pugh is thinking of how this exhibition will work as a collective unit, as great meaning and value can be taken from how his pieces interact with each other in the work he has done thus far. This is demonstrated within specific series Pugh has created, such as his Mugshot Series, which depicts artistic renditions of the mugshots of various Civil Rights leaders, including Martin Luther King Jr., and Black Americans wrongfully convicted, including George Stinney, the youngest person to ever be sentenced with the death penalty and executed by the State– Stinney was just fourteen at the time and falsely charged with the murder of two white girls.

The subjects of these portraits feed off of each other, creating a dichotomous recognition of systemic violence and hopeful resistance of said violence. The inherent interconnection between this dichotomy is perhaps best represented through the portraits of Stinney and King, entitled The Exoneration of George Stinney, Jr. and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. respectively. Stinney’s portrait includes both a side mugshot and a forward facing mugshot, both of which depict the subject’s despondency in his posture and facial expression. In the former, Stinney wears a crown of thorns, evoking themes of crucifixion; in the latter, Stinney’s head is surrounded by a gold halo with orange cracks in certain places, signifying persecution. In King’s portrait, the subject is also depicted with a halo, deep blue with golden light radiating out from it, signifying hope for an impending deliverance.

This cohesion is also notable when looking at Pugh’s work as a whole: between his various depictions of protestors, veterans, advocates, and Southern Black Americans simply and joyously living their everyday lives, Pugh effectively portrays the complexity of the Southern Black experience and its spirit of strength and elation. His body of work captures a rich variety of lives and experiences as well as deep cultural ties, and how these themes work with each other.

With regards to his future artistic endeavors, Pugh says, “I think it's part of my mission to continue working in the same vein. I will continue to tell my story, our story, in all its complexity via art and maybe one day related text. Many of the pieces that I've done in the last five years have not been shown individually or collectively in an exhibition. I am ready and prepared, and hope to make that happen soon.”

All Good in the Neighborhood – A Look into Five Points’ New Bookstore

If there is one thing to get residents of Columbia excited about something, it is a new bookstore. There are a few scattered around the greater Columbia area, from the corporate Barnes and Noble and Books-A-Million to the tried-and-true used bookstores like Ed’s Editions and The Book Dispensary, but there have not been very many that fit in between. That was the case until Odd Bird Books opened in the Main Street arcade alongside businesses like Swanson’s Deli. For three years, this was the one bookstore that offered a cozy atmosphere, a great mix of used and new books, and a welcoming staff that was always in the mood to talk about their favorite books or give recommendations.

Of course, the demand for an improved store lingered. When Odd Bird Books’ owner Ben Adams partnered with University of South Carolina Law Professor Clint Wallace and his wife Jenna, the trio birthed the concept of All Good Books: a community driven, independent bookstore. After a successful campaign funded by the community, the bookstore opened in the building formerly occupied by The Thirsty Parrot, which had been closed for quite some time. With a fresh coat of white paint, the space has become revitalized! The grand opening of the store was on March 2nd and was met with tremendously high community support. We looked in the store during the first Sunday afternoon they were open.

The bookshelves are divvied up into cozy little corners that zigzag along the wall, creating pockets of space for specific genres or groups of authors. The fiction section is massive (as to be expected) and spans the right wall next to the entrance until it joins up with sections like poetry, true crime, essays and more. There’s a combination drink bar/checkout area tucked nicely into the front of the store, where customers can enjoy a glass of wine, cold beer, or a coffee while they shop. There are tables with featured book collections in the center of the store as well, and next to the checkout is an adorable young readers’ station, with bookshelves at toddler height and a small reading hut. This one area was enough to make us fall in love with the store (even if all the Board of Directors are 4 times the target height for the reading nook). The store extends further back into a developing area with a huge community table that customers can chat with others and enjoy their new book at.

On opening weekend, a plethora of patrons, including local artists, populated the store, proving our whole community is super excited about All Good Books. Jasper will stay on the lookout for author talks and events that they’ll hold; in fact, they’ve got two lined up for mid-March already:

• Talk with the First Lady of Iceland on March 13th  

• Book Launch with Marie Boyd on March 19th  

Want to go support a local business but not sure where to start? Jasper has compiled their favorite books to give you some horizon-expanding inspiration. Who knows, one may become your new favorite too!

“My favorite authors are Margaret Atwood, Alice Hoffman, and Barbara Kingsolver, but my all-time favorite books are In Search of Our Mother’s Gardens by Alice Walker, The Agony and the Ecstasy by Irving Stone, and The Secret History by Donna Tartt.”
- Cindi Boiter, Jasper Project Executive Director

“Going After Cacciato, by Tim O’Brien, will always be on my very short list of all-time favorites.”
- Jon Tuttle, Jasper Play Right Series Manager

“It always depends on who asks. My go to answer switches between The Shining by Stephen King or The Sound and the Fury by William Faulkner.”
- Emily Moffitt, Jasper Board Secretary

“I go through too many phases to have solid favorites, but Diary by Chuck Palahniuk was the first thing that popped in my head!”
- Bekah Rice, Jasper Digital Manager

“The Crossing by Cormac McCarthy!”
- Christina Xan, Jasper Treasurer and Gallery Manager

“Love in the Time of Cholera, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez.”
- Kristin Cobb, Jasper Vice President

“A Pooka in Arkansas, by Ed Madden.”
- Bert Easter, Jasper Board Member

Artists Showing Artists: A Night with Saul Seibert and Friends

Jasper is excited to introduce a new event series, Artists Showing Artists, where we invite a local artist to curate an evening of their favorite artists from different disciplines. Our hope is that the series will give fans a chance to get to know the featured artist better through seeing the local artists who inspire them, while also highlighting these lesser-known creators. Our first event will be March 23rd at The Living Room from 7–9pm, and we are featuring local musician and writer Saul Siebert as our curator. He has invited a selection of poet-songwriters, visual artists, and his band—King Saul and the Heretics—to perform.

Performers

Saul Seibert

Seibert is a performer, writer and composer from New Orleans, Louisiana. He is the former singer and songwriter for South Carolina's veteran punk rock band, Boo Hag. Seibert has contributed musical scores to various commercials as well as independent cult classic films such as, "Party Hardy" and last year's award-winning film, "Bad Girls". His most recent work can be heard in the popular mainstream film He's All That. In 2022, Seibert’s musical arrangements and compositions were adapted to the much-anticipated video game Bugs and Boo Hags. In 2023, Seibert released the instrumental concept album, Zion, A Composition Acts 1, 2, & 3. Currently Seibert resides in Columbia, SC, and is writing and recording a record set to release in 2023 under the name King Saul and The Heretics. He has been a contributing writer to Jasper Magazine and the popular blog Manifestation Station. Smoke weed. Live free. 

Alyssa Stewart

Steward is a Poet and Songwriter who has naturalized to Columbia over the past twenty-five years. On her art she says, “I’m so glad to serve whatever work comes to me—be it writing, singing, dancing, or any other form of creative expression, and grateful for the abundance of communities around town in which to share. I would be less myself without my friends and family.”

NoN (Keith Smyly)

The genre known as "alternative" Hip Hop is a meandering path that leads listeners in many different directions. Within it, there is such a vast array of so many styles that one would question whether or not the artists that make it up could be classified as a singular art form. The ties that bind these practitioners together is in its cerebral poeticism, its complete disregard for conventional subject matter and its use of typically untraditional soundscapes. NoN, Columbia based Hip Hop project, conceptualized in its entirety by musician/writer Keith Smyly, sits comfortably in this "genre." With the release of two EPs—"Elusive Positive Aspects” and “Random Acts”—along with a full-length release titled So Lame, NoN set out to be the tie that binds humanity together with his lyrics. His leave no one out approach saw him pen songs like "Hearse Surfer," which seamlessly connected topics like child mental health, a failing class system, organized religion, and death; to "Pride, Dice and Chips," which recognizes the burdens and difficulty of putting philosophical questions of self and honesty into art; to "Free Mustache Rides," an homage to a favorite sexual past time. With a new release entitled Picture Album in the works, NoN will keep it personal but not to the exclusion of listeners: "I make people music. I try to pull from very, very personal experiences with the idea that most folks go through similar things. Human emotion is human emotion. And, while positive aspects may be elusive, they do exist." NoN. It is an alternative…to whatever else it is you’re listening to. 

Visual Artists

Art will be on display and available to purchase from the following artists:

Kara Virginia Russo

Russo is an abstract mixed media and interdisciplinary artist, whose work deals with themes of mysticism and spiritual reality. After earning her BFA from Converse College in 2005, she lived in Asia and Europe before returning to settle in South Carolina with her husband and two children. Her work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in Columbia, Greenville, and Charleston. 

Adam Corbett

Corbett is a multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter and visual artist from Lexington, South Carolina. After releasing numerous records, helping to produce a musical, and taking a break from his career as a music teacher, Corbett branched out into visual art as a way to cope with the COVID-19 lockdown. Throughout that period, he has experimented with various mediums in a variety of formats focusing always on exploration, play, and following his muse.

Emily Moffitt

Moffitt is a recent graduate of the University of South Carolina's School of Visual Art and Design. Growing up, she always found enjoyment through sketching and drawing her own original characters or art based on her favorite books and video games. Now as a young artist, she aims to blend the realms of fine art and illustration through her work, always experimenting with new techniques and materials to create new works. As she gets older, she continues to learn how events from a person's life can shape their art and style, for better or worse. Her favorite media to work with include ink pens, India ink, and gouache, and she values the power of mark making through these tools.

Tickets for the event are $12 in advance—and can be purchased online—and will be $15 at the door.
Refillable Jasper cups for beer and wine will be available for $10 as well as hotdogs and a selection of baked goods.
All proceeds go toward supporting the Jasper Project’s mission.

LAURIE MCINTOSH, GATHERINGS: MY WORLD IN LINOCUT at Stormwater Studios

Visual artist Laurie McIntosh will open a new showing of work called Gatherings: My World in Linocut at Stormwater Studios, 413 Pendleton Street, Columbia, SC, March 8 through March 18, 2023 from 11am -5pm each day. An artist reception will be held on Friday, March 10 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm. The exhibition is a collection of more than 30 images created using linocut reduction and multi-block processes.

Laurie McIntosh is an accomplished South Carolina artist and painter known for large bodies of thematic work inspired by her specific interests and life experiences. She is the owner of Laurie McIntosh Art in Camden, SC, a working studio she founded in 2016. She was previously a member of Vista Studios/Gallery 80808 in Columbia, SC.

Linocut reduction is a relief printing process in which the artist carves a reverse image in a block of linoleum. The image is inked in a single color and printed on paper. The artist then carves an additional layer, applies a different color, and prints again. The process is repeated until all color layers are applied. Because the process does not allow an artist to adjust a prior layer, the process is sometimes referred to as “suicide printing.”

“Gatherings is a result of navigating the isolation of the past three years and celebrating our coming out of it,” said McIntosh. “My family enjoyed being together during that time, spending time gathering crabs and fish, growing tomatoes, and doing the things outdoors that we love. It kept us busy.”

McIntosh notes her family’s most treasured times are sharing that bounty with dear friends, which is reflected in the collection. “Being able to gather with people again and enjoy homegrown and home-caught food, tell some tall tales, drink a cold beer, and have a laugh is what my family is all about. I hope that love of people and the land comes across in this body of work.”

Laurie McIntosh is a South Carolina native who earned a BA in Fine Art from the University of South Carolina. She went on to train at the Center for Creative Imaging, the Penland School of Crafts, and other prestigious studios. Previous noteworthy exhibitions include All the In-Between: My Story of Agnes, which served as the inspiration for an annotated art book authored by McIntosh in 2012; the South Carolina State Museum 30th Anniversary Juried Exhibition in 2019; and numerous juried and invitational, solo and group exhibitions throughout the state. In 2019, McIntosh was commissioned to create public art for the “Art Bus” for Comet Public Transportation in Columbia, SC. She exhibited a solo show, Beautiful Swimmers, in 2020 at Stormwater Studios in Columbia, SC.

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

From https://www.stormwaterstudios.org/event/laurie-mcintosh-3

Spring 2023 Cottontown Art Crawl is back!

Saturday March 11 10 am - 4 pm

FREE!

It’s one of the most exciting and—for artists—lucrative events of the season, and one of the best places to visit your favorite artists, as well as to find new favorites!

Cottontown Art Crawl (CAC) brings artists and entertainment to front porches and lawns in a historic downtown neighborhood. The fifth annual Crawl will welcome 140 artists to show and sell their original work.

Check out who you’ll find this year and where to find them below!

On 1200 Block of Anthony Avenue

• David Dohan, Drawing; Mixed Media; Painting

• Lori Ritter, Glass; Mixed Media

• Cait Maloney, Drawing; Mix of traditional and digital media

• Renee Frisbie, Photography

• Bonnie Geiger, Handwoven Baskets

• Debora Life, Ceramics; Mixed Media

• Tammy Brown

On 1200 Block of Confederate Avenue

• Addison Graham, Jewelry; Painting; Printmaking

• Anna Schumann, Jewelry; Printmaking

• Bohumila Augustinova, Ceramics

• Samantha Reali, Ceramics; Drawing; Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

On 1300 Block of Confederate Avenue

• Flavia Lovatelli, Mixed Media; Sculpture

• Nancy Strailey, Drawing

• Bruce Cotner

• Bryan Burgin, Glass

On 1400 Block of Confederate Avenue

• Lisa Alberghini, Mixed Media; Painting

• Noelle Brault

• Oliver Thompson

• Stacy Morgan, Ceramics

• Joanna Alford, Painting

• Kate Voigts

• Devon Corley, Mixed Media; Painting

• Tennyson Corley, Ceramics; Mixed Media; Sculpture

• Tobi Elbel, Photography

On 1200 Block of Franklin Street

• Holly Rauch, Painting

• Meena Khalili, Drawing

• Environmental Educators of SC

• Lisa Bone, Ceramics

On 1400 Block of Franklin Street

• Britty Pointer, Painting

• Kelly Shackelford, Textiles

On 1200 Block of Geiger Avenue

• Megan Cooper, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

• Tawanda Sims

On 1300 Block of Geiger Avenue

• Jen Scott, Ceramics

• Leah Cherney, Mixed Media; Painting

On 1400 Block of Geiger Avenue

• Elaine Anderson, Painting

• Gail Stouffer, Jewelry

• Amy Kuenzie, Painting

• Jane Schwantes, Ceramics

• Abstract Alexandra, Textiles

• Caroline Clark, Ceramics; Jewelry; Sculpture; Woodworking

• Sara Scott, Ceramics

• September Campbell, Mixed Media; Painting; Photography

• Vanessa Gustafson, Painting

On 2100 Block of Marion Street

• Rick Keasler, Metalworking

• Addie Somers Walker, Vintage China Garden Flowers

• Christy Buchanan, Mixed Media; Painting

• Cindy Kilpatrick, Metalworking; Mixed Media; Photography

• Rebecca Lynne Horne, Mixed Media; Painting

On 2200 Block of Marion Street

• Lila McCullough, Painting

• Sandy Knowles, Ceramics

• Tracy Chatman, Body Butter

• Bobby Baker, Jewelry; Sculpture; Woodworking

• Shaina Manuel

On 2300 Block of Marion Street

• Alicia Leeke, Mixed Media; Painting; Photography; Textiles

• John Nelson, Drawing; Painting

• Susan Charette-Hood, Jewelry

• Carolyn Ellis, Ceramics; Painting

• Cathy Kline, Glass; Painting; Textiles

• Benji Hicks, Printmaking

• Caitlin Barnes, Mixed Media; Painting; Photography; Wall decor 

On 2400 Block of Marion Street

• Catie Martin, Ceramics

• Diane Gilbert

• Jemes Davis & Debbie Langley

• Pascale Bilgis, Mixed Media

• Barbara Teusink, Painting

• Stan Cummings

• Beth Clark

• Quincy Pugh, Painting; Photography

On 2200 Block of Sumter Street

• Adam Corbett, Drawing; Mixed Media; Painting

• Andre Griffin, Painting

• Betsy Gaskin-Lester, Textiles

• Charles Hite, Photography

• Jennifer Richards, Jewelry; Glass

• Jessica Lopez, Textiles

• Jessica Ream, Mixed Media; Painting; Bookmaker

• Michelle Kingsberry, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

• Pamela Girard, Glass cloches and lanterns filled with insects and dried flowers

• Robert McNinch, Leather Goods

• Sharon Funderburk, Mixed Media

• Tim Whitten, Ceramics

• Gail Anastasio, Glass

• Margie Bach, Ceramics; Sculpture

• Shirley Long, Painting

• Sylvia Ady-Potts, Ceramics; Jewelry; Sculpture

• Beth Huus, Ceramics

• Chilly Waters, Ceramics; Sculpture

• Cicely Hill, Mixed Media

• Debbie Patwin, Sculpture

• Ishayda Smith-Hughes, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

• Leisha Scott, Mixed Media; Painting; Resin Coasters 

• Ozon Theswua, Metalworking; Woodworking

• Sonya Brown, Textiles

• Wilma King, Painting

On 2300 Block of Sumter Street

• Ashlan Bishop

• Ginny Merett, Mixed Media

• Sammy Griswold, Jewelry

• Stacey Black, Painting

On 2400 Block of Sumter Street

• Lillian Hauck, Mixed Media; Painting

• Amanda Oswalt, Painting

• Brian Murrell, Painting

On 1200 Block of Summerville Avenue

• Mary Cauthon, Textiles

• Michael Naughton, Painting

• Swirly Girl Arts (Kim Carpenter and Pat Gillam), Mixed Media; Painting

On 1300 Block of Summerville Avenue

• Jennifer Elmore, Textiles

• Karen Petta, Painting

• Angela Hughes Zokan, Mixed Media; Painting; Printmaking

• Whitney McCormac, Mixed Media; Painting; Textiles

On 1400 Block of Summerville Avenue

• Colin Stader, Glass

• JJ Burton, Painting; Plants

On 1400 Block of Victoria Street

• Brandon Manaa, Ceramics; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture

• Lucas Sams, Ceramics; Drawing; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture

On 2100 Block of Wallace Street

• Jordan Harsey, Drawing; Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting; Sculpture; Wearables

• Lissa Evans

• Alex Ruskell, Painting

• Melissa Smith, Mixed Media

On 2200 Block of Wallace Street

• Candace Catoe, Jewelry

• JP Lester, Woodworking

• Sabine Compeyn, Fiber

• Jeff Tempest, Mystical, magical and mundane

• Susanne Sievers, Ceramics

• Tiffany Walker, Jewelry; Mixed Media; Painting

• Apryl Campbell

• Noah Van Sciver

• Lily Todd, Ceramics; Drawing; Jewelry; Painting; Flower Arrangements, Candle Holders

• Clay Burnette, Jewelry; Wearables; Basketry - Pine Needle Baskets

• Hearts, Arts, & Paws, Ceramics; Glass; Woodworking

• Paul Moore

REVIEW: The Mad Ones at Trustus Theatre

“The only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones who never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn, like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everybody goes 'Awww!'"

Jack Kerouac from his autobiographical novel On The Road

Not enough has been written about platonic girl love, especially for adults. But the reality is that platonic girl love—its power and gravity and the way it can encompass a person like a cocoon—has saved many a young woman’s life, both figuratively and literally. The musical The Mad Ones by Bree Loudermilk and Kait Kerrigan (2017), on the Trustus stage through March 18, gives this beautiful and complicated phenomenon the reverence it is due.

With a tiny cast of four Trustus stage virgins, including two current USC students, Lily Smith and Charlie Grant, The Mad Ones is the story of Samantha and Kelly, played by Smith and Elise Heffner, BFFs who are separated by an accidental death. Samantha must rely on her memories of the all-important platonic girl love relationship she had with Kelly to get her through her grief and on the road to adulthood and making the next life decisions.

The working metaphor throughout the musical is that Samantha is obsessed with Jack Kerouac’s autobiographical novel, On the Road, but despite her intelligence (Sam is valedictorian of their senior class), she repeatedly fails her driving test keeping her, in essence, off the road. The brilliance of this simple metaphor plays out beautifully in the construction of the play.

Lead characters Smith and Heffner are just so much, too.

Adorable, approachable, relatable, insightful, lovable young women, Smith is a cross between Mayim Bialik and Tina Fey and Heffner is that combination of cute and fun that leaves no wonder Smith’s character Samantha adores her so. Smith plays Sam as vulnerable, but capable of getting through this period of grief with the help of the three people who she knows has her back no matter what: her boyfriend Adam, played by Grant, her mom Beverly, played by Jessica Roth, and the memories of her dead friend, Kelly. And in no way is the character of Beverly to be overlooked. Her character is refreshingly written as a bright, caring, and self-fulfilled mother who wants nothing less for her own daughter. While many writers would have fallen into the old tarpit of depicting her as a pushy parent, Loudermilk and Kerrigan seem to recognize what is at stake here and present Beverly as assertive, yes, but justifiably so. Beverly behaves in ways that every mother should aspire to.  

To say the cast has vocal chops is an understatement. From Grant’s smooth dulcet crooning to Roth’s rich and powerful voice, the four vocalists take on the score bravely leaving nothing on the stage. The slight pitchiness and rare missed note were so real and genuinely offered that they almost felt scripted, as in, everyone misses a note now and then so of course these authentically imperfect characters will, as well. These young actors, as well as Roth, DO NOT HOLD BACK.

Clearly this kind of bravery in such young actors had to originate in the experienced pedigrees of their directors, Robin Gottlieb and Katie Leitner. In her playbill note, Heffner gives special thanks to Leitner as “the best teacher she ever had.” No doubt. Leitner is also the powerhouse musician and vocalist in the popular local band, Say Femme and between the two women, they have performed enough lead roles to intimidate these four initiates into paralysis. But it is evident how the directors empowered their cast with courage and the message of the script.

There were no weak links in this production. Kudos to Ginny Ives (stage manager), Ezra Pound (sound), Lorna Young (lighting), Liza Hunter (assistant stage manager), and Jim Hunter (scenic designer) for pulling off all the pieces of the behind-the-scenes puzzle that allow for a successful production. Also outstanding was music director Chris Cockrell and his band, and special thanks to the strings player whose melancholy tones were enough to elicit tears alone.

Yes, expect to respond to The Mad Ones with anything from misty eyes to ugly sobbing. But the tears you’ll shed are of the redeeming variety—the kind that wash away the pain and remind us that we grow from every obstacle we overcome.

Go see this beautiful musical and celebrate the talents of these young actors and the futures they have in store.

Colleen Critcher and the T.Rex as Consumer and Consumed

Colleen Critcher is a Florence, South Carolina based artist who finds inspiration in consumerism, Tyrannosaurus Rex, and all things kitschy and gauche. She describes herself as a “painter at heart,” her favorite being oil painting, though she’s worked with a variety of mediums. She also finds herself turning to printmaking often, a process that matches much of her work thematically in the way that it, according to Critcher, “mimics the industrial production model in a completely inefficient way.” 

Critcher has known she wanted to be an artist since she “learned that it could be a profession” in Kindergarten. She’s always felt called toward it, and always found herself admirably aware of its capabilities. “I’m also addicted to the basic alchemy aspect of art making,” she says. “Making something from nothing feels like magic to me.” 

And make something from nothing she does, over and over again. Critcher’s recent series, entitled Consumed, is a scathing commentary on the American consumerist obsession with excess and features a series of pieces in which the subjects literally consume multicolored plastic dinosaurs.

“I love the fact that decades after I collected them, the T.Rex remains a pop culture icon,” Critcher says. “People are still obsessed with this dinosaur who was once the “ultimate consumer. It’s a bizarre cultural phenomenon.”  

“Beyond the connection from childhood toys and popular culture, I’m also interested in the fact that Rex was once the apex predator. It’s a reminder that humans pretend their dominance is somehow guaranteed to be permanent. There is also a sad irony to the fact that the remnants of dinosaurs (as petroleum) are what we make plastic with, and plastic is slowly killing everything. Yikes.” 

There is something to be said for the deadly consumerist infatuation with plastic, especially considering Critcher’s idea that our induction into consumerism starts with childhood– “I think for most of us it starts with toys.” 

Relatedly, Consumed also includes several pieces with children as the subjects. What A Good Little Consumer and Pretty Please both feature the full body images of children, a girl and a boy respectively, with T.Rex masks on their heads, dressed in what appears to be play costumes. Something about the way the children stand, the way the little girl in What A Good Little Consumer cradles the T.Rex toy in her arms, feels eerie, more sinister perhaps. Is there something to be said here about consumerism eating us back? 

Critcher answers this question with more questions: “I’ve been making work about American consumer culture for a decade now and I’m constantly asking questions about our participation. Are we passively implicated in the process? Are we fully engaged with both feet in this complex system? Are we consuming the things or are they consuming us? What are the benefits and what are the negative effects of a culture built on the necessity to constantly buy more things? When I had children it made me recognize that they, we, become consumers almost immediately.” 

Another unique facet of Critcher’s work is its ability to be self-referential–she puts the literal image of herself into her paintings. Within Consumed, she can be seen chowing down on a purple dinosaur in Devouring Her T. Rex and a neon green one in Keeping Up With The Joneses (Suburban Mom). Perhaps this is a nod to her own participation in consumer culture, a reminder of its inescapable impact on all of our lives. It certainly adds to the uncanny aesthetic of the series.  

Critcher received her MFA in painting from the Savannah College of Art and Design. Since then, her work has been shown at numerous galleries, including The Southern, Redux Contemporary Art Center, Kai Lin Art, Gutstein Gallery, and 701 Center for Contemporary Art, and she has taught several arts foundations courses at Coker University, Coastal Carolina University, and Francis Marion University.  

Critcher is the featured artist in the Jasper Project’s First Thursday Series at Sound Bites Eatery at 1425 Sumter Street. Join us on Thursday, March 2nd as we celebrate the opening reception for her work which will hang throughout the month of March.

For more information about Critcher and her projects, and to check out her delightfully bizarre series Consumed, visit her website, colleencritcher.com.

CALL FOR ARTS at Richland Library

Richland Library is seeking submissions for our Spring Pop Up Art Shows. The exhibition series will be held March through May 2023.

Pop-up Art Shows are intended to highlight the work of local BIPOC, LBGTQ+ or otherwise underserved artists and their unique personal ties to the specific communities where the libraries are located. They are looking for work that speaks to the community's roots, culture and citizenry.

Up to 2 artists will be selected to exhibit on each of the following dates: 

• Saturday, March 11 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Richland Library Wheatley

• Thursday, April 6 from 6 - 9 p.m. at Boyd Plaza *This will be a Special Exhibition in partnership with the First Thursday on Main event.

• Saturday, May 20 from 11 a.m. - 1 p.m. at Richland Library Blythewood

The application deadlines are Wednesday, March 1 to exhibit at Richland Library Wheatley, First Thursday on Main and Saturday, April 15 to exhibit at Richland Library Blythewood.

If you're interested in sharing your work samples, please review the submission guidelines and complete the application by clicking here.

Conceived and co-organized by local visual artist Jeff Rivers, this project seeks to expand the social and economic participation of underserved artists and communities.

Learn more about Jeff by clicking here.

For questions, please contact Kimberlei Davis at 803-351-5616 or kdavis@richlandlibrary.com.

Jasper Welcomes Lori Starns Isom to the Gallery at Harbison Theatre Friday Night

Lori Isom - who also is an exceptional baker!

In the Jasper Project’s ongoing efforts to locate and make use of blank walls in the Midlands area as gallery spaces to exhibit local artists’ work, we are pleased to open another exhibit in the gallery space at Midlands Technical College’s Harbison Theatre. Lori Isom is an artist well known to the Jasper Project, having contributed a place-setting to the Supper Table in 2019 and having been featured in the 10th anniversary issue of Jasper Magazine. We are delighted to facilitate showing her work this month at Harbison Theatre.

We will celebrate Isom’s exhibit with a reception on Friday, February 24th with a reception at 6:30 prior to the concert by Patrick Davis and his Midnight Choir, and Isom will speak briefly at 7 pm. The artist’s work will be available for purchase and will remain on exhibit throughout the month of March.

It is fair to say that Lori Isom’s life as an artist, and all around creative, has been quite varied. Throughout her young life, while receiving a formal education, she also studied dance and acting in New York. She was fortunate to enjoy some success as a professional dancer, singer and actress in New York and Los Angeles. Over the last several years, she's had many interesting and fun entrepreneurial pursuits, including owning and operating her own baking business! While she is predominantly a self-taught artist, Lori majored in fashion illustration in high school, and later fine art and fashion design at Parsons School of Design.

Lori's love of portraiture and figurative art began early. She was captivated by the work of artists like Mary Cassatt, Norman Rockwell, Andrew Wyeth, and John Singer Sargent because of their ability to capture emotion. Later in life, she found inspiration in artists like Mary Whyte, Dean Mitchell, Daniel Greene, Amy Sherald, and so many others. 

Through the years, Lori has done hundreds of individual and family portraits, as well as portraits of military personnel and heads of companies. She has also shared her passion and knowledge of by art coaxing the inner artist out of young children to senior citizens, through teaching. 

Lori's work has been featured in the pages of American Art Collector, newspaper articles and a variety of other publications. Her career has included solo and group exhibitions, and a one year residency for the City of North Charleston, during which she had the privilege to work on several community-focused projects. These included outdoor murals and special art projects, as well as workshops and demonstrations in the city's schools and community centers. 

At this point in her career, Lori is focused on reaching her most authentic artistic expression through deep personal exploration. She is driven to find her highest level of creativity by being open to trying new techniques and, most of all, trusting herself. 

"Since I have theater experience in my background, I relate to my subject(s) like actors on a stage. Telling a story and capturing emotion are what I aspire to do every time I go to the canvas. While working on a piece, I am thinking about how I can best reveal the person's story to my “audience” in this brief moment in their life. 

My deep desire as an artist is to present my subject in the most honest and sincere way.

Like any artist, I want the viewer to be moved in some way by the painting, and just see a pretty picture. I am stimulated by interesting composition, structure and use of color, however the emotion is really what drives me. "

Jasper is indebted to Kristin Cobb and the gracious folks at MTC’s Harbison Theatre for their hospitality and their willingness to work with us on our mission of making the work of Midlands’ area visual artists more accessible to the public and a more vital part of the culture they help create.

If you have an idea for a space that the Jasper Project might be able to capture as a potential gallery, contact JasperProjectColumbia@gmail.com.

You're Invited to the Launch of The Limelight Volume III by Cindi Boiter at the Art Bar, Thursday February 23rd

Please join the Jasper Crew Thursday night, February 23 from 6 to 8 at the Art Bar as we help executive director Cindi Boiter celebrate the launch of her newest collection of essays written by some of Columbia’s most interesting local artists about some of Columbia’s most interesting local artists.

The Limelight volume III: A Compendium of Contemporary Columbia Artists is the third collection in this series Boiter has published from Muddy Ford Press. This volume features essays from Jon Tuttle and his son Josh, Cassie Premo Steele, Clair DeLune, Dale Bailes, Kristine Hartvigsen, David Axe, Claudia Smith Brinson, Jason Stokes, Ed Madden, Tim Conroy, Len Lawson, Chad Henderson, and Boiter herself. The subjects of the essays include Tom Beard, Al Black, Nappy Brown, Anastasia Chernoff, Thorne Compton, Clark Ellefson, William Price Fox, Phillip Gardner, Tyrone Geter, Terrance Henderson, Rob Kennedy, Jillian Owens, Leslie Pierce, Kathleen Robbins, Sharon Strange, and Kay Thigpen.

We’ll be gathering at 6 pm for a cocktail hour during which attendees can order drinks from the bar and visit with friends, purchase and sign books. Following that we will enjoy brief readings from the collection.

Admission is free and we’ll be gathering in the back of the bar. Books, including The Limelight Volume I and The Limelight Volume II will also be available for purchase at reduced rates.

The Art Bar is located at 1211 Park Street in Columbia, SC. Thanks to the Art Bar for hosting this event.

Where Photographer and Subject Become Artist Together: A Preview of Gerry Melendez’s Whole

“There’s power in photography.” - Gerry Melendez

In the coming weeks, Stormwater Studios will host Whole, a photography exhibition by award winning photographer Gerry Melendez. There will be an Opening Reception this coming Saturday, February 25th from 6–9 p.m., and a closing reception on Sunday, March 5th from 12–3 p.m. 

Melendez is a Salvadorian photographer and filmmaker with over thirty years of photojournalist experience under his belt. He has won numerous awards and accolades over the span of his career, including the honor of Photographer84 of the Year twice by the South Carolina Press Association and six times by the South Carolina New Photographers Association. Recently, he was awarded a Southeastern Emmy for his short documentary entitled Donna’s Story (2022). 

This exhibit is a stunning collection of black and white photography—stripped down portraits with a focus on the individual subject. With regard to his artistic vision, Melendez says, “The premise of the exhibition is really to bring everyone down to the same level in a technical way.”  

He establishes this base level through not just the choice to shoot in black and white, but through the simplicity of the background of the photographs, the lighting, and the literal “stripping down” of his subjects. In essence, Melendez wants to limit our ability as viewers to make assumptions about the subjects as much as possible, saying, “Here, all you get is this one black and white moment in time. That and bare skin.”

Interestingly, Melendez believes his subjects to be very much a part of the artistic process, almost as if they are artists themselves. “The magic or uniqueness is what each subject brings to the table during their shoot,” he says. “Their personality and pose. The energy they show. What they're feeling at that moment. How they want to be perceived. I try not to direct too much and just allow this to happen organically.”  

He gives his subjects freedom of expression, facial or otherwise. He believes in the power of their stories, and the ability of his camera, in collaboration with his subjects, to capture it effectively and provocatively. 

One of these stories is that of Mary, a woman who was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma at 28 years old and had to have a tumor surgically removed from her chest. 

“It took a few years to be a proud member of the ‘zipper club,’” Mary says, “but the scar from the removal of that tumor is part of my story, my fight to be here, and it reminds me each day how strong I am and that it’s just one part of who I am.” 

As for Melendez’s general artistic attitude, he describes his driving force as such: “I want to create art that makes you feel something. Hopefully, it leaves you feeling good. Maybe it inspires you. Maybe it moves you to tears. Maybe it forces you to act. Whatever it does, I have this gift and I want to use it in the best way possible and hopefully leave this world in a better place. You know, Nick Ut's photo of the napalm girl helped end the Vietnam war. There's power in photography.” 

More information about Whole can be found on the Stormwater website.

Annual Winter Exhibition Featuring Chesley, Yaghjian, Williams and Friends - February 15-March 23

One of the most exciting visual art shows of the year opened on Thursday February 16th at the new Mike Williams art studio in Columbia’s historic Vista and will continue until March 23 with a reception on Saturday, February 25th from 2-5.

Anyone who follows local art closely has come to anticipate the yearly group show that always features Stephen Chesley, David Yaghjian, Mike Williams, usually includes Edward Wimberly, and as of late, has often included Ellen Emerson Yaghjian and Guy Allison. This year, the gang is all present at 1221 Lincoln Street for an extended period.

With the loss of the late Wim Roefs, Mike Williams and Michaela Pilar Brown, former ED of 701 CCA, divided Wim’s renown If Art gallery into two distinctive studio/galleries. For the past few months, with spaces have been quietly building their presence with Michaela Pilar Brown’s Mike Brown Contemporary Art opening the upstairs  of her multi-level space to a number of community-oriented events and gatherings of artists.

The Mike Williams Gallery operates similarly. While the Williams/Chesley/Yaghjian gang typically offers their annual group exhibition at Stormwater Studios, after having staged the exhibit for years at the former gallery collection know as 80808 on Lady Street, this year Williams is moving the group show to his new home on Lincoln Street.

About the Artists:

Columbia, S.C., native and resident David Yaghjian has exhibited across the Carolinas, including Blue Spiral I Gallery in Asheville, N.C., the Florence (S.C.) Museum of Art, Gallery 80808 and Morris Gallery in Columbia and Hampton III Gallery in Greenville, S.C. In Atlanta, where he used to live, Yaghjian has shown in the Spruill Center Gallery, the Right Brain Gallery, and other venues. He also painted two murals in the Georgia capital. Yaghjian holds a BA from Massachusetts’ Amherst College and studied in New York City at the Art Students League and the School of Visual Art. Among his instructors were Fairfield Porter, Leonard Baskin, Will Barnett and Chaim Koppelman.

David Yaghjian

Stephen Chesley was born in Schenectady New York in 1952. He exhibited a natural proclivity for drawing and art almost as soon as he could hold pastel and pencil which were often Christmas gifts from his family. Growing up in Virginia Beach in the late 1950’s he was exposed to the ‘Beat Generation’ of musicians, artist, and writers when Virginia Beach was still a seasonal seaside resort. Self-motivated, he continued with his drawing and small paintings along with exposure to local artist. Throughout elementary and high school the art spirit continued. Collegiate exposure led to a meld of art and science with degrees in Urban Studies and a Master’s Degree in Urban Planning in 1980 from the school of Architecture at Clemson University. Graduating in a deep national economic recession Chesley turned back to his art. Spending 5 years on rivers and sea islands to explore his aesthetic, subject matter, influential painters, and styles, Chesley’s paintings and art work began to move to the fore.

Recognized in 1981 by the Columbia Museum of Art as an emerging talent he went on to win top 100 in the first National Parks competition of 1987,exhibiting at the Smithsonian, and in 1996 a National Endowment for the Arts, Southeast Regional Fellowship, Southeast Center for Contemporary Art. Chesley has continued his work, characterized as poetic realism, along with welded and carved sculptural pieces in addition to joint works illustrating Archibald Rutledge short stories and WS Merwin’s poem, “Palm” for the Thomas Cooper Society’s Thomas Cooper Medal for WS Merwin in 2012. Stephen Chesley continues his creative journey with an art spirit in Columbia, South Carolina.

Stephen Chesley

Mike Williams, born 1963 in Sumter, South Carolina, received his BFA from the University of South Carolina in 1990.  In 1988 he began his professional career as a fine artist and sign painter while finishing his degree.  He has been prolific throughout the past three decades creating more than 4000 works.  

He’s maintained a steady presence in galleries and has had his work exhibited in the South Carolina State Museum, the Columbia Museum of Art, the Lake County Museum, Chicago, Ill., the Carillon Building in Charlotte, NC, the Sun Trust Plaza in Atlanta, GA, and the Volksbank in Kaiserslautern, Germany.

Jasper's Nightstand features Carla Damron's newest novel, The Orchid Tattoo, in an author-led discussion at Richland Library

The Jasper Project is excited to welcome Columbia-based author Carla Damron to discuss her newest novel, The Orchid Tattoo, at Richland Library on Sunday February 26th at 3 pm.

From The Southern Literary Review, September 2022 --

The pages of Carla Damron’s The Orchid Tattoo (Koehler Books, 2022) whiz by so fast, so easily, I have to say it is one of the best nail-biters I’ve read in a while. Not only that, this well-crafted thriller features a smart, likeable hospital social worker—Georgia Thayer—as protagonist. She is pitted against a human trafficking ring. In short, The Orchid Tattoo is a great read with a social message.

The opening shows Georgia, better known as George, in action interviewing a crazed patient in a Columbia, South Carolina, hospital. When the patient claims she hears the voice of a demon, George understands better than most. She, too, hears voices that years of therapy and medication have helped her to control.

If that’s not enough action and high stakes for the opening chapter, George’s brother-in-law David calls with bad news. Her sister Peyton is missing. Her absence is incomprehensible. She would not just abandon her beloved daughter Lindsay. She would not stop going to her grad school classes. And she would not leave without her cell phone. The race is on to find Peyton.

Some chapters are told from the viewpoint of a fifteen-year-old Kitten, who is trying to escape from Roman. He is a thug who runs prostitutes out of a run-down trailer. Some chapters are narrated by other women under the traffickers’ control. Damron does an excellent job of portraying those trapped by the trafficking ring without ever stooping to condescension or losing sight of their humanity. The girls and women are fragile yet strong, vulnerable yet tough, afraid yet brave. The American at the head of the operation calls himself Jefe—pronounced hef-fay. He has become extremely wealthy from human trafficking. While some of his prostitutes work in tawdry bars, others entertain an entirely different class of clients at Jefe’s exotic Orchid Estate. CEOs. Senators. Governors. But no matter where these women and young girls work, the threat of violence hangs over them constantly. Any mistake or attempt to escape leads to a vicious beating. Or death.

Since the police don’t approach Peyton’s disappearance with enough urgency and intensity to suit George, she launches her own investigation. She learns her sister had a secret project for one of her classes. Why would she keep it secret from her husband, her sister, even her classmates? What was she up to? Did her research for this project lead to her disappearance? The more George investigates, the more she feels she can’t trust anyone except Elias, a Black gay bar owner who is her closest friend. They bonded while in group therapy.

As the novel progresses, the stakes raise for all the characters, propelling us forward relentlessly. Some surprising twists add to the novel’s breathless climactic moments.

Like her protagonist Georgia, Carla Damron is a mental health professional. She holds a Masters in Social Work (USC) and an M.F.A. in creative writing from Queens University. In 2000, she was given the “Outstanding Mental Health Professional of the Year” award by the state chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. She is a South Carolina native and lives outside of Columbia. Her novels include The Stone Necklace (winner of the Women’s Fiction Writers Association Star Award), Death in Zooville, Keeping Silent, and Spider Blue. Her books explore social issues like addiction, homelessness, and mental illness. Her short stories have appeared in Fall Lines, Six Minute Magazine, Melusine, In Posse Review, and other journals.

Jasper Welcomes Lindsay Radford to the Hallway Gallery at Koger Center for the Arts for First Thursday this Week

The Jasper Project is excited to welcome our second Third Thursday artist to our Hallway Gallery at the Koger Center for the Arts. Lindsay Radford was born and raised in Alabama where she attended the Booker T. Washington Magnet Art School, Wiggins says that the experience helped shape her as a young artist. Now living in Columbia, SC, where she completed her BA in Studio Art at Columbia College, Radford says, “Art, for me, is a therapeutic way of moving what is inside me into a physical form. My hope is that my work uplifts, inspires, and empowers others to seek their own voice.”

Radford’s art will be available to view anytime the Koger Center is open and will remain on display through March 15th. The reception for this opening will run from 4 - 6 pm on the second floor of the Center just outside of the Donor Gallery.

Join us on the third Thursday of March for a new show by artist Quincy Pugh.

Philharmonic Collaborates with Local Nonprofits to Present a Weekend of Music and Sensation

By Liz Stalker

Ayano Kataoka

This coming weekend, the South Carolina Philharmonic will present two noteworthy concerts at the Koger Center: Firebirds of a Feather on Saturday, February 18th at 7:30 p.m., and Sensory Friendly Family Concert on Sunday, February 19th at 3:00 p.m. Both concerts are a part of the Philharmonic’s Music for a Cause program, a program that involves partnering with other non-profit organizations in order to raise awareness and funds for important causes through the Philharmonic’s various Masterworks concerts.

Firebirds of a Feather is a concert centered around the fantastical nature of our aviary friends. The concert is bookended by Igor Stravinsky, starting with Song of the Nightingale, and concluding with The Firebird Suite—one of his most renowned works—with Takashi Yoshimatsu’s composition, Bird Rhythmics, at its center. The SC Philharmonic’s Marketing Director, Chad Henderson, describes the selection of pieces as “a great opportunity for audiences to ignite their creativity and let the story form in their mind based on how they interpret the music.”

The Philharmonic will play alongside featured soloist Ayano Kataoka, a percussionist whose marimba skills will be particularly highlighted through these pieces. Kataoka started performing as a marimbist as early as nine years old, leaving her home in Japan to tour around China. She went on to amass a number of impressive degrees in music and perform all over the world. Kataoka is currently the Professor of Percussion at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and continues to be a season artist of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center of Performing Arts in Manhattan.

Firebirds of a Feather is being put on in partnership with Feathered Friends Forever, an organization dedicated to the rescue, rehabilitation, and sanctuary of abused and neglected birds as well as adoption services for responsible bird lovers. Patrons who get there early can check out the live birds that will be in the lobby prior to the show, thanks to handlers from the organization. The birds in attendance will be highly social, imbued with some of the playfulness of the music that will follow, and present a unique opportunity for the audience to, as Henderson puts it, “learn more about these fantastic animals and create a personal connection to aviary rescue.”

Sensory Friendly Family Concert is, at its core, a concert designed for all families, inclusive to children of all ages and abilities. This concert, which will be just under an hour in length and feature themes from well-known children’s movies, such as the Harry Potter franchise and Moana, invites audience members to participate in whatever way they feel moved, such as singing, dancing, vocalizing, and moving about. The concert will also prioritize the ability of audience members to exit the theater with ease as needed. In addition to this, there will be a variety of accommodations available to theatergoers, including a quiet room, spinners, and changing stations that accommodate children with disabilities, and the lobby and auditorium will both be open an hour before the concert begins.

The Philharmonic has partnered with a number of organizations for Sensory Friendly Family Concert. Their current partners include The Unumb Center for Neurodevelopment, The SC Commission for the Blind, Family Connections of SC, Key Changes Therapy Services, Carolina Autism and Neurodevelopment Research Center, and Palmetto Animal Assisted Life Services. This concert will be the first of many Philharmonic inclusive family concerts.

“The SC Philharmonic is definitely committed to making these accessible family concerts a more regular occurrence,” Henderson shares on the commitment to inclusion, “It’s important that we make it possible for everyone in our community to experience symphonic music. The Koger Center is dedicated to working with us on diminishing boundaries as we go forward.”

Tickets for both events are available on the Koger Center’s website

Announcing the Jasper Project Lineup for our First Thursday Sound Bites Gallery and our Third Thursday Koger Center Gallery

Lucas Sams ~ Colleen Crichter ~ Charles Hite ~ Cait Maloney ~ Steven White ~ David Dohan ~ Jean Lomasto ~ Amy Kuenzie ~ Lila McCullough ~ Barbie Mathis ~ Thomas Crouch ~ Lindsay Radford ~ Quincy Pugh ~ Cedric Umoja ~ Lauren Chapman

Artist - Colleen Crichter - March 2023

Jasper is excited to announce the lineup for 2023’s featured artists at our First Thursday Sound Bites Eatery Gallery as well as at our newly inaugurated Jasper Gallery Space at Koger Center for the Arts.

Check back in as their shows approach for more information about the featured artists but, for now, please mark your calendars for the First and Third Thursdays of each month to welcome the following artists and possibly to welcome some of their art to your home.

 Jasper’s First Thursday Gallery at Sound Bites Eatery

February – Lucas Sams

Join us Thursday February 2nd to welcome Lucas Sams as a first time First Thursday Artist

March – Colleen Crichter

Opening March 3rd

April – Charles Hite

Opening April 6th

May – Cait Maloney

Opening May 4th

June – Steven White

Opening June 1st

July – David Dohan

Opening July 6th

August – Jean Lomasto

Opening August 3rd

September – Amy Kuenzie

Opening September 7th

October – Lila McCullough

Opening October 5th

November – Barbie Mathis

Opening November 2nd

December -  Holiday Art Show TBA

 

Jasper’s Third Thursday Gallery Space at the Koger Center

January – Thomas Crouch

Crouch’s work will be on view through January

February – Lindsay Radford

Opening February 16th

March – Quincy Pugh

Opening March 16th

— April – Koger curated —

May – Cedric Umoja

Opening May 18th

June – Lauren Chapman

Opening June 15th

Lauren Chapman - Koger Center, June 2023

Cait Maloney - Sound Bites Eatery, May 2023

Lucas Sams is the Featured First Thursday Artist at Sound Bites for February 2023

Jasper welcomes Columbia-based artist Lucas Sams to our First Thursday Home Away from Home, Sound Bites Eatery, this Thursday, February 2nd starting at 6 pm.

Sams is a multi-media artist living and working in Columbia, SC; an alumnus of the SC Governor’s School for the Arts and Humanities, the University of South Carolina and Temple University, Tokyo, working in painting, sculpture, film, digital/multimedia, sound, and installation art, with works exhibited in major art festivals, galleries and alternative spaces. Sams has been featured in Jasper Magazine, the SC State Newspaper, Garnet and Black Magazine, and the Timber Journal of the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Sams says of the upcoming show, “Nothing has been more fun in recent memory than painting like I did before Art School. This organized mess is a collection of drips and splashes, recorded action, crystallized snapshots of steps in undefined processes. Imagery ranges from the completely non-objective to portraits from the Artist’s Unconscious, both the intimate and the unfamiliar.