Opening Reception for 9 Exhibits: Feb. 4th

On February 4th, the Black Creek Arts Center will host an opening reception for nine art exhibits. Admission to the opening is free and everyone is invited to attend. The opening will take place from 5:30 - 7:00. And while we say 5:30, feel free to come straight over after work. Early birds are welcomed.

To preview our exhibits, click on the links below:

Capturing the Spirit of Scouting (Boy Scouts of the Pee Dee)

Recent Works (Adrian Anderson Rhodes)

Down Country Roads (Ann Lane)

Barriers (Nathan Gulledge)

Sister Art (Phoebe Smothers & Sarah Jaillette)

Exploring Typography (Marcos Sola)

Nature's Heart (Harolette King)

Black Creek Pottery (Mary Lou Bailey & Barbara Watson)

Senior Show Preview (Emily Dornburg, Henna Koponen & Danny Wagner)

The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue in downtown Hartsville. For more information about this opening or other Arts Council events and classes, contact Bruce Douglas at 843.332.6234 or via email at bartscounc@aol.com.

Coker College Student to have work in Juried Show

Coker College Senior Art Major Henna Koponen recently had three photographs selected for Obscura: Click the Light Fantastic. This exhibition will be housed in the Soundry Gallery in Vienna, Virginia.

The juried exhibition focuses on alternative photography and printing techniques.

The show opens on Saturday January 30 at 7pm and runs through March 5, 2010.

In addition to majoring in art at Coker, Koponen is also a member of the Cobras' Women's Basketball team and is interning at Black Creek Arts Council.

A native of Helsinki, Finland, Koponen plans to attend graduate school in Europe upon completing her studies at Coker.

Fiber Artists Wanted

The Art Trail Gallery con­tinues to seek additional exhibits for the Fiber Arts display opening Febru­ary 19^th and running for six weeks. The deadline for entries is February 10^th. There are no fees for par­ticipation. The Gallery wants all types of fiber arts represented from pa­per-making, basketry, knitting, sewing, crochet, needlework, spinning, weaving, quilting, tatting, etc.

Click here for Entry Forms.

Individuals willing to teach short workshops during the exhibit should contact Jane Madden at the Art Trail Gallery - 843-673-0729.

The Art Trail Gallery is an all-volunteer gallery in downtown Florence. The gallery is open from 1-4pm Monday through Saturday and by appointment. Admission is free.

Work by Graphic Designer Marcos Sola

Marcos Sola is a 2005 graduate of Coker College and currently works as a graphic designer for Sonoco Products, Inc. Sola's artwork at BCAC explores typography.


Sola has contributed to BCAC over past through years by designing the promotional materials for The Carolinas & The Carolinas II, the annual community photography contest and exhibit. Information about The Carolinas III will be announced soon.

This exhibit will be one of eight exhibits opening on February 4th at the Black Creek Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm on February 4th. The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue. For more information, call 843.332.6234.

Back to 8 Exhibits - 1 Night Listing

Dornburg, Koponen & Wagner in the Frankie Bush Classroom...

Three Coker Seniors will have work on display at BCAC.

Coker College Seniors Emily Dornburg, Henna Koponen, and Danny Wagner will have work on display at the Black Creek Arts Center. The Frankie Bush Classroom, located on the second floor of the Arts Center, will be the site of the rising artists works.

All three seniors are currently working on their Senior Shows at Coker. The Senior Show is the capstone course for art majors and results in an exhibition in the Cecelia Coker Bell Gallery in the Gladys Fort Art Building on the campus of Coker College. The work that will be shown at BCAC will be a preview of the students' Senior Shows.


This exhibit will be one of eight exhibits opening on February 4th at the Black Creek Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm on February 4th. The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue. For more information, call 843.332.6234.

Back to 8 Exhibits - One Night Listing

Barriers by Nathan Gulledge

Nathan Gulledge's Barriers will be on display at the Black Creek Arts Center. Gulledge has expressed his concept for the series through the following statement:

They are used to keep people at a distance.

They keep you from accepting the truth.
They prevent critical introspection.

Barriers disguise the emotion of the situation.
They prevent surpassing the problem.

Barriers are outer coatings that help you fit in.
They are inner coatings that blind your sense of reality.

They cause you to sacrifice individuality,
Allowing you to never see beyond the superficial.

Barriers block the strides for knowledge.
They overshadow the desire for understanding.

Barriers prevent questions.

This exhibit will be one of eight exhibits opening on February 4th at the Black Creek Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm on February 4th. The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue. For more information, call 843.332.6234.

Back to 8 Exhibits - One Night Listing

Barbara Watson, Mary Lou Bailey, & Stephanie Jackson in the Pottery Studio

BCAC instructors Mary Lou Bailey and Barbara Watson will be displaying their pottery in the Pottery Studio for the February 4th opening.

Watson's wheel thrown pottery and Bailey's hand-built work are well-known in the Pee Dee. Both artists will also be leading classes at BCAC in February. Call Bethany at 843.332.6234 for more information.

In addition to the two displaying aritsts, potter Stephanie Jackson will be demonstrating during the opening.

This exhibit will be one of eight exhibits opening on February 4th at the Black Creek Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm on February 4th. The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue. For more information, call 843.332.6234.

Back to 8 Exhibits - One Night Listing

Boy Scouts of the Pee Dee

Boy Scouts from the eleven counties that make up the Pee Dee have been asked to submit photos that Capture the Spirit of Scouting. The regional exhibit is being held during the centennial year of the Boy Scouts of America.

Former BCAC Director Terri Pignone, now an executive board member with the Scouts, organized the exhibit. It is sponsored by Brown Pennington Atkins Funeral Home.

This exhibit will be one of eight exhibits opening on February 4th at the Black Creek Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm on February 4th. The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue. For more information, call 843.332.6234.

Back to 8 Exhibits - One Night Listing

Ann Lane's Down Country Roads

Photography from Ann Lane will be making a return to the Black Creek Arts Center. This time Ann will have Pee Dee images on display. Down Country Roads will be making a move from the Marion County Museum to Hartsville.

Down Country Roads will be in the Reese Page Classroom on the second floor of the Arts Center.

This exhibit will be one of eight exhibits opening on February 4th at the Black Creek Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm on February 4th. The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue. For more information, call 843.332.6234.

The opening reception is being sponsored by Brown Pennington Atkins.

Back to the 8 Exhibits - One Night Listing

Sarah Jaillette & Phoebe Smothers

Sisters Sarah Jaillette & Phoebe Smothers will have work on display at the Black Creek Arts Center in February.

Above: A painting by Jaillette

As one would expect, sisters Jaillette & Smothers have a lot in common. They have the same parents. They live in the same town. They both have work in Darlington's Birds Of A Feather, an art and antique gallery that Jaillette and Linda Howle run.

Despite these commonalities, it would be hard to tell these two ladies are sisters when looking at their artwork. Jaillette's signature paintings contain birds and she is also well-known for her seascapes. Smothers, on the other hand, creates mostly non-representational work (see below).

Above: by Phoebe Smothers

BCAC is pleased to be showing the work of Sarah Jaillette and Phoebe Smothers. Both women, along with Linda Howle, were instrumental in the Darlington Artist Crawl in April 2009. Check out their gallery, Birds Of A Feather, at 106 Siskron Street, just off the Square in Darlington.

This exhibit will be one of eight exhibits opening on February 4th at the Black Creek Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm on February 4th. The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue. For more information, call 843.332.6234.

Back to the 8 Exhibits - One Night Listing

Harolette King's Nature's Heart Photography

Displayed in the foyer at the Black Creek Arts Center, Harolette King's photographs of heart-shaped leaves will make great Valentine gifts or year-round home decor.

Also on display in the foyer will be work by Ina Ingram and Heidi Bond. Ingram was the featured artist in the Jean & James Fort Gallery during the month of January. Her painting, Freedom, will be on display, as well as one of Bond's famous dog paintings (New Toy). Bond will be the featured artist in March.

This exhibit will be one of eight exhibits opening on February 4th at the Black Creek Arts Center. An opening reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:00pm on February 4th. The Black Creek Arts Center is located at 116 West College Avenue. For more information, call 843.332.6234.

Back to 8 Exhibits - One Night Listing

Benefit for First Hartsville Idol Winner to be held at BCAC

Demitrius McDonald, the winner of the first Hartsville Idol, will be headlining Music To Remember at the Black Creek Arts Center on January 23rd.

Joining Demitrius will be Tracy & Ron Price, Craig Beshures, Al Haynes, and the Sonoco Men's Club.

Showtime is 7:30 with the doors opening at 7pm for refreshments.

Tickets are $25.

Call or stop by the Black Creek Arts Center for tickets, 843.332.6234.

Art Book of the Week #4

For the 4th Installment of the Art Book of the Week, Black Creek Arts Council and Burry Bookstore bring you...

Oil Painting Tips and Tricks by Rosalind Cuthbert
$12.99 at Burry Bookstore in downtown Hartsville

Oils can be tricky to master, and even experienced artists often need a refresher course. This book offers advice on everything from buying the right brushes to creating atmospheric effects, and from the initial composition to making corrections.

Visit Burry Bookstore on the web.

At the Darlington Library...

The Pollockesque paintings of Darlington County artist Walter Cooks can now be seen at the Darlington Library, on Main Street, just off the Square in Historic Darlington.

Rotating art exhibits will now be on display in the Allard A. Allston Conference Room at the Darlington Library through a partnership between the library and Black Creek Arts Council and is made possible through funding from the South Carolina Arts Commission.

Wine Tasting Class Coming to BCAC

with Judy Haenni

at the Black Creek Arts Center

Dates: February 27th, March 6th, & March 13th (Three Saturdays)

Times: 2pm to 4pm

Cost: $50 per person or $80 for a couple

Call the Black Creek Arts Center to reserve your space, 843.332.6234.

Session One: Bring a notebook and a wineglass. You'll taste the actual flavors that the vintners put on their labels: fruity, oak, buttery, tannins, floral, earthy, etc.

Session Two: This session will focus on white wines. You will taste several wines and put to use the knowledge gained in Session One.

Session Three: This session will focus on red wines. You will taste several wines and put to use the knowledge gained in Session One.

Judy will also share magazines, websites, food pairing wheels, and wine gadgets that she prefers. She'll also talk about wine festivals and tasting bars that she has been to in our area.

Call the Black Creek Arts Center to sign up, 843.332.6234.

Art Book of the Week #3

Pollock by Leonhard Emmerling

$14.99

A tragic icon of Abstract Expressionism, Jackson Pollock (1912 -1956) took influences from Picasso and Mexican surrealism and developed his own way of seeing, interpreting, and expressing. Though his name inevitably conjures up images of the drip paintings for which he is most famous, this technique was only developed midway through his career. The progression from his earlier work to his final action paintings, a veritable revolution of painting as a concept, reveals the genius of this tortured artist whom many call the greatest modern American painter.

Find this book at Burry Bookstore on Carolina Avenue in Hartsville.