March 3, 2012
Arts Notes: March 4, 2012
"Red, White and Blue El Camino," 2010, oil on canvas, by Tracy Stuckey, part of a show at the Annex Gallery at Taylor Books.
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Celtic art

MINGO, W.Va. -- The Brazenhead Inn in Randolph County will host a benefit for the Mingo Historical Society, "An Intimate Celtic Evening with Eadhmonn Ua Cuinn," on Saturday, featuring dozens of sculptures of all sizes and colors from the "Private Collection Exhibit of Eadhmonn Ua Cuinn."

Artwork is on loan from Celtic art collectors, including Davis & Elkins College, Helen Benigni and Mark Buterbaugh.

Tickets are $45 and include a showing of the exhibit, a lecture on Celtic studies and a traditional Irish dinner. Doors open at 4 p.m., dinner is served at 5:30 p.m. Seating is limited; call Lauren Ragland, 304-339-2598, for ticket information.

The artist is creating a "mystery piece" to be unveiled at the event. The 53-pound gray stone block has been slashed with black, red and white crayon markings as the preliminary design of the figure.

Brazenhead Inn, U.S. 219, Mingo, WV 26294; 304-339-6917; www.brazenheadinn.com.

Mural designs sought

West Virginia State University Extension Service and its partners, Arts Council of Kanawha Valley and Create WV, are seeking artists to complete exterior and interior murals on the newly renovated Economic Development Center, 1506 Kanawha Blvd. W.

Artists are asked to depict the center as a place for creative thinking and capture all the purposes of the center.

To learn those purposes, visit http://artskv.org/opportunities.

The exterior mural wall space is about 12 feet by 50 feet; the two interior wall spaces are about 6 feet by 6 feet. Colors should complement the contemporary feel of the renovated interior.

Selection will be announced March 16 and the project completion is projected for April 10. Artists will receive $1,500 for the exterior mural, $1,000 for each interior mural.

Eligible artists are those living or working in Boone, Cabell, Clay, Fayette, Kanawha, Lincoln, Putnam, Raleigh, Roane and Wood counties.

Proposals must be postmarked by Friday and either be mailed to Jaime Rinehart, WVSU Economic Development Center, 1506 Kanawha Blvd. W., Charleston, WV 25387, or dropped off by 5 p.m. at 1420 Kanawha Blvd. W.

Contact Rinehart at jrineh...@wvstateu.edu or 304-720-1401. Visit http://artskv.org/opportunities or contact Naomi Bays at m...@artskv.org 304-807-2787.

Stuckey at Taylor Books

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- The Annex Gallery at Taylor Books is featuring new paintings by Morgantown artist Tracy Stuckey. A reception with the artist will take place from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Friday and the art will remain through the March 15 ArtWalk.

Stuckey is a graduate of Florida State University and earned a master of fine arts degree from the University of New Mexico.

He is a part-time lecturer in the West Virginia University College of Creative Arts and an adjunct professor in the Fairmont State University School of Fine Arts. In 2011 he received a professional development grant from the West Virginia Division of Culture and History.

In an artist's statement, Stuckey explains his approach to his paintings:

"The American West, with its brief but romanticized 'wild' history, has become a dominant characteristic of our collective American psyche. The word 'western' is a category used to describe films, literature, music, art and fashion. Each of these mediums is devoted to this embellished and romanticized place and time.

"In my paintings I try to explore the difference between the facts and the fiction, often piecing the two aspects together in the same canvas to draw attention to the artificial reality. I combine the past with the present to explore how the romanticized imagery and iconic characters are used to sell an idea and stir our imaginations. I use the cowboy and cowgirl and other stereotypical Western themes coupled with pop cultural depictions of the region to reflect my own interpretations of the contemporary West. I am interested in historian Michael Johnson's phrase, the 'Ralphlaurenization' of the iconic West and its characters."

Annex Gallery at Taylor Books, 226 Capitol St. Hours 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Friday, 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Saturday and 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. Contact Dan Carlisle, gall...@taylorbooks.com or 304-342-1461. Visit www.taylorbooks.com.

Doodle deadline nears

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- The deadline is nearing for West Virginia students to submit their artwork for the Doodle 4 Google 2012 competition. Entries should be mailed in time to be received by Google by March 23.

For more information on how to enter the competition, visit www.google.com/doodle4google/.

The Huntington Museum of Art is supporting Doodle 4 Google 2012 by encouraging K-12 students in West Virginia to participate. HMOA will exhibit the state finalists' doodles in a local exhibition from May 22 to June 26. Admission will be free throughout the run of the exhibit.

Doodle 4 Google is one of several efforts by Google to encourage and celebrate the creativity of young people by asking students to create their own Google doodle. The theme this year is "If I could travel in time, I'd visit ..."

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