Three WCAC Scholarships Awarded for 2005 Sylvia Blackman Wins Jerry Clemens Memorial Scholarship By Jeff Eason Organizers of the Watauga County Arts Council realize the benefits of helping emerging artists get serious about their work. If you give them a little help now, they’ll probably remember it when they become big and famous and are looking for a place to perform or hang their art. Watauga County Arts Council scholarship winners for 2005 include Fox Kinsman, Ronnie Hicks and Sylvia Blackman. Photo by Jeff Eason. It’s that “good karma” payback system that is at the heart of the Watauga County Arts Council’s annual Arts Scholarships. The Watauga County Arts Council awarded merit scholarships this year to Sylvia Blackman, Fox Kinsman and Ronnie Hicks. The scholarships were awarded in a public ceremony at the Jones House Community Center last Friday prior to the summer’s first Concert on the Lawn featuring the Forget-Me-Nots. Blackman, a resident of Boone, is a self-taught artist who works in many mediums. She has recently discovered the art of painting on glass and is learning how the firing process can fuse the paints into the glass with varying results. She plans to use her scholarship money to purchase materials and instruction in her artistic field. “We are so glad to be able to help her and look forward to showing her work in our galleries or selling it through our upcoming Consignment and Retail Shop which we will open this fall at the Blue Ridge ArtSpace,” said Cherry Johnson, executive director of the Watauga County Arts Council. Kinsman is a bagpipe enthusiast who can often be heard practicing outside of his workplace at Cheap Joe’s Art Stuff. “Finding private instructors for this unusual instrument is quite difficult so Fox applied to the Watauga County Arts Council for assistance to attend the North American Academy of Piping Cam which is going to be held at the Valle Crucis,” said Johnson. “We are glad to be able to help Fox attend this camp and we hope we can count on him to come back and perform for us sometime in the future.” Hicks is well known throughout the High Country through his many performances as a banjo player and singer. He grew up in a musical family and his mother taught him how to play guitar as a child. “Ronnie wants to advance himself as a bluegrass musician and applied for funding to attend Pete Wernick’s Bluegrass Jam Camp this fall,” said Johnson. “We are delighted to help him with this and hope he, too, will come back later on to show us what he’s learned.” The Watauga County Arts Council scholarships are awarded annually to artists who need help funding educational or artistic projects. “Over the years, we’ve funded many students to music, dance and drama camps,” said Johnson. “We’ve paid for teachers to attend workshops which taught them ways to bring back what they’ve learned to benefit their students. And we’ve helped worthy aspiring artists advance to the next level by helping them with necessary equipment and supplies.” Artists apply for the scholarship awards in the early part of the year and the winners are announced in June. “The funds for this year’s scholarships have been donated to us through three sources,” said Johnson. “The Jerry Clemens Memorial Scholarship Fund was established in 1999 upon Jerry’s death several ago by his friends and family. Each year we try to find someone of whose work we think Jerry would be particularly excited. “We are proud to present Sylvia with the Jerry Clemens Memorial Scholarship this year.” Kinsman’s award was made possible by money raised from last summer’s annual Barbershop Singing and Harmony Show at Appalachian State University. “The Mountainaires are a lively barbershop quartet who perform locally and even regionally,” said Johnson. “More than that, they work hard to promote and preserve the art of barbershop singing and will be on stage (at the Jones House) August 26th. That same weekend, they will host a barbershop extravaganza featuring award-winning groups from all over the country. The proceeds from that event are used to fund a scholarship which we are proud to give to Fox Kinsman.” Dr. Roland Moy of the Mountainaires is also one of the organizers of the Jubilee Chorus, a project involving community vocalists. The Jubilee Chorus presents a concert of show tunes and other favorites each year in Watauga, Avery and Wilkes counties. The chorus is currently rehearsing for performances featuring songs from the musical “Guys and Dolls” and is set to take the stage June 17 & 18. The concerts help fund one of the annual WCAC scholarships. “We are happy to present this year’s Jubilee Chorus Scholarship Award to Ronnie Hicks,” said Johnson. The Watauga Arts Council will also use funds from the scholarship fund to help four children attend this year’s Summer Arts Camp. For more information, call the Watauga County Arts Council at (828) 264-1789.