ARTMIX Exhibit Opens in Banner Elk “Creative outpouring naturally involves the interior urge to ‘do something’ with pencils, paint, papers or found objects”, explained ARTMIX member Barbara Timberman. “I must always be working on some piece of art. This satisfies my desire to rearrange my world.” ARTMIX members express themselves through painting, pottery, photography, drawing and the fiber arts and work together as a group to create collaborations and group shows. The artists live in Boone, Newland, Blowing Rock, Wilkesboro and Statesville and their work is on display in the King-Shivell Gallery, Cannon Student Center on the Lees-McRae College campus in Banner Elk during the month of June. ARTMIX began almost 20 years ago and Orna Bentor, Anne Burgess, Amy Cooke, Judy Humphrey, Kim Lewis, Judy MacNeill, Marianne Stevens Suggs, and Barbara Timberman are participating in this month’s exhibit. The public is invited to an Artist Reception on Sunday June 11 from 3:00 until 5:00 p.m. Refreshments will be served and music will be provided by Ottava Rima, an early music ensemble. Anne Burgess has been an ARTMIX member for about ten years and usually starts to draw without a plan. “Often, as I’m sketching a face, shoulders, and arms, a wariness of expression or edginess of posture will emerge that suggests a reaction to something unexpected. “For a long time I hauled my ink drawings and water colors around in an old baby stroller and sold them door-to-door and in restaurants, bars, and offices in Washington and New York, and later in street fairs, shops and galleries. I was lucky enough to get some jobs illustrating children’s books and to finally have some spots and cover drawings accepted by The New Yorker.” Some of the artists change through the years, moving from subjects of war to flowers or from abstract paintings to landscapes. Amy Cooke’s images often come from nature. The exhibit includes a series of images from one of her favorite trees, a flowering apricot, Prunus mume Peggy Clarke, that blooms in winter even in her Boone garden. This year’s show includes Women’s Words, a collaborative effort with small squares that have text included in their designs. Judy Humphrey recently began photographing odd juxtapositions of artificial color and text within the natural environment. “I am interested in the visual relationships as well as the social context that these images suggest. Selecting text as the common thread for our collaborative piece has inspired me to develop a new series that will investigate the subtle ways in which the human presence both intrudes upon and coexists with nature.” Kim Lewis used her recent breast cancer surgery in her square. “I set out to encourage myself that we will rise up beyond the obstacles in our path, even the obstacles of our own, ever being enlarged, breasts.” Orna Benter has been busy setting up her new web page, www.ornabentor.com where some of her squares are displayed. “I did a collage of torn pieces from my English-Hebrew dictionary. This is a symbol of my existence – living in two worlds, in two cultures and languages. I am an Israeli who made Boone her home and became an American citizen, a situation I sometimes find very challenging and try to capture this ambivalence in my art.” Most of the works are for sale, with a wide price range. This show also features a table with small items, such a note cards, for sale with proceeds going to support local literacy programs. For more information about ARTMIX or the Art Exhibit contact Barbara Timberman, 828-733-2919 timberb@bellsouth.net.