State of the Art Presence Art Center – Dec 2023/Jan 2024
Winter is the time when there is a hush of solitude…whisperings of a winter mind. The weather is cold, the ground hard, bears hibernate, and the natural world has pulled in for a winter’s nap. The season of chill and darkness is upon us and what better reasons do you have for visiting Art Presence Art Center than for warmth, and vibrant, joyful art.
Our December Art Opening Party! takes place on December 2, 1-4p. This is the same day as the Jacksonville Christmas Parade. The gallery will open at 9am for early art lovers to enjoy while awaiting the festivities. There is no guest artist for December, so member art remains in the Main Gallery and our Showcase of Gifts spills out from The Gift Shop and into the Main Gallery. Come shop our art-inspired jewelry, paintings, ceramics, sculpture, and fine art gifts. We even have delicious USA artisan sweets, handmade crayons, and specialty German watercolors that are perfect for stockings and those special gifts that always pop-up.
The gallery’s Member Artist of the Month is Belinda Moffit. Belinda is a portrait artist extraordinaire capturing details and nuances, mood and manner, that evoke the interior character of the subject. From whimsy to serious, she has a way of painting the exquisite subtle tension that often goes unnoticed in people’s expressions. She is available for custom portraits also.
Our second “Jolabokaflod” happens on December 9, 1:30-4p. Jolabokaflod is an Icelandic tradition meaning “Yule book flood.” It’s a time when people buy books as gifts and gather on Christmas Eve to enjoy cocoa and treats (which we’ll have!) while reading and sharing the books. We love celebrating our gallery authors including, John Sack, Peter Yeager, Diana Coogle, Gene Luetkemeyer, Christin Lore Weber, and others, for readings and book signings. Books available for sale. Watch for updates online as we get closer to the date.
On December 16th we invite you to our Holiday Open House, from 1-3p. Shop local, browse fine art and find unique one-of-a kind gifts you just can’t find in retail or big box stores. Beverages and hors d’oeuvres.
We like to keep it simple in January, so simple that it will again be our annual Naked Art show. This is when you find fine art that’s unadorned—unframed, prints, etc.—at lower-than-average prices. Art Opening Party! January 6, 1-4p. Further details to come.
Throughout January a mélange of Art Presence members art will be on display in the front entrance of the Jacksonville Library. Come see!
There are no Talk of the Town events in December and January.