Pottery Teapots
by Tripti Yoganathan

January 2, 2024 to February 29, 2024

Artist Statement

I AM INSPIRED BY NATURE

Pots, from the beginning of human civilization represented the utility, beauty and the aesthetics of the time when they were created and used.

About 20 years back, when I joined this community of makers of everyday vessels, I wasn’t aware of the joy of making something that is unique representation of my own self.

Studio pottery was a novel experience for me, Although, I came from a country where we have a whole community making earthenware as profession. I remember when I made my very first decent bowl (which I still have). I painted it with Indian Folk designs from north India as it made me feel close to home. And then the curiosity from fellow potters about the designs helped me further my connection to my roots through the representation of the different Indian folk arts.

After living in Georgia for over 20 Years, now, I am inspired by Nature.

Atlanta is most beautiful in spring and fall. The influx of the colors of the irises from my backyard and the dogwood trees from the front inspired my designs for my latest pieces.

I am always exploring and learning and I don’t know what will be on my pots in the future.

So, whenever you visit ‘Ananya’ be ready to be pleasantly surprised!!

https://www.triptiyoganathan.com/

Woodturning
by Peggy E. Schmid

March 1, 2024 to April 30, 2024

Artist Biography

Bachelor of Fine Arts in Sculpture from the Atlanta College of Art in 1990 (now the Savannah College of Art and Design).

Studied to become an Art Educator at Georgia State University where she was an Honors student.

As a sculptor, she produced work for the movie "Freejack", with Mick Jagger and Emilio Estevez, created the Pinwheel Project at Tula Art Foundation in Buckhead, a featured artist on the program "Artage" for the City of Atlanta, and had works featured at ABC No Rio in New York and drawings in the Gorilla Girl Movement in Chicago.

Several of her bowls were featured in the HGTV Green Home in 2012. Demonstrated at several Woodturning Symposiums: Southern States Woodturning in Cartersville, Georgia, Turning Southern Style, Dalton, Georgia, The Florida Woodturning Symposium, and 2016 AAW Symposium in Atlanta. Ms. Schmid has been an instructor on several occasions at Arrowmont in Gatlinburg and is a frequent instructor at The Florida School of Woodwork.

She conducts woodturning retreats for women to help advance their skill levels and create a sense of community among women makers. She also is a demonstrator at many of the woodturning clubs in the Southeast.

Ms. Schmid has served as the President of the Georgia Association of Woodturners in Atlanta and was the Secretary Treasurer of Apple Ridge Woodturners in Ellijay Georgia. She is currently a member of the Etowah River Woodturners in Canton Georgia.

She has won awards both as an artist, sculptor, and woodturner and her works are in private and corporate collections throughout the country.

Artist Website

Transformations Exhibit
May 1, 2024 to June 30, 2024

Combined Art & Display Gallery Exhibit

Elizabeth Mobley – Glass Artist
Mausi – Mixed Media
Stella Spyrou - Photography

Artist Statement:

Elizabeth Mobley

I work with glass because it's challenging - and because no two pieces are the same. Also, glass can be massive and dense, but at the same time delicate and fragile.

I keep going back to my favorite subjects: landscapes, seascapes and animals - imagining depth, texture and lighting to project images in glass.

The results depend upon my technical skills, patience and sometimes luck. If I'm successful, there is wonder. If not, the piece will be melted and reborn into something new.

Artist Statements:

Mausi (Sharon Brown)

Mausi started drawing from a very young age. Her first drawing was of JFK as seen on black and white TV. And from this point on, she never stopped drawing, painting and creating different types of art. Mausi is a multi media artist working with watercolor, pencils, charcoal, acrylics, pastels, textile and natural products to create drawings, paintings, and 3-d structures. She finishes most of her work with artistic framing and embellishments.

She graduated from the Western Kentucky University with an Associated of Arts degree in Fine Arts. She never stopped learning and improving her artistic knowledge and talents.

Stella Spyrou

I have always been taking pictures in my spare time but I became more serious about photography after I retired from an IT Senior Manager position at a pharmaceutical company.

I joined the Sweetwater Camera Club in Douglasville, GA and participated in many of the monthly competitions winning from Honorable Mention to 1st place several times. My winning images were published in the Chapel Hill News and Views (a local publication) and displayed at The Photo Spot in Douglasville, GA. In addition, many of my images were displayed at various local art exhibits. One of them, Evening at the Port, won 3rd place in November 2013 at the NOVAS (National Open Visual Arts Show) sponsored by the Cultural Arts Center in Douglasville, GA.

Pâte de Verre & Fritography
Fused Glass Art
by Ann Tewelow

Display Gallery
July 1, 2024 to August 30, 2024

The works of Smyrna Glass Artist, Ann Tewelow, are on exhibit on the second-floor Smyrna Public Library Display Gallery through August 30.

Artist Statement:

“The beauty of glass with the depth of its reflective qualities and colors has always held a deep fascination for me.” Upon retirement she took up pate de verre and fritography (methods of art using fused ground glass) and has since added mosaics, etching and sandblasting to her repertoire. She says, "All these mediums have allowed me a wide range of creativity."

Pâte de verre is a sophisticated glassmaking technique that involves creating intricate designs from a paste of crushed or powdered glass that is fired in a kiln to fuse the particles into a solid piece.

Fritography is a glass art technique that uses frit, which is finely crushed or powdered glass, to create vibrant and intricate patterns or images. It is also fired in a kiln.

Happy Whimsical Ceramic Art
by Karen Fincannon

Display Gallery
September 2, 2024 to October 31, 2024

Artist Statement:

I have always been an artist. My first customers were students on the school bus who paid me for my paper dolls. Over the years, I have worked in a variety of mediums, and now primarily work in clay and acrylic paint. Eventually, I earned degrees in Photography and Art History from the State University of New York in Potsdam, but after taking a tile making workshop in Ann Arbor, Michigan, I never went back to the darkroom. After a couple of years making the relief tiles, I took a workshop with Lana Wilson at the Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts in Gatlinburg, which changed my entire way of working with clay.

I like to create things I wish existed. My world is populated with fat, happy animals, including some holding puppets, and some wearing vintage bathing suits. My pieces are all one-of-a-kind, handbuilt ceramic. After constructing my sculptures, they are bisque fired and finished with a variety of underglazes. I like experimenting with different underglazes and glazes to achieve bright, happy colors. The sculptures are then fired for a second time. Most sculptures have a matte finish.

I believe that art can be complex, engaging, and finely crafted, while at the same time demonstrating a sense of humor and whimsy. One of the most rewarding compliments I can receive is to be told that I have created something that makes someone happy. Because much of my work is whimsical, people often find it accessible and are easily engaged. They understand that artwork can simultaneously be fun, while also well-crafted.

https://www.karenfincannon.com/

Native American History Photography Exhibit:
The Mississippian Era Around Us
by Smyrna Public Library & Smyrna Museum

Display Gallery
November 5, 2024 to December 31, 2024

Exhibit Overview:

In honor of Native American Heritage Month, Smyrna Museum and Smyrna Library bring you a photo exhibit showcasing two Mississippian Era sites in Georgia: Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park and Etowah Indian Mounds State Historic Site. The exhibit runs from November 5 through the end of December and is located on the second floor of Smyrna Library.

The Mississippian Period in Georgia archaeology stretches from A.D. 800 - A.D. 1600 and is characterized by complex societies that built large, earthen platform mounds. Museum Manager, Jennie Eldredge and Library Associate Jennifer Moore visited Ocmulgee Mounds in May of 2024 and Etowah in October 2024 and captured views of the structures around these spectacular parks. The images are presented here with informative signage to introduce viewers to the monuments built by Native Americans in the Georgia area over hundreds of years. Both the Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Creek Nation who later occupied the Smyrna area are descended from these Mississippian peoples.

About The Smyrna Museum:

Smyrna Museum is a city-owned and run history museum that is housed in a reconstruction of the train depot near at 2861 Atlanta Rd, Smyrna. Beginning with the Native American period of Smyrna history, visitors are taken on a chronological tour of Smyrna's history with over 100 objects on display. Museum Manager and Cobb native, Jennie Eldredge, has been overseeing the museum. She holds a master's degree in Heritage Preservation from Georgia State University. Learn more about Smyrna Museum at https://www.smyrnaga.gov/your-city/history-points-of-interest/smyrna-history-museum.