Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, November 24, 1995 TAG: 9511240075
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: EMILY ROGERS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
This year, 80 area artisans will display their paintings, pottery and sculptures in the seventh annual Gallery of Local Artists.
Moving each year to a different donated space, the gallery offers holiday shoppers unique gift ideas. The exhibit, housed this year at New River Valley Mall, also will include stained glass and jewelry.
New artists are included in the gallery each year. These newcomers must meet two requirements: they must live in the New River Valley and their work must be judged by a panel to maintain the quality of the display.
Painter Jean Nelson, a six-year veteran of the gallery, said "a lot of people who wouldn't ordinarily come to a gallery" are drawn to this event.
Supporting the local art community is important because "culture is an important part of any country's national identity," said Nelson, a Christiansburg resident and a member of the New River Valley Arts Council and the Blacksburg Regional Art Association.
Nestled in the basement between her husband's tool bench and the whir of the washer and dryer, Nelson creates her masterpieces. The meeting of her brush and the canvas involves a little bit of magic; colors fly, inspiration hits and a work of art is born.
Much of Nelson's art incorporates "a spiritual theme" inspired by people she's met, places she's visited or by simply allowing the colors to speak to her. Her method varies from one work to the next; sometimes she sketches a scene on the spot and other times she works from a photograph.
Nelson received her degree in fine arts from Cooper Union in New York City in 1947. Originally, she used her talents to teach oil painting and to draw portraits. When she discovered her allergies were too severe to work with oils, she began to use watercolors. "I don't know what I'd do without them. I have to express myself," she said.
Nelson's attention to detail pervades every aspect of her work including its presentation. While it has taken a few years to achieve a professional quality, she does all her own matting and framing. Investing so much of herself into every painting makes it difficult for Nelson to part with her artwork. But she does. "It's's not a million-dollar business," she said and she's got to make a living.
However, Nelson does keep some of the paintings that have personal value.
The Gallery of Local Artists will be open Nov. 24 through Dec. 31.
Nelson's work also will be shown at the Waste Policy Institute in Blacksburg and the Glade Baptist Church's "Advent: a Season for Anticipation" Dec. 3-27.
by CNB