Wednesday, June 4, 2003
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Wednesday, June 4, 2003 |
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Art exhibit featuring Women of Substance arrives at PTC library By MICHAEL
BOYLAN
The Peachtree City Library will display the Women of Substance art exhibit during the month of June. Artists in the Southern Crescent area of metro Atlanta, all members of the Southern Crescent Alliance of Visual Artists, were invited to select a notable American-born woman, whom they admire, and create a painting for a very special traveling exhibit. The complete exhibit includes over 30 pieces of well-known and not so well-known women who have helped shape our country painted by artists from Clayton, Coweta, Fayette, Henry, and Spalding counties. SCAVA was founded in July of 1997 as a way to make local arts groups stronger. There are over 775 members in SCAVA coming from arts groups in Clayton, Carroll, Fayette, Coweta, Henry and Spalding counties among others. They hold a juried art show in February of each year and participate in different contests and exhibits each year. SCAVA has also displayed their art in the Georgia State Capitol for three consecutive years. The "Women of Substance" exhibit has been largely successful for SCAVA and the group is trying to plan another exhibit based on Georgia's state parks. The exhibit features both well-known and not so well-known American women both alive and dead. Some of the women featured in the exhibit are Helen Keller, Christa McAuliffe, Peggy Lee, Eleanor Roosevelt, Maya Angelou, Loretta Lynn and local pilot Pauline Mallary. Mallary was painted by Barbara Scruggs of Grantville, an artist since 1966 whose portrait of Mallary was her second portrait ever. One of the subjects, Pauline Mallary, Painted by artist Barbara Scruggs of Grantville will be in the Floy Farr room on Sunday June 8th at 2 p.m. to speak of her experiences as a pilot who has participated in 102 air races throughout the United States, Canada, Bahamas, Mexico, and Central America to Nicaragua. As Pilot in Command she has won 10 races including the 1977 All Women's International Air Race (Angel Derby), and in all others her name can be found near the top ten finishers. Mallary, a Michigan native, hitchhiked 10 miles to take flying lessons and earned her pilot's license before she could drive a car. Introduced to air racing in 1958, she became an avid competitor and supporter of women in air racing. She came to the Atlanta area upon her marriage to an Eastern Airlines Pilot in 1966. She now lives in Peachtree City. She has recently put to paper a memorable account of her more than 40 years in the book "Racing in the Skies." "SCAVA gives both beginner and professional artists a support system," said SCAVA President and Fayetteville resident Gloria Solly. "Everyone looks at life differently and artists learn from other artists." The different styles of paintings in the "Women of Substance" exhibit may be one of its most striking attributes. One painting may be more abstract, while another may be more classical. Visitors to the exhibit not only learn a little bit about each woman that is the subject of a painting but also learn about the artist by examining his or her style and their choice and treatment of the subject. The viewing of the "Women of Substance" exhibit is free and none of the paintings are on sale. A book featuring photos of the paintings and a small bio on each subject is available at the exhibit for $5. The exhibit will also run at the Georgia National Fair for part of October and will spend the rest of the year at Chateau Elan in Braselton. For more information on SCAVA, visit www.scavagroup.com.
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