Who are these Faces/Forms?*

The most beautiful of the forms in The Kelly’s current Faces and Forms exhibit must surely be the bevy of ballerinas. With a centerpieces of Clint Herring’s exquisite watercolors, our own local artists supplement the theme: Kathy Atchison working in pastels, Linda Lee in oil, and surprisingly, Wayne Atchison adds simple but expressive metal sculpture “en pointe.”

Ballerinas are the most graceful forms in Faces and Forms exhibit.

On the other end of the expressive spectrum is Hope Bannon’s abstract, “Shadow Dancing.”

Not to leave out the men, wife of the very talented late Bishop Eddie Phillips was kind enough to share some of his works. Some will find these figures equally impressive with a very masculine shapeliness:

Interestingly, Mrs. Phillips is also included in one of Kathy Atchison’s pastels because she is part of this Wetumpka quilt group, which meets on Tuesday mornings in the Elmore County Black History Museum.

Clearly, the faces of these quilters show that many are grandmothers and great-grandmothers. Older faces are often favored by artists who treasure every wrinkle as expressive of character and wisdom. New to The Kelly is woodcarver Allen Carmichael, also revering the facial distinctions. He studied with Carole Jean Singleton, who also has works in the show.

There are a bunch of portraits of well-known figures, from a painting of Hitchcock by Carla Luck and drawing of John Wayne by Marty Woodall to a fabric collage by Libby Christensen of the “Fox Five” on Zoom during the pandemic. She admits they look like cartoon figures, but it adds another medium to the mix:

Don Sawyer, our artist neighbor on Company Street, entered an interesting grouping of artist portraits:

Younger faces are also displayed, such as the precious oil paintings of children by Louise Castor and Rhonda Simms, and a very young woman by Joanne Staley.

While much art is based on serious contemplation, sometimes humor rules the day, as in Wayne Atchison’s “Saturday Night Bath”:
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The above photos just show a few of the many exciting and interesting faces and forms in the exhibit and were selected mainly to show the diversity of content and mediums. Even if you went to the reception, you probably should stop by again to really examine and enjoy the details. The gallery is open 10-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday, thanks to our curator, intern and many volunteers. Don’t miss this exhibit!

*Answer to the question in title: the silhouette image by L. Christensen shows the Native American busts by John Perdue, made out of papier mache, one more medium!