NEWS - New Bern Artworks & Company Studio & Gallery

"Not Just Pretty Pictures" by March Featured Artist Eric McRay

"Got Collards?" by Eric McRay

"Riverfront" by Eric McRay

New Bern ArtWorks & Company will present the exhibit, “Not Just Pretty Pictures” by featured artist Eric McRay, on view from March 9, through
April 5, 2012.

A reception will be held on Friday, March 9th from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm.

Eric McRay was born and raised in urban Washington, DC. Occasionally during long summer breaks from school, Eric's father, Reedy McRay would travel with his son back to the quiet rural North Carolina communities of his youth. These were the young Eric's first exposure to the qualities of southern living. "It was peaceful. It was refreshing. I was bedazzled," proclaims McRay.

As an adult Eric McRay returned to his North Carolinian heritage, where he has become a major force in the NC art community. Here he looks for new places to prodigiously paint, and areas to explore. McRay focuses on his favorite subjects such as New Bern, Morehead City, Beaufort, Atlantic Beach, the North Carolina Beaches, and our coastal salt marshes. His work uniquely captures the spirit of North Carolina living. McRay re-energizes himself beneath the majestic North Carolina sun. "Here everything shines, everything is colorful, everything is full of light.

McRay has been featured on TV and radio, and in numerous newspapers and magazines. The Raleigh News & Observer named him one of the "Artists to Watch" for 2001. He was featured in the June 2002 issue of Southern Living Magazine. In 2008, McRay was anointed by Metro Magazine, "Best Local Artist" and featured in “Living African American Artists” publication.

New Bern ArtWork's Artist Roxane Lessa: Winner of the Prestigious NICHE Award

Sponsored by NICHE magazine, the NICHE Awards program began in 1989 to celebrate excellence and innovation in American and Canadian fine craft. Artists are recognized in professional and student divisions.

"I am thrilled to have won this award in the Decorative Fiber Category my first time entering this prestigious show", said Roxane Lessa.

Roxane Lessa specializes in quilted wall hangings that are handmade to the highest standards in her studio in Raleigh/NC. They would fit in any room, in any corner, bringing a spot of color and life. They also make great gifts. Roxane’s work can be purchased through The Piedmont Craftsmen's Gallery in Winston-Salem, New Bern Artworks in New Bern, NC.

New Bern ArtWorks & Company Grand Opening

New Bern ArtWorks & Company

Jim Bisbee

Baxter Building

Jill Eberle, Studio Artist

Studio Artist, GeeVee Meyer

Local potter and arts-supporter Jim Bisbee’s vision was to add a jewel to the already rich artist culture of downtown New Bern.

In January, he bought and spent six months renovating the old Baxter Jewelry Store Building on Pollock Street, with its trademark 1920 ornate Seth Thomas clock outside the front door.

Bisbee’s brainchild — Studio 323 — opened in time for the last ArtWalk in September, but the grand opening is Saturday, with an 5 to 8 p.m. public reception.

“I have been thinking about this for a number of years,” he said. “It is something I have always wanted, that place for artists to work together. I do a lot of thinking about the arts in New Bern as a whole. My overall vision is that we (New Bern) be an arts center in Eastern North Carolina.”

Bisbee, who works on public art and with the Craven Arts Council, said he felt the performing arts are doing well.

“We have the (N.C.) Symphony here and we have a lot of active civic groups and the whole new venue Tryon Palace has for entertaining and the arts — it has all come together,” he said. “But I particularly work on the visual arts. With this we have a place where artists can work together and more importantly, people can come and see art and artists creating art.”

The 1915 building, with a large skylight in the main gallery that houses New Bern ArtWorks, includes an entertainment area, which can be rented, along with a dazzling palette of artistic variety by the local artists who now call it home.

“The building was envisioned and laid out as a place where artists could work and market their work, as well as provide an interesting and entertaining place for visitors,” Bisbee said. “With this in mind we have a gallery operated by four partners.”

The group includes Vicki Vitale, who paints miniatures; Donna Slade, a painter who uses a variety of media, including pastel, colored pencil and acrylics, primarily for still-life paintings; Martha Williams, a still-life painter who works primarily in acrylics and Bisbee, a potter who does both functional and decorative work.

The gallery focuses on fine art in a wide variety of media. It also is the new home of New Bern ArtWorks & Company Fine Art Gallery, located in the main first-floor gallery. ArtWorks celebrates a daylong grand opening Saturday.

“The building also has a space for entertaining and teaching,” Bisbee said. “We will be doing ‘Vino and Picasso’ workshops and other fun events as well as holding classes for children and adults in the various art forms that we have in the building. Visiting artists will also be teaching there.”

The Baxter Building is one of New Bern’s finest, most intact early 20th century commercial buildings, according to “The Historic Architecture of New Bern and Craven County, North Carolina,” by Peter Sandbeck.

It notes that “members of the Baxter family have been in the jewelry business since 1892, when E.B. Baxter opened a jewelry store on Middle Street. Dr. J.O. Baxter purchased this building in 1917 from Bettie D. Windley for $20,000.”

In 1920, Baxter moved to the new building.

The façade is distinguished by patterned brickwork, in red and buff-colored pressed brick, with “an unusual Dutch Colonial-style curvilinear parapet.”

>newbernnow.com: Click here to learn more about New Bern, it's history and the many things to do and see.

>newbernchamber.com: Learn about upcoming events in downtown New Bern, relocating, other businesses and a lot more.

>www.newbernconventions.com: Book a convention on the water and come visit New Bern ArtWorks while you are in town.

>Bank of the Arts: Be sure to visit Craven Arts Council and Gallery aka "Bank of the Arts" on Middle Street in downtown New Bern while you are in town.