October 2nd, 2009 :: PRESS
Building Positive Freedom Values through Story Art
“Character Sounds”
Arts4Kids
Kingsport, Tenn. (Sept. 18, 2009) – The Arts Council of Greater Kingsport (ACGK) will host local artist Lydia Wilson for the October Arts4Kids workshop. The workshop, tilted Character Sounds, will take place on Saturday October the 10th from 1-4 PM and will involve the creation of wind chimes. Pre-registration is required for this workshop since space and materials are limited; interested participants should call 423-392-8420. A snack will be provided due to the length of the workshop. Ms. Wilson will also be visiting our three outreach locations. She will be at the Holly Hills/Cloud Boys & Girls Club on Friday Oct. 2nd and at the Riverview Boys & Girls Club on Friday Oct. 9th. She has already completed her workshops with Girls Inc. which were held on August 11th, 13th, 25th, 27th, and September 3rd, and 8th. She is also planning an addition three workshops for the month of October.
Ms. Wilson is a mixed media textile artist whose work varies in form, content and concept. Her work may present itself in the form of an art doll, a piece of wearable art, an art quilt, a book/journal, or a mixed media collage — though she is best known for her figurative sculptures (dolls) in clay, wire, and fiber and the ways in which she embellishes her pieces. Regardless of the materials or techniques used, each piece has a message or purpose. They are meant to spark a smile, invite a debate, or evoke a tear without a single word spoken — a visual voice. Her work has been displayed locally as well as in national exhibitions. Home and Garden TV and magazines such as Somerset Studio, Quilting Arts, Cloth Paper Scissors, and Art Doll Quarterly have showcased her work as well.
This overall program, Building Positive Freedom Values through Story Art, is one of Lydia’s own design and is much larger than just Arts4Kids. Ms. Wilson is generously donating all of her time, she has had all of the supplies donated and has recruited a team of artists to assist her with the classes. Groups of children from all over the Tri-Cities will create a wide variety of art work in many different mediums. The really exciting piece of this large scale endeavor is that all of the work created will be put up on display in its very own gallery exhibition. Projects will be on display at the Nelson Fine Art Center in Johnson City, TN for
First Friday, on Feb. 5
th from 6 to 9 PM. For more information or to assist with this wonderful project you can contact Lydia at 423-926-9464 or
lydiaw_wcommonfolk_98@yahoo.com.
Arts4Kids Club is an introductory arts program for children ages 6-12 presented by the Arts Council of Greater Kingsport. Arts4Kids Club registration is $20 for the school-year program, or $5/individual workshop. The program is designed to expose children to a wide variety of arts and encourage their life-long pursuit of creative endeavors. For more information or to join, visit the Arts4Kids section of our website at www.kingsportARTS.org. The Arts4Kids program is funded under agreement with the State of Tennessee, the Tennessee Arts Commission and the National Endowment for the Arts, as well as, the Kingsport Community Foundation (a fund of the East Tennessee Foundation), Eastman Chemical Co., the City of Kingsport, and other local sponsors..
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