Welcome!

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Welcome to the North Charleston Artists Guild!

We are a collective of creative individuals from diverse backgrounds who work in a wide variety of media. We represent the arts culture in the Charleston area spanning the gap from the hobbyist to the professional. Each of us are pursuing different artistic goals, yet we come together to learn from each other, to inspire and be inspired, to grow as artists and entrepreneurs, and to share this knowledge and passion with our community.

We currently have 30 active members run by a board of directors who donate their time to maintaining and growing our network of artists and our presence in the North Charleston community.

Our guild of artists is open to all who are interested in pursuing the arts in any form. We are proud to have studio artists who work in 2-D media such as acrylic, oil, printmaking, pen and ink, photography, encaustic, scratchboard, digital art, animation, and energy art. We also host many industrial and 3-D artists such as woodworkers, glass artists, assemblage and mixed media artists, and lapidary and jewelry artists.

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Our Board of Directors

President:  Dayna R. Lopez

Vice – President: Currently Open Position

Social Media Director: Currently Open Position

Treasurer: Currently Open Position

 

Connect with us via social media on:

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Welcome to 2020!

Illustrated Fireworks New Year Poster

 

Hello, everyone!  I want to apologize and ask our members forgiveness for dropping the ball and failing to update our website here the last half of 2019.  I have no excuse but to say I was traveling most of the time between May and September and I started a new full-time teaching job.  It was unexpected, but also a great blessing.  But, it set me back a little with what I’d desired to do for the guild at the time.

 

 

 

I am currently seeking for someone among our members to raise up and help with some of the social media/communication needs of the guild.  We want to grow so we can better support each of our artists.  So, if you are interested in helping with this, please let me know!

I want to see our group thriving and moving forward into this new year, but I also know it’s too much for one person to do alone.

I’d like to see us build a leadership team that is ready to support and really lift each other up this year.  If you feel led to join the leadership team, please let me know!

A couple of things to note:  

  • We will be sending information out shortly in regards to our upcoming show at Access on Wine.  I’m just waiting on confirmation of the date and times.  As soon as we have that confirmed, we will send the information out to our members.
  • Also, I am in the process of updating our website here.  If you are a current member and would like to have a bio page added, please email me your chosen picture of yourself, a brief bio and artist statement and a few samples of your work.  I’d like to have a bio page for every one of our artists on here.
  • I would also like to continue doing our Art Talk – Artist Interviews (something else I dropped the ball on last year 😦   You all are amazing artists and it’s such an honor to hear your stories.  Please let me know if you’d like to be interviewed.  If we had you scheduled and missed it last year, I truly apologize and hope we can do it early this year.

Thank you all for your continued commitment to the guild and for participating in all that’s happening here in North Charleston.  I look forward to another year of creative collaboration with each of you!

Sincerely,

Dayna R. Lopez

NCAG President

May Meeting – Recap

Hello, everyone!  We have a lot of information here so please go through it carefully and please let me know if you have any questions.  – Dayna

May’s meeting was so much fun!  We had the honor of hosting a wonderful guest….Susan Irish from Fabulon!  She gave us a great demonstration on all the amazing things you can do with Encaustic wax.  We are so grateful for her willingness to serve the guild and teach us her technique.

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Photo Credit:  Fabulon (Instagram)
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Photo Credit:  Susan I. Artist (Facebook)

We also got to hear from Kristine Peterson, our show and tell artist for May,  as she shared her beautiful botanicals in gouache.

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Photos Credit:  North Charleston Cultural Arts Department

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We had a lot of announcements and upcoming events to cover.  I will list them below with as much detail as I can.  Again, please reach out if you have any questions.

  1. Park Circle Farmers Market – We have the opportunity to set up a guild booth on the 4th Thursday every month.  We would like to offer demos during the farmers market and give our guild members an opportunity to share their art.  We are allowed to sell items for our members also.  If you would like to volunteer to help man the booth one month or if you’d like to include 2 – 3 of your pieces of your work, please let us know at the June Meeting.  We will have a sign up for booth volunteers and for those who would like to do a demonstration.  
  2. Blade and Bull Axe Throwing – Our Active/ Participating Members (attend at least one meeting per quarter) have the opportunity to display work on the walls at the new Axe Throwing place in Park Circle.  The theme there is very “Game of Thrones esk”  Think Medevil knights and Vikings.  If you have art that would fit in this theme and is hangable on the wall, please bring it to the next meeting and we will get it set up for you.  You will also need a title card that has the Title of the piece, your name and the price.  You may submit up to 4 pieces for display.   
  3. Blade and Bull – Mural Design Project:  We have also been offered an opportunity to design/paint a mural in the back throwing room of Blade and Bull.  Cyril is working with me and the owners to design the piece and then we will need a group of volunteers to help paint it on the wall.  All artists who participate will have their names on the piece as well as an opportunity to share and market themselves as a participant.  I’m also working with the owners to see if maybe we can get an opportunity to do a free night of throwing for those who participate.  They are providing all the materials needed for the project.  
  4. Accent Wine – We are planning a September event.  Each guild member will have an opportunity to display their work and enjoy a night of art and wine.  We are working out the details and will share them with you as soon as we have them.
  5. NCAG/CYAG – Joint Exhibition at Otranto Library – Our members who participated in the collaborative project “Strength” in March and April have an exhibition of that collection coming up July 13 – 20th.  The collective piece will be on display at the Otranto Road Regional Library.  The opening reception will be on July 13th from 3-5pm.  We will have light refreshments and can accommodate up to 55 people, so please invite your friends and family to celebrate this collaborative work by our members and the members of the Charleston Young Artists Guild.  Let’s support one another.
  6. Holiday show -We will be planning a holiday “Art Walk” and have been reaching out to some of the businesses in Park Circle to participate.  We are looking for volunteers to help with the continued planning of this event.  We will have a sign up sheet ready for those who would like to assist with this and serve the guild members in this capacity.
  7. Art Talk interviews – Each month, I’ve been interviewing one of our guild members on our Facebook page.  We want to support each of you and give you an opportunity to get your work out there for others to see.  I will be interviewing Cyril Jedor in June.  Please let me know if you are interested in being interviewed.
  8. Website Design – We are looking a volunteer that is good with SEO and keywording that can help us get our website to another level.  Please let me know if you are able and interested in helping in this capacity. 
  9. June Meeting – a look ahead  Our next meeting is on June 25th – SCAAT (South Carolina Association of Art Therapists) will be presenting as our guests.

 

Final thoughts…..we are gaining momentum as a guild and have many things in process right now.  We have more opportunities coming for display and events in the near future.  I look forward to working with each of you as we grow together, support and empower one another and create an eclectic community of THRIVING artists here in North Charleston.  Please remember that we will only grow and develop to the level that our members participate in opportunities and events.  This is both in a volunteer capacity as well as using your gifts/talents to strengthen the guild.  Let’s work together!

Have a blessed month and we will see you all on June 25th!

March Meeting Re-Cap

Hello, everyone!  We’ve had some technical issues on our end with broken computers and such…but, we are ready to roll now!

March’s meeting was so much fun!  We are building momentum and moving forward into new things together and it’s so very exciting.

We started off the evening with announcements and reminders about all the North Charleston Arts Fest events coming up and opportunities to participate.  Please reference the website for more information at https://northcharlestonartsfest.com/.

We also congratulated some of our members for their accepted entries into the annual SC Palmetto Hands Show!

Congratulations to:

Bruce Babcock

Tanya Craig

Jacqueline Anderson

Dayna Lopez

We spent the last half of the meeting working on our collaborative project with the Charleston Young Artists Guild.  Below is a slide show of some of the pictures that Ceril took during the creative time.  We will continue working on our projects during April’s meeting.

For this project, each NCAG and CYAG member is working individually on a 12 x 12in. wood panel with their own mediums and styles.  They will be combined to create an single piece of art that is kind of like a wooden “quilt”….where each block becomes a piece of the whole.

The art will be displayed in June and we will share more information about location and reception times in the next couple months.

 

 

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February Meeting Re-Cap

Hey, all!  I apologize for the delay on this re-cap post.  I was out of state and my schedule kind of got away from me.  However, I’m back at it now and you have my word that from now on…..I’ll do my very best to post the re-cap within one week of each monthly meeting.

February’s meeting was a fun time together.  We had some announcements that we shared and I will include those below.  But, I also want to give a huge thank you and shout out to Ellie Alasantra for preparing and guiding us through the process of art journaling and experience some freedom of expression in how we create.

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It was a fun, stretching experience and I, for one, really enjoyed hearing everyone share how their chosen reference image inspired their creative expression.  What a great experience!  Thank you, Ellie, for preparing that for us.

Some announcements to note: 

1. The North Charleston Arts Festival is only a little over a month away….so, if you’re planning to participate….now is the time to make your arrangements!  And I want to encourage you guild members…..this is OUR city festival.  Let’s make sure we are representing since we are the city guild for North Charleston.  😉

Some ways to get involved…..1) be a vendor for Arty Block Party.  2) submit painted works for the judged exhibition.  3) submit 3-D works for SC Palmetto Hands 4) be a vendor at the World Arts (new this year) at Riverfront Park.  5) promote and share all the festival happenings on social media.  Refer to the city website for information on all of the above-mentioned activities/events: https://www.northcharleston.org/residents/arts-and-culture/

2. We are collaborating on a group project with the Charleston Young Artists Guild (CYAG).  This will be a collection of works that will be displayed in a public place.  I am working on several options for the location and will update you once that decision has been made.  In the meantime, we are planning to work on this project for both the March and April meetings and the CYAG members will be joining us to work together.  We are asking that everyone bring a 12 x 12in. wood panel to work on.

Those who need special tools….this might be a good time to work on design ideas….color schemes….bounce ideas off other members….etc.  Each member will complete one panel and we will put them all together into a single art display.  I will have a few extra panels for those who are unable to purchase them before Tuesday’s meeting.  Please note:  Artist and Craftsman supply have these panels for sale this month…..so, I definitely recommend purchasing from them.  They are located on upper King Street.

3) We also announced another group project at a Daniel Island elementary school where we’ve been asked to assist the CYAG with a side-walk mural project on the school’s playground.  We will give you more information and dates for this project at March’s meeting.

We are gaining momentum as a group and moving forward!  Let’s keep the movement and invite other artists we know to join in the fun!  You guys are an amazing group of creatives and it is such an honor to serve you and work with you and the arts culture in our city!  Be blessed and I’ll see you all at our next meeting on Tuesday, March 26th @ 6:30pm.  

 

January Meeting Re-Cap

Januarys meeting was out of the box as we had the honor and privilege of meeting at Gallery Azul in Folly Beach!  We celebrated one of our own, Tanya Craig, and the opening of her amazing new art gallery.   What a beautiful opportunity to learn from her! 

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We got to hear her story of stepping out and taking a risk to use what she had in her hands and create something beautiful from it…..something that not only gives her fulfillment but blesses the other artists displayed in the space.   She shared a lot of the setbacks and hurdles shes had to overcome, but also the victories found in the process.

Some of our guild members have art displayed at the gallery as well!

I believe everyone there was inspired by her story!

You can find the gallery online and see the upcoming classes and events being offered at https://www.facebook.com/GalleryAzulFollyBeach/ 

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We also heard wonderful marketing tips and advice from Devin Meeks with Holy City Creatives.  They are a wonderful branding company and def know what they are doing to support the business/marketing side of the art biz.  Check them out at http://www.holycitycreative.com/ for more info.

As for guild business: We officially introduced a change of leadership.  Many of you were informed previously via email, but for those who don’t know….We have been so blessed by Angela Lowery as our president for the past year.  But, alas….a new baby and all its demands have required her attention in this season….and we salute her in that wonderful, new adventure!   But, don’t worry!  She will still be around and participating with the guild meetings and events!

Dayna Lopez has been appointed to step into the position as president.  Ellie Alasantra and Jacqueline Anderson will remain in their leadership positions, which leaves one open spot.  If you are interested in stepping up into a leadership role this year, please see one of the current board members.  We will be sharing a lot more at our February meeting about upcoming plans/events for the guild.  We are moving forward and have wonderful things planned for this year!  So, be there!  😉

Enjoy some of the pictures below that were taken while we met at Gallery Azul!

November Meeting Re-Cap

Hello there!  We were so grateful to have Maggie Jordan from the North Charleston Cultural Arts Department come and share with us at this month’s guild meeting!

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She taught us the Do’s and Don’ts of applying go galleries and juried shows.  She covered everything from how to submit good photos of your work, writing a worthy artist statement and answered loads of questions.

Current members will receive copies of her projection notes in your email soon.

I can’t wait to see however everyone applies what they learned and steps out more in 2019!  Be brave and courageous….it’s time for YOU to shine!

Exciting things are happening, so make sure you are connected and stay in the know!

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We also introduced the logo design contest.  If you want to participate in designing a logo that represents our eclectic group, please have your submissions ready for our January meeting.   We will be voting on them then.   Please reach out to Angela if you have any questions regarding the logo contest.

One last reminder:  There will not be a guild meeting in December.  We will resume in January 2019.

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See you in 2019!!!