Wednesday, April 2, 2003

Traveling

"Women of Substance" exhibit features work by local artists,

arts groups

BOYLAN

[email protected]

While fans

of fine art can travel to the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum

to see portraits of our presidents, those looking for something a little

more local can take in the "Women of Substance" exhibit presented

which features over 30 paintings of notable American women, recently ran

at the Coweta County Convention and Visitors Bureau. The exhibit now moves

to the Griffin Gallery - Welcome Center Depot in Spalding County before

traveling to the Fayette County Public Library in May and the Peachtree

City Library in June. It will also run at the Georgia National Fair for

part of October and then will spend the rest of the year at Chateau Elan

in Braselton.

SCAVA was founded

in July of 1997 as a way to unite local arts groups and make them 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.

"I met

Pauline and read her autobiography and thought I really need to paint

her," said Scruggs. "Besides, I was tired of trying to paint

dead people."

Many of the

artists who contributed to the exhibit have won awards at different competitions

and do commissioned work from time to time but they are involved with

art out of love and a need to express themselves visually.

"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. For more

information on SCAVA, visit www.scavagroup.com.

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