The Peachtree

City Library will display the Women of Substance art exhibit during the

month of June. Artists in the Southern Crescent area of metro Atlanta,

all members of the Southern Crescent Alliance of Visual Artists, were

invited to select a notable American-born woman, whom they admire, and

create a painting for a very special traveling exhibit.

The complete

exhibit includes over 30 pieces of well-known and not so well-known women

who have helped shape our country painted by artists from Clayton, Coweta,

Fayette, Henry, and Spalding counties.

SCAVA was founded

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

One of the

subjects, Pauline Mallary, Painted by artist Barbara Scruggs of Grantville

will be in the Floy Farr room on Sunday June 8th at 2 p.m. to speak of

her experiences as a pilot who has participated in 102 air races throughout

the United States, Canada, Bahamas, Mexico, and Central America to Nicaragua.

As Pilot in Command she has won 10 races including the 1977 All Women's

International Air Race (Angel Derby), and in all others her name can be

found near the top ten finishers.

Mallary, a

Michigan native, hitchhiked 10 miles to take flying lessons and earned

her pilot's license before she could drive a car. Introduced to air racing

in 1958, she became an avid competitor and supporter of women in air racing.

She came to the Atlanta area upon her marriage to an Eastern Airlines

Pilot in 1966. She now lives in Peachtree City.

She has recently

put to paper a memorable account of her more than 40 years in the book

"Racing in the Skies."

"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. The exhibit

will also run at the Georgia National Fair for part of October and will

spend the rest of the year at Chateau Elan in Braselton. For more information

on SCAVA, visit www.scavagroup.com.

Back

to the Top of the Page