Artists’ Guild of Spartanburg will host an exhibit by members of the New Day Clubhouse for the month of July in its gallery at Chapman Cultural Center.
The exhibit will feature artwork by Clubhouse members from many different walks of life. The public and free reception will be Thursday, July 16, 4-7 p.m.
New Day Clubhouse is a day facility for adults dealing with mental illness. It helps them learn skills to integrate themselves into society and to deal with issues related to their mental illness. It is also a place for the members to relax and enjoy being away from the pressures of day-to-day living.
Sylvia Spears is the art teacher at the Clubhouse. She meets with a group twice a week to make art, to learn about artists and different art techniques, and to just enjoy creating. They have a core group of about 12 regular attendees, but anyone who is a member of New Day can participate. They have done a wide variety of art projects, including painting, drawing, collage, 3-D relief work, metal tooling, Dale Chihuly-inspired work, printmaking, tie-dying t-shirts, and painting with coffee.
Spears varies her lesson plans, as she wants her students to really learn while they are also experiencing the healing power of making art. Spears has a wide range of skill levels, but she wanted each artist to achieve success or experience pleasure while making art.
“As far as our show is concerned, a lot of hard work by our artists has gone into producing artwork,” Spears said. “Since the New Day Clubhouse burned in March and all of our artwork with it, we have had to start from scratch to pull this show together. Since we no longer had a central facility in which to meet, we were making art sitting on sofas, sitting outside, meeting at the two apartment complexes owned by New Day and basically just doing whatever we could to get art produced. And these artists performed admirably! They are just an enthusiastic group. They deal with heavy issues in their lives but they just lighten up when they come to art. We have fun! The art we will be showing will include paintings on canvas, watercolors, abstracts, colored pencil drawings, interiors, and a large collaborative piece.
Visit this exhibit in the Guild Gallery at Chapman Cultural Center Monday-Saturday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., and Sunday, 1-5 p.m., at no charge. For further information, please contact Interim Executive Director Caitlin Boice, [email protected], or call (864) 764-9568.