While it comes a little late we’d, nonetheless, like to send out a very big thank you to those who nominated and voted for Gallery Up to receive this years Business In Arts Award!

Created in 1992 to recognize those businesses whose dedicated partnership with arts has been demonstrated during the calendar year, we are honored to even be considered for such a distinction. Demanding Art has always been a personal passion for us, but it’s still great to know your work is appreciated.

Thanks for a City that recognizes and honors the Arts! Check out The Herald’s coverage of all the great art activities that took place that evening.

Join us next Thursday, July 15 for a soulful, folk-inspired line-up of bands in The Courtroom.

Dirty Fist and The Damsels (both out of Florida) will be headlining with The Royal Tinfoil (Charleston, SC) and Erik Bullock (Gilbert, SC) opening.

An all ages show, doors will open at 8:30 pm and the bands start at 9 pm. There’s a $4 cover and refreshments will be available for purchase.

Special thanks to Mike Gentry for coordinating the musicians and the Arts Council of York County for letting us hold these concerts in such an amazing, historic space!

A few shots of the show below from early in the evening. We’d love to see more pics if you want to share — thanks to all the performers for a great night of music!

Doughnuts!

Okay, so there was also a great selection of fruits and veggies at June 24th’s grand opening of the Old Town Market but, c’mon, we’re talking fresh blueberry doughnuts — can you blame us for our collective excitement?

The market, which takes place every 2nd and 4th Thursday through August is, conveniently for us, located in the parking lot behind the Gettys Art Center.

Local growers and artisans are on hand and Gallery Up even joins the mix offering some great deals on apparel and other selected items from the shop.

We understand that the market is a sort of litmus test to determine whether or not Rock Hill can sustain a permanent market in downtown. We are certainly cheering for its success and encourage you to drop in and join us for the remaining markets.

More information can be found at onlyinoldtown.com/fresh as well as some additional photos from the inaugural event on our flickr site.

Or is that “haven”? Either way, local artist, Barbara Schreiber, is one of our personal favorites so perhaps that’s what makes her latest entry for Creative Loafing’s “Point 8″ blog so special.

With all of the more established, formal galleries to choose from in the big city, we are blown away that Barbara took a moment and noticed us.

From the post… “Not all hallways are created equal. If you need confirmation of this, just visit Gallery Up in Rock Hill. A hallway gallery is often an afterthought, a sop thrown to artists. But Gallery Up is a jewel box.”

Many thanks for a wonderful article that reignites our fire for demanding art!

In case you missed it, here’s Part 1 of this home tour.

This visit to the Mitchells’ home was partly prompted by the fact that they have, as you’re about to find out, wicked awesome amounts of artwork in their collection! We’re initiating a program in which we identify a number of pieces that may need updated matting, glass, or perhaps even the entire frame package, and throughout the course of a year, those pieces are redone at greatly discounted prices. This was actually Barre’s brilliant idea, born of the fact that everything in their collection was already framed, but much of which was acquired before quality conservation materials were used as common practice in the framing industry.

The large amount of natural light coming into the home sets a beautiful mood throughout. To reduce the glare this causes on the artwork framed under glass, we are going to be replacing the current standard, clear glass with museum glass. This glazing option solves the problems of trying to both protect and view the artwork, as it is 99% UV protective (to keep colors from fading) and eliminates glare while maintaining absolute clarity. Unlike the non-glare glass you may be familiar with, museum glass appears as if there is nothing even there.

If you look closely at the artwork in this next photo, you might be able to see why the conservation aspect of these products is so important…

Curved walls can’t even stop them from displaying their art!

They’ve used every available surface of their home to display artwork, but managed to do so without making the place feel crowded. I believe all the windows helped create this balance, allowing the beautiful view of the lake to break up the space nicely. 

Barre created the design for their doors himself, then commissioned a local glass artist to make them. 

This view of their downstairs captures their extensive collection of Catawba pottery, as well as many other local ceramists.

As Barre gave us the tour of the home, he was able to tell us about every single artist, and where each piece was acquired. Through these stories I learned a lot about their past travels, passions, and aesthetic tastes. A very large portion of the work was by local artists, thus extending a great amount support to the local art community, for which we are all appreciative.

Here are some fun extras from around the home:

I fell in love with the gorgeous old frame on the right. It’s so extravagant, yet somehow perfect for the print housed within it.

A huge thank you to Barre and Gilda for kindly sharing their home with us and inspiring us all to demand more art!

As always, a big thanks to Zan Maddox and Matt Barcus of Social Design House for the fabulous photography.

As President of the Board of Directors for the Arts Council of York County (which is located down the street from Gallery Up), it’d be kind of expected that Barre Mitchell and his wife, Gilda, would have a lot of appreciation for the arts. What you would not expect is the extent to which they let that appreciation permeate their daily lives. They’ve immersed themselves in both handmade art and nature’s art (in the form of Gilda’s garden), creating a highly concentrated visual experience at their home on Lake Wylie. We’re very happy to be able to share these images of the Mitchells’ inspiring home and garden- both of which are steeped in creativity.

I’ll be posting this home tour in two parts; the first dedicated to Gilda’s beautiful and complex garden, and the second to their home. Please take the time to click these images for a larger view.

The garden surrounding the Mitchell home is Gilda’s ongoing exercise in art and horticulture. As she guided us through the space with a sparkle in her eye, the place seemed to expand and reward us with more and more fun details the further we explored. She has managed to successfully create a space in which the natural character of the land is balanced with consciously placed pathways and artistic elements.

You’ll find the Buddha everywhere, tucked into unexpected places. The whole place possessed a very powerful spiritual quality. 

I could hardly contain the urge to frolic when we arrived at this lush circle of moss! I wished I’d worn sandals so I could walk on my bare feet.

 The Mitchells’ daughter, Margo, designed all of the stonework throughout the property. She does it professionally under her own business based out of Charlotte called Hortus Stone, Craft and Landscape Design. There are so many little details that could be easily missed if you aren’t paying attention, such as little bundles of quartz crystals nestled in the ground in random places and glass bottles used as subtle mosaic additions throughout the pathways. 

There was a whole area just for hydrangeas!

And if you get the feeling that you’re being watched, it’s because you are…

Many of the hidden treasures you’ll find were actually made by Gilda, who also happens to work in clay in her on-site studio. Down where the garden meets the lake there were several schools of ceramic fish that appeared to have just taken to land, heading up from the water.

Please check out Part 2 of the tour as we explore the home!

Gallery Up is pleased to announce that Jon McMillan from Rye, New York, has won this year’s Best of Show award for his ceramic sculpture, Pierced. 

Photo courtesy of Jon McMillan.

Here is the juror’s statement:

“I selected “Pierced” for the Best in Show award because the artist
pushes the boundaries in a medium (Ceramics) that is traditionally used
and typically viewed as strictly functional.”

Ce Scott
Director of Residencies and Exhibitions
McColl Center for Visual Art 

Congrats to Jon, and all of the artists in 30 Small Works! You can check out all of the work from this year’s show in our flickr album.

Join us next Thursday, June 24th at 6 pm for the opening of our 3rd Annual 30 Small Works exhibition and stay to enjoy a FREE screening of Fresh in the courtroom at 8 pm. The film provides a practical, sustainable vision for both our food and planet.

We’ll open with a 3-minute short “Tara Cooks Dinner,” a beautifully shot, intimate film by local artist Ben Jack.

Eat Your Way Around Old Town
Head to Old Town earlier in the week starting Monday, June 21st as the City kicks off it’s “Eat Fresh, Be Fresh” campaign with a variety of engaging food activities. From “Lunch ‘n’ Learn” events each afternoon to Restaurant Crawls, Old Town merchants will be overflowing with healthful tips and offerings.

Come back on Thursday night as the Gettys Art Center hosts the grand opening of the Old Town Market. Local growers, artisans and area vendors will be on hand in the parking lot selling the freshest fare and ware in town.

Look for Gallery Up at the market for great deals on apparel and other selected items. See you next week!

Thanks to Old Town for their sponsorship of the film, the Arts Council of York County for the use of the space and to Earth Fare for providing refreshments.

“Future Perfect” Auction Exhibition Fundraiser
The Loading Dock Gallery

June 16-24, 9 am-5 pm Silent Auction
June 24 6-8 pm Reception & Live Auction ~ Open to the public

Over the course of the last three years, The Loading Dock has given many Winthrop University students their first off-campus exhibition opportunity. The efforts have been, up to this point, largely coordinated by WU painting professor, Marge Moody. While Gallery Up has tried to plug in where we could, the space has always relied on a shoe-string budget and the kindness of volunteers.

Here’s where you come in…

Most of the artists in this auction exhibition have shown their work in the Gettys Art Center. By generously donating their work for this fundraiser, this show is an opportunity for emerging and established artists to support up-coming student artists who will continue to use this space.

As visitors to the show, we hope that you will embrace this vision and, in similar manner, show your support. All proceeds will be used to upgrade the lighting, signage and walls.

Silent Auction Open for bids now through June 24!

To place a bid simply enter a dollar amount (above $25) on the bidding sheet on the wall beside the work. You may revisit any time to check on and increase your bid. (Please leave contact info where you may be reached).

Live Auction Enjoy the reception (June 24 6-8pm) but stay close to the piece(s) you want to buy!

With grateful appreciation for the support of the Arts Council of York County.

Join us Wednesday, June 16 as Andy the Doorbum, The Lesser Pauls and Candy Jerk rock, er punk, The Courtroom.

It’s an all ages show and doors open at 9 pm. There will be a $3 cover and refreshments will be available for purchase.

If you haven’t joined us for an event in The Courtroom before, check out photos from previous events. And yes, this is the same “courtroom” that Shepard Fairey dj’d in a few years back.

See you there!

Special thanks to the Arts Council of York County for their sponsorship