Rebecca Gallagher

Dozens of local youth have participated in the 2019 Summer Art Class season at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts, in classes ranging from traditional painting and pottery to digital art and culinary. With only two weeks left in the season—July 8-12 and July 15-19—parents are encouraged to register their children ages 5-12 for the classes before they fill up. A complete class list can be found at turnercenter.org. Call 229-247-2787 or visit us at 527 N. Patterson St. for more information.

By Abigail Murphy, Turner Center Summer Intern

With the continuous intrusion of technology in nearly all aspects of life, art can now be created digitally. The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts is offering digital art classes for kids throughout the summer in two different time blocks: 10 am to 12 pm and from 1 pm to 3 pm.

Digital Art Instructor Becca Waterman uses Microsoft Office Paint and Photoshop to introduce students to the technology and the art process, to inspire them to create, and to help them develop their own styles utilizing brushes, blending and layering of colors.

The classes, already into the fourth week of the summer art program, are open to kids with various levels of experience. Each week the classed are focused around a theme to give some direction with the projects designed to help students “put themselves in their artwork.”

“I definitely do think it’s important for artists, especially kids, to make work about themselves,” she said.  “Literally including themselves in the work somehow is an interesting and direct way to do so.”

During the week of July 8, Oceans will be held in the morning and All Around the World in the afternoon. All Around the World offers a project on China with dragons and motifs and a project on African patterns and textures. Similar to other classes, All Around the World will incorporate some history in the lessons.

During the week of July 15, Summer Fun and The Dream World will be offered. Summer Fun will feature projects on fun things that took place over the summer, something the students love about summer, and the ideal summer activity. The Dream World projects will explore sleeping dreams, as well as the students’ hopes and dreams.

With each class, Waterman makes time for students to present their projects. At the conclusion of the classes, students receive printouts of the artwork they created.

“I want them all to show each other and talk about it,” she said. “They are not just thinking of the art, but they have to think of a story or explanation behind it, as well.”

She said art is always shifting with new mediums. Now that computer programs have become more accessible, so has the ability to form art with them.

“Artists have the ability to take anything and bring it into the art world,” Waterman said.

For more information about the Digital Art classes or other kids’ summer classes at the Turner Center, visit www.turnercenter.org or call (229) 247-2787.

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The Turner Center is excited to host another set of workshops along with mosaic artist Marty Haythorn in the construction of the public art piece that will honor the men and women who have served our nation and core military values they uphold. Community members, veterans and their families are encouraged to make their mark on a piece of Valdosta Public Art.

Eight workshops will be held on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 26-29, with two sessions each day, 10 a.m.- 1 p.m. and 6 p.m.- 9 p.m. The first four workshops (June 26 and 27) will be held in the Turner Center’s Art Annex, 601 N. Patterson St. The final four workshops will be held at Freedom Park, 3795 Guest Road.

For more information, please contact the Turner Center at 229-247-2787.

Written by Abigail Murphy, Turner Center Summer Intern

Every Wednesday at 6 p.m., the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts offers a free yoga class open to inspire patrons through the art of good health and relaxation.

Yoga Instructor Roberta George began offering the class while she was the art director at the Turner Center in the early 1990s. Eighteen years later, George is still teaching the yoga class to a regular following of yoga enthusiasts, as well as new patrons; and the class is still offered at no charge to attendees.

“It’s been a free gift to me, and so I want it to be a free gift to anybody,” she said, referring to a man who years ago taught her yoga at no charge.

According to George, Yoga is a physical discipline, an art form that can be thought of similar to dance since it’s an expression of the body and allows for a creative energy to be found. She said, anything that makes people healthier or stronger allows them to be more creative, increasing their appreciation of other people and other art forms.

George remembers a man who lost his two-year-old daughter. He was so angry at the world, and the only thing that kept him from giving up on life was physical exercise. George said his running allowed him to breathe in more oxygen, allowing him to open up in a way he couldn’t before. Countless other stories from friends and patrons reveal their personal stories of coping with challenges and enjoying life at greater levels. George said that is what yoga and other physical activities are about: allowing people to open up in new ways.

“I’ll teach a class. I’ll do the breath of fire [a yoga breathing technique] driving home, and when I get out of the car, I’m ready to clean the house and write the novel,” she said, adding that everyone’s experience is different, but for her yoga gives her strength.

George said when you feel physically strong, your mental state is stronger, too. Yoga can help with longevity in general because it’s giving attention to the body, she said.

“It has saved my life physically and mentally,” she said.

It can also clear the mind allowing for more creativity to flow, becoming a tool for creativity and connecting a person’s physical, mental and spiritual senses, she said.

The yoga classes draw a different audience to the Turner Center, some who have been taking the classes faithfully since George has been teaching them.

Ingrid Carroll, a yoga attendee, said she has been taking the yoga classes at the Turner Center for two to three years. She said she feels very comfortable in class since the movements are simplistic and yet effective. Carroll said she enjoys the class because people of any age can enjoy its benefits.

“Yoga is relaxing and helps people feel better overall,” George said.

For more information about free yoga classes at the Turner Center, visit www.turnercenter.org or call (229) 247-2787.

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The City of Valdosta’s Public Art Advisory Committee and the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts invite the general public to help create the mosaic section of a public art piece honoring the men and women who have served our nation and core military values they uphold. Community workshops have been scheduled for June 4, 5 and 6 from 10 a.m. – 1 p.m. and 6-9 p.m. at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts annex, 601 N. Patterson St. The final monument will be unveiled on November 11, 2019. Registration is free and open to anyone middle school age and older. Call the Turner Center for the Arts to register at 229-247-2787.

Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful, the City of Valdosta, Lowndes County, the City of Hahira, and the Annette Howell Turner Center For The Arts are joining forces with several local organizations and volunteers for the Great American Cleanup.

“This year we will again be working multiple sites,” said H. Aaron Strickland, Executive Director of Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful.  “We have cleanups and projects planned in the City of Valdosta, Lowndes County, Hahira, and at the Turner Center For The Arts .  Since we are having multiple sites for this event, we are asking those who would like to volunteer to call or email the K.L.V.B. office so they can be assigned to one of the locations.  This method allows us to plan effectively for volunteer placement.”  The Great American Cleanup will take place from 8:30 a.m.—noon on Saturday, April 27.  “We’re hoping for at least 100 volunteers. We’ve got a lot to do. We are trying to improve our communities, and this is an event that everyone that can participate in,” said Strickland.

The Great American Cleanup, a grassroots beautification, litter prevention, and community improvement program, is the signature event of Keep America Beautiful.  Citizens wanting to volunteer can call Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful at (229) 671-3698 or email at astrickland@valdostacity.com.  Strickland says, “Remember, litter will not pick itself up.  Please come out and help our communities in need.”

Contact: H. Aaron Strickland

Keep Lowndes/Valdosta Beautiful

(229) 671-3698

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts hosted several hundred members, donors, artists and guests for the 32nd Annual Spring Into Art opening gala on April 8. Local artist and Valdosta State University graduate Mary VanLandingham earned the Best in Show for her oil painting, “The Last Day.” For a listing of other award winners, visit turnercenter.org. The exhibition is open for the public’s enjoyment through June 5 at no cost. For more information on Spring Into Art or upcoming gallery exhibitions, contact the Turner Center at 229-247-2787 or visit us at 527 N. Patterson Street in Valdosta.

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts was proud to partner with Wiregrass Georgia Technical College for it’s Arts in Education contest on Tuesday, March 26. The first place winner was awarded $150 as well as entry into the Turner Center’s Spring Into Art exhibition. First, second and third place winners also received tickets to the April 8 event. For more information on how to get your tickets to the Spring Into Art gallery opening gala on April 8, please visit our Spring Into Art page at turnercenter.org. You can also call or visit our offices at 229-247-2787, 527 N. Patterson Street in Valdosta.

Nearly two dozen students from Perry High School, Georgia, in grades 10 through 12, visited the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts on March 22, 2019. The AP students and teacher Cathy Heller traveled by bus to Valdosta to view the Youth Art Month exhibition and more specifically the 2019 VSU Invitational High School Art Competition in the center’s galleries. While at the arts center, students were treated by staff to a Black-Out Poetry workshop, which taught the students the concept that art that effectively tells a story is compelling, interesting and engaging. Heller and her students traveled more than 125 miles to visit the art center, evidence of the regional impact the Turner Center has on the local and state arts industry. For more information on local arts, visit www.turnercenter.org.

The Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts is preparing for its largest fine art show and sale of the year, on display from April 8- June 5, 2019. The 32^nd Annual Spring Into Art exhibition will feature more than 400 original artworks, in various mediums from regional and statewide artists.

Local businesses that may be interested in supporting the arts in the community are invited to participate as sponsors, giving them the opportunity to have their name prominently displayed on our wall, within the SIA art catalog and on various other printed materials, as well as a 1-year membership at the Turner Center and complimentary tickets to Gallery Opening Gala on April 8 from 6-9 p.m.

For more information on Spring Into Art sponsorship opportunities or if you are interested in purchasing tickets to the Spring Into Art Gallery Opening Gala, please call us at 229-247-2787 or visit turnercenter.org.