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SUNDAY, JUNE 21, 2020
ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO THE THREE RIVERS EDITION/RIVER VALLEY & OZARK EDITION OF THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE • LIFE ON GREERS FERRY LAKE
MEET
YOUR NEIGHBORS
Lisa Duggan
and Pamma Henderson of Fairfield Bay and Edgemont RETIRED
WHAT IS FAIRFIELD BAY HYDRANTS FOR A CAUSE?
It is an outreach to raise money for the unfor- tunate abandoned animals in our community. Indi- viduals adopt a hydrant for a two-year period, for a fee, and we paint a portrait of the pet and its story on the hydrant. The adoption period renews after two years, if so desired.
WHERE DID THE IDEA FOR THIS COME FROM?
We wanted to find a unique project that would raise money for the animal shelter and involve the community.
WHAT HAS BEEN THE RESPONSE FROM THE COMMUNITY?
Overwhelming. We cannot keep up with the requests and the renewals. Since we use oil-based paint that requires a longer drying time, we have a limited time to paint the hydrants before they get too hot, too cold or too wet.
WHAT MAKES FAIRFIELD BAY A GREAT COMMUNITY?
It’s a unique small-town community that pro- motes the arts and creativity. Our mayor, Paul Wellenberg, is amazing and really on board when it comes to ideas that promote our community to residents and visitors.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR FAVORITE PLACES IN THE GREERS FERRY LAKE AREA? All of the beautiful outdoors — the lake, the trails, the beaches, the parks, the waterfalls and the mountains.
WHAT ARE SOME OF YOUR HOBBIES, BESIDES PAINTING HYDRANTS?
Volunteering, lake life and creative projects for both of us.
PRETTY AS A PICTURE
Artists use outdoor scenes for creative inspiration
BY SAM PIERCE / CREATIVE SERVICES WRITER
Charlotte Rierson founded the North Cen- tral Arkansas Art Gallery in 1993 with the help of the North Central Arkansas Founda- tion for the Arts and Education.
“ ere was not any place for our local art- ists to display their art, so I founded the gallery,” she said. “At that time, we only had paintings to display. When the city restored the old confer- ence center with donations and volunteers, we were able to get a beautiful art gallery for our artists to display and sell their art.”
e North Arkansas Artist League is made up of mostly painters. Rierson said the Fair- field Bay Community Club provided an artist building for the league until this year, when the group moved to the Welcome Center.
e league has around 25 members. Rierson is the past president, and Alecs Long is the current president. Rierson said the league tries to have two guest artists a year and a different program each month. e NCA Art Gallery is in the Fairfield Bay Conference Center at 110 Lost Creek.
“I love having artists share their artwork with visitors from all walks of life, and it gives the artists a beautiful venue to exhibit and sell their art,” Rierson said. “ e [venue] is open to all artists 18 years or older and brings quality fine art to our community with good taste and family values.
“ e artwork is chosen by a selection committee.”
e viewing is open and free of charge to the public, and all of the artwork is available for purchase.
Donna Buercklin, who lives near the lake on the east side of Greers Ferry, started paint- ing about a year and a half ago after she went to a paint party and “really enjoyed it.”
“I came home and just started playing with it,” Buercklin said. “A friend I knew in- troduced me to the North Central Arkansas Artist League, and I contacted them. It is full of wonderful members and they do a lot of workshops and that type of thing.”
She said she draws a lot of her inspiration from the outdoors, including birds, flowers and gardening. She said she and her hus- band spend a lot of time feeding the birds and the deer, so that is mostly what she uses for her topics.
STACI VANDAGRIFF/THREE RIVERS EDITION
Charlotte Rierson, founder of the North Central Arkansas Art Gallery, poses with a sculpture in the Fairfield Bay Conference Center.
“I enjoy the relaxation of it all,” she said. “It is one of those things that you can choose to stay with it, finish it, or you can work on it a little bit at a time.
“It is not something that has to be done all at once. It can be done at your own speed.”
Anne Mitchell of Greers Ferry said she prefers 3-D sculpting using bronze sculpture or clay sculpture, and she said she has been doing that for about 30 years.
“I love horses, so I have always sculpted horses,” Mitchell said. “Sometimes, the grain of the wood would inspire me, or photo- graphs.
“It is hard to explain.”
Mitchell said she started with photogra- phy and painting, but said she felt like she needed more.
“I wanted to make it more 3-D and put texture into the work,” she said. “I took one sculpting class to fulfill a requirement, and from there, I just continued. It was love, and I just couldn’t stop.”
She said the wildlife of the Greers Ferry area is also inspiring.
“I love the outdoors, and also the people who live around here,” she said. “ ey have a love for the outdoors and the wildlife, and I like to include that in my artwork.”
Rierson has been involved with the arts
as both the promoter of the arts and the artist being promoted. She grew up in central Arkansas and is a graduate of the University of Central Arkansas in Conway.
“I live in Fairfield Bay, and my studio is three stories high with a large plate-glass window and a glass door leading to the deck,” she said. “ e view is breathtaking. When I go into my studio looking out over the vista, it inspires me to paint.
“I have used this scene for several of my paintings, and the scene changes with each season. ... Painting is so much a part of my life. I can just lose myself in the moment and live in my imaginary world.”
Her paintings have been selected to be in the permanent collection of the Historic Ar- kansas Museum, UCA, the Clinton Presiden- tial Library, the Arkansas Art Council’s Small Works on Paper exhibit and the Ozark Health Medical Center.
An exhibit at the gallery was scheduled for May 20 but has since been postponed until September, as a result of the COVID-19 pan- demic. Rierson said she is encouraging her artists to continue painting or sculpting, or whatever medium they may use.
For more information on the gallery and foundation, visit www.ncafae.org.
STACI VANDAGRIFF/THREE RIVERS EDITION