Virginia Wesleyan senior Iyonna Valentine uses Raku firing to create pottery such as the cup pictured above.
Clay Yokom|Marlin Chronicle
Hampton Roads up and coming artists present at exhibition during Black History Month
Art shows are a great way for upcoming artists to make a name for themselves in the community, and a great way for the community to find new artists and to see art that they might not have seen before. They are almost always enjoyable for those with a taste for art, and they come in a variety of forms. The Black History Month Emerging Artist Exhibition at Westminster-Canterbury on Chesapeake Bay is an open-admission event that showcases graduate and undergraduate Black artists, and is now in its fourth year running.
The Emerging Artist Exhibition opened on Feb. 6 and is running until Feb. 28. The event is coordinated largely by Solomon Isekeije, the professor of the Art Department at Norfolk State, and Ellen Duckworth, the sales director at Westminster-Canterbury. Most students there were from Norfolk State, but submissions were open to any Black undergrad or grad students. There were artists there from other colleges, including at least two from Virginia Wesleyan.
Westminster-Canterbury is a “life plan community,” according to Timothy Tivvis, the executive director and vice president of Campus Operations. It would more generally be referred to as an elder care home or retirement living facility.
“When you bring this intergenerational group together, there’s a transfer of knowledge,” Isekeije said. “I would say it goes both ways.”
In his speech and in talking with him after, he said that this transfer of knowledge is common in Africa, where he grew up, because the elders lived with the family.
Iyonna Valentine, a sculptor at the event and a senior at Virginia Wesleyan majoring in art, was showcasing a selection of pottery she had created. The most impressive, in my opinion, was a cup with a beautiful firing pattern. She used a technique for firing called Raku over a traditional kiln, a process she described as similar to a “trash can on fire,” as the pieces are placed directly into the fire instead of into a kiln.
“You’re never quite sure how the colors will turn out,” Valentine said. She used her own glazes for the pieces, one of which she told me was named the Black Pearl. The firing pattern looked unique and the colors in the pieces with the same glazes often differed substantially, at least to my novice eye, for a rather pleasing effect.
Mars Johnson, a Virginia Wesleyan Art major, showcased several paintings on cardboard, all of which were abstract. They own a business crafting nickel-free jewelry. Johnson is the Illustrations Editor at the Marlin Chronicle.
“Art is … a statement, a challenge, and a way to build a more thoughtful and sustainable world,” Johnson’s bio said. By the time the event on opening night ended, they had already sold one of their pieces—I believe it was “Water”—to a man I think was Tivvis.
Johnson said they weren’t a mercenary painter—“I didn’t make it to be sold”—and had some difficulty pricing their pieces, as well as letting go.
“I’m kind of glad I didn’t sell it—I think I would have cried,” Johnson said, referring to “Fire,” a separate piece in the same series as “Water.”
The Westminster-Canterbury residents were not present on opening night, as this evening was more for the artists and their families, but Bet Cake, a marketing ambassador for Westminster-Canterbury, said that the residents could view the pieces as they are on exhibition for the rest of the month, and that it was a popular event with the residents, as well as the staff. “This is so creative and imaginative and beautiful,” Cake said.
There was a substantial scholarship for several artists, determined by a panel of judges, which was awarded at the opening ceremony. There is also a “People’s Choice” award, to be determined at the end of the exhibition.
The artwork was selected well, in my opinion, with most to all of the pieces being visually striking and mechanically well-executed. Prices were allowed to be set entirely by the artists, another positive, and the event itself was well done. There were speeches from Duckworth and Isekeije, provided food, and a well laid out space that portrayed all of the art without feeling too cramped. The room itself had a gorgeous view over the beach.
A word of caution, though. If you would like to see this art or an art show going on in the future, I would highly recommend it. It’s good to be prepared, though, and dress nicely. I wore to this show a collared shirt and a decent pair of pants, which is usually enough for events like this, but nonetheless I felt a bit underdressed when the security guard at the door informed me that I could drop my car off at the complimentary valet.
By Victoria Haneline
vfhaneline1@vwu.edu
