Monday, May 30, 2011

Impressions of an Artist New CARTER BUILDING by Donna Belt

Last fall, I found myself in a position of growing my art studio from the lone space I had enjoyed in an apartment building on Glenwood Ave to establishing a presence in a creative community.  It was important to me to feel at home in an environment that would appreciate the knowing I had that art was a language of the spirit.  It was not just about outcome, but process, as well. Awake at 3:00 in the morning, I got out of bed to look up the link for The Carter Building.  What I read there about the creative community inhabiting a building that dated back in the Carter family to the 1920s, lured me to bring my husband with me to tour the space the following day.  The impression I had there was like walking into a Hobbit warren.  Stairways leaned and floors tilted, and everywhere art and artists' tools competed for space.  It was that day that I knocked on Mr. Carter's door and announced that I was coming.  He had no space available, but I knew I was meant to be there. This was a place that felt like home.

This Saturday The Carter Building artists will be hosting a gathering of school children, local celebrities, and neighbors to paint a mural entitled, "Raleigh, My Dream City" designed by Tunde Afolayan and Lee Ball, which will decorate the exterior of The Carter Building.  This is exactly the vision I had when I got out of bed in that early morning last November.  I wanted to be in a place that acknowledged the creativity inside each person; a place where people experienced community, and one that allowed each to contribute according to his nature.

I invite you to be part of the dream. Feel a glimmer of ownership as you stroll down Glenwood South.  Bring your kids so they can share the experience of creating something that will touch others for years to come.
Welcome to "Raleigh, My Dream City"!
Saturday, June 4, 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM
TCB, 12-22 Glenwood Ave, Raleigh 27603







Donna Belt
www.spiritworksonline.com

Saturday, May 7, 2011

FOLK ART EXHIBIT AT THE CARTER BUILDING


Lula is a North Carolina folk artist born and raised in a rural community of Wolf Pit, North Carolina. Her childhood home was located in the middle of a cotton field, the early childhood experience of of the cotton field is reflected in her work. She also worked in the tobacco mill during her early years. She started painting at age eleven in the fifth grade, with the direction and encouragement of her special teacher, Mrs. Anna Wall Johnson at Ashley Chapel Elementary School. While at elementary school, she had a privilege of doing bulletin boards, floats, and some other projects that were available. Mrs. Johnson often said to young Lula “Stick with it, and one day it will serve you well.”

For a period of approximately five to six years, her art
took a slight detour, when she pursued a career in modeling with the Greensboro
based Glamour Inc. Lula was blessed with two loving children, Cynthia and Jack Jr. when they became teenagers, Lula’s painting resumed at a rapid pace. She created images of things she had seen combined with her life experiences and imaginations.
The setting of Lula’s first art show and many to
follow was in the closet of her job at Richmond Memorial Hospital. Quite often during her lunch break, she would show her art to different people. This led to her being invited to display some of her paintings at the Leath Memorial Library.
Her paintings have been exhibited in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington DC and several galleries in North Carolina.