The First Gallery Hop of the Year

Hello all, my name is Taylor Hayes and I am interning with Associated Artists for the month of January. I’m a junior at Salem College studying Arts Management and Not-for-Profit Management. One of the first receptions I was able to attend here at AAWS was the first Gallery Hop of 2012 this past Friday. With the gallery being right here on Fourth Street, the foot traffic was steady and quite diverse. We had a lot going on in the gallery with a pastel demonstration by Bill Gramley and music by Nia Franklin. I’ve been to many Gallery Hops here in Winston and I was happy to experience my first with Associated Artists!

Bill Gramley doing a pastel demonstration.

            Bill Gramley did a great demonstration and showed me how to create a pear from start to finish with chalk pastels. He tends to work on dark paper and begins with the darkest colors, slowly bringing in the lights to create more drama in the scene. Once he finished he said, “Now it’s your turn!” I was a little nervous because I’ve never used chalk pastels before but I enjoyed the opportunity to test out a new medium. I enjoyed the texture of the pastels and the ability to smooth it out or leave it rough. I also enjoy the amount of pigment that comes from the chalks, making the piece very saturated. My pear turned out pretty good and I hope to experiment with pastels more in the near future. Bill and I had a very nice conversation about the Sidewalk Art Show in Roanoke, VA. Roanoke happens to be the place where he sold his first work of art as well as my hometown.

The pear I created using chalk pastels with tips from Bill Gramley!

Nia Franklin is a 19 year old musician from Winston-Salem currently attending East Carolina University for a degree in music. She plays the piano and sings her own music. I thoroughly enjoyed her performance and thought she adapted well to the Gallery Hop experience. The weather was nice so we kept the door open to welcome passers-by off the street—I think many people were drawn into the gallery solely from hearing Nia’s music from the street. I told Nia that I look forward to buying her CD in the future! I hope she performs at another Associated Artists event very soon.

Nia Franklin playing the piano for visitors.

All in all the first gallery hop was quite a success! I’m looking forward to many more events with Associated Artists.