By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
Sometimes great things really do come in small packages.
With that in mind, the Beaufort County Arts Council is initiating a new art show/fundraising concept that kicks off this week.
Dubbed the Little Art Exhibit, the show will feature original pieces created with a basic 8-by-10-inch stretched canvas. Each piece will be numbered, and the members of the public may purchase a corresponding number; at the end of the show each ticket holder will take home a work of art.
Prices are $30 for one piece of art and $100 for four, according to Joey Toler, BCAC executive director.
“This is a price that we hope is within everyone’s means,” he said. “This is a great way to give a lot of people who want to own a piece of original art an opportunity to do so at an affordable price.”
Tickets go on sale today, and the show is scheduled for March 16-18. During a closing reception planned for 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. March 18, the numbers on the works of art will be revealed and patrons will receive their corresponding completed pieces.
“The exciting part is not knowing which canvas you will receive,” Toler said.
All sales from the donated canvases will benefit BCAC, and artists are working on their pieces for the show.
“I’ve talked to a lot of our artists, and everybody has loved the idea,” Toler said. “Suffice it to say all of our local artists I’ve talked to are on board.”
But it’s not just a Beaufort County art exhibit.
“We actually have a lot of people from outside the county that have participated in our Fine Arts Show who are going to support us in this project,” Toler said. “I have great expectations.”
The art featured in the show isn’t limited to two-dimensional pieces. Toler has asked ceramic artists, fiber artists, jewelers and sculptors to donate work, as long as what they create will fit on the canvas.
Washington artist Val MacEwan, who describes herself as an “assemblagist,” dropped by the BCAC office Tuesday afternoon to pick up five canvases for the show.
“This is awesome. It’s cool,” she said. “I did something like this on 2-inch canvases for the Art House Coop in Atlanta.”
MacEwan, who also publishes Dead Mule magazine and is a member of the International Union of Mail Artists, said she enjoys “taking things and putting them together with things that don’t go together.” Her work can be viewed at www.assemblagist.org.
The person who came up with the idea for the Little Art Exhibit “is a genius,” MacEwan added.
That credit goes to BCAC member Mary Thomson, according to Toler.
“She saw something like this while she was traveling in Wisconsin and came back and told me about it,” he said. “They did a community mosaic, and I just took that idea and tweaked it.”
Artists have until March 9 to turn in their completed canvases, which are being provided by BCAC. Any medium is allowed, and artists may choose to create more than one canvas.
Artists are required to provide information about each piece they create, and BCAC reserves the right to refuse any work of art submitted by an artist.
For more information, call 252-946-2504 or send e-mail to beaufortcountyarts@embarqmail.com. BCAC’s headquarters are located at 108 Gladden St. in Washington.