Time On Our Hands
Starkville Area Arts Council is excited to announce our next AiPP Exhibit of 2021 titled, Time On Our Hands featuring 32 works from local artists and inspired by the events of 2020-2021. This hybrid exhibit will be on display for in-person viewing in the lobby of the Partnership in downtown Starkville starting Wednesday, July 7, 2021, during business hours and subject to mask requirements and social distancing guidelines. This exhibit will be on display until September 13, 2021, in the lobby of the Greater Starkville Development Partnership in downtown Starkville and available online until further notice.

Join us for the opening reception on July 8, 2021, at 5:30 pm in the Partnership lobby to celebrate this exhibit and our awesome artists! See you there!
As part of SAAC's AiPP series, works may be listed for sale. SAAC collects and pays sales taxes on behalf of the artist for any work sold, and the artist keeps 80% of the proceeds. ​Please CALL or EMAIL SAAC if you are interested in purchasing any of these works.

​​Works on display in-person until September 13, 2021.

Hover or click on images below to view title, medium, and pricing. Click image to view fullscreen.
Please CALL OR EMAIL SAAC (info at bottom of this page) if interested in purchasing available works.

Helena Barbagelata (Lisbon, Portugal)

Helena Barbagelata (1991). Model, multidisciplinary artist and activist. She holds a PhD in Philosophy of Science, Applied Cognitive Sciences and Mathematics from the University of Salamanca. She was the recipient of several awards and grants from the Onassis Foundation, Hellenic Foundation for Culture, Universitat de Barcelona, among others. Member of the Society of Jewish Artists (SoJa) and the Organization for the Democratization of the Visual Arts (OBDK). She held numerous solo and collective exhibitions in Europe, South America, Australia and the United States. Helena Barbagelata's work takes a personal approach to social, political, cultural and environmental issues, drawing her inspiration from different human and natural subjects, combining real life experiences with

poetical symbolism and arranging them into innovative conceptually layered pieces. For an artist like Barbagelata, art is an open dialogue with the world, where the other side of the mirror reflects a sphere of experiences in which the physical and the abstract coexist harmoniously. It is as if a unique environment of perceptions emerged, mixing the real and the oniric, the lived and the imagined - an intersection between the palpable and the invented, where we perceive the succession of life's many layers.

https://helenabarbagelata.pb.style
AION (IV)
AION is a series that examines the concept of time and the meeting point between space and temporality. A clock is not a timeline but a circle for the simple reason that time does not begin or stop, it continues without beginning or end; this aspect of transfinity in the nature of time can help us understand the nonexistent limits of life. No longer is the beginning the beginning and the end the end, but a continual cycle of beginnings and endings, of innovation and rennovation, the clash and the fusion between stillness and movement, an unending spiral of renewal.

Bonnie Brumley (Starkville, MS)

Bonnie Brumley is a ceramic artist living in Starkville, MS. Growing up in Laurel, MS, she frequented the Lauren Rogers Museum of Art where her first experiences with clay were through a few hand-building classes during her adolescence. After joining the art department during her time at Mississippi State University, she had a more in-depth introduction to clay through an intro-level course. There was an instant attraction to the material, and she continued on to graduate in 2015 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Emphasis in Ceramics. Her work is inspired by nature, textures from found objects, and simple forms with delicate details. From the start, the connection between the ceramic medium and the elements of nature intrigued her deeply. Earth, water, air, and fire are all key components in the process of taking a piece from beginning to end, from the wet clay to the final firing. There is always something new to learn that requires her to master many different techniques and processes in this medium. Bonnie enjoys the idea of being a lifelong student in clay. More about these pieces from the artist below.

[email protected]
​Red Buckeye No.1
This piece is a print of a Red Buckeye plant during the first stages of it's bloom on black clay. During the early months of the pandemic last year, I began to experiment with plant textures on slabs. The way the clay can absorb so much fine detail is very intriguing to me. Slowly walking around my backyard, looking in the nooks and crannies for quality specimen to roll onto the clay gave me a sense of calm and wonder. Arranging plants on the slabs helped me feel a bit more in control of my world during an unsure time.
​Red Buckeye No.2
​This piece is a Red Buckeye plant during the last stages of its bloom rolled onto a black clay tile. During the early months of the pandemic last year, I began to experiment with plant textures on slabs. The way the clay can absorb so much fine detail is very intriguing to me. Slowly walking around my backyard, looking in the nooks and crannies for quality specimen to roll onto the clay gave me a sense of calm and wonder. Arranging plants on the slabs helped me feel a bit more in control of my world during an unsure time.
​Wisteria No.1
​Wisteria No.1 is a plant print of a white wisteria vine on a black clay tile. During the early months of the pandemic last year, I began to experiment with plant textures on clay slabs. The way the clay can absorb so much fine detail is very intriguing to me. Slowly walking around my backyard, looking in all the nooks and crannies for quality specimen to roll onto the clay gave me a sense of calm and wonder. Arranging plants on the slabs helped me feel a bit more in control of my little world during an unsure time.

Bob Brzuszek (Starkville, MS)

For his paintings Bob Brzuszek seeks his true north. His mind wanders as he does, exploring new directions, colors and expression. Wherever he roams he keeps coming back to familiar themes and symbols that come from somewhere way down: time-less-ness, spirit, place, soul, grit, depth. The blues, baby. It’s why he lives in Mississippi, these ghosts are all around here, persistent in people and place, it runs deep in the mud. ​More about these pieces from the artist below. 

​https://www.etsy.com/shop/FlatwoodsStudio
​Big Joe Williams got the blues
If ever there was a time for it, 2020-2021 was the year of the blues. Odetta Holmes once said that "the blues is celebration, because when you take sorrow and turn it into music, you transform it." This pen sketch captures Big Joe Williams, born in Oktibbeha County, who once sang in I Won't be in Hard Luck no more-- "I say the hard luck and trouble: every place I go
I believe somebody put bad luck on me : ooo well I believe now it's time to go."

Paul Buckley (Starkville, MS)

Paul was raised in captivity in rural Oktibbeha County. Before he escaped, he had never been in an art gallery or museum. Paul quickly developed a chameleonic, ostentatious, pretentiousness, that seemed to exist without reason or accountability, giving him new myths to live by. Paul redefined the meaning of Primitive Random Abstract Art. He has pushed the boundaries of modern methodology into a particular and discrete element separated by biology, mythology, inbreeding and confusion. Paul remains like a distant star whose light has not yet reached earth.

More about these pieces from the artist below.
​River Canyon
​I had a lot of time on my hands and a lot of paint.
​Full Color
​I had a lot of time on my hands and a lot of paint.
​Dark Reaction
I had a lot of time on my hands and a lot of paint.

Elizabeth Cagle (Starkville, MS)

Libby Cagle taught visual arts and drama in the Starkville School District’s VIVA program for 30 years. Since childhood, she has been enamored with the huge variety of styles and movements of art throughout the world and at different time periods. Libby states, “Art transcends universal cultural barriers that humans often create.” Her favorite personal style for creating art is nonrepresentative abstract art. Libby believes that this style allows the viewer to interpret the art and find their own personal meaning in it. She enjoys listening to a variety of musical genres and losing all thoughts of the worries of the world when she creates. She describes the artistic experience as therapeutic in nature.

​More about these pieces from the artist below.
​From the Balcony of Villa Convento, New Orleans
​During COVID19, 2020, I was listening to the song, "Do You Know What it Means to Miss New Orleans". I was really feeling it, because I love that City, and could not wait until it was possible to visit it again. I began looking through photos that I had taken on my last trip to New Orleans. This painting is a representation of my image of sitting on the balcony of the hotel rumored to be the original "House of the Rising Sun" about 1:00 a.m. after seeing an amazing show by Tash Sultana.
​Anticipated Illumination
In 2020, with social distancing and much time at home during COVID, I began experimenting with new media, flow acrylics and silicone on canvas. This piece reminded me of the hope that a light would eventually shine again for all of those who lost loved ones to Covid19 around the world and for our nation to heal from the multitude of violence and division we were experiencing.
Hope Emerges
With social distancing and much time at home during COVID, I began experimenting with new media, flow acrylics and silicone on canvas. This piece reminded me of the hope that a light would eventually shine again for all of those who lost loved ones to Covid19 around the world and for our nation to heal from the multitude of violence and division we were experiencing.

Sabrina Campbell (Starkville, MS)

"Art is the stART of Everything ". I coined this phrase to simply mean that Art creates a " Cornucopia of Cultural Delight" within the artists and viewers. Art is therapy and a safe, educational,and fun-loving mode of peace. I am Art and Art is me.

​More about these pieces from the artist below.
Good trouble
The portrait of the late Mr. John Lewis is created out the words "Good Trouble" written over and over again. His famous Good Trouble quote is included on the piece as well.
Starkville's Mary Poppins watercolor
​TRIBUTE TO CAROL MCREYNOLDS-DAVIS
Pictures are worth a thousand words or more
Image created out of Biblical verses and quotes

Margaret Davenport (Starkville, MS)

"Self Reflection" is a light study drawn using oil pastels on canvas framed with wood. The subject is Margaret Davenport, the artist, and she is taking photographs of the coastline on a vacation in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. During the pandemic in 2020, we all had time to reflect on what is worth doing in life and what no longer serves us. This study is a reflection of the artist's passions of art and traveling which are parts of her that bring joy into her life. Last year was tiresome and stressful and drawing pieces like this brought Margaret peace in the midst of chaos. ​More about these pieces from the artist below.

https://www.instagram.com/lotusforeststudio/
Self Reflection
​This is a self portrait from a vacation I took in 2014 to Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. I am doing what I love taking photographs of the ocean and the coastal area. In 2020 during the pandemic we all had time for reflecting on our past ways of life. I decided to keep the parts like this where I live my life to the fullest and part ways with habits that no longer serve me.

Walter Diehl (Starkville, MS)

Walter J. Diehl is an avid world traveler and amateur photographer. He hopes that his photography provides viewers both a glimpse into those places that he has been privileged to visit and inspires them to travel on their own to experience the cultures and beauty of new places. Diehl does not try to be the typical travel photographer, and he probably breaks most of the ‘rules’ of travel photography. Rather, he is a traveler first who tries to take the most inspiring photographs that he can under the conditions that exist at the time. His travel habits rarely allow him to sit in one place very long or take advantage of the best light for favored subjects. Depending on the trip, he may focus on photographing nature, architecture, and/or culture. In his world, scenes are rarely perfect, and so he is constantly trying to improve on how he deals with this reality. Diehl enjoys the reactions of people viewing his photographs. In an admittedly selfish sense, their reactions allow him to enjoy his travels all over again. But only for a while, because now he is already thinking about how to photograph his next trip(s).

​More about these pieces from the artist below.
​Winter of Discontent
I shot this photograph across the lake in my backyard during Starkville's first winter storm of 2021. I wanted to convey the sense of isolation and frustration that had permeated much of the past year. To achieve this, I tilted the camera through the scene at 1/10 sec exposure and then cropped the image to isolate a copse of trees. The cold reflection of the image that was slightly, but not really, out of focus exemplified the mood that I think many of us had been experiencing.

Jane Dill (West Point, MS)

"I love working with handbuilt pottery. It has been a saving force during times of mental instability, giving me purpose, and it is therapeutic." ​Jane Dill

More about these pieces from the artist below.
Mayhem
This piece turned out to be a bit more scary than pretty. It represents that “an idle mind is the devil’s workshop” or that people generally get in trouble with too much time on their hands.
Abandoned House
​This old house has stood the test of time and someone could fix it up. It is on the way to Meridian, MS.
Doorway
​These are passers-by who are in New Orleans and have time on their hands to meander.

GJ Gillespie​ (Whidbey Island, WA)

GJ Gillespie is a collage artist living on Whidbey island north of Seattle. Winner of 17 awards, his art has appeared in 52 regional shows. The artists he admire tap unconscious feelings of longing for existential meaning that emerge from cultural icons. In his view abstraction should be more than pleasing design. Instead, art should evoke connotations that permit the viewer to experience a sense of wonder, awe and new perspectives of being. A favorite quote: The world is but a canvas to our imagination. -- Henry David Thoreau. More about these pieces from the artist below.

https://www.gjgillespieartistic.com/
I Will Survive
​ Titled after song by Gloria Gaynor, this collage is inspired by mid century abstract expressionism works was made early during the pandemic. The title reflect the human ability to preserve in the midst of deprivation and hardship. It appeared in a show in Bellevue, WA.
Found papers, painted newspaper, Japanese Anime, house paint, tissue, graphite and acrylic.

Jeanette Jarmon (Columbus, MS)

Painting entails inspiration, frustration, passion, initiative and skill. Painting includes a very high level thinking process when one is expressing a thought and bringing an image into other people’s view. More about these pieces from the artist below.

Jeanettejarmon.com
TIBBEE WINTER 20/21
I started out very abstract and then combined more realistic features. I painted this looking out my studio window. I had a lot of time to work through the changes.
MANDO TULA with RUBY ON THE SIDE
Using the language of the old Ozarks, the author weaves the tale of a lonely little tarantula “Tula” and the friendship she forms with neighbor “Ruby” through love of mountain music and a—Magic MANDO.

Samuel Lawson (Starkville, MS)

A native of Greenville, MS, Samuel Lawson Jr. completed his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with an emphasis in painting from Mississippi State University in 2007. Lawson's approach to art is twofold. On one hand, he is a realist; on the other hand, he is an abstractionist. With both approaches, his design is sketchy and his texture is often transparent. As a realist he prefers to work from nature with the subjects of portraits, still life's, and landscapes. As an abstractionist, he is motivated by his personal experience with music, especially the percussion instruments (drums) he plays.
Lawson is a member of the Starkville Area Arts Council and the Mississippi Arts Commision Artist Web Site. Lawson lives and works in Starkville MS. More about these pieces from the artist below.
Blue Green Landscape
This is a small landscape study I painted April of 2020. I was not working at the time so I had more time to paint.
For Those Who ServeD
This is one of several small acrylic pieces I painted for the holiday decorations at the Governor's Mansion. The them was For Those Who Served. I chose to paint a red ribbon with symbolic colors.

Joe MacGown (Starkville, MS)

Weird art guy. I draw stuff. More about these pieces from the artist below.
​
https://joemacgown.com
EC's DreamasauR
In this time of the "Pandemic", the idea of microscopic creatures having power to disrupt the entire world of humans is fascinating. This is an imaginary creature, which looks innocent enough, but who knows??

Pete Melby (Starkville, MS)

The artist enjoys painting and drawing the character from the country's third coast. The flavor and aroma of seafood cooking is memorable and a special characteristic of the Gulf Coast. More about these pieces from the artist below.

www.energyusereduction.com
Mississippi Shrimp BoiL
A shrimp boil with corn, red potatoes, onions, and pork sausage is a Mississippi Tradition. This water color is from a backyard shrimp boil by Jeb and Kristen Cade in Starkville.

Jamie Mixon​ (Starkville, MS)

Jamie Burwell Mixon is Professor Emerita of Art at Mississippi State University. When she’s not diving deep into her sketchbooks or drawing her favorite animals, she’s designing and illustrating concert posters. Her work has been featured in Communication Arts, Print, HOW, Creative Quarterly, Logo Lounge, French Paper Sample Room & beyond.
More about these pieces from the artist below.
​
www.cargocollective.com/jburwellmixon
Cat Nap + QuilT
Throughout the years I've kept sketchbooks that document my travels, my feelings, my desire for knowledge. My excuse to dig deep. Or not. To create, without a client peering over my shoulder. The pandemic forced, allowed, the time to dive in again. And I began sketching, drawing, painting for my sanity. My Pandemic Sketchbook. This is taken from a sketchbook, an image of a much loved friend. Watercolor and Graphite. Limited Edition Prints available.
John Prine Tribute Poster
When I heard that John Prine had fallen ill with Covid last year, I sat down and created this piece. His music has meant so much to myself and my family over the decades; I was trying to sort out my feelings, and spend time with him. He later passed away, adding one more to the terrible toll of this pandemic. This is a digital drawing. The quote is from a song he and his wife, Fiona, sang for the album, In Spite of Ourselves. (unframed prints available)

Shalene Weddle​ (Hernando, MS)

Shalene is an acrylic and resin pour painter, creative educator, currently living in Hernando, MS. Born and raised in South Memphis, TN. Studied Business at Tennessee State University and graduated with a BBA from LeMoyne Owen College later earned a MBA from Strayer University.

​Shalene says painting brings her peace and offers her a place to meditate on the beauty in the world & the grace. More about these pieces from the artist below.

https://muralmusedesigns.com/
Peace UnderneatH
Painting in the last 12 months have brought so much peach in my life doing the difficult time of COVID losing family members and friends.
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