Artisans

Next Wednesday, our Artisans on the Plaza series will continue with Adam Snyder. Arriving in Birmingham in the fall of 2007, Snyder followed his wife South as she pursued a post doctorate at UAB. He opted to take a sabbatical from his life as a social worker and use his time in Birmingham to enhance his techniques and explore new directions, marrying inspiration from his home State of Vermont and his new Alabama surroundings.

Most of his pieces are created from porcelain and then designs applied using porcelain slip, liquefied clay. Each piece is handpainted while it is still wet. Once dried, it’s fired and then a clear glaze is applied. Unique to the slip process, the glaze enhances the individual design of each piece and adds a sense of dimension to the design.

All his work, Green Mountain Ceramics, are food safe, microwave safe, oven safe and most are dishwasher safe.

If you are interested in clay work, or enjoy seeing an artist at work, stop and visit on Wednesday January 18th at 12:30 p.m. on the Library Plaza.

Adam Snyder is a juried member of the Alabama Designer Craftsmen.

The Artisans on the Plaza series is funded by the Friends of the Hoover Public Library.

We will be displaying the artwork of former Children's Department employee Justin Banger in our galleries throughout the months of November and December. Please stop by and have a look!

 Justin's website

 Photos of Justin's art in the gallery neart the Library Theatre

Justin Banger works in various mediums as an artist. He is drawn to printmaking in particular because the work exists as ‘multiple originals.’ It revitalizes the notion of reproducibility in a world where cheap reproduction is evading. After crafting his images on copper plates, wood or other matrices, they are printed through a printing press a certain number of times to make a numbered edition. He uses centuries old intaglio and relief printmaking techniques of the likes of Rembrandt, Durer and Goya, but in doing so he symbolically and ambiguously explores the ecological, religious and mythic tensions that could only arise in our 21st century.

EXHIBITIONS

2005 Prints with a Purpose, Montgomery Museum of Art

2008 America’s 2000 Works on Paper, Northwest Arts Center, Minot, ND. Merit Award

2008 Fiction, Lies, and Evasion, Projekt30.com online exhibition

2008 Things Can Be Guns & Other Things Too, Bloch Gallery, University of Montevallo

2009 Lessedra World Print Annual, Sophia, Bulgaria

2009 Things Can Be Guns and Other Things Too, Gadsden State Community College, Gadsden, AL 2009 Birmingham Artwalk, Birmingham, AL

2010 Sixty Square Inches, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN 2010 Alias, Lite Box Gallery, Birmingham, AL

2010 Lessedra World Print Annual, Sophia, Bulgaria

2010 ArtHouse Print Exchange Show, Brooklyn, NY

2010 Birmingham Artwalk, Birmingham, AL

2011 “First Impression” An Introduction to Alabama Printmaking, Lite Box Gallery, Birmingham, AL

2011 33rd Bradley International Print & Drawing Exhibition, Peoria, IL 2011 Birmingham Artwalk, Birmingham, AL

2011 Bluff Park Art Show, Hoover, AL

COLLECTIONS

Montgomery Museum of Art, Montgomery, AL

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Chapter illustrations, The Hopeful Skeptic: Revisiting Christianity from the Outside by Nick Fiedler, IVP Press. 2009.

“The Cable of Meaning,” Illustration for The Great Emergence by Phyllis Tickle, Baker Books. 2008.

“Moss Rock Preserve Drawing,” Birmingham Hoover Sketchbook, Indigo Publishers. 2007.

A Trio of Alabama Talents!

This Thursday, our Artisans @ the Plaza series continues with a special evening featuring folk artist, Charlie Lucas, photographer, Chip Cooper and author/editor, Ben Windham.

All three of these talented folks are driving in to discuss their collaborative book, Tin Man. The book features Chip Cooper's beautiful photos of Charlie's artwork. The text, by Ben Windham, is a lovely narrative of the drive and vision of a man creating unique art.

The program will run approximately one (1) hour with book sales and signings to follow. Stop by for a bit and share your evening with us. You'll be glad you did!

This event is free and open to the public. The Artisans @ the Plaza series is made possible with funding provided by the Friends of the Hoover Public Library.

The quick details:
Start time - 7:00 p.m.
Cost - FREE
Location - Hoover Public Library Plaza
Book sales provided by Alabama Booksmith