Connected by Inspiration
Connected by Inspiration: Gallery Exhibit featuring the works of Edna Sealy, Xander Booker and Brian Bohannon
The exhibit will open on Thursday, November 9, 2017 at 6:00 pm at the Shelby County Arts Council. The exhibit is curated by Shelby County Arts Instructor Edna Sealy.
When curating the exhibit, Edna reflected on who has inspired her in her own art. She notes that Xander Booker has been impactful in her life as an artist. In return, folk artist Brian Bohannan, has often told Edna she has been an inspiration to him. The exhibit Connected by Inspiration will feature work of all three artists.
Xander Booker is a professional working artist whose work is included in numerous public and private collections, including those of Ringo Starr and wife Barbara Bach, Billy Bob Thornton, Nashville recording artist Sarah Evans and husband Jay Barker, the Mobile, Alabama Museum of Art, the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, and the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce. His work was included in an international exhibit entitled “Art Singapore” in 2008 and he was a guest artist at the Penland School of Craft in North Carolina.
Working in a variety of mediums and styles, Xander is foremost known as a painter, but his first love is mixed media, with an emphasis on collage elements. He continues to teach at the local level, both as a private instructor and workshop leader teaching both acrylic painting and mixed media.
Edna Sealy, an instructor with the Shelby County Arts Council for over 10 years, leads the organization’s “ArtAblilites” program which provided therapeutic art instruction to children with special needs in seventeen Shelby County Schools. A retired educator from the Shelby County Public Schools, Edna also teaches art classes at the Pelham Senior Center as well as “Meet the Masters” classes for children at the SCAC.
Her art is reflective of her love of nature and love of color. A student of Xander Booker, she loves creating collages that tell a story, and many will be on display in the exhibit. She is most known for her use of vivid colors in her artwork.
Brian Bohannon refers to himself as a “life taught” artist. Brian explains he is “Driven by the reverence of Nature and Spiritual teachings given to me by my Mother as a child. My art consists of a great deal of these themes. From childhood I have been drawn to painting and building collages. Nature is a constant in my body of work. The Tree of Life is a cornerstone of my paintings and a subject I feel very close to.”
Connected by Inspiration opens Thursday, November 9 at the Shelby County Arts Council located at 104 Mildred Street, Columbiana, AL 35051. The public is invited to join the artists at the opening reception from 6:00pm to 8:00pm. The exhibit will be on display through November 27, 2017. The gallery is open Monday – Thursday, 10am to 5pm.
