26 Apr A Private View | May 19, 2024
On Sunday, May 19, 2024 from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m. join the Greater Augusta Arts Council at the private home of Mike and Tracy Stolarski for A Private View of local artists Jill Stafford, Ana Tompson, Allen J. Lewis and Becca Anchor at 82 Fulton St. North Augusta, GA 29841. Local collectors Mike and Tracy Stolarski to give a talk on the importance of collecting and how to style your space with amazing local art. The evening’s delicious treats catered by the amazing Jai West.
$10 for Arts Council members
$15 for not-yet members
Purchase tickets here: https://augustaarts.info/PrivateViewMay2024
About the Artists:
Jill Stafford:
Jill Noel Stafford, a New York native based in Augusta’s River Region, has been creating art since the 1990s. Her work is a colorful, vibrant blend of line, shape and form. Her work can be found in private collections across the globe, from Italy to Jordan to right here in Augusta. Her travels have afforded her an experience to create on the go. Her work in ministry allows her to immerse herself into the unique lives and cultures of others. The colors and forms she creates with her brush emote a sense of exploration, love, discovery and connection.
“My life as an artist changed. It’s been 6 years, since I departed from making art to hearing a call from God to go to the uttermost regions of the world… I now paint from going.” -Jill Stafford
Ana Thompson:
Ana Thompson grew up in Mexico City where she was influenced by the bright colors and intricacies that characterize Mexican folk-art as well as the contrast of the city’s modern architecture. She moved to the USA in 1987. After graduating with a master’s degree in dental hygiene, she served as faculty and administrator at Augusta University from 2002 to 2023. As a supplement to her health sciences career, she enrolled in the Art Department at Augusta University to keep exploring different art techniques and to develop a deeper knowledge about her true love, art. She is a painter who has been classified as realistic, although with a profound interest in stepping away from realism to explore other styles like impressionism and abstraction. After her retirement from the university, she has been taking time to slowly breathe while carefully observing nature’s beauty, which she represents in her recent paintings.
She has exhibited in several venues with great success. In her opinion, painting is a way of releasing stored energy. Overall, Ana’s paintings reflect the use of color as a way of expressing emotions. Some of her work triggers reactions while others provide a sense of calm and tranquility.
Her work includes numerous landscapes and non-representational abstracts full of color. One of the most rewarding experiences for Ana is to observe the reactions of viewers when they feel attracted by her work.
Allen J. Lewis:
Allen J. Lewis is a native South Carolina. He has been inspired by many artists; but, his first inspiration was his mother. With no formal art training, she would amuse Allen and his siblings by sketching their likenesses. He found her natural ability amazing. Watching his mother draw would influence him to began copying and tracing artwork from the family’s illustrated bible as well as other sources.
Allen’s talent was apparent early. He earned a reputation for being amongst the most talented artists in his community and was accepted into several art competitions winning many awards.
He has studied at the University of Maryland University – College Asia, Northern Virginia Community College, The Art Institute of Atlanta, and Georgia State University. He continues to attend demonstrations and workshops with some of today’s most celebrated artists. Always looking for ways to improve, he is an avid reader of art instructional books.
His awards include: the Columbia College Art Merit Award, the Benedict College Art Award, First Place – 2000 Georgia National Fair Art Competition, and First Place – 2003 Stone Mountain Art Station Member Juried Exhibition/Competition #3. Allen was a finalist in competitions held by the Portrait Society of Atlanta and Cultural Arts Council of Douglasville, Georgia. More recently, has placed second in the North Light Book Club 13th Annual Cover Competition for his painting Royal Antique.
Becca Anchor:
Becca Lyn is an artist and educator. As cliche as it sounds, she has been creating as long as she remembers but took her first watercolor class in 6th grade. Becca studied ceramics at Clemson University and then pursued her graduate degree in Art Education at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She now teaches ceramics full time back in her home town of Augusta, GA. Becca is passionate about cultivating an artistic practice alongside her teaching and loves being able to share her work with collectors near and far.
About the Hosts and Collectors:
Mike and Tracy Stolarski are a couple of arts lovers who have been supporting the arts in Augusta’s River Region for some time. Their home, an oasis of carefully curated and styled artworks, was designed by Dan Sater of Sater Design Collection, Inc. and constructed in 2014. It can be found on a quiet corner overlooking the water in Hammond’s Ferry. Their home highlights the unique southern architecture found in Charleston, SC with expansive porches and large windows that could double as doors. It has been featured in multiple magazines, such as the Augusta Magazine, and articles. Tracy, who describes herself as an artist who can’t create, has instead created a space that seems like a work of art in and of itself.