Jasper's Sidewalk Gallery at the Meridian Building Features Trio of Local Talent -- Christopher Lane, Emily Wright, and Marion Mason

By Christina Xan

The Meridian Sidewalk Gallery is Jasper Galleries’ most unique space. While patrons cannot enter the gallery, the sidewalks are accessible to all 24/7. Lining both Sumter and Washington Streets around the historic Meridian Building, the gallery prominently features two 2D artists and one 3D artist each quarter.  

For the first quarter of 2025, Jasper Galleries has paired the bright, dynamic paintings of Christopher Lane and Emily Wright with stunning wooden sculptures from Marion Mason. The differing shapes and forms wrap and snake around each other, each piece telling its own part of a grander story together. 

Patrons have until the end of March to stop by and view the works, all of which are purchasable via scanning a QR code at the end of each window or contacting jaspergalleries@gmail.com. Learn more about each artist below.

Christopher Lane - artist

Christopher Lane, born in Minnesota in 1968, drew inspiration from notable artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, Andy Warhol, Georgia O’Keeffe, and Roy Lichtenstein during his formative years.  His artistic development was further influenced by a period spent in Cairo, Egypt where the architecture, sculpture, symbolism, hieroglyphs and vibrant colors of Egyptian art left a significant mark on his work.  Diagnosed with dyslexia, he attended the GOW School in South Wales, New York, which provided him with educational support. Following this, Lane lived in Paris for a year, enriching his creative pursuits.  He pursued an art degree at Eastern New Mexico University but left to support his young family while serving in the United States Navy as a submariner.  Now residing in South Carolina, Lane focuses on creating visual stories that encourage viewers to reconsider divisive subjects through a gentler perspective. He is actively involved in various group exhibitions nationwide and recently showcased his work at ArtFields. 

Lane employs striking imagery to transform life experiences into visual narratives that center on individuals and their interpersonal relationships.  He is deeply committed to social justice and environmental protection, illustrating the interconnectedness of these themes in his work.  His paintings frequently include elements of nature and often convey historical, political, or spiritual stories, reflecting his enthusiasm for these topics.  As a modern surrealist and storyteller, Lane’s artworks can typically be analyzed in multiple scenes while maintaining a unified theme.  Using vibrant colors, rich symbolism, and layered imagery, he addresses complex issues, encouraging viewers to perceive them through a new, perhaps softer lens. 

Marion Mason - Artist

Marion Mason writes the following:

I am a visual artist who taught high school Art for forty-two years. 

I earned the Bachelor of Arts Degree in studio art (sculpture concentration) from the University of South Carolina, and the Master of Fine Arts Degree (in sculpture) from the University of Georgia. In addition, I earned the Master of Education (adult & community education) from Carolina.  

Prior to my teaching career I served as an officer in the U.S. Navy for 9 years (5 on active duty) and am a veteran of the Vietnam War.  

I began my 42-year HS Art teaching career as the artist-in-residence, and on-site coordinator, at the former Richland District One Artistically Talented and Gifted (ARTAG) High School Program. Many years ago, I was a member of the design and implementation team of the original Tri-District Arts Consortium (Tri-DAC), and I have taught sculpture there for 15 summers. Also, I had the privilege of teaching three summers in the three week Honors Program at the SC Governor's School for the Arts and Humanities. I have conducted many art workshops for school, district, community, and state-wide groups, from middle schoolers through adults. In 1982 I was awarded Teacher of the Year recognition at C. A. Johnson High School and was also honored as the Richland District One Teacher of the Year. Currently I teach various visual arts courses and serve as the Fine Arts Department Head at White Knoll High School. 

Since retiring from teaching in January 2019, I am now a full-time professional artist again, and exhibit and sell my sculpture, pendants and earrings. Over the years I have shown and won awards at many local, state, regional, and national competitive and invitational exhibits.

Emily Wright - artist

e.lois wright, known by friends and family as Emily Wright, is a lover of Life with all of its small details and rich hues of color that spill into our every day.  Emily’s first love is the written language.  She began an early love affair with poetry, prose and the theater arts, earning a BA in English with honors at Lander University.  With a desire to express the vibrant facets of Self, she discovered her passion for creating visual art and started a journey toward understanding its cathartic impact on her holistic health.  Emily, first, was drawn to decoupage with art journaling and, later, engaged all of her free time in jewelry making.  A means of “balancing the distractions”, she found solace in piecing together unique and bold wearable art from discarded found objects, taking the broken and making them beautiful, again. 

In 1999, Emily began selling her original, up-cycled jewelry under the name “Balanced Distractions”, finding that her patrons connected with her pieces on a very personal, emotional, and, even, spiritual level, which stands true, today.  Over the last twenty-five years, hundreds of friends, family, and strangers have donated the fragmented and unwanted—glass, pottery, metal and jewelry—all to this shareable, artful healing. A pivotal point in Emily’s artistic journey appeared with the cresting of Columbia’s “Thousand-Year Flood” (2015).  Simple, surprising treasures were unearthed from surrounding Midland rivers, allowing Emily to feel, deeply, the flow of inspiration and creative potential, “taking the broken and making them beautiful, again”. 

Emily’s choices of medium and forms of expression continue to expand and unfold before her, as she is fully immersed in the art of authentic self-expression with a “fresh eyes” perception.  From tapping mantras into canvases to mindfully transforming watercolor blots into faces to molding faux flowers out of old water bottles and shotgun shells, she is present to create from the heart. Most favorite mediums include acrylic/oil/chalk/pastels on canvas/wood/metal, and her time is lovingly spent on making decor and yard art, up-cycled furniture, handmade paper journals from recyclable goods, photography, and learning more and more about costuming and stage make-up.  

Her love for all arts is echoed in her role as “Artist in Residence” (2019-Present) for “Swamp Sessions—‘Off the Grid’ Sustainable Energy Project” in Awendaw, SC, alongside South Carolina’s “Low-Country Hall of Fame” singer/songwriter, Danielle Howle.

Josef Berliner and Wilma King Collaborate for Jasper Galleries at Sound Bites

By Christina Xan

While there was no First Thursday this month, Jasper and Sound Bites still celebrated the start of another year with an Opening Reception last week for a double feature at the restaurant’s gallery space, showcasing the work of friends and artists Josef Berliner and Wilma King. 

Both artists have presented an array of works from intimate portraits of two girls hiding under covers to stunning highlights of prominent celebrities/figures. Berliner and King each have distinct styles they have honed for decades, yet their work effortlessly complements each other through vivid colors and the intersection of the natural world, particularly floral scenes. 

Berliner and King alike have pursued art since they were young and have roots in South Carolina, both having attended the University of South Carolina. Berliner has continued to work and create in the state, showing at the Columbia Museum of Art and participating in exhibits with Bullets and Band-Aids and the University of South Carolina Department of Dance Gala. Alongside this, he has pursued work as a deejay, an aural expression of his creativity that is often seen visually. Not just any deejay, Berliner’s work as an award-winning premier nightclub deejay led him to performing at many of the largest and best-known clubs in the Southeast. 

King’s horizons are constantly shifting, having lived across 11 states. She spent this time—over 30 years—working as an educator at a multitude of American schools, teaching courses in public relations, communication studies, advertising design, publication design, and photography. Returning to Columbia, she has shown in places and exhibits such as 701 Whaley, the Ernest J. Finney Cultural Center, and MIRCI’s 52 Windows. King has not only participated in numerous art shows but has collaborated on over 13 published papers in her field. 

As an artist, Berliner goes by the name “Jobey,” which is how he signs all his work. In his own words: “Jobey is the more outgoing and confident alter ego of Josef Berliner. Behind the mask is a thoughtful, somewhat shy, and introspective artist. Armed with the knowledge that I am not alone in this attribute, I seek…to go behind the surface facade of my subject matter and search for the deeper and often hidden and complex personae beneath.”  

King “endeavors to combine her experiences of living in 11 states (including Alaska) with her educational background into a visual storytelling collaboration through her painting. Her pursuit and passion go beyond a daily practice of technique and development. She believes that universality—seeking common ground—is what makes art purposeful.”   

Even if patrons missed the opening, they could still embark on this journey with Berliner and King until January 31st when the work comes down. Sound Bites Eatery, located at 1425 Sumter St, is open M-F 10-3 and weekends 11:30-2:30. Stop by to grab a delicious, freshly made bite to eat and see this unforgettable show.

Mary Ann Haven Features New Collection of Work for Jasper Galleries at Motor Supply Co. Bistro

by Christina Xan

The first quarter of 2025 will present patrons at Motor Supply Co. Bistro the opportunity to embark on a journey with artist Mary Ann Haven that follows the ebbs and flows of her own tumultuous experiences throughout 2024.  

With a BFA in Design from the University of North Texas, Haven has spent nearly 40 years as a working artist in the Midlands—first self-employed and focusing on “commissioned art, murals and tromp l'eoil custom layered finishes, including plasters, metal leaf gilding and hand painted signage” and, for the last decade, homing in on canvases and commissions. 

Haven has participated in a multitude of shows and juried competitions, including Open Studios, the SC Watermedia Society Digital Show, and Artfields. The 11 pieces in her show with Jasper Galleries—which opens this Friday, January 17th from 6:00pm—8:00pm at Motor Supply in the Vista—depict a journey of hope, loss, and letting go. 

Haven has penned the following retrospective on the collection, which will be up for view and available for purchase until the end of March. 

“There is for me a sense of before and after in this body of work. When Jasper gave me the opportunity to have a show in a location that would allow me to share my bigger paintings, I was excited. If nothing else, the goal of January 2025 would give me a whole year of something to work toward. I didn't know at the time how much I would need that to keep moving forward. 

The two 36" x 36" puzzle series pieces, “Adaptable” and “New Day New View” are a lighter, playful exploration of yin and yang, peace vs. chaos and the joy felt when attempting to balance a composition using form, value, and color. The three 20" x 20" pieces, “Reflections I & II” and “South by Southwest” also play with the same elements with collage added in. These five pieces represent the ‘before’ stage. 

The emotional landscape began to shift in April when I lost a close friend to cancer. Sometimes you can point to certain people and know that they have changed the direction of your life. He was one of those individuals for me. A month later I received a call notifying me that my very independent eldest sibling was in dire straits. I can acknowledge now that my parents raised three offspring that live lives independent of each other. Being the youngest, this was the first time I had been called into action to help one of them. I experienced a real mixmaster of emotions, which included surrendering to what one cannot control (other people's choices) and a new level of concern/anxiety over what it can mean when things go wrong while aging alone. I found that my normal desire to paint nonrepresentational work came to a full stop. To my surprise, an idea I had had for decades resurfaced as a way to go forward. 

At a dinner party in 1996 I was introduced to a fellow local artist Carolita Cantrell. While chatting about my marriage ending, she told me that I needed "shelter without walls". Her example of this was a partner who honored an artist's need to be an artist...and all that meant. In the last decade I have spent time at the coast where I regularly view fisherman's shelters at the end of piers which are basically…shelter without walls. These two things came together as a new series with a moody result. The first piece is “No Chumming for Sharks.” That label was actually a sign on an existing shelter before it was destroyed when washed away in a hurricane. Beyond the literal meaning, to me it meant ‘don't ask for trouble.’  The second painting, “Storm Front,” is a dreamscape that was painted on top of composite silver leaf. It depicts the hope moonlight brings in the darkness.   

I included a self-portrait that was painted when I was feeling emotionally raw. It's figuratively a medical prescription full of symbols, some more meaningful than others. “Open The Book” is a piece about life continuing to bring us new lessons. It helps if we stay open and are willing to learn. The last two finished were the 30” x 40” pieces in deep teal and blues. “Blue Wave with Spilled Milk” was named in mid-November. You can make that name what you wish. The last, “Forest Dreams” was painted in response to Hurricane Helene. It brought the possibility that I might have to put aside the dream I've had for years of living in the mountains. 

Overall, painting has become a mirror of my emotional response to my environment. By the way, the name of the self-portrait is “The Year of Letting Go.” 2024 was definitely that for me.”

Jasper Welcomes Jordan Sheridan to the Koger Center Nook Gallery

By Emily Moffitt

The Jasper Project is excited to kick off the 2025 season in The Nook at the Koger Center with an exhibit of work by Jordan Sheridan. The opening reception for the exhibit is scheduled for January 16, 2025, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. at the Koger Center. The reception is free and open to the public.

Jordan Sheridan was born in Northeastern Arkansas in 1989. She became a mother to her son, Samuel, in 2017 and began graduate school at the University of South Carolina shortly after. As a mother pursuing an MFA degree, Sheridan’s work organically shifted to include a personal examination of motherhood. This change in research pushed her from working primarily in 2-D painting to 3-D artmaking via large-scale textile installations. Sheridan’s studio practice unites painting, sculpture, and installation as she explores the visual dimensions of identity and motherhood. Since completing her MFA degree, Sheridan has continued exploring these textile landscapes and vibrant paintings, all evolving with her multifaceted experience of motherhood and an underlying query of interconnectedness. She is currently a full-time faculty instructor and discipline coordinator of painting at the University of South Carolina. She resides with her partner and young children in Columbia, South Carolina.

Jordan’s Artist Statement:

“My work documents and aestheticizes the multifaceted experience of motherhood, where boundaries dissolve and identities entangle. Each work serving as a visual narrative, capturing the paradoxical nature of this expansion—a tapestry woven with threads of care, connection, and infinite devotion, interspersed with moments of fragmentation, disorder, and flux. My installations offer a tactile exploration of motherhood's complexities, encouraging reflection on identity shaped by relationships and societal norms. My work explores existential questions, influenced by my curiosity in quantum physics and the concept of molecular oneness. It acknowledges the interconnectedness of existence on both micro and macro levels, including the profound bond between mother and child. It is an odyssey that embraces fluid identity and finds beauty in the spaces between roles and expectations, resonating universally.”

ESSAY: The Free Times 2024 Power List, A Response by Cindi Boiter

The yearly designation of the Midlands’ most powerful people, provided by our friends at the Post and Courier’s Free Times, always creates ambivalent feelings for me, as well as others, I’ve been told. This year, I was happy to play a small part of the nomination process and see recognition given to many of the folks I nominated. But, as always, I was perplexed by the concept of the project and what its purpose is.

The Free Times Power List 2024, published December 18th, seeks to recognize 30 of the Midlands’ most influential arts, food, and cultural leaders. The criteria for acknowledgement are growth, innovative programming, and bringing national attention to the area, like Lula Drake’s Tim Gardner whose rightful place on the list was established when he won Columbia’s first ever James Beard award and the Kiki and Tyrone Cyrus team at Kiki’s Chicken and Waffles, who also received acclaim in the James Beard competition. Robbie Robinson of City Limits Barbeque was recognized, as well.

Clearly, restaurant owners who frequently put their own financial livelihoods on the line are deserving of praise, especially those like Kristian Niemi who is committed not just to his patrons but also to the local farmers who provide the food for his restaurants. Restaurants are essentially small businesses but they can have a large impact on their communities by providing gathering spaces where we all feed both our appetites and our culture. The team at Transmission Arcade is a great example of a group seeing a city need and addressing it head-on with fun and innovative programming. But missing from this year’s list are the owners of coffee houses, like Greg Slattery and Sandra Moscato of Curiosity Coffee Bar, who provide places where patrons gather to scheme and collaborate on projects that make us better. Slattery and Moscato are absolute warriors for the health and care of their corner of Columbia. Jasper honors them.

Some of the most deserving recipients of this year’s honors were organization leaders like Nate Terracio (Koger Center for the Arts) and Kristin Cobb (Harbison Theatre) who have used their pivoting power to open their stages to local artists and arts organizations and they have done so without slapping their names on the logos of the organizations they represent. Of  late, we’ve seen free concerts and performances on Koger’s new stages and in their lobby. Harbison Theatre has welcomed many local artists and arts groups onto their stage. And both theatres are the homes to Jasper Gallery sites where we are privileged to present the work of exclusively Midlands area artists.

Kudos to Free Times for shining a light on the work and generous spirits of a nice handful of local artists like Ija Monet, Terrance Henderson, Michaela Pilar Brown, Sean Rayford, and the unofficial mayor of the Congaree Vista, Clark Ellefson. The list of powerful artists could have included dozens of names, but I am thankful for what we got and honor those recipients with pride and admiration.

It was also encouraging to read that Dr. Bobby Donaldson was included in this year’s list as perhaps the most deserving recipient of the honor. Donaldson’s accomplishments represent the best example of an individual working for the greater good without asking for anything in return. I’d love to see more folks like Donaldson recognized for their visions for a better Columbia and a better South Carolina.

But how does one separate and compare the work of rectifying history, like Donaldson does,  with that of making menus and making art? Food, arts, and culture, the three areas where Free Times looked for leaders, are overlapping zones in the Venn diagram of community life with food and art being among the most meaningful contributors to culture.

I have other questions.

Does a Power Person have to be well-paid or even paid at all for their work? Where does volunteerism come into play? I ask this because, and I’m only a little tongue-in-cheek here, I personally know an entire board of directors who work the equivalent of part-time jobs and more to support their organizations and the people they serve. I bet you do, too, and I bet you’re not even thinking of the same organization I am. (Yes, I’m unapologetically thinking of the Jasper Project team and how much I love to sing their praises for the tireless efforts they make to nurture the arts.)

Does the Power Person have to do the work themselves or does the work of the minions below them count as their contribution, too? I mean there’s a lot of dollar signs represented by some of this year’s power people. A lot of fur coats, fancy cars, and trips to Mexico, too. Can a Power Person do the exact same job year after year after year and still be recognized? Does it matter if the organization a Power Person represents is a frequent advertiser with the Post and Courier? I hope not, but I’ve heard that rumor, too. And while we’re at it, should a Power Person be recognized for essentially doing the job they are paid to do? How much money do some of these 501c3 Power People make anyway and how much of their salaries comes from the pockets of Soda Citizens?

Finally, what exactly is the point of the Power List? It harkens me back to school days when popularity was weirdly the goal for so many people. I know few people who didn’t suffer at least a little angst about whether they would be accepted or rejected by their peers. I’d like to think most of us have grown out of that by now. Singling out individuals who, if you followed the rules of the popularity pecking order, were even better than their peers via projects like “senior superlatives,” which I see as the seed of projects like the Power List, was an even more stark way of separating the bad from the good and the good from the better. That said, I married a “Most Likely to Succeed” high school senior superlative recipient and, what can I say? He was and is, so what do I know?

To those who deservingly found themselves on this ostensibly elite list of individuals, congratulations and keep it going. We are genuinely proud of and happy for you. To those who found themselves there whether they deserved to be or not, this means we’re watching you and what you do with your power even more. And to those who were completely overlooked, go forward with the knowledge that  your work matters if it matters to you. Arbitrary lists and accolades are less important than the people you affect with your talents, generosity of spirit, and good work.

~~~

Merry Christmas from all of us at the Jasper Project. We love what we do, and we’re trying to grow better without growing bigger so we can stay true to our mission to be public servants of the arts in the greater SC Midlands Community. Thank you for your support and thank you for reading Jasper Magazine and Jasper Online!

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

(Full Disclosure: Kristin Cobb, executive director of Harbison Theatre at MTC is a board member of the Jasper Project Board of Directors. There is no financial exchange related to the profits made for artists or Jasper between any of Jasper’s Gallery sites and the businesses that host them. Also, this column was offered to Free Times as an installment in this writer’s regular column, Further Consideration, but was pleasantly and respectably passed on)

The Jasper Project Announces the 2025 Galleries Season by Christina Xan

Christina Xan is wrapping up her time as Galleries Manager with the Jasper Project as she pursues her academic career. We thank her for her dedicated efforts to exhibit and make available for purchase art by hundreds of South Carolina artists via the Jasper Project Galleries Series and wish her great happiness and success in her coming endeavors.

~Cb

Down Home by Christopher Lane

The Jasper Project is delighted that, for another year, we have the privilege to show the work of 50+ artists via the Jasper Galleries Series. Starting in 2018 with the Tiny Gallery, Jasper Galleries has now grown to a 6-location series across the Midlands, including our original fully online space. 

Mark your calendars for a full slate of talented local artists, who Jasper will share more info about as their individual shows draw closer. Make sure to follow Jasper’s social media and newsletter (Sundays with Jasper) for all updates!

Tortoise Tears by Rebecca Horne

Harbison Theatre

Running alongside Harbison’s programming, Jasper features two artists in the theatre’s lobby in 2025: a Spring and a Fall artist. While the Fall opening will be announced along with the theatre’s 2025-2026 season, the Spring opening is January 24th at 6:30pm, before Patrick Davis performs at 7:30.

SPRING (January–May): Jeffrey Miller

FALL (September–December): Rebecca Horne

 

Jordan Sheridan with her installation The Mother

Koger Center for the Arts

The gallery at Koger Center for the Arts, fondly named “The Nook,” is located external to the upstairs gallery, on the wall across from the main staircase. New art opens every Third Thursday (except most Decembers) with a reception from 5:30pm-7:00pm.

January: Jordan Sheridan

February: Toni Elkins

March: Thomas Washington

April: Richard Lund

May: Chris Lane

June: Jakeem DaDream

July: Virginia Russo

August: Lori Isom

September: Jeff Amberg

October: Colleen Cannon-Karlos

November: Sean Madden

Lauren Tillar - Compton Sun

Meridian Sidewalk Gallery

These windows proudly feature along Sumter and Washington Streets, at the base of the Meridian Building, with art rotating quarterly. Each quarter, Jasper shows a pair of 2D artists alongside one 3D artist.

January–March

       Emily Wright

    Christopher Lane

        Marion Mason

April–June

         Mark Dreher

         Vanessa DeVore

         Sharon Licata

July–September

         Camille Johnson

         Lauren Tillar

         Renee Rouillier

October–December

         Beth Morgan

        Robert Sargent

 

Laurie McIntosh - Low Country Boil

Motor Supply Company Bistro

Jasper’s second quarterly space is a solo show at the Motor Supply Co. Bistro, where opening receptions typically take place on the second Friday of the opening month from 6:00pm—8:00pm.

January–March: Mary Ann Haven

April–June: Rodgers Boykin

July–September: Steven White

October–December: Laurie McIntosh

Judy Bolton Jarrett of Art Can Studio, Chapin

 Sound Bites Eatery 

First Thursday fun is had monthly at Sound Bites Eatery at 1425 Sumter Street, with (mostly) solo shows happening from 5:30-8:00 on each respective Thursday. In August, Sound Bites throws their own party for their birthday month!  

Important note: January 205 Opening Reception will be held on January 9th! 

January: Josef Berliner and Wilma King

February: Sharon Funderburk

March: Lucy Spence

April: Kelley Pettibone

May: Devon Jeremy

June: Pat Gillam

July: Judy Jarrett

September: Candace Catoe

October: Renea Eshleman

November: Judy Maples

December: Holiday Show – Artists TBA!

Tiny Gallery

Last, but certainly not least, the show that started it all. Moved online during the pandemic and kept online due to its success, the Tiny Gallery provides a 24/7 haven of art, rotating artists out every month.

January: Betsy Kaemmerlen

February: Lindsay Radford

March: Mia Estrada

April: Linda Cannup

May: Colton Giles

June: Lisa Alberghini

July: Jean Capalbo

August: Abby Short

September: K. Wayne Thornley

October: Devon Corley

November: Yyusri

December: Ornament Show – Artists TBA!

 

Keep up to date with Jasper for any opening reception changes, artist details, and updates on holidays shows and one-off gallery events!

Join Jasper for Vista Lights this Thursday - featuring Lisa Alberghini, Adam Corbett, Karen Sargent, Candace Catoe, Carla Damron, and Valerie Lamott

by Cindi Boiter

In my heart I’m just now switching over from sandals and sundresses to blue jeans and boot weather, but in my brain the calendar tells me that the holidays are sneaking up on us and I think I have to believe it. Unless we’re deep in the darkest timeline, which isn’t out of the question, numbers don’t lie. This Thursday is November 21st and that means Vista Lights is happening this week. Already.

Luckily, the Jasper Team has been at the planning table and we have an evening of local art and festivities planned for you when you join us on Thursday, November 21 at 6 pm at Coal Powered Filmworks at 1217 Lincoln Street in Columbia’s historic Vista. As usual, we’ll have a fun roster of local artists who will be sharing their wares – ornaments, jewelry, small art, surprises!

Among our featured artists are Lisa Alberghini, Adam Corbett, Karen Sargent, Candace Catoe, Carla Damron, and Valerie LaMott!

We’ll have some light snacks, friendly faces, and loads of good cheer as we pretend our political world is still on its axis and we take refuge in the reciprocated pretense of joy on all your smiling faces.

There may be booze.

Join us!

An Evening of Art – Opening Receptions for Exhibits by Janet Swigler and Christina Clark at the Koger Center

By Emily Moffitt, Visual Arts Editor, Jasper Magazine

Join us on Friday, November 22, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. for two art receptions at the Koger Center for the Arts. In the Nook on the second floor of the Koger Center, Jasper Galleries welcomes Janet Swigler. On the ground floor of the Koger Center, walls will be adorned with the work of Christina Clark. Both artists work with abstract forms and subject matter, yet in different ways that engage the viewer.

Janet Swigler moved around the United States often at a young age due to her Air Force family upbringing, but this had a beneficial impact on her adaptability, independence, and resourcefulness. She spent several of her pre-teen years living in Japan, which offered cultural aesthetics and philosophies that continue to influence her art and life. This, along with her musical training and experience in music education, created a synergy of artistic disciplines and ideas that transferred easily to the work she creates. Sewing has been a lifelong interest of hers, and her quilt-making studies under Nancy Crow helped her to reach where she is today.

Christina Clark, originally from Austria, descended from a family of artists and musicians. To this day, she surrounds herself with the joyous energy of visual arts and music through her own personal artistic endeavors and her philanthropic service to the University of South Carolina School of Music. Clark carefully considers the viewer’s experience when she starts to put pastel to paper. Recently, Clark created a series of pieces that served as companions to the Parker Quartet’s Beethoven Quartet cycle. Clark embraces the conversation that music can have with her work and is honored to be able to keep that conversation going through her donations.

Both receptions are free and open to the public. They precede the sold-out performance of Koger Center and ColaJazz present: Live in the Lobby Jazz: The Music of Miles Davis. There’s a lot going on in the Vista that night, including a concert at Colonial Life Arena, so be mindful of parking and get to the receptions early!

Jasper's First Thursday at Sound Bites Features Jarid Lyfe Brown

By Cindi Boiter

The Jasper Project is excited to welcome visual artist Jarid Lyfe Brown to our gallery space at Sound Bites Eatery as part of our First Thursday celebration this Thursday, November 7th.

A profoundly original artist, Brown’s technique has typically leaned toward surrealistic expression often by anthropomorphizing animals and visually annotating his subjects on the same canvas.

Born in Atlanta and raised in Columbia, Brown has lived in Gilbert for the -last 17 years. A construction worker by day for the past 30 years, Brown attended SCAD but is, for the most part, self-taught. His work has recently shown at both Soul Haus and Havens Gallery.

“About two years ago, life seemed to be unexpectedly and unusually busy and chaotic,” Brown says. “Between that and lazy excuses, painting and drawing started drifting because I was used to painting very large which can be time consuming. I grabbed a new sketchbook as a sort of documentation device for my current erratic thoughts and regular life experiences. Since a 10x7 book is a bit more portable, this would give me a chance to work anywhere. These small new works [in his Sound Bites exhibition] reflect about two years of sporadic expression, sometimes even forced so to not let go of something that means so much.”

Welcoming Jean Lomasto to Jasper’s First Thursday Gallery at Sound Bites Eatery

This Thursday!

After an abbreviated showing of her work in 2023, the Jasper Project is delighted to welcome back Jean Lomasto to our First Thursday celebration by featuring the artist and her work in the Jasper Gallery space at our beloved soup, sandwich, and salad home, Sound Bites Eatery at 1425 Sumter Street.

Visual artist Jean Lomasto was born in Brooklyn, New York, but  when she was 15 years old her father took a job in Greenville, SC and moved the family to the SC upstate area. After attending college at the University of South Carolina and pursuing Costume Design, two of her undergraduate teachers, Lyn Carroll (costume design) and Terry Bennett (scene design) encouraged her to go to graduate school.

Lomasto says, “Many principles of design transfer easily from theatre to painting or seemed to for me. I have a Master of Fine Art in Costume Design from UVA. I have taken a few introductory painting classes locally and in LA. I took drawing classes at the Art Students League in New York, when I was working there in the field of costuming.”

With an MFA in Costume Design and a cover piece in Theatre Design and Technology magazine, Lomasto traveled to NYC where she worked in many costume shops, including the Julliard School as well as for a few Woody Allen films designed by Santo Loquasto. She became wardrobe supervisor for Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre and toured the world with the company, designing Dudley William’s finale costume for his performance at City Center.

Jean has two sons. While they were growing up, she taught elementary school in California for steady income and health insurance, occasionally doing some theatre work. They lived in Mestre, Italy for several years. 

She returned to Columbia, SC in 2014 and designed many shows for Trustus Theatre:  Peter and the Starcatcher, Marie Anntoinette, Appropriate, Marly’s Christmas Carol, among others.

“One of the greatest influences for my painting was Nicholas Wilton,” Lomasto says. “I signed up online at the start of COVID for a 10-week painting course. Design elements and using paint were important, but the biggest factor for me in this course was psychological.  ... meaning Nicholas Wilton encourages students to find what is in them and then paint. Locally, I find Columbia to be filled with amazingly talented people who support each other, but the following two take the cake for me: One day I was working in the library and Stephen Chesley walks up to me and says, ‘Hi, I like your work. Go bigger...just go bigger.’ I picked myself up off the floor and said, okay. I have had the opportunity to reconnect with Philip Mullen, who is kind enough to really look at my work and comment on it. This is such a generous thing to do on his part.” 

Lomasto says that she has “no official university training in painting. I was married to an art student as an undergraduate and hung around the art department a good bit, when I wasn't at the theatre.” Lomasto goes on to explain that “Philip Mullen was my husband's teacher in undergraduate school. I have always lived in places with easy access to art.”

1st Thursday w/ Sound Bites Eatery & The Jasper Project

featuring

Visual Artist Jean Lomasto

Thursday, October 3rd 5:30 - 8 pm

Sound Bites Eatery

1425 Sumter Street

Jasper Galleries: Ellen Yaghjian, The Newest Nook Resident by Emily Moffitt

As a member of the Vista Guild Association, the Koger Center for the Arts is proud to partner with the Jasper Project in Third Thursday Art Night. A different artist is featured every month in our rotating gallery, The Nook, with an opening reception on the month's Third Thursday. September 2024's featured artist is Ellen Yaghjian. The opening reception is on September 19, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Koger Center.

Ellen Emerson Yaghjian was born in Atlanta, GA, and grew up in Larchmont, NY. She received a BFA in sculpture from the University of Georgia and an MMA in media arts from the University of South Carolina. For ten years, Ellen worked in television production, first with South Carolina Educational Television and later as an Associate Producer at Turner Broadcasting. In 1990, she shifted her focus to sculpture. She began by designing commissioned based copper fountains for outdoor gardens and indoor offices across the southeast. In 2000, Ellen began creating figurative works with copper, hammering and heating the metal to produce sculpture reflective of the human body. She enjoys the warmth of copper and the colors that emerge through her process. During the pandemic Ellen took up painting in acrylic. Ellen resides in Columbia, SC with her husband, David.

Ellen’s Artist Statement:

“The focus of my art practice is to bring my attention to one place in time and to explore the ideas that come to mind. Reflecting on the grace and strength of the female form, I am drawn to the medium of copper. I use heat and my hammer to move and shape the metal into subtle lines of the human body. Observations of landscapes and natural elements lead me to my paints. I simplify 3 dimensional elements on paper and panels and in the process find gratitude and wholeness.”

If you can’t make it to the reception, the art will be up through mid-October, and can be viewed from 9-5 Monday through Friday, and an hour prior to any Koger Center event. You can follow Ellen’s work on Instagram (@ellenyaghjianart) and her website (ellenyaghjian.com).

Announcing Jasper's Featured Artists in Our Meridian Sidewalk Gallery-- Richard Lund, Jennifer Hill, Trish Gilliam, and Debbie Patwin!

Jasper Project board member Kimber Carpenter has curated another exciting exhibition for our Meridian Sidewalk Gallery this season, featuring 2-D and 3-D artists Debbie Patwin, Trish Gilliam, Richard Lund, and Jennifer Hill. The Meridian Sidewalk Gallery is a 24/7 art experience nestled in the always-accessible windows of the Meridian Building along Washington and Sumter Streets in beautiful downtown Columbia. Patrons may view the featured art from all angles and make purchases just by scanning a QR code.

Welcome to our fall 2024 season of Meridian artists! Read more about them below!

Kelly Bryant Brings Anthropomorphic Animal Whimsy to First Thursday at Sound Bites

Kelly Bryant’s work is the kind that immediately sparks smiles, urging patrons to come in for a closer look: saintly opossums praying, koalas applying lipstick, and lemurs licking lollipops. 

Bryant is a Connecticut-to-South-Carolina transplant who works full time as a legal worker and fills any spare time she has not wrangling her girls and two cats crafting her art. Fully self-taught, Bryant found painting in an attempt to keep her kids occupied during the COVID-19 lockdown when a Pinterest search for mom activities turned up finger painting.

This activity, however, soon became a passion as Bryant brought “animals doing human things or wearing human attire” to life through bright colors and finger strokes. These soon turned to brush strokes as, post-YouTube rabbit hole, experience and joy alike blossomed. Then, and now, Bryant holds to the lesson that “everyone should do more of what makes them happy.” 

As the hobby solidified into a part of Bryant’s everyday life, she joined the Crooked Creek Art League. Since then, she found oils, which have become her go-to, and she has begun officially showing her work. Bryant showed at this past South Carolina State Fair and at Crooked Creek’s Still Hopes Art Exhibition—where she won a Patron Award. 

It has been a whirlwind of a journey that Bryant feels ever grateful for. She is “finding [her] style and solidifying it throughout everything [she] creates,” and she is continuously grateful that she gets to “watch other people smile when they walk by and see [her] animals.” 

Bryant’s work for this show is an amalgamation of her time as an artist thus far: work from her early finger-painting adventures to oil pieces dry just in time for hanging. It is a collection of bright, whimsical, yet comforting creatures that are effortlessly her own. 

“My art is a reflection of my journey—ever-evolving and always having a bit of fun along the way,” Bryant emphasizes. 

To see Kelly Bryant’s work, join Jasper for her Opening Reception during First Thursday at Sound Bites Eatery on 1425 Sumter Street THIS Thursday, September 5th from 5:30pm—8:00pm.

SEPTEMBER 14th -- A Double Dose of Jasper

Mark your calendars for the evening of Saturday, September 14th, after the LSU/Carolina game, to come out to Harbison Theatre for a double dose of Columbia Arts. Help Jasper welcome renown graphic artist Nate Puza to the walls of our Harbison Gallery with a free drop-in opening reception starting at 6 pm. Enjoy meeting Nate and hearing about his art, sip a little something, have a little snack, and chat with friends until 7:30 when the curtain rises on more new art coming out of Columbia, SC!

Let It Grow, by Chad Henderson, winner of the Jasper Project’s 2024 Play Right Project series, will premiere as a staged reading  and offer us the right to say I saw it first when it inevitably moves on to other stages near and far. Directed by Marybeth Gorman Craig, and starring Libby Campbell-Turner, G. Scott Wild, Kayla Machado, and David Britt, Let It Grow is a sweet and poignant comedy that looks at the expectations we share about family-like relationships, what happens when players outside of those relationships insert themselves, and PLANTS! The Play Right Series is administered by SC playwright Jon Tuttle and is in its fourth cycle of midwifing new theatre art onto the stage exclusively from South Carolina playwrights.

Previous Play Right Series winning plays include Sharks and Other Lovers by Randall David Cook, Moon Swallower by Colby Quick, and Therapy by Lonetta Thompson. Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy will be fully produced by the NiA Company August 29, 30, 31st at the Trustus Theatre Side Door Theatre and Jasper strongly encourages you to come out and support this new art, too! Tickets for Lonetta Thompson’s Therapy are here.

NATE PUZA OPENING RECEPTION

6 PM – FREE

 

LET IT GROW by Chad Henderson

7:30 pm -TICKETS

 

And while we have you, check out Harbison Theatre’s exciting calendar of events for 2024 – 2025 including Ensemble Eclectica on August 24th, South Carolina’s own singer-songwriter Cody Webb on September 6th, and The Box Masters featuring Billy Bob Thornton with opening act The Capital City Playboys, Friday October 18th!

Alex Ruskell Creates Whimsical Friends for Jasper’s Tiny Gallery

Nighthawks by Alex Ruskell

Alex Ruskell is a man who wears many hats, serving as the Director of Academic Success for the University of South Carolina’s Law School by day and parading around stages with his band, the Merry Chevaliers, at night. 

All the while, strange little figures plague his mind, and fortunately for those who call Columbia home, those whimsical dudes materialize into joyful paintings patrons can hang on their own walls.

Crooner by Alex Ruskell

“When I started painting, all I really wanted to do was make people happy,” Ruskell shares. “I know that sounds dopey and saccharine, but that was it—along with making enough money per art show that I could take my family out to dinner without feeling guilty about it.” 

For his Tiny Gallery show (which has made his work available to those nearly as far-and-wide as the outer space dwellers he often paints), Ruskell has put together 8 new works alongside prints of 2 popular pieces.  

On the gallery site, patrons will see dinos and dragons floating in space (with astronaut helmets for their tails, of course); crooning, karaoke monsters; and kings and goths alike just trying to get by. Essentially? The usual.

Spaced by Alex Ruskell

“The painting thing has worked out better than I could hope for,” Ruskell says. “I've got paintings in my yard that the neighborhood children have named; I see my paintings in the backgrounds of college dorm photos; and I get asked to do commissioned paintings for family birthdays, baby nurseries, and wedding gifts.” 

Alex Ruskell’s Tiny Gallery show will be live until August 31st, so be sure to check out his funky friends filled with heart before then on Jasper’s virtual gallery space. 

“Life is wonderful, but everyone has their down moments,” Ruskell says. “I like to think that a person might buy an alien eating a slice of pizza, stick it on his or her wall, and get a chuckle out of it now and again."

Click Here to Shop Jasper’s TINY GALLERY

CALL for Visual Artists -- Jasper is Accepting Applicants for the 2025 Jasper Galleries Series

We’re looking for a few good artists!

It’s already time for Jasper to plan our schedule for the 2025 Jasper Galleries Series and we want to hear from YOU! Just follow the instructions on the handy graphic above to let us know you are interested in sharing your work with the Jasper Project and your adoring fans.

In addition to our online 24/7 Tiny Gallery, Jasper has gallery spaces at Motor Supply Bistro, Sound Bites Eatery, The Nook at the Koger Center for Arts, the Lobby Gallery at Harbison Theatre, and at the Sidewalk Gallery in the Meridian Building Windows at Washington and Sumter Streets in downtown Columbia.

Application Deadline is October 15th.

We’re looking forward to hearing from YOU!

Special thanks to the good people at Motor Supply Bistro, Sound Bites Eatery, Koger Center for the Arts, Harbison Theatre, and the Meridian Building for supporting Columbia’s visual arts community by opening their walls to the Jasper Project for programming. We encourage you to support these businesses with your patronage. And if the walls need some love in your place of business, please contact our

Galleries Manager, Christina Xan at cxan@JasperProject.org,

to make plans for a Jasper Galleries arrangement custom created for you and your clientele.

Art Reception Double Feature at the Koger Center by Emily Moffitt

The Koger Center for the Arts underwent a large cosmetic upgrade during the summer months, including new carpet and the installation of telescopic seating in their large rehearsal room to create a black box theatre. Aside from the physical facelift of the building, the two gallery spaces now hold new exhibitions for patrons to enjoy before an event or any time throughout the day. The two new exhibits are “The Project 2023 Winners’ Exhibition” in the Gallery at the Koger Center, and in the Nook, one of our Jasper Galleries locations, Marius Valdes is the featured artist of August. A large-scale opening reception for both exhibits is scheduled for August 15, 2024, from 5:30 – 7 p.m. The event is free and open to the public.  

The Project 2023 Winners’ Exhibition features the winners of the Koger Center’s annual art competition. The 2023 iteration winners are Yvette Cummings, Roberto Clemente de Leon, Gerard Erley, Jo-Ann Morgan, and Susan Lenz. “The Project: A Call for Art” is a competition that began during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic and is dedicated to uplifting and featuring visual artists across the state of South Carolina.

A variety of media is included in this exhibit: from oil paintings to sculpture, from collage to quilting. Stop by the Gallery at the Koger Center and mingle with artist peers from across the state!

 As a member of the Vista Guild Association, the Koger Center for the Arts is proud to partner with the Jasper Project in Third Thursday Art Night. We feature a different artist every month in our rotating gallery, The Nook, with an opening reception on the month's Third Thursday. August 2024's featured artist is Marius Valdes.

Marius Valdes is an artist currently based in Columbia, SC. Valdes has been recognized by design publications such as Graphic Design USA, HOW, Print, Communication Arts, Creative Boom, Creative Quarterly, Step, and industry competitions including American Illustration, and The World Illustration Awards. In 2022, the UK's Creative Boom website named Valdes as one of its "20 Most Exciting Illustrators" to follow.

Valdes is a Professor at the University of South Carolina. He teaches graphic design and illustration in the GD+I program in the School of Visual Art and Design. He lives in Forest Acres with his wife, Beth, and their daughter Emma. Mary, the dog, is always around for a good laugh.

Kara Virginia Russo’s Planetary Soul Sketches for Jasper’s Tiny Gallery

Kara Virginia Russo is an emerging visual and performance artist based in Greenville and Columbia, South Carolina, who creates intimate portraits of her own and others’ inner selves. For the month of July, she is Jasper’s featured Tiny Gallery artist. 

Russo is a multimedia artist who works in ink, drawing, embroidery, collage, and found objects, both on paper and in sculpture and assemblage. This variety of style and texture allows her to parallel the rich images that flow and intertwine in her mind. 

Though she went to art school, afterwards, she “didn’t make art for around 12 or 15 years,” feeling like it was “a language [she] didn’t speak.” When she finally started again, she naturally gravitated towards circles.  

“I made circles because they felt incredibly symbolic. Everything in my life was changing all at once during that period, and the circles stood in for all the feelings and questions and explorations I was having around my ideas and beliefs about God,” Russo details. “The perfection of the circle, and the inability to draw a perfect one by hand…there was a lot of things I was playing with that I could make sense of visually and let go of needing to think verbally for a while.” 

Russo shares that, “upon her adult diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, she embraced her inner imaginative world and her love of symbol, pattern, and repetition and developed a visual vocabulary and the mixed media techniques to support it.”  

“I began exploring an imaginary world of my own, in which the planetary landscape gave me a visual vocabulary for interactions with myself and with God,” she describes. “I've always just thought of this place as simply The Planet. I'm still playing with those things, which is why much of my work feels planetary.” 

Russo uses these skills to craft not only the visions within her own mind’s eye, but to gaze at the energy of those around her, taking what they cannot see of themselves and reproducing it. Beyond her solo work, she has collaborated on several musical projects, contributing visual art and experimental film, as well as live ritual-based performances.  

Her style has taken a distinct shape, one formed from “filling up sketchbooks as fast as [she] could.” Though many of her works start in a sketchbook as individual pieces, she has even begun mounting and framing entire sketchbooks behind glass. 

“It makes the pieces feel like museum artifacts or something. Explorer's notebooks, like I've gone to the planet, looked around at how things work and look and grow and move, and come back with my explorers notes and diagrams and drawings,” Russo shares. “And of course, the planet is just a stand in, a way of exploring reality that tries to get behind things and into the essence. Or, thought about another way, I make windows into reality. The reality we can't see. In this way my work functions a little bit like religious iconography.” 

Russo’s work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions in North and South Carolina and Germany, and responses to her work still overwhelm her: “I like to joke that if you make several thousand circles, eventually they become so interesting that people start wanting to pay money for them (which still amazes me. Every. Time.).” 

For her Tiny Gallery show, Russo has collected pieces from two of her series: Music of the Spheres and Tiny Sketchbook. Her Music of the Spheres series is a cacophony of shaded circles, given direct and relation by electric white lines. Her Tiny Sketchbook series expands these images with further texture and detail, as ink expertly bleeds and threads dip in and out of the paper. 

“Beauty has a way of putting things back together; my art practice is a way for me to throw open the windows of my interior and let the sunshine in,” Russo describes. “I'm always hoping that the finished art does that for other people too.” 

Virginia Russo’s work will be available to peruse and purchase via Jasper’s virtual gallery space until July 31st.

Elisabeth LaRose Paints the Floral and the Spiritual for Jasper Galleries at Sound Bites

Elisabeth LaRose is a multimedia artist with a distinct love for watercolor. In the month of July, she will be the featured artist for Jasper Galleries at Sound Bites Eatery. 

LaRose has never been a stranger to art, with her earliest memory being of her mother—an artist herself—showing a young LaRose how to create shading with crayons: “I always knew from those early days that being a creative was my passion,” she shares. 

LaRose would go on to study art at the University of South Carolina, while working a full-time job. After school, she would focus on her job and raising her family, but she still continued to fill her spare time with making art. Her watercolors of historic homes from this time can still be seen hanging in various businesses and homes in Winnsboro. 

It was during this that LaRose expanded her techniques across a variety of media and began to teach art lessons—though some mediums have remained favorites. 

“I have always loved the versatility of watercolor. It can be loose and impressionistic or controlled and detailed which is my favorite,” LaRose shares. “Acrylic is next on my list of favorites because I love to paint on wood and glass.” 

LaRose would continue to hone in on her skills during her time living in Charlotte, North Carolina—painting murals in homes on Lake Norman—and upon returning to Columbia—painting on rocks, windows, and wood at Mill Creek Greenhouses.

Throughout all these places, LaRose continued to be inspired by her own feelings and experiences: “For as long as I can remember, every time I see something that touches me deeply, I automatically start to think about how I can portray those feelings creatively,” she shares. 

Specifically, her time working with plants opened an avenue that has become one of the clearest and most striking repeating images in her work. 

“Nature is my muse along with a love of spiritual symbols; so much of my work contains these elements,” LaRose details. “The garden is my happy place, and my hope is that my paintings evoke a feeling of peace and foster a love of all things natural in our beautiful world.” 

Recently, LaRose joined the South Carolina Artist Guild and has enjoyed the opportunity to show her work with local businesses and shows in Columbia. As she says, “My enthusiasm for my work is greater than ever, and I look forward to finding new inspirations to integrate into my craft.” 

One of these inspirations is her ever-shifting spirituality—most recently the “Native American practice of Shamanic journeying”—which takes forefront in LaRose’s show for Jasper Galleries at Sound Bites. 

“My style just has always been detailed and realistic. I love all things mythical and spiritual, both Native American and Eastern (Buddhism),” she details. “I have become fascinated with Adinkras in the last couple of years. They are African symbols. They are in many of my paintings chosen for this [Sound Bites] show.” 

Elisabeth LaRose’s show opens at Sound Bites Eatery on 1425 Sumter Street on Thursday, July 11th. The opening will take place from 5:30pm—8:00pm, with the restaurant’s full menu available.

Darren Young Creates Textured Familiar Paintings for Jasper Galleries at Motor Supply Bistro

Opening reception Friday July 12 6 pm

Local painter Darren Young is Jasper’s newest featured artist for Jasper Galleries at Motor Supply Co. Bistro, where for the next three months, patrons can enjoy their farm-to-table meals alongside a curated selection of beautiful oil paintings.  

Young received his BFA in Painting at East Carolina University and his MFA in Painting at Indiana University before studying with Wolf Kahn and Janet Fish at Vermont Studio Center. Now a resident of South Carolina, he paints and draws from observation. Specifically, he is “primarily concerned with creating interesting compositions with shape, color, and light” and his “subject matter is usually of places and people [he is] familiar with.”

“The way that I think of style is it’s basically a person’s point of view on how they want to express their feelings on a canvas,” Young shares. “Years of looking at other great painters does have an effect on an artist, but at the end of the day, you go within yourself and let the mind in the heart express your point of view of how you relate to the world.”

Young’s work—mostly oil, but some acrylic—shifts as the viewer walks across its line of sight. Wide brushstrokes and thick layers create unique texture, causing the images to shift and take shape as one strides up to, and walks back from, the painting.

“I want a painting to look like it was painted, and impasto or building up layer after shows that process very clearly—much the same way that an artist like Frank Auerbach does,” Young details. “Artists like Paul Gauguin and [Henri] Matisse excite me for their color use, and I think about using that kind of an expressionist palette for the most part because it feels natural as a reflection of who I am”

Viewers of Young’s current show will find both natural landscapes intimate to Young—like sunsets and lighthouses—as well as spaces he traverses in his day-to-day life—like he and his family’s living rooms, dining rooms, and porches. 

“What others consider ‘mundane’ I try to exalt to a ‘higher level,’ amplifying those things around me that I live with day-to-day similar to how an artist like Edward Hopper did,” Young shares.

Darren Young’s work is now up at Motor Supply in the Vista and will be up until the end of September. Join us for his Opening Reception on Friday, July12th from 6:00pm—8:00pm.