Italy, Spain, and a Hat Shop in Charleston -- Tim Floyd's new show at City Art by Sam Smith

 

“Italy, Spain, and a Hat Shop in Charleston” is Columbia’s first gallery show to feature only encaustic painting. The artist, Tim Floyd, is using it as an opportunity to benefit the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital. The show will be starting on August 1, and it goes until August 31 at City Art (1224 Lincoln Street, Columbia, SC 29201). On August 17 at noon, Floyd will host a gallery talk at City Art.

Encaustic art is made by using hot beeswax, resin, and pigment. This mixture becomes a liquid paste which is then applied to wood, canvas, or another medium on which to paint. Because of the beeswax element of the painting, the painting can also become a sort of sculpture, and the artist may use metal tools to sculpt the paint into the desired form or, after it cools, they may use heated metal tools. There are also heat lamps or various other heated tools one may use to extend the time they have to word on it. Encaustic art has been around since it was used in Fayum mummy portraits from Egypt around 100-300 AD. While an older technique, encaustic painting remains an interesting medium, and is still not as well-known as other mediums such as oils or charcoal.

Tim Floyd, while he hasn’t being doing encaustic painting for quite as long, worked on the majority of the paintings featured in this show during the five weeks he spend touring Italy with his wife, Carol, in 2012. Other pieces in the show are from Barcelona, Charleston, Columbia, Houston, and the Bahamas. While traveling, Floyd would sketch out images to later use as a basis for his encaustic painting; he would also take unusual objects he found to later work into his paintings.

In June 2013, Floyd and his daughter, Felicia, won the “Best in 3D” award at the Greenwood Festival of Flowers Juried Art Show for a collaborative portrait. Felicia has Muscular Dystrophy, which is a group of muscle diseases that affect different sets of muscles based on what exact disease one has. In all cases, the muscles weaken, sometimes involving muscle degeneration or atrophy. A percentage of sales during the opening reception on August 1 will go to Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital, where Floyd’s daughter was treated. While the idea is to buy his artwork, enjoy it, and help a worthy cause, Floyd hopes that everyone will consider supporting the Children’s Hospital no matter what.

His love of art and his travels may have inspired his paintings, but his personal connection to the Palmetto Health Children’s Hospital inspired the donation of a percentage of sales. Without the Children’s Hospital, his daughter likely would have died.

The show is at City Art, and everyone and anyone is encouraged to venture out to see “Italy, Spain, and a Hat Shop in Charleston.” To inquire about purchasing artwork from Tim Floyd, contact City Art at (803)252-3613.

-- Sam Smith, Jasper intern

Off the Top of my Head -- Kevin Bush Takes the Stage Again -- by Sam Smith, Jasper intern

Did you miss the first showing of Off the Top of my Head? Don’t worry, you have one more chance on July 12 when the Last Call Series at Trustus ends its season. After Ain’t Misbehavin’, Kevin Bush will perform an original show with special guests Terrance Henderson, Vicky Saye Henderson, Jason Stokes, and his brother Eddie Bush. Doors open at 10:45, and the show will start at 11:15. Tickets are sold at the door for $15.

The word ‘cabaret’ was first used in 1655 as a variation of the word tavern, and taverns are where cabarets began. The sun would go down and people would head to the local tavern for a night of drinking, laughter, and music. Eventually, cabarets moved out of taverns and into strip clubs, night clubs, restaurants, and finally to the stage. In America, cabarets became popular in the roaring twenties during Prohibition, where it was a fixture, just as much as a light would be, in speakeasies. After the rising popularity of concerts, variety shows, and comedy houses in the sixties, cabaret saw a slow decline until there were very few places left in America that still did cabaret. Luckily, cabaret is starting to see a revival with new artists interpreting it in new ways.

Off the Top of my Head starts with music where cabaret left off. It pulls heavily from music of the sixties, and Kevin Bush describes it as a sort of “Great American Songbook, Volume 2.” The night will be filled with songs by Joni Mitchell, Stevie Wonder, Prince, Marvin Gaye, Freddie Mercury and Queen, Ben Folds, Stephen Sondheim and a few others. Off the Top of my Head will focus on songs that Kevin Bush finds inspirational due to their lyrics, music, or artists, and he intends to make the show, in his own words, “a sort of "mix tape" that's intended to share the brilliance of these songs, and their songwriters, with an audience.”

This promises to be an entertaining and enjoyable evening. The resurgence of cabaret as a medium of entertainment is unique to particular areas of the United States, and Columbia, South Carolina usually wouldn’t be among that list. The chance to see a cabaret without traveling is something you don’t want to miss in the end of the Last Call season. Off the Top of my Head gives its audience a chance to hang out, have fun, and enjoy the performance art that is a cabaret show without them needing a time machine, and it’d be a shame to miss it.

Trustus Theatre is at 520 Lady Street, behind the Gervais Street Publix. For information or reservations call the box office Tuesdays through Saturdays 1-6 pm at 803-254-9732. Visit www.trustus.org for all show information and season information.

- Sam Smith, Jasper intern