BACKSTREET GALLERY

October-2015

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The October reception for these two artists is this Saturday October 10, 2-5 pm.  See their work and listen to great music along with wonderful food and drink, featuring wine tasting, as a part of the Old town wine tasting event.

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Jayne Smoley’s works are a variety of geometric shaped pieces in vibrant glass, including bowls, plates, hanging designs, starfish, jewelry, night lights, wall sconces and custom light fixtures. Her glowing pendants are dichroic eye-catchers. All pieces are layered and kiln fired at 1500 degrees Fahrenheit for an average of 20 hours and often cold worked, then returned to the kiln.

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Her newest gleaming pieces are executed in Pate De Vere, literally meaning casting in paste. Using crushed glass, Jayne builds a casting mold by hand and packs layers of frit (crushed glass) in the mold, fires it for about 40 hours. The mold is broken away making each piece truly one of a kind.

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Jayne was one of the founding co-chairs of the “Artful Affair” presented by the Rotary Club of Florence to provide art scholarships to our local students. She is an active participant in the much-acclaimed Holly Jolly Follies and member of PAC the public art committee for Florence.

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With a very distinctive style enveloped in linear designs, organic shapes and vibrant colors, Tamarah Phillips captures her subject in an other-worldly fantasy. Having a seamstress for a mother surrounded her with fabrics, textures and patterns gave impetus to her intuitive work.

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Tamarah follows this mantra, “Design beyond your skill, and then raise the level of your skill to fulfill it.”

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Her father served as a military Safety Officer, so Tamarah has lived all around the states. She also lived in Germany for six years. She and her father took walks in the forest where he regaled her with historic stories and fairy tales.

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These memories added to her mother’s cloth imagery combined with Tamarah’s imagination influenced her truly unique art. The recurring theme of women’s faces is repeated in many of her ethereal paintings. Her images tell a story using women's faces, human figures changing into something magical: dancing nymphs, and hidden symbols.

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You may find her at Bon Jour, where she is the assistant manager. Her position there may influence her stylish persona.

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Come join us on Saturday, October 10th!