4 September 'Fort Spillman' on display in ICC Fine Arts Gallery through Oct. 2 September 4, 2024 By Thomas, Donna S. General 0 The paintings of Memphis, Tenn.-based artist Bobby Spillman, which is the first exhibit hosted this fall in Itawamba Community College’s W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center Gallery at the Fulton Campus, will be on display through Oct. 2. The collection titled “Fort Spillman” consists of 12 large acrylic and mixed media paintings deeply layered in imagery surrounding cultural narrative and personal experience. “The work is a reaction to the day-to-day act of living,” Spillman said. “It is sometimes a compilation of ongoing subconscious chatter acting as a surface to collect the filtered distractions, and in other pieces, the artist focuses on a single image that reflects a more thought-out singular moment.” Inspired by cartoons, comics, satire, art history, traditional tattoo flash and childhood pop culture, Spillman’s works are created in a range of mediums from paint, ink, aerosol, collage and color pencil. Spillman, who earned his master’s degree from the University of Memphis, currently teaches advanced placement art in the Germantown Municipal School District. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-3 p.m. For more information, contact Shawn Whittington at (662) 862-8301 or email eswhittington@iccms.edu. Related Articles 'Flowers of Fulton' on display in ICC Gallery through Oct. 30 The paintings of Fulton resident John Underwood are now on display in Itawamba Community College’s W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center Gallery at the Fulton Campus. His exhibition entitled “Flowers of Fulton,” consists of 16 acrylic paintings depicting colorful arrangements of flower bouquets that he says, “were grown here in Fulton.” Underwood, who is an art and antique dealer by trade, graduated from IAHS in 1988 and attended ICC the following year. Additional degrees in fine arts include the bachelor’s from the University of Mississippi and the master’s from the University of Memphis. Gallery hours for the exhibit, which will close Oct. 30, are Monday through Friday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. For inquiries about sales or the gallery, contact Shawn Whittington at (662) 862-8301 or email eswhittington@iccms.edu. Work of 94-year-old Virginia Jackson, one of ICC's first students, currently on display in Fine Arts Center Gallery “The Gift of Life,” a collection of paintings by 94-year-old Virginia Jackson of Tupelo, is currently on display in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center Gallery at the Itawamba Community College Fulton Campus. The show includes Jackson’s acrylic paintings of landscapes and country scenes as well as two acrylic paintings by her granddaughter, Morgan Davis. Jackson’s first recollection of an interest in art was when she received a box of Crayola crayons at the age of five. She recalls coloring the embossed flowers on doilies (small napkins or decorative mats), but she didn’t start painting until the age of 91 when her daughter, Jill Jackson King, bought her a set of acrylic paints. She describes herself as self-taught and paints most scenes from memory. Most of her paintings are landscape scenes of farm life and “pretty flowers,” but she experiments with abstracts, also. She was born Virginia Anthony in 1929 in her family’s home outside of Tremont. Her father built their house and raised crops, cattle and hogs on their farm during the Great Depression. Growing up, she ... Tom Douglas's work now on display at ICC Fine Arts Center gallery Recent works by Fulton resident Tom Douglas will be on display from Jan. 29-Feb. 22 in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center gallery at the Itawamba Community College Fulton Campus. The exhibition, which is entitled Pathos and Whimsy, includes landscapes of Shiloh National Battlefield, which is on the route to Douglas’s native home in Tennessee. His intent is for the work to document curiosity and layered investigation. Douglas was a member of ICC’s art faculty from 1983 until he retired in 2013. Gallery hours are from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. except on days that the college is closed. For more information, contact Shawn Whittington at eswhittington@iccms.edu or call (662) 862-8301. ICC to celebrate Week of the Arts, formally reopen W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center Itawamba Community College will celebrate the Week of the Arts, Apr. 19-22, with several special events at the Fulton Campus, including a ribbon cutting and formal reopening of the newly-renovated W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium. They first event will be a CenterStage concert, Apr. 19 at 7 p.m. at the Band Hall. The remaining activities, which will be at the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center auditorium, are the ribbon cutting and open house, Apr. 20, 10 a.m.-noon; Fashion Show, Apr. 20, 6 p.m.; Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble concert, Apr. 21, 6:30 p.m.; and Choir and Chamber Choir concert, Apr. 22, 7 p.m. Renovations began in the fall of 2021 to restore the decades-old 24,000-square-foot facility, which had not received any major renovations since it was built in 1978. With upgrades to almost every inch of the facility, the state-of-the-art auditorium, lecture space, exhibit hall and lobby now boast modern designs that will be more inviting to all guests. The renovations were designed by McCarty Architects. The public is invited to all events. ICC student work on display in gallery through Mar. 20 The works of Itawamba Community College’s art students will be on display in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center gallery through Mar. 20. The exhibition includes 67 pieces in a variety of media ranging from paintings and drawings to sculpture and ceramic works. Students participating include Tiffany Gladney, John Curry, both of Aberdeen; Theo Lyle, Olivia Grace Ausbon, both of Amory; Dylan Gaskin of Bellefontaine; Taylor Cash of Belmont; Allison Clayton of Blue Springs; Lena Blanton of Comanche, Okla.; Oscar Gonzalez of Ecru; Taylor Lentz, Serenity Bobo, both of Fulton; Xander Caulder of Houston; Blake Wigginton of Mantachie; Brad James of Nettleton; Sam Herrington of Ontario, Canada; Kiasa Wade, Nancy Garcia-Martinez, both of Pontotoc; D’Anthony Hervey, Zack Anglin, both of Saltillo; Marina Loden of Shannon; Tyler Griffin, Tatiana Brown, Jasmine Raden, Blayton Morris, Clayton Rinehart, Deidra Burns, all of Tupelo; and Charlie Weeks of Winfield, Ala. A reception for the students is tentatively scheduled from 2-3 p.m., Mar. 20. Gallery hours are from 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday, except for holidays. ICC ... Summerford work on display in ICC Gallery The watercolor paintings of Fulton artist Laura Summerford will be on display through Dec. 7 at the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center gallery at the Itawamba Community College Fulton Campus. Entitled “Southern Rust and Decay,” the exhibit includes 24 paintings featuring familiar Southern icons and images of the city of Fulton. “I was born into a family of artistic ability,” Summerford said. “My parents were very creative and nurtured that spirit in my brother and me. This atmosphere helped to mold my future in the art field. From the time that I picked up my favorite red crayon, I was hooked. I would have rather draw and color than anything else.” Summerford began to watercolor while majoring in graphic art at ICC. “The softness of the medium mesmerized me over the harshness that oils and acrylics possess. I had an instant love for watercolors. While continuing her studies at Mississippi University for Women, she found watercolors to be her choice medium. “The light washes allow for many layers of color to show through ... Comments are closed.