9 November Summerford work on display in ICC Gallery November 9, 2018 By Thomas, Donna S. General 3 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 my paintings,” she said. “The layers work perfectly with my subjects as most are in various stages of decay.” For many years, Summerford traveled the South searching for and documenting vintage buildings, neon and metal signs, brick walls advertisements and scenes of a much simpler time gone by. “Beginning in college, I kept a Polaroid camera with me at all times to document the scenes,” Summerford said. “My favorite subjects have had a life well-lived, and rust always attracts me.” Summerford attended juried shows for many years while working as a graphic artist at in-house agencies as well as printing companies. Later, as a senior product designer for Wang’s International in Memphis, Tenn., she designed gifts, tabletop, seasonal items, crafts, cross stitch books as well as product packaging. “At this time, I am once again documenting the South as I see it,” Summerford said. “I hope you enjoy my selections.” A reception and gallery talk is planned for Nov. 30 from 2-3 p.m. in the gallery. Exhibit hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Friday. The gallery will be closed from Nov. 19-23 for Thanksgiving break. For more information, contact Shawn Whittington at (662) 862-8301 or email eswhittington@iccms.edu. Related Articles Work of Victoria Cummings-Bobo now on display in ICC gallery The work of Victoria Cummings-Bobo is currently on display in the gallery of the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center at the Fulton Camps. The exhibition titled “Enchanted Child’s Dream,” which features a collection of oil, acrylic and mixed media pieces to commemorate Black History Month, will be on display until Mar. 31. Bobo’s work uses household items or something nature provides to tell colorful and vibrant stories. Her work ranges from miniature models, which reflect everyday people to vibrant paintings and statuesque colorful objects. She combines her art and her faith by using adorned mannequins to teach Sunday School classes at New Temple Baptist Church. Bobo’s love of the arts has included poetry, acting and playing the piano. After a time in New York City, she returned to Dorsey in 1987, and in 1988, Bobo and her sister, Dr. Ormella Cummings, formed We Amend Minds-By-Action, an organization devoted to introducing cultural activities and enrichment programs to young people and adults in Itawamba County and the surrounding area. She and her husband, Forrest, ... Work of Tanner South on display in the ICC Fulton Campus Gallery The work of Tanner South of Columbus will be on display in the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center Gallery at the Itawamba Community College Fulton Campus until Dec. 9. The exhibition entitled “Charm and Chaos: A Collective of Aesthetic Forms Through Decadent Textures” features mixed media paintings, prints and wall assemblages. South said that his work is “inspired by imagination and visionary forms. My paintings embody the textures, colors and nature of my own dreams, nightmares or subconscious renderings. I find it hard not to physically want to touch some of my paintings myself. It’s a sort of textile stimulation that I think I sort of feed into when I’m creating the heavier textured pieces.” South said that he doesn’t “let the orderly left-brain of my day job stop my right-brain from cathartically creating and making a mess in the studio. Whether it’s with multiple mediums at once or with shapes of upcycled treasures to use in conjunction with other forms, it’s always fun to push the limits of myself.” South works full-time ... 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. 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 ... Armistead work currently on display in ICC gallery The 2019 fall opening exhibition at the W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center gallery at the Itawamba Community College Fulton Campus features the paintings of John Armistead of Tupelo. Currently on display through Sept. 19, ‘Remembrance of Things Past’ is a collection of oils and watercolors depicting primarily rural landscapes of surrounding North Mississippi counties as well as a few portraits. Armistead, a Presbyterian minister, is an award-winning artist, author and journalist. He holds degrees from Mississippi College (B.A.), the University of Mississippi (M.A. in Classical Greek and Latin), Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary (M.Div.) and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary (D.Min. in Theology and History) He has also studied at The Graduate Theological Union of Berkeley, Sorrento Lingue International Language Institute in Sorrento, Italy, the Art Students League of New York and the National Academy of Design in New York. Armistead began formal studio training in Mobile, Ala. when he was eight years old, working in pastels and oils. He continued art studies through college and participated in master's classes taught by Everett Raymond Kinstler at the Lyme Academy of Fine ... 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 ... 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