28 August Work of 94-year-old Virginia Jackson, one of ICC's first students, currently on display in Fine Arts Center Gallery August 28, 2023 By Thomas, Donna S. General 0 “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 helped on the family farm as most children were expected to do. She said that since the county didn’t have electricity, the chores and reading were done by the light of kerosene lanterns. Jackson entered Itawamba Junior College in 1948, where she said that she was the first woman to enroll after its official accreditation and its doors opened. “The bus would pick us up from Tremont High School (where she graduated in 1947) and take us to IJC,” she said. “The classrooms held about 25 students, and the campuses would be unrecognizable to anyone today. ICC is the greatest thing that ever happened to Itawamba County. It gave us so much opportunity and was affordable.” Jackson said that she took primarily business and secretarial courses. It was also during that time that she met her husband of 52 years, Lelon, who died in 2001. He enlisted in World War II, stationed in Britain, and participated in day three of the Normandy invasion. After his tenure in the armed forces, he received five Bronze Stars and was awarded a Silver Star for his service. By trade, he was a cattle auctioneer, and Virginia Jackson helped him with bookkeeping and secretarial duties. They later worked alongside L.D. Hancock in the fabric business and settled in Longview, Tex. In 1973, the Jacksons moved back to Mississippi to help care for their parents. The exhibit will continue through Sept. 28. Admission is free. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m.-4 p.m. For more information, contact Shawn Whittington at eswhittington@iccms.edu or call (662) 862-8301. Related Articles 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. 'Fort Spillman' on display in ICC Fine Arts Gallery through Oct. 2 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 ... 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 artwork featured in exhibit in newly-renovated W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center The artwork of several Itawamba Community College students is currently on display in the newly-renovated W.O. Benjamin Fine Arts Center at the Fulton Campus. The first student exhibition in the new space, which consists of approximately 80 pieces of art including drawing, painting, computer art and sculpture, will be on display until May 5. Artists include Taylor Braxton of Amory; Jamecia Walker of Baldwyn; Bayleigh Caldwell of Caledonia; McKenna Powell of Hatley; Alli Blansett, Makenzie Brooks, both of Houston; Olivia Jones of Mantachie; Francisco Garcia of Mooreville; Mia Coggin of Nettleton; Michaela Pearson, Rachel Gann, Kaitlin Stegall, Brianna Hall, Maria Tinajero, all of Pontotoc; Lily Wright of Red Bay, Ala.; Jaiden Hutson, Danielle Thompson, Elliana Parker, all of Saltillo; KaJatlon Clark of Shannon; Selena Crowley of Tremont; Ana Chambers, Drew Edmonson, Camille Campbell and Brianna Dent, all of Tupelo. Normal gallery hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m., Monday through Thursday. For more information, email Shawn Whittington at eswhittington@iccms.edu or call (662) 862-8301. 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 ... 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.