Roger Jones, along with fellow UA alumni Michael Merry, founded PaperWorkers Local, a non-profit organization interested in expanding the art community in Birmingham, eventually wishing to reach Tuscaloosa.
“We wanted to help bring together the artistic community, and Birmingham seemed like a good place to start,” Jones said.
For the exhibit, Merry and Jones wanted to bring in someone they had previous experience with as students at the University. William Dooley is the director of the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art at the University and an associate professor of art. His work is the central focus of the exhibit “Drawing on ?Clairmont Avenue.”
“Me and Michael both had the good fortune of taking courses with Bill,” Jones said. “We’ve always enjoyed looking at his work and were more than happy to put it on display. The community’s reception of it has been spectacular.”
Dooley has been working with the Sarah Moody Gallery of Art since his arrival in 1989 from Charlotte, North Carolina, where he worked with the Contemporary Arts Program in Spirit Square.
“In some ways, I’ve modeled Moody after what we did in Charlotte,” Dooley said. “The difference is that working with the school, it is mainly students, whereas in Charlotte it was a lot more local, public.”
Dooley has been making paintings for most of his life, but the artwork on display at PaperWorkers Local is focused more on drawings and sketches.
Aside from doing exhibits, PaperWorkers Local also focuses on printmaking with a ?full workshop.
“Printmaking refers to artwork made on or out of paper. Michael Merry came up with the idea for it,” Jones said . “The building we work in is made up of three different parts, all associated with different aspects of our organization. There is a gallery for exhibit space, a full printmaking workshop and a studio space which is open to local artists for rental.”
The organization features artists year-round and tries its best to keep the focus on local talent. As they continue to grow, Jones said they would like to incorporate more work from artists outside of Birmingham into ?their exhibits.
The “Drawing on Clairmont Avenue” exhibit began June 20 and will end August 8. Viewing hours are Monday from 6 to 8 p.m., Wednesday from 1 to 5 p.m., Thursday from 5 to 8 p.m. and Friday from noon to 5 p.m. PaperWorkers Local is located at 3815 Clairmont Avenue in Birmingham.
