This month’s Kentuck Art Night will bring people together. The event will showcase two artists—one from Tuscaloosa, the other from Auburn.
Artists Chris Davenport and Linda Dixon will show their art at the Kentuck Museum Gallery at Kentuck’s monthly Art Night tonight from 5-9 p.m.
Davenport, the Tuscaloosa artist, will be showcasing her multimedia art of discarded cardboard paintings, scratchboard art and automata machines crafted from a variety of materials.
“Most artists are born this way. You can’t just not be an artist; you are always making something,” Davenport said. “I started off in the fine arts but was not very successful. I started experimenting with crafts, and they just came alive to me.”
Davenport’s scratchboard art is created from boards covered in a base layer of white clay and top layer ink. The ink is then scratched off to create abstract designs. Her automata machines are made from everyday materials such as popsicle sticks, bamboo skewers, wire and cardboard, and they move around by levers and cranks.
“My main focus is to have fun making art and have my audience enjoy looking at it and playing with the machines,” Davenport said.
Davenport said her favorite artists for inspiration change from week to week.
“This week, I like Alexander Calder, a modernist known for his colorful mobiles and circus characters made from wire and cork. It is so inspiring to see an older man sitting on the floor creating these circus characters and enjoying it. I want to still have fun when I’m 80 and making art,” Davenport said.
Emily Leigh, assistant director for Kentuck Museum Association, said it is always fun to see Kentuck Festival of Arts award winners, such as Davenport, come back to Tuscaloosa to share their work.
Alongside Davenport, Linda Dixon from Auburn, Ala. will be displaying her collections of hand-woven items.
“I have always been interested in fibers. I started knitting at the age of 10, then moved on to traditional rug hooking, and from there, I have been hooked on weaving ever since,” Dixon said. “I consider myself more as a crafts person than an artist.”
Her pieces range from scarves, shawls, baby blankets, throws, table runners and placemats, with her best-selling item being a v-shaped shawl.
“I love color and texture and seeing how the public reacts to them. Almost everything I make has some purple in it,” Dixon said. “I gravitate toward the jewel-toned colors.”
She also has started a houndstooth line of woven accessories for those looking to spice up their game day wardrobe.
Dixon, who has been weaving since 1983, has participated in the Kentuck Festival of Arts for over 20 years.
“I’ve been weaving for so long, it’s second nature to me. It doesn’t seem special until you try to teach it to someone, and then you realize how hard it is,” Dixon said. “I love Kentuck, and I feel so honored to have my work be displayed there for the month of September.”
The art-filled evening will be located at different venues across downtown Tuscaloosa and Northport. Locations include Capitol Park Antiques, Alabama Art Kitchen, Mary’s Cakes, Renaissance Gallery, The Bama Theatre, Harrison Galleries, Chloe’s Cup, Duet Art and Jewelry, Everyday Indulgence, Artist Row Studios, and Serendipity Needleworks.
In addition to the featured artist exhibits, Kentuck will be providing free local music by The BluJays and homemade bread and pizza from the museum’s cobb oven.
“We have a variety of people from the University – students and professional artists attend Art Night. It’s free art and conversation to offer to the community,” Leigh said.
For more information, visit www.kentuck.org.
