ARTCHO – C-VILLE Weekly

ARTCHO festival makes art available to all

Home. It’s sweet. There’s no place like it. It’s where the heart is, and it’s where charity often begins.

The same can be said for this year’s ARTCHO festival, to take place this Saturday, November 2, at IX Art Park from 10:30am to 5:30pm.

ARTCHO’s goal is a simple one: to exhibit quality artwork at affordable, regular-folk prices, while raising money for a charity partner.

Participating artists donate a work of their choice for a silent auction, with proceeds this year benefiting Habitat for Humanity of Greater Charlottesville, hence this year’s festival theme: home.

More than 50 local, national, and international artists have donated works this year, including Laura Aldridge, known for her watercolors of simplified Blue Ridge mountainscapes; Leslie Greiner, a collage artist with an eye for humor; Norma Geddes, stained glass artist; Frank Shepard, wood sculptor; Christina Osheim, ceramicist; and Gina Sobel, a local jeweler and musician who’s contributing to the day’s musical offerings as well.

A handful of artists will offer workshops throughout the day. Sigrid Eilertson will teach paper mache mask making, while Flame Bilyué will demonstrate how to use junk mail and art scraps to make small, textured relief paintings and jewelry. And Ken Nagakui, a potter who digs his own clay from the earth, will lead a workshop on Japanese hand-building pottery technique, which uses molds instead of a pottery wheel.

So whether you place a winning auction bid or not, ARTCHO’s a chance to add some new art to your home and make the place a little more your own. —Erin O’Hare

Openings

The Bridge Progressive Arts Initiative 209 Monticello Rd. “Tricontinental Acts of Solidarity,” an exhibit of posters, films, magazines, and more from one of the most significant solidarity movements of the 20th century. 6pm.

Chroma Projects Inside Vault Virginia, Third Street SE. “Archaeology of the Omnivore: Paintings from the Garden Soil,” featuring works by Beatrix Ost about her fascination with the emotional and psychological within the physical world. 5-7pm.

CitySpace 100 Fifth St. NE. “Eight Women, Eyes Open,” featuring work by Scheline Crutchfield, Chloe Raynor, Anne French, and others; and “Soliphilia,” a multi-artist, multimedia exhibit demonstrating a love of interconnected wild places in Virginia. 5:30-7:30pm.

C’ville Arts Cooperative Gallery 118 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “The Art of the Circle,” featuring Gillian Ruffa’s jewelry and textiles exploring symbolic representations of the circle. 6-8pm.

Eichner Studios Gallery 2035 Bond St. #120. A show of work by Sandra Lawrence and a number of local artists working in a variety of media. 6-8pm.

The Garage 100 E. Jefferson St. “Shop Talk,” highlighting the work of the Blanc Creatives team, including David Heins, Molly Schermer, Vu Nguyen, Sarah Schleer, Charles Lucien Feneux, Jacqui Stewart, Chad Coffman, and Sarah Grace Cheek. 5-7pm.

IX Art Park 522 Second St. SE. “ARTstache,” a multimedia collection of visual tributes to flavor savors and lip ticklers by Bernie McCabe, Todd Pope, Alex Brown, Justin Gaydos, and Henrik Jorgensen. 5-7pm.

Tatiana Yavorska-Antrobius at McGuffey Art Center

McGuffey Art Center 201 Second St. NW. In the Sarah B. Smith Gallery, “Garden of Eden,” oil and egg tempera works on linen canvas examining the fragility of the self and the soul, by Tatiana Yavorska-Antrobius; in the Downstairs North Hall Gallery, “Journey,” Lee Alter’s watercolor paintings reflecting a sense of presence, liberation, and freedom over the past two years; in the Downstairs South Hall Gallery, “Impermanence,” Heather Owens’ watercolor and mixed media show on the modern quest to create lasting marks on a rapidly changing world; in the Upstairs North Hall Gallery, “Off the Wall,” an exhibition of recent sculptures from UVA sculpture students; in the Upstairs South Hall Gallery, “Between 7 and 8,” a two-panel black and white projection of the space between moments in time, by Will Jones; and in the Red Shed, “Karen Eide: Art + Wonder,” a show of encaustic and mixed-media works. 5:30-7:30pm.

Mudhouse Coffee Roasters 213 W. Main St. “Mindscape Collection,” a show of work by Jaron White. 6-8pm.

New Dominion Bookshop 404 E. Main St., Downtown Mall. “The Art of Chris Butler,” an exhibition of paintings. 5-7pm.

Second Street Gallery 115 Second St. SE. In the Main Gallery, “Illuminations & Illusions,” a show of paintings and sculpture spanning more than four decades of Beatrix Ost’s career as a visual artist; and in the Dové Gallery, “The Slow Death of Rocks,” reverse painting on glass and sculpture by Doug Young. 5:30-7:30pm.

Spring Street Boutique 107 W. Main St., Downtown Mall. “Virginia Winter Landscapes” featuring oil on canvas paintings by Deborah Brooks. 6-8pm.

Studio IX 969 Second St. SE. “Promises, Promises,” appropriated and collaged works by Aaron Terry examining, among other things, how truth is determined today in the media and how different cultures continue to respond to a post-Cold War global politic. 5:30-7:30pm.

Welcome Gallery 114 Third St. NE. “cloudwatching,” works on paper and sculpture by Anna Morgan, whose work comes from observing nature and the idiosyncrasies of life. 5-7:30pm.

WVTF Radio IQ 216 W. Water St. An exhibition of direct observations by Nancy Campa, inspired by the beauty of the Blue Ridge Mountains. 5-7pm.

Other November shows

Albemarle County Circuit Court 501 E. Jefferson St. An exhibition of work by members of the Central Virginia Watercolor Guild.

Annie Gould Gallery 109 S. Main St., Gordonsville. “Color Notes,” featuring oil on linen paintings by Lee Halstead.

Buck Mountain Episcopal Church 4133 Earlysville Rd., Earlysville. Oil and pastel paintings by John Kozloski.

Carpediem Exhibit 1429 E. High St. A rotating, expanding multi-media exhibit of works by local, regional and out-of-state artists, including Kerney Rhoden. Reception November 3, 2-4pm.

The Center 491 Hillsdale Drive. “At Home and Abroad,” photography by Frank Feigert. Through December 31.

Crozet Artisan Depot 5791 Three Notch’d Rd., Crozet. A show and sale of fabric handbags by Victoria Horner. Reception November 9, 2-4pm

The Fralin Museum of Art at UVA 155 Rugby Rd. “Asian Art from the Permanent and Select Private Collections,” through November 10; “Otherwise,” exploring the influence of LGBTQ+ artists; “Time to Get Ready: Fotografia Social”; “Of Women By Women,” through November 3; “Select Works from the Alan Groh-Buzz Miller Collection,” opening November 22; and “Oriforme” by Jean Arp.

The Gallery at Ebb & Flow 71 River Rd., Faber. “Golden Hours,” an exhibit of recent photographs by Jack Taggart. Opens November 9, 4-6pm.

Leftover Luxuries 350 Pantops Center. “On the Verge: A World of Chaos and Quivering Moments,” a series of abstract works by Jane Goodman. Opens November 7, 6pm.

Les Yeux du Monde 841 Wolf Trap Rd. “Field Days,” a show of Susan McAlister’s multi- media works initiated “out in the field,” with a closing reception November 3, 3-5pm; and “Dean Dass: Venus and the Moon,” opening November 9.

Piedmont Place 2025 Library Ave., Crozet. “Landscapes and More,” a show of work in a variety of media by members of the BozART Fine Art Collective.

Shenandoah Valley Art Center 122 S. Wayne Ave., Waynesboro. An exhibit of ceramic pottery by staff, students, and studio artists of the Make Waynesboro Clay Studio.

Summit Square Retirement Community 501 Oak Ave., Waynesboro. “Serenity,” featuring photography, watercolor, and mixed-media works by Terry Coffey, Gail Haile, Shirley Paul, and Juliette Swenson.

Susan Brodie at Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian-Universalist

Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church Unitarian-Universalist 717 Rugby Rd. “Water Like Memory,” featuring Susan Brodie’s paintings of the mystery of different bodies of water. Opens November 13, 11:30am.

Woodberry Forest School 898 Woodberry Forest Rd., Woodberry Forest. “Living in the Moment,” an exhibition of drawings and paintings by Tatiana Yavorska-Antrobius. Opens November 14, 6:30-7:30.

First Fridays is a monthly art event featuring exhibit openings at many area art galleries and exhibition venues. Several spaces offer receptions. To list an exhibit, email arts@c-ville.com.

Eli Cook plays with tradition on High-Dollar Gospel

Eli Cook picked up the guitar one fortuitous summer when his older brother went to baseball camp. Cook’s brother had been taking lessons and left an electric guitar—which actually belonged to their older sister—behind in Nelson County.

“It seemed cool,” says Cook of the idea of playing guitar. He picked up the instrument and worked out Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love” and “Communication Breakdown” on the low strings. By the time his brother returned from camp, Cook, only about 13 at the time, had exceeded his brother’s skill and thereby officially inherited the instrument.

Now just 31, Cook has accomplished much since he taught himself those riffs. He was making a living playing music before he graduated from high school, and in February 2008, a couple months shy of his 21st birthday, he opened for blues legend B.B. King at the Paramount Theater. He was named the No. 3 favorite international blues solo artist in Blues Matters! magazine’s 2015 writers poll. He tours frequently and plays regular gigs at the B.B. King Blues Club & Grill in New York City.

Most recently, Cook released his seventh album, High-Dollar Gospel.

But for all of his success, when Cook talks about his music, he almost never talks about himself. Sitting on a couch in C-VILLE Weekly’s office on a Friday afternoon in August and shaking loose the last drops of iced coffee from hollowed-out iced cubes, Cook talks instead about the long mythology of blues and roots music that had to happen before he could make High-Dollar Gospel.

Eli Cook
ARTCHO
September 23

Initially drawn in by Zeppelin’s hard- rocking blues and electric players like Jimi Hendrix and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Cook quickly retreated down the long, winding path of the blues, to acoustic blues artists like Mississippi Fred McDowell, Skip James, Robert Johnson and many, many others.

Cook, known for his slide guitar chops, talks about slide players like Elmore James (“King of the Slide Guitar”), Duane Allman and Derek Trucks. He’ll wax poetic about Robert Randolph’s lap steel, and how that instrument in particular has a very human vocal quality, “like a lady in church.” He’ll discuss Johnny Cash’s country songs that appealed to grunge rockers such as Soundgarden, Nirvana, Alice in Chains and industrial heavyweight Nine Inch Nails. Stirring ice cubes around with a black plastic straw, he talks about New Orleans, St. Louis and Memphis.

After explaining that he’s included more Americana sounds, like mandolin and upright bass, on High-Dollar Gospel to explore a different set of influences and capture the essence of his live solo performances, Cook says, matter-of-factly, that he’s pretty sure the O, Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack, produced by T Bone Burnett, is responsible for the re-emergence of roots and Americana music into mainstream music in the early 2000s.

“In a lot of ways, you think, ‘Oh, everything’s been done,’ and in many ways, it has,” says Cook. “But the more you learn and the more you listen to, the wider range of influence you can pull in.”

Take, for example, Muddy Waters’ “Can’t Lose What You Never Had,” one of three cover songs on the 11-track High-Dollar Gospel. It’s a weighty song that’s been “done to death, and for good reason,” says Cook—Waters is one of the best songwriters of all time. But in Cook’s hands, “Can’t Lose What You Never Had” becomes an acoustic grunge-rock ballad.

In writing original songs, Cook says he tries to stay away from the “me monster side of writing” and instead draws inspiration from common experiences that “give maneuverability to a listener’s perception.” On “Mixing My Medicine,” he sought to write a contemporary blues song anchored by interesting guitar work, a relevant storyline and language that one might not expect to find in a stereotypical blues-based tune. He says he’s always trying to work within a traditional framework while staying relevant for modern listeners.

And he’s still getting a blues rock tune in there every now and then, like with “Troublemaker” and “King of the Mountain,” which Cook sees as a “tripped-out, nighttime drive through the desert, sort of an out-of-your-head” song. “If I had my druthers, I’d be making rock records,” he admits.

As a musician steeped in a tradition formed by people playing guitars long before he was inspired to strum a power chord on that hand-me-down electric guitar in Nelson County, Cook knows how music is perhaps the ultimate connector.

Still, he’s surprised when fans come up to him after a show and share what his songs mean to them. Once, a man who’d lost his son to suicide mailed Cook a copy of the book he wrote about the experience, all because he deeply identified with one of Cook’s songs. “It’s just wild, the things that people will draw out of a song, and it’s all based in their experiences,” he says with a shrug of his shoulders, rattling the softening ice cubes. “And sometimes it’s something you would never think.”

“That’s the whole goal with music—you basically are communicating with people, having a conversation without having a conversation. And they feel like they can share themselves with you because they can relate.”