Co-op features local artwork
Published 11:49 pm Thursday, December 4, 2008
By Jennifer Jacob Brown
jjacob@themeridianstar.com
If you don’t want to wait until Arts in the Park or the Threefoot Arts festival to view or purchase local artwork, look no further than the Meridian Artist’s Co-op on North Hills Street.
There, a long list of artists from here in Meridian and from as far away as Tupelo display their work for sale. You can find pottery, jewelery, photography, paintings, and various other forms of art at the Co-op.
Among the participating artists are portrait and landscape artist Mike French, who drew portraits live at an open house Thursday. French has highly realistic drawings and paintings on display at the co-op, including a large and striking representation of the MSU-Riley Center for the Performing Arts.
Sylvia Follis has one of her well-known icons on display there. Her icons are made from all natural materials, including colors made from natural Southeastern soils. Small cards bearing prints of the icons are available at the co-op for $5 each. Original full-size icons are made by commission.
Moise Richards and Nathan Culpepper both have high quality photography on display and for sale at the co-op, and potter Larry Van Dyke sells his popular brightly colored ceramic mushrooms.
One of the most interesting artists with a display at the co-op is Thomas Paquin, who creates lamps, chairs, frames, and the like from concrete and metal. The pieces have sleek, neat lines and a unique, polished feel.
Right now there is a lot of holiday art for sale at the co-op, including Santa Claus ornaments crafted into the shape of every state in the U.S., which are priced at $15 each.
With 44 members, the co-op has art from many other local and regional artists. Pieces range in price from $2.50 painted bookmarks to $1,000 paintings. The co-op is located at 2500 North Hills St., Suite B, behind Squealer’s BBQ and is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information call (601) 693-8356 or meridianartistscoop.org.
