Friday, November 10 @ 5pm
 Center for the Arts | 19 E 4th St
 Free to the public!
 Exhibitions will be on display through Saturday, December 2.

 Kelly McLendon has been working with clay since 1993 after being introduced to the medium while pursuing her degree in Fine Art Photography at The University of Florida.

“My background in photography has greatly influenced my clay work. But it is my love of functional art and maintaining some level of sanity in my life that has kept my hands dirty for the last 30 years. I like to explore the ethereal, the surreal, the whimsical line, and balance in form and design. Pushing the clay to “feel good” when you hold it. And create something that engages the viewer
in some form or fashion.

This body of work focuses on relationships, connection, disconnection, and emotional vulnerability. Chasing stars is the thing that is just beyond your reach but it’s so enticing that you
go after it anyway. I love that. What can I say about mermaids; they are mythical, magical, strong, mysterious creatures, representative of ourselves. And Stormy Seas represents one’s challenges, bumps in the road, life’s journey. All of these pieces were made with these aspects in mind.”

 Intuitive artist Abi Loden began creating from a very young age, and later learned to embrace her own journey with her works rather than having her talents be pleasing to its viewers:

“I had always found myself outcast and creating art was a way to receive positive attention. Of course, as I grew as an artist it became more about the art than the people I wished to impress.

This is my soul on display, to say the least. My abstract fractal expressionist work is a tour through the senses. Their messiness and varying degrees of expression are a display of the human condition.”