12 Thursday, September 16, 2010 LIFESTYLES The Crimson White

By Stephanie BrumfieldStaff Reporter

snbrumfield@crimson.ua.edu

A new influx of paintings by the Tuscaloosa and University Women Painters will adorn the otherwise plain walls of the University Medical Center beginning today at 11:30 a.m. The Painters, who swap out their old paintings at the Medical Center with new ones four times a year, have been doing these seasonal exhibits for longer than many of the group members can remember. “I’m not sure when we started doing it, but we do it every year. It’s our way of giv-ing back to the community,” said Dottye Lind, one of the newer members of the group. “Even though our paintings are often for sale, they’re not at the Medical Center. They are there simply to decorate the walls.” For each season’s exhibit, the painters are asked to include at least two current works per artist. Although they sometimes choose works that they created at their own individual studio spaces, they often choose to display works that were created during their weekly meetings. Deborah Hughes, who has been meeting with the paint-ers off-and-on for the last 20 to 25 years, now regularly attends meetings after retir-ing from the University 10 years ago. “That’s really what defines our group,” Hughes said.

“We’re a group of artists that meets together on a regular basis. We paint together, even when the weather is bad.” Despite the fact that they paint together, they don’t paint like each other. “We usually paint at an out-door location, and no one ever sees or paints the same way,” Hughes said. “Someone may sit at the bottom of a hill while someone else sits underneath a tree. Some of us paint with bright colors and are very expressive. Others paint in a more realistic style. We paint whatever is meaningful to us at that time.” Hughes said her style var-ies depending on her mood and audience. She often paints “en plein air,” mean-ing outdoors and from obser-vation. Other times, she does more abstract works, like the ones she will display at the Medical Center. Anne Stickney, another group member and owner of the Renaissance Gallery in downtown Northport, said she typically paints land-scapes “en plein air” but has recently become interested in figure drawing. “I’m getting sick of trees,” she said. “I’ve painted hun-dreds of them.” Dottye Lind will display paintings of butterflies and thunderstorms at the Medical Center in order to reflect the season. This versatility of style among the painters is also reflected in the group’s his-tory. Although originally

By Alex CohenContributing Writer

Honors College students have a lot on their plates. They struggle with a rigorous schedule of tests, homework

and extracurricular activities. They often also struggle with a certain kind of social isola-tion — a disconnect from their fellow Honors College stu-dents. So, from now on, the Honors

College Assembly aims to make things a little easier for them. Tonight at 6 p.m., the HCA will host the first Express Night at Starbucks in the Ferguson Center. At Express Night, Honors

Women Painters decorate Medical Center

a branch of the University Women’s Club, the Painters no longer solely affiliate them-selves with the University. They invite any member of the Tuscaloosa community interested in painting and art to join. Some of the Painters are active in other areas of art, including photography, quilting

and jewelry-making. Some are even professional artists. Other group members, like Stickney, began painting after they retired. One of the members is a retired nurse. Two are retired teachers. One is a woman who does house painting and renovations with her husband. Another used to work at the University in

the computer and technology field. What unites all of them is their love for painting. “You’re meeting with your tribe,” Stickney said. “We painters like to spend time with other painters. We share what we know about art, and we learn from each other. It’s important to remember that painting is a lot like golf — you

can never master it. You’re always learning. And the best way to learn is to spend time with other artists.” The University Women Painters’ Medical Center show will run through mid-December, at which point they will again swap out old paint-ings for new ones and start the process all over again.

HCA offers students chance to ‘espresso’ themselvesCollege students will have a chance to express themselves artistically, as well as relax and enjoy each other’s com-pany. “It’s pretty much an artis-tic social event that hopefully will bring about some dynam-ic conversation,” said Ryan Davis, HCA director of arts awareness. “And, of course, we get to chill out in a coffee shop setting.” There will be 12 six-to-eight minute performance slots for anyone wishing to showcase some talent. Students without the desire to be on stage can grab a mocha and expect to enjoy various forms of artistic expression. “[It] will be an open-mic night for any form of live performance, whether it be music, dance, poetry or prose,” Davis said. “It will also be an opportunity for artists and photographers to display their work.” Express Night will offer a cozy, laid-back venue — per-fect for aspiring artists to ease their way into any scene. “I’ve played music for a while but have never really done a show playing guitar alone,” said Jose Ruiz, a fresh-man majoring in political sci-ence and communications. “I’m excited to get out there and give it a shot.”

Honors College faculty have had artistic events in the planning process for a long time. Davis and those he has worked with have had the idea for Express Night since July. While this night will be dominated by voices and har-monic scales on the stage, the biggest achievement could just be social interaction among the audience. “In the past, the HCA has noticed a little bit of a discon-nect in Honors College among the students,” Davis said. “It’s all very similar to problems other big groups experience. A lot of students just don’t know each other. It’s unfortu-nate considering all the ben-efit that would come with just a little interaction.” Colby Leopard, co-chair of the ‘Express Night’ committee of HCA, also acknowledges the disconnect. “We need to create a moment where we form relationships within HCA,” Leopard said. “If we are more aware of each other, we’ll be that much stronger and that much more successful.” Although the burden of forming friendships falls on every Honors College student, Leopard said he believes fresh-men have the most responsi-bility and the most at stake. “In order for HCA to be

successful, there has to be a large percent of freshmen par-ticipating,” Leopard said. “I personally want to see fresh-men stepping up — not afraid to show an artistic side, not afraid to be on stage. They need to be taking ownership and embracing some leader-ship.” Some freshmen are enthused about the opportu-nity. “It gives us a way to get involved and meet new peo-ple,” Ruiz said. “I’m from Memphis and only know a handful of people down here. Events like this are a way for me to plug in.” Davis, who has been involved in the Tuscaloosa music scene for some time, is no stranger to artistic expres-sion. He said he understands that the arts can play an important role in students’ lives. “One of the goals of the HCA is to create a cultural envi-ronment to complement stu-dents’ academic experience,” Davis said. “Social, artistic events like this one will help forge that identity within the Honors College.” If you are an honors student and wish to perform or sub-mit visual art, e-mail the Arts Awareness Committee at uah-caartsawareness@gmail.com.

Submitted photoFor more than 25 years the Tuscaloosa and University Women Painters have met regularly to create art together.

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