Henderson Arts & Culture

05/08/2023

I’ve been teaching youth art classes at the Aycock Recreation Center Saturday mornings. Only 2 Saturdays left!

02/01/2023

🎶 Come with me and you'll be
In a world of pure imagination 🎶

🍭 Treat your students to a field trip performance of their imagination! We’re pleased to announce that our McGregor Children’s Theatre Production of “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory” will offer Two Daytime Student Performances!

🍫 Friday, March 3 • 8:45am & 12noon

🍬 Directed by Jo Ellen Nowell, the show is appropriate for all ages and runs approximately 65 minutes. Click the link below for the Field Trip Form and more information ⬇️.

https://www.mcgregorhall.org/charlie-field-trip-registration

12/09/2022

I just realized I hadn’t posted the finished window mural I did for the Henderson Chamber of Commerce. I did this over the course of two evenings after work last week. Tag this page if you take pictures of yourself in front of it!

11/28/2022

I’m working on a holiday window painting for the Henderson-Vance Chamber of Commerce 😊

Thank you to local artist, Amanda Barberio Blanchard for creating a winter holiday scene on our windows at the Henderson-Vance County Chamber of Commerce. We will keep you posted on her progress and invite you to bring your families downtown to take a picture in front of it.

11/15/2022

I wanted to share with you something I was privileged to participate in last week. Before I do, I want to get your thoughts on a Sketchup Saturday. It’ll be cold, so I want to shoot for Sadie’s for coffee and drawing. Details TBD.

I was invited to be interviewed about my experience with my AFA program at the community college I received it from. My answers were to be filmed, as well as action of me doing a drawing. The purpose is to have a collection of interviews of top alumni in each field of study for incoming students.

I talked about how the instructors gave me confidence and taught me how to solve puzzles. I even mentioned about how I like to create difficulties to solve because I have to put so much more into the piece. They were interested in how I’ve been able to use my experience with the AFA program in my career. I think they were surprised by all that I’ve done and do.

When it came to the drawing, I decided on a white charcoal portrait on black paper as it’s one of the most dramatic to watch come to life. I told them that people love to watch drawings come to life; that it’s a form of performance art. I drew the drawing here in 15 minutes. The person filming stood with their jaw on the floor. I forgot how much of an impact these drawings have. Yep, I chose the right medium for the interview.

11/08/2022

Since August until this past weekend, I had the privilege to be involved with the production of the Little Mermaid at McGregor Hall Performing Arts Center. I’m the fish in the photo on the left in red and purple. I crocheted my own fish head hat, which one theater-goer said looked like an elf hat with eyes (they’re not wrong!). I was also the chef with the black eye. That was an inside joke for my character. It looked pretty brutal up close!

I always said the experience I had playing the ostrich in Peter Pan in the 1980s was probably my favorite theater experience. Little Mermaid blew that experience out of the water! Everyone was a joy to work with, Mark Hopper made his vision very clear and executed it perfectly as the director with the wonderful help of Sharon Hopper as co-director, the tech and costume crew and musicians worked to solidify the magic and experience, and having a wonderful theater to work in was a treat! The one part everyone had to watch every night was the when Eric fell into the water. No matter how many times we saw it, we silently stood in the wings amazed. I cannot wait to see the entire show!

One of the things that drew me back to Henderson was the possibility of being involved with the local plays again. Most of my cherished memories of Henderson are of all the plays I’ve been involved with, beginning with the King and I in 1984. Little Mermaid felt like a grand welcome home!

So, when are the next tryouts?

11/08/2022

Henderson is quickly becoming a welcoming home for small businesses, with a few up-and-coming businesses to kick off the downtown's revitalization. The city has made a concerted effort to restore downtown and attract new businesses, and the results are starting to show with a variety of activities a...

11/08/2022

Ariel or Sebastian or Flounder or King Triton may not have said it in so many words, but Victoria Huggins did: The story of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” is about pursuing your dreams, no matter what. And in a way, that’s exactly what a stalwart group of local leaders did to make McGregor Ha...

11/04/2022

10/29/2022

Sebastian! 🦀

10/28/2022