Alison Neighbors from Kemp and Audrey Jeanes from Canton are featured in a new show at the 211 Art Gallery in Athens.

The show is called Colorful Moments and is open until Jan. 1. The students had their fees paid by an anonymous donor.

“Whenever I found out that a donor wanted to reimburse me for my fee, I was shocked and didn’t know how to react,” Jeanes said. “That wasn’t something that anybody has ever done for me. I have been in a few school shows at my alma mater UT-Arlington and was in one gallery show not affiliated with the school. I know there was some donors that covered fees there, but it never happened to me. I was shocked and didn’t know how to react. Whoever it was, thank you so much and September won’t tell me.”

Neighbors said the news of her acceptance has been kept a secret.

“I have not mentioned it to them yet,” Neighbors said. “Audrey and I were talking about you have to sign your work and title you work. You never think it is good starting out so titling it is very difficult. I think as we get more secure in our work, we will be more comfortable in titling our work.”

Jeanes said the feedback on her pieces has been positive so far.

“I posted about it on my Instagram and a lot of my friends at UT-Arlington are happy that I am getting shown at other places,” Jeanes said. “I know my family is very happy for it and I have gotten good feedback and responses from everyone around me.”

Neighbors and Jeanes are members of Studio Arts Instructor September Kirk’s art classes at Trinity Valley Community College this semester.

“I’m proud of both Alison and Audrey! They have worked so hard this semester and to see them accepted in an outside show is exciting,” Kirk said. “One of the gallery’s In-House-Artists, Virginia Reeder, came as a guest speaker as a result of their participation in the show and I’m thankful for the opportunity to build that relationship with the community. That’s what a Community College should strive to do, right?”

Neighbors has one abstract piece in the show, while Jeanes has two pieces from when she was a student at the University of Texas at Arlington.

“They were two drawings that I did back at UT-Arlington, and we had a day in my drawing class where it was pick whatever you see in the room and draw it,” Jeanes said. “I am really into skeletons and facial features. I think that can speak a lot into how we are as people without skin tone. I did these in 30 minutes and a lot of fun doing them.”

For Neighbors, the focus of her painting was acrylic on paper.

“This had been done a little while ago, but I had done a paint pour, which I thought was really interesting to see the flow of the paint,” Neighbors said. “I used that as an inspiration to get the flow of it and expanded it with color.”

The mission of the 211 Gallery is to support, stimulate and encourage artist by providing a display gallery open to the public, provide opportunities to participate in judged art shows and to provide art exhibits and classes. 

They are a 501(c)(3) which is a big reason why Neighbors wanted to see about getting accepted in the show.

“It is exciting because you had to be accepted by a jury,” she said. “I have never been accepted through that process before. The lady at the art gallery (Virginia Reeder) is very helpful. The best thing about this is it is a 501(c)(3) so it is a non-profit. 

They are about educating too and they made the process so easy. They walked you through it and did a demonstration about how to prepare our work for gallery. Not only did I get to present but I had help through the whole process with teaching of how to do that.”

Jeanes said she was looking for a smaller gallery when she decided to take the plunge.

“I had been looking at a few art spaces in Tyler and I had no idea that there was one here in Athens,” Jeanes said. “I thought I would go down and check it out and went before I applied for the show. I told him this would be a good place for me to try and show some work and it is local, community and only 30 minutes away from where I live. I wanted to focus on smaller galleries and not go to the big ones.”

Neighbors and Jeanes both praised Kirk in helping them decide to step into this show.

“September has been very good at teaching techniques,” Neighbors said. “The biggest thing is how to see things in your mind. I think the biggest thing I learned from her is when you are drawing or painting something, you have to stop your brain and say okay this is what a hand look like and just look at the shapes you are drawing. That was amazing to me and I am a Gold Card member being a retired teacher and I decided to come back to school.”

For Jeanes, the decision was hers on her submissions, but Kirk has impacted her in more ways than one.

“It was my choice into what I submitted, but September has had a huge influence on me already. I came here for a year after I graduated high school and took some classes with September,” Jeanes said. “She helped me figure out what I wanted to do in the art world. I would like to teach like September is. She helped me put together things when I applied for UTA and she is helping me as I apply for a master’s program. In terms of more as a person and the business side of art, she has influenced me a ton.”

Neighbors said visiting the gallery before the show and presenting the cards with Jeanes joining in was huge.

“I am thrilled that Audrey joined in. I went and visited the gallery and talked with Virginia about taking the class,” Neighbors said. “She is a retired teacher too so we had a connection. I got cards and presented it to the class and there are so many talented ones in there. Audrey bit and submitted and I am so glad she did that. I hope it encourages the other ones to do that also.”

Jeanes said don’t be scared to submit and see what happens. She has also learned other tips to help her in the future.

“The biggest one is how to present my work. I have never had to frame my work before. I provided the glass and they will put the drawing underneath it,” Jeanes said. “The people at the gallery told me they would show me how to hang and frame them. Definitely, learning how to show my pieces better for showing or getting responses is big for me.

I know it can be scary to submit your stuff and it not be accepted. I would say go for it if you feel like you have a piece that can fit with whatever that gallery is trying to say at the moment.”

The gallery is at 211 North Palestine Street, just around the corner from the Henderson County Courthouse. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday-Saturday.