Unseasonable Weather Draws Crowd at First Friday

Editor's Note: Kara Hunt submitted this article in for publication on Saturday morning, however Local Editor Michael Theis missed it, and it went unpublished. Here it is, better late than never.

Art abounded downtown on Friday night as downtown galleries opened their doors to the public to view the many exhibitions. Many places hosted shows featuring several artists, allowing viewers to see a wide variety of pieces. 

LibertyTown hosted it’s annual Student Art Show, where students of LibertyTown’s teachers have a chance to display their work in a show. 

“It’s a great opportunity for the students to show their first pieces and it gives us a chance to show off what the teachers can do,” says Aline Fisher, who works at LibertyTown. 

From the start of the show, LibertyTown was filled with the artists and their families, ranging in age from 5 to 105. 

Elizabeth Seaver, an art teacher at LibertyTown, has been teaching all ages for about 5 years. 

“This show is a lot of fun,” she says. “You get to see everyone showing off to their families.” 

Seaver, who teaches mostly one on one classes, says that teaching the 5-9 year olds is the most fun, especially when they create that first piece of art. 

About 12 teachers and their students’ work were represented in the show. 

The Central Rappahannock Regional Library also had an annual show for First Friday, featuring the works of the students of Johnny Johnson. 

“I call them fellow artists,” says Johnson, “but they call themselves students.” 

Twenty-seven artists have work in the show, and Johnson says at least three of them are past art teachers themselves. 

“It’s more of a camaraderie than a class,” Johnson says. “We’ve had a family atmosphere for almost 15 years.” 

The art can be found on the first floor of the library downtown. 

Art First Gallery welcomed the new year with an opening reception to their All-Member Show, where over thirty artists participated. 

“I just love our hanging committee,” says artist Robyn Ryan, “there’s over 30 different genres here and it always looks good.” 

Ryan has her own paintings hanging in the gallery, and this month they are all about horses. 

“I think they’re magical animals,” she says. “They’re such powerful, huge creatures, but they have a soft and gentle spirit. I’ve always been in awe of them.”

Brush Strokes Gallery also featured a show with all of their members. This month, the gallery concentrated on the inspiration behind each piece. Be sure to check out the captions underneath the pictures to see how the art came alive in the artist’s mind. 

All shows run through the end of January. Take advantage of the warm weather to check out all of the new art downtown.