Art Shows

Intent upon introducing his newest grandchild early to the finer things in our world, the BRC founder transported the infant in a marsupial baby carrier to the opening reception of a seasonal community art exhibit. The juried show was adjucated by a judge from the art department of a St. Louis university. At the awards ceremony, the little tike and his grandfather were delightfully astonished to discover that granddad`s “Ozark Rose Mallow` banjo, which had been quietly entered into the competition, had garnered a colorful Honorable Mention ribbon.

The open back instrument had been hung by the front window of the exhibit hall adjacent to a seaside oil painting and overlooking a nook where a jazz duo softly played background music for the milling patrons.

The Mayor of our fine city and his lovely wife graciously posed for a photo by the banjo with the BRC founder and his dozing grandchild while a fellow musician looked-on.

With Thanksgiving only days away, check-out the below video link for a note of appreciation to a special group of Bluegrass pickers as compiled by a journalism student from a nearby campus.  The BRC workshop wishes all blessings to our faithful readership this holiday of Thanks.

Behind a row of sculptures in a quiet corner of the 58th Annual Boone County Art Show , a “Tiger Burning Bright” banjo patiently hangs inviting the inquisitive eyes of patrons. This feline 5- stringer is named after one of the BRC founder`s  favorite poems written by  William Blake (1757-1827).

Although there were over 200 works on display in the weekend exhibit, a visitor remarked at the opening reception that it was one year ago that a BRC banjo first made its daring initial appearance at this yearly juried show of diverse paintings and other creative works.

Under propitious autumnal skies a few miles away, the quaint village of Arrow Rock held its 49th Annual Heritage Festival. The nostalgic architecture of this sleepy 19th century community served as the movie set for the musical `Adventures of Tom Sawyer` and for scenes in the subsequent `Huckleberry Finn` sequel film.

The BRC founder and his pickin` pals were invited to provide  traditional Missouri music for the festival goers in front of the historic Christian Church built in 1872. In the film adaptation of Mark Twain`s classic novel, this is the church where Tom and Huck show-up alive at their funeral to the astonishment of the mourning congregation.

Although it was an unseasonably balmy Saturday for celebrating the changing colors of the autumn  landscape, Sunday brought overnight thunderstorms introducing surprisingly chilly breezes to our Show-Me state.

Our community  summer art show this year challenged the artists with the theme `Eclipse` to celebrate the complete solar eclipse anticipated on August 21st which will be  fully visualized in the mid Missouri area. Both the BRC founder and his wife successfully entered works into the seasonal exhibit. At the gala opening reception,  a “Solar Moon”  banjo was hung by the main entrance, and patrons initially breezed by it.

In the next room, attendees showed more interest in a  “Moonshot” painting by the BRC founder`s wife (standing far right).

As the evening went on, however, some guests were slowly drawn back to study the `mixed media` banjo. The reception hostess soon reported that a polite `fight` emerged when two potential customers simultaneously wanted to purchase the 5-stringer.

This unexpected conumdrum was mediated when the BRC founder offered the option that he had just finished a `Golden Eagle` banjo which was for sale in his workshop,  and this alternative resolved the cordial contention to everyone`s satisfaction.

A juried art show in our community entitled “Comestible” challenged local artists to fashion works based on a food theme. Initially, the BRC founder misread the title as `Combustible` and worried that a banjo entry might be viewed as potential firewood. After later consulting a dictionary, he learned that `comestible` is defined as meaning `edible` and can be used as a noun or a verb. As a student of Shakespeare in his younger days, the BRC banjo craftsman remembered Duke Orsino opening the play “Twelfth Night” with the stirringly romantic injunction, “If music be the food of love, play on….”. This became an artful link for him to build a 5 stringer with a traditional fleur-de-lise mother of pearl emblem of heraldry on the peg head and majestic pearly crowns of royalty on the fretboard.

When it was finished, this regal banjo was quietly entered into the juried art show under the category of mixed media bearing the title “Music Be The Food Of Love” with hopes that the judge might value the literary connection. Incredibly, the plan worked!

This lone but handsome banjo now boldly hangs in the community art gallery from March 14 until May 5 along side a raft of impressionist paintings of foodstuffs. It must have been the Luck of the Irish.

At the second art show in as many months, the BRC founder is again bravely exhibiting another banjo entered under the `mixed media` category.  His 5 string  “Swallow-Tailed Kite” now hangs among an eclectic assortment of 120 other works representing a wide array artistic endeavors.

Time will tell whether luck and a judge`s ribbon might find this solitary banjo, or if a holiday buyer might purchase it for the upcoming gift-giving Season. Reactions to this 5 string instrument are varied but generally surprisingly positive, probably  because of its novel appearance in this unlikely setting.

One pundit remarked that if there were enough stray banjoists and maverick pickers who dared to push back the frontiers of their humble instrument as a multifaceted object d`art, they should establish a support group to be named “5 Strung-Out.”

If all goes well in this current exhibition, the BRC founder has preliminary plans for a submission to a third art show early next year. In the meantime, the workshop staff  wishes our faithful readership all blessings at Thanksgiving time.

P.S. The `Kite` banjo was purchased by a patron on the evening of the exhibit gala opening.