The upcoming Northwest Mississippi Community College exhibition “Fortunes Drawn” will feature works from regional artists based on inspiration they received from fortunes drawn from fortune cookies or other bits of wisdom. The exhibition will run Feb. 2-27 at the Northwest Art Gallery on the Senatobia campus. An opening reception will be held from 6-8 p.m. on Monday, Feb. 2.

Sharon Williams, exhibition chair for the Chimneyville Weavers and Spinners Guild, is coordinating the exhibition. “We came up with the idea for this theme through a suggestion of Linda Weghorst, a fiber artist from Memphis. A group of us were eating at a Chinese restaurant and comments were being made about the fortunes we drew from our fortune cookies. Linda suggested that the theme of this year’s exhibition be ‘Fortunes Drawn’,” Williams said.

Williams, who holds art degrees from Northwest and the Memphis College of Art, has been in charge of these exhibitions for the past 11 years.
“I coordinate annual exhibitions for our guild to be shown at Northwest and then move on to other venues to educate the public on fiber arts. I am also a member of the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi and the state representative for the Handweavers Guild of America,”
she said.

According to Williams, the exhibitions started out with just the Chimneyville group, but have since added fiber work by members of the Memphis Guild of Handloom Weavers, Dyed in the Wool Guild, Ocean Springs, Miss. and the Craftsmen’s Guild of Mississippi. “Also, paintings, clay and wood creations by other area artists have added new elements to the exhibitions. These exhibitions are my way of giving back the community as well as fulfilling the public education requirements for the different guilds I belong to,” Williams said.

A variety of pieces will be on display during the exhibition. A woven afghan by Hazel Howell, an 89-year old artist from Canton, a painting by Senatobia artist Jean Bennett, a handmade sweater by Jane Dollar of Starkville, an inlaid wooden tray by John Schneider of Bartlett, Tenn.
and a clay piece by Northwest alumnus Dale Baucum of Memphis are among the items that will be on display. Pieces by Northwest art instructors Lawayne House, Ashley Chavis and Eunika Rogers will also be a part of the exhibition.

Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and admission is free.

The Northwest Mississippi Community College Fine Arts Division offers classes in the fundamentals of Drawing; Painting; Ceramics; Art History; and Computer Graphics for individuals seeking opportunities for a career in the arts or for personal enrichment.

For more information, contact Art Chair Lawayne House at 662-562-3399 or e-mail lhouse@northwestms.edu.

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