Unique Art, No Bones About It

Jeff Prisant takes animal bones and shells and makes them into one-of-a-kind art.

Horse teeth. A snapping turtle's shell. Deer antlers. These may seem like things you'd prefer to stay away from, but artist Jeff Prisant can repurpose them into cool art. Prisant, studio assistant at the East Town Gallery- Butterfly House Studio in Stone Mountain Village, cleans up the bony remains -- which people often find for him -- and creates sculptures out of them. Prisant, who grew up in Albany, Ga., said these organic pieces have "always fascinated me" and isn't afraid of things that a squeamish person might consider creepy. The Albany, Ga. native has owned a variety of snakes, including a nine-foot-long boa constrictor at one point. Creating these sculptures isn't his only talent. Prisant also makes intricate and one-of-a-kind …

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Leslie Johnson

10:46 am on Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Thanks Rhee! I can't wait to see what Jeff comes up with next!   more ›

Hanging Art From a Clothesline

Meet the Owner: Les Scarborough of Clothesline Art talks with Patch about his new venture.

Clothesline Art and Fine Art Treasures isn’t your average gallery. Owned and operated by photographer Les Scarborough, Stone Mountain Village’s newest art gallery features artwork from residents in Park Springs, a local retirement community where he was living with his wife for five years. And even though some art is framed and hung traditionally, many works are unframed and instead pinned to a string lining the walls. This clothesline, in addition to Scarborough’s “digital clothesline,” allows him to order different sizes and canvases for whatever art the customers favors. This week, Patch talks with Scarborough about his new venture. Patch: Where did the Clothesline style come from? Les Scarborough: Many years ago, there was a lady in …

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Leslie Johnson

5:45 pm on Friday, May 4, 2012

Thanks for your comment, Paula!   more ›

Stone Mountain Artist Explores Contradictions in Human Nature

Clay sculptures reflect the metamorphosis of life.

When you walk into Butterfly House Studio in downtown Stone Mountain it’s apparent that the artist behind the work, Susan Ryles, is open to change. A brief tour of her studio displays an amazing variety of clay sculptures, each with its own story. Colorful necklaces with ceramic pendants, jewel-toned, shapely altars, a ceramic pair of beaters, a prickly sea-green wall sconce that looks as if it was just dredged from the sea — each original, hand-built and unique. “I am interested in exploring the psychology of the self, my own aging process, gender roles and expectations, as well as the social psychology of politics and religion,” Ryles writes in her artist statement. The butterfly, a symbol for metamorphosis with its life cycle from …

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Art Beat

Angela Williams Gives to Community Through Art

Teaching kids, adults and groups keeps her art alive.

Angela Williams likes connecting with people through her art. Whether she’s working with young students or a couple attending date nights in the studio, reaching out to others is essential to her creativity. Williams, who owns Angelic Art Studio, is part of the SMart program in the city of Stone Mountain, created to give the arts a bigger presence in the city while giving artists an opportunity to launch their own businesses. The city leases and furnishes the artists with studio spaces for a limited time, while the artists provide supplies, pay a nominal fee for rent, attend business and art classes and pay the city 30 percent commission on any work sold.  The art micro-enterprise program is a part of an economic revitalization partnership…

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Stone Mountain Churches Sponsor Community Mural

Two local churches are asking children in the community to help paint a wall mural for Stone Mountain city.

You’ve seen community murals in other cities -- Atlanta, Chicago, and Nashville, the list goes on. Now, two local churches in Stone Mountain have pooled resources to paint a mural entitled “Main Street.”  Well-known artists have stepped forward to sketch the work of art and provide the finishing touches. Stone Mountain First United Methodist and Stone Mountain First Baptist Churches invite the community’s children to participate in this beautification project. Two local artists, Olivia Thomason, an illustrator and artist known for southern folk art, and Susan Coletti will sketch the Main Street Mural. “I live in Stone Mountain so I’m naturally interested in helping with our town beautification” says Thomason. “This is one way in which I …

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Great Escape

Great Escape: Art Appreciation 101

To appreciate art, sometimes you really only need to take a few extra minutes to understand the artist and her inspiration.

A few weekends ago I had the honor of helping my friend Liza promote her art at the Altanta Baby and Child Expo.  In addition to children’s murals, she plaster casts a pregnant mom’s belly and then adds texture and custom painting to create a piece of art that is totally unique.  What I discovered as I helped promote her craft, is that beauty is truly in the eye of the beholder.  Meaning, moms either saw the beauty in a one-of-a-kind art piece or simply did not.  But beheld or not, what they all appreciated was the splendid detail and emotion in the art. Honestly, I admit I did not fully understand her art until that day.  I had not taken the time to feel the intricate textures, read the messages or learn about why the moms chose different…

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Granite Workers on Main Street

Artist John Thigpen explains his sculpture on Main Street.

The sculpture "Granite Workers" that was erected this year in downtown Stone Mountain is the city's first piece of public art. It's also artist John Thigpen's first permanent public work. Though he'd never done anything like it before, when Thigpen received an e-mail from ART Station with a call for artists for the Main Street project, he decided to give it a go, he said. "I was already researching a lot of 1800s things," he said. "I'm a theatrical person originally, but it's an interesting project because I like historical research." Thigpen creates theatre and movie sets, designs that have a temporary life span. Although he's crafted some ceramic sculptures, including one recently exhibited at the U.S. Botanic Garden in Washington, D.C…

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