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Eight artists to show array during HAAC display
Marjett Schille Gifts from the Sea
Liberty County High School art teacher Marjett Schille portrays natures beauty with paintings such as Daybreak Dancers and Gifts from the Sea. - photo by Danielle Hipps

If you’re going

• WHAT: Hinesville Area Arts Council’s December display “Eight Reflections”

• WHEN: 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Nov. 29-Dec. 21; opening reception is 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 29

• WHERE: 102 Commerce St. in Hinesville

The Hinesville Area Arts Council’s December display will offer a visual feast of classic and abstract art from eight creative minds from the region.

“Eight Reflections” opens Thursday and will run through Dec. 21, with daytime gallery hours 10 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Thursday.

The council will host an opening reception from 5:30-7 p.m. Thursday in honor of the exhibitors and their estimated 70 works.

Liberty County High School art teacher Marjett Schille is among the exhibitors, and she is joined by Jeannine Cook, Judith Claire Hughes, Elizabeth Lake, Samantha Ann Lake, Mike Lewis, Marquita “Kita” Macon and Candy Schille.

Each exhibitor was asked to interpret the meaning of “reflections” in his or her own way, Marjett Schille said.

“These ways range from contemplation and exploration of nature (Marjett Schille, Cook, Hughes and Macon) to emphasis on beautiful design, color and texture (in photography and batik—Samantha Lake and Lewis), through portraiture with a psychological component in the work of Elizabeth Lake and Macon, and an autobiographical bent with nods to literature in the work of Candy Schille,” she added.

There also is a family element to the work. Candy and Marjett Schille are sisters, and Mike Lewis is Marjett Schille’s husband. Elizabeth Lake and Samantha Ann Lake are mother- and daughter-in law, and many members of the group have participated in various artists’ residencies on Georgia’s barrier islands, Marjett Schille said.

Macon is a member of the Oil Painters of America, the Pastel Society of America and the Portrait Society of America. She teaches classes at the Kita Studio in Jesup.

Macon, who describes her own work as classical, said she hopes exhibition visitors leave the show with a greater appreciation for different forms of fine arts.

Hughes and Elizabeth Lake also have trained under Macon. Hughes, a retired retail manager who lives in Ludowici, said her art foundation is rooted in drawing, painting and design classes at Hayward College in California.

“I’m like the interior designer who did not get a degree in interior design,” Hughes said with a laugh. Her eight featured works add an abstract element, as she works from photographs to emphasize abstract elements.

“Every one of us, I think, when you go into it, we’re all really creative artists from day one,” Hughes said. “Every one of the artists that are featured are extraordinary, and every one of their talents began early on — they all started early in life. It’s kind-of like in your DNA.”

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