How to go
What: Bella Arte Art by Tameria Rigsby
Where: Bella Vino Wine Merchant & Bar, 495 N. Main St., Springboro
When: May 7-28. Wine reception: 7 p.m. Friday, May 7
Information: (937) 748-3807; www.BellaVino Merchants.com
As a child growing up in Vanceburg, Ky., Tameria Rigsby was quite familiar with rolling hills, the meandering Ohio River, and scenic countryside vistas. Now, as a local artist and Minds in Motion art teacher, she returns to nature again and again as a theme for her artwork. She is showing approximately 20 paintings, pastels and pen and ink drawings at Bella Vino in Springboro for three weeks in May.
“As a wine bar and wine retail store, we try to do a lot to support the Springboro community,” said location manager John Feltz. “As it turns out, one of the owners knows the artist via his daughter’s school. We thought this would be a good way to showcase a local artist.”
Rigsby has lived in Centerville for the past 26 years, but images from her childhood endure. Her pastel works offer scenes from Tight Hollow, one of the last remaining virgin forests in the United States. A large scale oil painting depicts her grandfather’s barn in an idyllic setting. Her interest in art began at a young age.
“My mother was worried about me. All I wanted to do was sit in my room and draw or paint,” Rigsby said. “An artist from our area, Edward Taylor had traveled the world and had artwork hung in the New York Museum of Modern Art. She took my artwork to him when he was visiting a neighbor to see if he would help me.”
Taylor ended up being her mentor over the next six years. She sat in on his art classes at a local art center in Lewis County and received tutoring approximately once a week in his studio. She majored in special education at Morehead State University, and graduated just a few hours shy of a second degree in fine art.
As a professional artist and teacher over the past 20 years, she has received numerous awards, including first place from the National Pen & Ink Society in 2009. She sculpted snowmen for Cross Pointe Center and a large apple for Minds in Motion, both located in Springboro. She has also painted aquatic murals for the Washington Twp. Rec Center. She contributed to a group show during Art at the Trace and has had a solo exhibit at the Affinity Salon in Dayton.
“Drawing and painting is truly a passion for me, and creating art using a fountain pen is the most challenging and rewarding,” Rigsby said. “I feel like I have more time to think while I’m drawing, and I’m more connected to the paper when I draw with my fountain pens.”
Contact contributing arts writer Pamela Dillon at pamdillon@woh.rr.com.
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