Mixed media artist Kerri Woodard carefully separates clear liquid resin into a series of plastic cups before adding colored pigments in warm and cool hues of turquoise and bronze along with bright white and even a neon yellow glow-in-the dark powder.
A small but rapt audience watches her every move as she layers the colors before pouring them onto a round surface and firing them with a handheld torch. “Ooohs” and “aaahs” follow as her creation begins to harden into a glossy design with dreamy waves of swirled paint.
Watching art being created up close is all part of the experience at Norfolk’s d’Art Center, where a resident community of creatives has been engaging with the public in real time for more than 30 years. At a special “Sip & Pour” media event on Feb. 26, visitors had the opportunity to watch demos by visual artists like Woodard and others as well as participate in hands-on paint-pouring projects.
Guests also enjoyed appetizers and liquid libations while checking out In Pursuit II, D’Art Center’s Second Annual Virginia College and University Student Art Exhibit. Other upcoming exhibits at d’Art include Persistence II: A National All Women’s Exhibition Celebrating 2020, The Year of the Woman, opening March 9, and Eccentric: A National Exhibition of Surreal Artworks and Unconventional Materials, opening April 7.
d'Art Center is a nonprofit with a mission to provide the community with “unique opportunities to watch, create, learn and enjoy work from diverse artists in an interactive environment” and has been located at its current home in the NEON District across from the Chrysler Museum of Art since 2016.
d’Art Center is open to the public Monday through Saturday from 10 a.m.–5 p.m. For more information about exhibits, classes and special events, visit d-ArtCenter.org.
Leona Baker
Leona Baker is the former Editor-in-Chief of Coastal Virginia Magazine. She is a writer, creative, communications professional, food freak, news junkie, nature and travel lover and mom. She holds a degree in English from James Madison University and a degree in Dance & Choreography from Virginia Commonwealth University. She previously served as Senior Copywriter for Spark 451, Director of Marketing & Communications at Virginia Wesleyan University, and Senior Editor of Port Folio Weekly.
