Kentuck Art Night

Kentuck Art Center is located in Historic Downtown Northport, Alabama. A 10-minute drive from UA’s campus, you can find tons of opportunities to interact with art and culture. From workshops to summer camps, there are so many ways to embrace art through Kentuck. This spotlight is focusing on Art Night, which is a monthly free event at the Museum Gallery, which is located at 530 Main Avenue in Northport. 

Tin Love is a mixed media piece by “Missionary” Mary Proctor. This piece was featured at Kentuck’s Art Night. Mary Proctor is originally from Florida and began painting in the 1990’s after a house fire killed 3 of her family members. After this traumatic event, Mary looked and prayed for guidance on how to more forward, and she found painting. 

This intricate piece is called the Tornado Quilt. By Yvonne Wells, this piece is mixed media on fiber, coming together to create a large quilt. Wells created this with found debris from the 2011 tornado that hit Tuscaloosa County, hence the name Tornado Quilt. 

Yvonne Wells is a Tuscaloosa native who was a public school teacher for most of her adult life. In 1979, she made her first quilt, with techniques learned from her mother, who also made quilts. In a recent interview Yvonne explains, “What my head sees, my heart feels, my hand creates.” Her quilts express the way she sees life and her own personal experiences. 

This exhibit features the work of Larry Allen, a Birmingham native who has been a working artist for 35 years. His featured pieces are made of clay thrown on a wheel and is created using a technique called sgraffito. Sgraffito is a method where designs are carved into hard clay covered with a colored slip. Most of his pieces are inspired by Native American and African art, with bright colors and intricate designs. Some of his pieces have been featured in Marvel’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, which I thought was really cool.