LabourLove Turns 1 – New Show “Wild Horses” by Kelly Dew; NC Harm Coalition Art Show

jpelphrey91 — Mon, 10 May 2010 18:55:42 +0000

Friday, May 14th @ 6:00 pm – 9 pm and all day on the 15th

TightRope Walker – work inspired by sex, drugs, and genderbending

The underbelly of our community is sometimes difficult to look at. We know people struggle with addiction. They’re on the street, in our neighborhoods (yes, even in the nice suburban ones,) and sometimes living under our own roofs. This group exhibition curated by the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition includes pieces by the people who have been helped by this incredible organization.

The NCHRC deals directly with clients who want make a better life for themselves, but struggle to make the transition. They need help to fund and build a movement that will make clean needle exchanges which slow the spread of viral infections and diseases in NC a reality. The NCHRC is labourlove in action. Please come out and support them with your donations.

Friday, May 21st @ 6:00 pm – 9 pm

LabourLove Continues to Grow as it Celebrates One Year at Golden Belt in Downtown Durham

When: May 21,2010 from 6pm-9pm; Exhibition will run from May 21st – July 15th.

Where: LabourLove Gallery @ Golden Belt, 807 E Main St., Durham NC

What: One Year Birthday Celebration for LLG & Opening of “Wild Horses” by Kelly Dew

Who: Everyone – Open to the public

Why: Because making it through the first year with a small business is a major milestone. Doing it with an art gallery in today’s economic climate is a miracle!

Contact: John Pelphrey – 919.357-8375 or john@labourlove.com

The dream that began in May 2009 to grow the visibility of emerging artists in the Triangle has been an up-hill battle to find financial stability for LabourLove Gallery. We’re happy to share that sales are steadily improving even in a tough economic climate, and the gallery is continuing to grow. John Pelphrey and Kelly Dew, the husband/wife team behind the space, admit to struggles, but we’re living proof that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger.

LabourLove started with a mix of original art, limited edition prints and t-shirts, and has added art classes, web design, large format printing, event space rental, and creativity workshops and consulting to its list of services. The additional services were developed to provide revenue to support the art in the gallery. The launch of the creativity workshops in the summer will take the LabourLove ideal of using the arts as a business strategy to local companies to help businesses build creative capital with their existing workforce. If you think you’re company might benefit from a little right brain exercise, call us at 919-373-4451 to learn how to actually “think outside of the proverbial box” and not just talk about it.

Highlights of the 1st Year include:

Timothy Geithner, US Secretary of the Treasury, visited LabourLove as part of a small business tour of the Triangle.
Featured on “The State of Things with Frank Stasio” on WUNC as part of the series Money Matters.
US Senate candidate Ken Lewis made his formal announcement to Durham for his plans to capture the democratic nomination for the 2010 election. Unfortunately, big money won out over big ideas in the election, but LabourLove was honored to be part of the campaign.
Had our first profitable month in business in March 2010!
Met a ton of amazing people. So, many new friends we can’t begin to count.

Painting by Kelly Dew

“Wild Horses” by Kelly Dew

We get asked, “Is this your work?” every day by visitors to LabourLove. We thought the one year show would be a perfect time to shine the light back on co-owner/curator Kelly Dew’s personal artwork.

Kelly’s fascination with horses started at a young age when she and her cousins tried to wrangle their strong headed family horse, Tinkerbell. She now views her work much like a thoroughbred waiting to break from the gate at the start of a race. Kelly plans the paintings in her head sometimes months in advance, and then she’s off and running once the paint meets the canvas. She prefers to work quickly with a clear deadline in her sight. Paintings are usually finished in one sitting allowing her to stay in the moment with each piece. Dew says, “Horses allow me the freedom to just let go and paint without thinking or dwelling on the details. These paintings are about capturing the excitement I had as a kid trying to ride Tinkerbell at my grandfather’s house.”

The show will benefit the North Carolina Therapeutic Riding Center with 25% of original artwork sales on opening weekend. The NCTRC improves the lives of children through equine-assisted therapeutic programs. Kelly will exhibit a series of horse paintings based on photos taken from the NCTRC pastures in Mebane, NC. Learn more about NCTRC at http://www.nctrcriders.org/.

The night will include local home brew master Jason Salemme. In the coming year, Jason plans to start looking for investors to take his Here’s To Brewing Company from the garage to a full scale operation. Here’s To beer has been a staple at our opening receptions for new exhibitions, and always pleases our patrons.

Picture from the North Carolina Therapeutic Riding Center

Clayton Oxford Furniture

Durham’s own sustainable furniture manufacturer Clayton Oxford is coming to LabourLove! Clayton Oxford designs and builds sculptural wooden pieces mixing handcrafted quality with an earth friendly conscience as a member of the Sustainable Furnishings Council. Come see some his newest creatations. Visit www.Clayton Oxford.com for a preview.

Thank you to everyone who is on this email list. You are our greatest support and inspiration.

Please forward this email to your friends and family. We want this celebration to be fun for all!

Luke Miller Buchanan

jpelphrey91 — Mon, 27 Jul 2009 06:04:21 +0000

[sspdc content=3]

Kelly Dew – Nature

jpelphrey91 — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 22:28:39 +0000

[sspdc content=34]

Please call LabourLove @ (919) 373-4451 if are interested in learning more about Kelly, or to inquire about purchasing an original piece of artwork.

Kelly attended the prestigious School of the Art Institure of Chicago where she studied painting in the fine arts program. She is the owner of LabourLove Art Gallery in Downtown Durham, NC where she is the curator and arts director.

LabourLove Art Gallery-Durham North Carolina » Durham