SAAC welcomes local artists Kelly Campbell and Julia Slaughter and their exhibition “Stolen Moments” to the Lobby Gallery October 3-31. There will be an artist’s reception on Thursday, October 6 from 5:30pm-7:00pm.
With the exception of “Roughnecks & Roustabouts” in 2017, much of Kelly Campbell’s previous work was inspired by travel. Lucky enough to have had a father who had a patriot’s desire to “see the country”, Kelly lived a fairly well traveled life. Born in Rankin, Texas, she also lived in Abbeville, Louisiana, before her family moved for a brief time to Smackover and then finally to Norphlet, Arkansas, when she was six.
She has traveled to all three US coasts, Canada, the states west of the Mississippi River (with the exceptions of Minnesota and Iowa), and the states south of the Mason Dixon Line. As an adult, Kelly cruised to Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Honduras, Belize, and Cozumel, where she traveled to Tulum and saw the ancient Mayan Ruins. She spent nine days a Burning Man in 2011 and again in 2012. For her 60th birthday, she spent a week in the Florida Keys, where she had never been before,
Julia Slaughter grew up in the northwest where she enjoyed year-round outdoor sports. From an early age, she loved art projects and drawing. In grade school she won an award for a watercolor painting of a mountain lion resting in a tree. The painting was stolen from the venue, and because of that soul-crushing incident, she vowed to paint only for the award of fun and pleasure. At fifteen, Julia spotted the most beautiful, black haired (perfectly coiffed!) young man in a purple and white letter jacket and Levi 401 button fly jeans walking down one of the main streets in her hometown. The two dated all through high school, during which her painting was limited to “Go, Team, Go!” signs and working on backdrops for school dances.
A year older than Julia, Boyfriend left for university clearly focused on earning a degree in Chemical Engineering. Her path clarified senior year after being knocked silly on the second play in a powder puff football game, when she was forced to leave her position as nose gurad and sadly realized professional sports were not in her future. She enrolled in college that next falll as an art major where she studied metalsmithing, pottery, and figure drawing. After graduation, realizing he’d never get the chance to meet, let alone woo, either Stevie Nicks or Olivia Newton-John, Chuck married Julia.
Five children kept them busy for years, and when the parenting duties dwindled, they decided to find a common activity, so they picked up paintbrushes. Chuck started to work on the exterior of the house, Julia on paper and canvas. Both considered themselve self-taught in their respective fields.
Kelly and Julia became friends fifteen years ago when they both served on the Visual Arts Committee. Both have had solo exhibits at SAAC, and this is their second collaborative effort.
For more information on the exhibition “Stolen Moments” at the South Arkansas Arts Center, please call the SAAC office at 870-862-5474 or visit the website at www.saac-arts.org. SAAC is located at 110 East Fifth Street, El Dorado, Arkansas.