The Greenville County Museum of Art

For such a small town, Greenville has a lot of big city attractions. In addition to the culinary scene, places like Greenville Zoo and the Children’s Museum, our town is also a diverse and vibrant cultural scene. One of the constants through the never-ending parade of operas, theatre presentations, modern music acts, etc. is the Greenville County Museum of Art. In addition to being nationally recognized for the world’s largest public collection of watercolors by artist Andrew Wyeth, the GCMA’s acclaimed Southern Collection traverses American art history through works with ties to the South, including a collection of paintings and prints by contemporary artist Jasper Johns. Admission – free, though please note that photography is not allowed in the museum.

During my parents’ visit to Greenville I dragged them to the museum for “Family Art Adventure,” the monthly activity that features an exploration of one of the exhibits in the museum followed by a hands-on art activity. The January edition highlighted the prints by Jasper Johns, and afterwards we trooped downstairs to try our hand at monoprint printmaking.

Although the activity is recommended for ages 8 and over, it is valuable for younger children as well. Lauris ran a little short on patience during the exploration of the exhibit and needed some extra assistance with the printmaking, but learned a new art form and brought home some quality work to show for it. The endeavor is led by an arts educator, and extra hands are on deck to help with any questions or to offer assistance.

photo credit goes to my dad

After the activity we headed back upstairs to view the remainder of the exhibits, including David Drake: Potter and Poet of Edgefield District. This exhibit runs just through the 19^th, so if you have the chance to visit in the next couple of days you’ll find it worth the trip. An enslaved African-American who worked as a “turner” in several pottery manufacturing facilities in South Carolina’s Edgefield District, David Drake learned to read and write, inscribing original poems on many of the pots he created.

Source: here

Museum-touring energy levels ran out, and we were soon on our way back home. The next “art adventure” is on February 16^th, and we’ll be keeping an eye out to see what GCMA has in store for us next.

The fountain across the street from the museum feeling the effects of recent temperatures