Donald Munro Review, April 2022

Two of the three featured segments focus on two specific ArtHop shows:

SCARAB CREATIVE ARTS

In a wide-ranging interview,

Kia Cotton — the owner of Art Lab 559 and an instructor at Scarab — covers a lot of territory, including a history of Scarab Creative Arts. Owner Maggie Courtis kept the name of the old Scarab gallery and did a complete renovation and expanded the number of artists and media presented. There are two major events happening at the May ArtHop:

• Marina Holladay, another of the gallery members, is a native of Kyiv, Ukraine, and has been working these past few months on art-related fundraisers to support humanitarian efforts in her country. In April, Holladay sold ceramic jewelry she painted blue and yellow, the colors of Ukraine, and raised more than $5,000 in the process. For May, she’s expanded the concept. Artists donated original works and prints for a silent auction that will be held during ArtHop proper. Among the donations are works by Robert Weibel, an original plein air oil painting by Andy Gonzales, a ceramic vase by Heather Hubbard, wall hangings byDawn Hart, and much more.

• Corky Normart is featured artist for the month of May at the gallery. He’ll be featuring both old and new work. Here’s a studio-tour and interview I did with him in 2021:

• Kia Cotton spends some time in the segment talking about Art Lab 559and what it’s like to teach art to kids.