Art, Craft Collide in Carrboro Art Gallery

The crafts featured are tasteful and inspired and go beyond the standard Pier 1 Imports fare.

"It's very hard to find places in the community where three-dimensional artwork can be shown," said Sherri Ontjes, owner and proprietor of the gallery. "It's nice to give people options in their art."

The exhibition, an opportunity to view and buy unique crafts from artists all over the state, has been a recurring event at the gallery since 1989.

According to Ontjes, the gallery was opened with local artists in mind.

"People are very supportive of the arts community in Chapel Hill and Carrboro," Ontjes said. "We're showing good stuff from good people."

Among the items on display are stylized bird feeders, Christmas ornaments made of okra pods and oyster shells, woven silks and acrylic paintings.

Many of these crafts require extensive preparation and come from artists of varied and sometimes unexpected backgrounds.

Alexandra O'Connor, a Durham acrylics artist who specializes in portraying animals, has seen her work featured at the gallery for the past year.

"Creating an acrylic painting is a process of several months of observation and perspective," O'Connor said.

"I have a starting process, then I leave the work alone for while and come back to it ... to get a new perspective."

O'Connor comes from an eclectic artistic background. She graduated as an art major from Meredith College with strong training in African art, an aesthetic that she says figures prominently in her work.

"I feel an affinity for the spirituality present in African art," O'Connor said. "I also feel an affinity for animals, and since African art often features masks of animals, I feel a link. I try to remain 'consciously naive' and spontaneous in my work."

Ontjes has been an ardent supporter of local arts in one form or another. She taught art and served as an art supervisor at a number of Chapel Hill public schools.

Ontjes said "feeling like you're doing some good," is her reason for operating her gallery for sake of the art community. "People make a living this way."

The N.C. Arts Gallery is located at 407 W. Weaver St. in Carrboro. The gallery's hours of business are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Saturday and 1 p.m. to 4.p.m. Sunday. The exhibition will end Jan. 31.

The Arts & Entertainment Editor can be reached at artsdesk@unc.edu.