The unseen work
Wednesday, Aug. 5 — Every piece has a rough draft.
This week’s Sketchbook stories go looking for those versions – the work that happens before the reveal.
At the High Museum, curator Anni Pullagura built the new “Paper Trees” exhibit around practice sketches – the tree studies artists made to train their hands and eyes. It’s a show about process as much as it’s about trees, and several of the works have never been on public view before – reason enough to see them before the run ends next February.
At Auburn Avenue Research Library, “The World(s) She Made” takes the same idea through a life. The new exhibit draws from decades of civil rights activist and attorney Kathleen Cleaver’s personal photographs, patiently catalogued by an Atlanta-based team inside her home. It’s a rare look at the private life behind a very public icon.
And at Bellwood Coffee in Grant Park, a new mural honoring WSB-TV’s Jovita Moore is proof that process can mean repair. Artist Tommy Bronx repainted it after backlash over the original’s removal, this time working alongside Moore’s children, Shelby and Josh Griffith, to get it right – a reminder that public art comes with a responsibility to the community that claims it.
A sketchbook, a photo archive, a collaborative conversation – all doing the work before anyone else sees it.
What’s ripe for revisiting in your life?
—Sherri Daye Scott
Trees as teachers
🌳 “Paper Trees” at the High Museum of Art moves across centuries and mediums, from 19th-century etchings to a cherry burl sculpture, all circling one question: how do artists learn to translate nature onto a page?
🖊️ See what the artists learned.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime
SPONSORED BY THE HIGH MUSEUM
🎨 You’ve seen Amy Sherald’s iconic portrait of Michelle Obama. Now, her largest exhibition to date comes to Atlanta, featuring rarely seen paintings and monumental portraits spanning nearly two decades.
Amy Sherald: American Sublime is now open, bringing one of the leading artists of her generation back to Georgia. Secure your tickets before it’s gone.
Can only make it in the evening? We’ve got you covered. The show stays open after hours every Friday. Grab a drink, snag an exclusive exhibition poster, and explore the galleries at your leisure.
Memories of a movement
✊🏽 “The World(s) She Made” at Auburn Avenue Research Library gathers decades of Kathleen Cleaver’s personal photographs, including a hand-assembled album she began in the 1980s and never stopped revising.
A new honor
🌼 Atlanta artist Tommy Bronx repainted his 2021 tribute to WSB-TV anchor Jovita Moore after the original was painted over during renovations – this time working with her family on a new design for Bellwood Coffee in Grant Park.
📺 Read about the revived mural.
Art Happenings
📜 The Craft of Paper: Contemporary Takes on Tradition Opening | Aug. 7 | Robert C. Williams Museum of Papermaking.
🧵 Beginning Free Motion Quilting | 10 a.m.-4 p.m., Aug. 7 | Southwest Arts Center (pictured).
📚 Summer School for Artists | 10 a.m., Aug. 8 | The Supermarket.
🗣️ Locals Only Artist Talk | 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m., Aug. 8 | ABV Gallery.
🖌️ Diana Toma’s Acrylic Painting with Watercolor | 10 a.m., Aug. 11 | Abernathy Arts Center.
Post of the Week
🧩 Faceless, but not formless.
@Contrapunto, the Latin American artist collective, spotlights Cuban-born, Atlanta-based @WilayMendezPaez‘s latest work – a collage of faceless figures pieced together from scraps.
🖋️ Today’s Sketchbook was edited by Julie E. Bloemeke.
