Studio Group Opens Fall Show Thursday Night

has been making and exhibiting art in Athens for 30 years. They have moved their bi-annual shows from private homes to larger spaces like the Lyndon House.

Tonight, there's a reception and opening exhibition at ATHICA on Tracy Street, from 5 to 9 p.m. In addition to work by long-time members such as Annette Hatton and Anna Eidsvik, you'll see work by new members: paintings by Mary Porter, quilt paintings by Elizabeth Barton and weavings by Bonnie Montgomery.

Mary Porter has long been known for her scenes of everyday life and objects. Toasters, chairs, beds, a sink full of dishes, a messy kitchen--all were portrayed in loving detail in her bright paintings. Late, Porter has been chronicling the life in her Boulevard neighborhood by doing portraits of many of the houses she finds on her walks. 

A native of York, England, Elizabeth Barton grew up in a convent school. She remembers her favorite times there, when the nuns read stories to the girls bent over their embroidery. She moved to Athens in 1984 with her husband and two children. She paints and dyes her own fabric for her quilt paintings. She also has ventured into watercolors. Both are included in the ATHICA show.

Bonnie Montgomery is a Georgia native who lives in Watkinsville with her husband, photographer Walker Montgomery. She holds a master's in textile arts from UGA. She weaves and does looping, an ancient technique. She makes her looping in silk, cotton, linen, and wire and has created ceremonial hats and garments and baskets as well as functional bags.