<< Back 9/18/02 Waynesville gallery hosts 6-week exhibit SMN The second biennial Crawlers, Creepers, Fliers, Leapers Show opens Monday, Sept. 23, at Twigs & Leaves in historic downtown Waynesville for a six-week run. This exhibit of real and imagined insects and amphibians is a juried show of works in many media by artists from across the country and Canada. Opening simultaneously is a showing of watercolors by Carol Bowles of Maryville, Tennessee. Bowles has sent all the original illustrations for the book Saving The Rainforest by Toni Albert. More than a dozen in total, these watercolors offer a magical version of the story of two children and an enchanted parrot. Twigs & Leaves had hoped to host a book signing as part of an opening reception, but the books were not printed in time. The first Crawlers, Creepers, Fliers, Leapers Show was mounted back in 2000 following an invitation extended to selected artists from the coterie of those whose work was already exhibited by Twigs & Leaves. “Both participating artists and gallery patrons had so much fun with that first show that we decided to make it a biennial event,” said gallery owner David Erickson. As a new twist for 2002, Erickson issued a national call for artists. The call was originally printed in The Crafts Report but was also picked up by an Illinois artist’s cooperative newsletter. “From late spring through early summer, we received over 75 requests for a show prospectus,” reports Erickson. While the bulk of the requests came from the East Coast, there were a significant number from the Midwest and the west coast, with a couple from Canada for good measure. Erickson continued, “Of course, a number of the local artists we already represent also expressed an intent to jury for the show.” By the August deadline Twigs & Leaves had received for jurying nearly forty submissions in a wide range of media. “We knew that our jurors would have an enjoyable experience as they worked through the submissions selecting the best for the Crawlers, Creepers, Fliers, Leapers II Show,” said Erickson with a smile. In the end, nineteen artists were nominated by the gallery’s jurors to participate in the show. One of the more spectacular pieces in the show is the stunning kimono created by J. R. Campbell, Assistant Professor of Textiles and Clothing at Iowa State University in Ames. Marching around the kimono is the digital image of a parade of ants.