Artists’ work on display for Natchez studio tour

Published 12:01 am Sunday, November 25, 2007

NATCHEZ — Though the weather outside was grey, many area residents walked the streets of Natchez in search of more vibrant colors during the Natchez Artists Studio Tour Saturday.

Organized by the Natchez Downtown Development Association, the tour was designed to offer opportunities for artists to get their work out and for art patrons to get a chance to buy original works.

The tour had 29 stops in downtown and two nearby studios.

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And despite the constant drizzle and bursts of cold wind, Marina Cavette — who along with her husband Christopher Cavette was displaying original art in their gallery, Natchez Fine Framing and Art Gallery — said she had seen a good turnout.

Because their gallery is newly opened, the tour gave many people a chance to see the Cavettes’ work for the first time, she said.

“A lot of people have come in and made us feel very welcome,” Marina Cavette said.

A little further down Main Street, artist Leon Hollins, who was displaying his work along with several other artists at Main Street Market, said the tour was an asset to local artists.

“It helps the locals realize there is talent in Adams County,” he said. “A lot of times they don’t know until they see it.”

A few blocks over, Janice McCarthy was showing what she billed her “strange Katrina art,” collage art assembled from bits of furniture and pieces of her New Orleans house — such as a door screen — after Hurricane Katrina struck.

“I had a difficult time getting rid of a lot of my stuff,” she said. “I couldn’t part with things, so I started making art out of it.”

Exhibiting alongside McCarthy was Doris Rodriguez, whose paintings were of traditional still lifes.

Rodriguez said she was glad that the tour had been organized, but wished one thing could have been done differently.

“We have to stay here (with our art),” she said. “I would like to see the other artists’ work. When you’re exposed to other painters, you can learn just by looking.”