Beyond 4:45 Auction and Art Show in the UA Gallery on First Friday March 6 is raising funds for UA’s Performing Arts Academic Center. Members of the College of Arts and Sciences Staff Association (CASSA) have donated items, many of them handmade art or crafts they created for the one-night-only exhibit and auction from 5:00 to 8:00 p.m.
Daniel White, director of the UA Gallery and the Paul R. Jones Museum said, “This auction, while supporting a great cause, also allows us to showcase the creative explorations of our large and diverse staff beyond their important roles at UA. We all have a talent or skill, and this event allows the chance for those talents and skills to be given some exposure.”
In the department of art and art history, senior arts technician and alumnus Mike Eddins crafted an electric guitar from scraps of wood he has collected while renovating classrooms and studios in the historic buildings around Woods Quad. The guitar’s body is made from wooden racks that were used to store artwork before the SMGA expanded to its current curation space in the Bureau of Mines. “There are a lot of hidden treasures. The wood from the racks is old growth Douglas fir,” Eddins said. “You can see the tree rings!” He crafted the guitar neck from old doors made of tropical woods, some maple scraps and a piece of cherry that he found in the cabinet shop. Eddins, who focused on sculpture when he majored in studio art at UA, also has a bachelor’s degree from New College. He has made eight electric guitars, an acoustic and a slide guitar.
The University of Alabama Gallery is located in the Dinah Washington Cultural Arts Center, 620 Greensboro Avenue, Tuscaloosa, Ala., 35401. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and 12 noon until 8:00 p.m. on the First Friday of each month. For more information about this exhibition and all our programs, call (205) 345-3038.