Bradley Wilson Classes and The French Family Band Kick Off Summer

We’re starting summer with some hot happenings. We welcome the always-popular artist/instructor Bradley Wilson back to Mentone for two weekend art workshops, June 13-14 and July 18-19. The two-day class is titled, “Hidden Images: Letting Images Find You.” The tuition for each workshop is 5 per student, plus a supply fee paid to the instructor. There also is a materials list that will be emailed to each student upon registration.

In these exciting workshops, you’ll explore pareidolia — the human tendency to find images in unexpected places. Using acrylic paint, watercolor, inks, and drawing media, participants will experiment with layered marks and playful processes while discovering how accidental shapes can develop into surprising imagery. Creating with a sense of play is key to this type of art-making.

The workshops are designed as both a standalone experience and a two-part creative journey. Each weekend offers a complete and satisfying introduction to intuitive image-making, and students are welcome to attend either session independently. For those who choose to attend both weekends, the second session builds naturally on the first. Returning students will be encouraged to work with greater complexity, developing more layered compositions, refining emerging imagery, and deepening their personal visual language, while new participants are fully supported in beginning their own process. All experience levels are welcome; curiosity and openness to experimentation are essential.

About the Instructor: Bradley Wilson was born in Chattanooga in 1970. He is a visual artist and author who makes paintings, drawings, and prints, He teaches studio art and art history part time at Lee University, Dalton State College, and conducts regular painting workshops at a variety of venues. He resides with his wife and a multitude of dogs and cats in Charleston, Tennessee.

“Twenty years ago, I became interested in the idea of painting as an improvised performance,”

Wilson says. “I had grown dissatisfied with making work that was fully conceived at the beginning, worked out through studies and sketches, and then executed onto canvas. Something important was missing. I began to make paintings with no formulated plan. I let the images emerge slowly or quickly out of the painting process itself. I began playing with color, line, texture, and shape. I embraced uncertainty as an essential element of creating. My painting process is fluid and organic. I constantly make changes throughout the creation of a piece. I have no philosophy of painting other than to be open and responsive to the possibilities of the moment. Connecting with the present and finding the potential — this is what my work is about.”

French Family Band

The French Family Band will perform two concerts Father’s Day weekend. The Saturday, June 20, show is from 7-9 p.m., and the Sunday afternoon show is from 2-4 p.m. There were a handful of tickets left for both shows at press time.

From the band’s website: Originally from Australia and now based in Nashville, “The French Family Band takes inspiration from the country and Western swing icons of decades past, creating and performing American roots music that’s most assuredly vibrant and fully alive. The group appeared on the legendary Grand Ole Opry four times in 2023, which is all the proof of life any fan should need. Ringing endorsements from folks like Marty Stuart and Connie Smith don’t hurt, either. The core lineup of the band is an actual nuclear family that just happens to be incredibly talented. Guitarists/vocalists Stuie French (Dad), Camille French (Mum), and Sonny French (Son) are a clan of uncommon gifts and display skills that rival the stars of country’s Golden Age. Their combined sound is smooth, sweet, and ferocious. Echoes of Chet Atkins, Anne Murray, and Merle Haggard can be detected but their style and spirit are all in the family.”

For more information on any of these events, contact Randy Grider at mentoneartscenter@gmail.com or by phone at 256-674-3366.