HELENA-WEST HELENA – An exhibit of artwork by artist Cheryl Moore of Elaine, two-time winner of the Delta Blues and Heritage Festival poster competition, is slated to debut at the Delta Cultural Center on Wednesday, December 10.

A reception celebrating the new exhibit is scheduled Thursday, Dec. 18, beginning at 5 p.m. The public is invited to attend; light refreshments will be served.

The exhibit, which features a variety of artistic themes and examples of Moore’s poetry as well, will continue through Jan. 31 at the DCC in historic downtown Helena-West Helena. Admission is free.

Moore, a long-time Phillips County art teacher, says she began re-examining her role in the arts about 10 years ago.

“I thought of myself as an art teacher, not an artist,” Moore explains in the artistic statement which accompanies the exhibit. “I could draw and paint, and teach others to do the same, but using those skills to express who I am and what I think about … well, I guess I let fear control me and I didn’t do it. Maybe I was afraid if I created art, it wouldn’t live up to my vision.”

A family tragedy would finally spur Moore to action, she recalled.

“I had been teaching high school art for 22 years when my father became terminally ill. His death made my face my own mortality,” Moore wrote. “At age 45, I began questioning my spiritual life and my art. I wanted my children, Cody and Sara, to see me achieve artistic goals. I didn’t want fear to rule their lives as it had mine.”

During this time, Moore resigned from Elaine High School where she had taught for two decades. She was employed briefly with the Phillips-Monroe Special Cooperative, and then worked for Great Rivers Educational Cooperative for five years.

“That period in my life was one of searching and finding answers to how I could use my art,” she explained. “What were my dreams, what did I believe in, and how could I use my art to express myself? All I knew 10 years ago was that I had to get started creating something. I couldn’t keep waiting around for something perfect to pop out of my head and land on a canvas. I had to start drawing and painting, every day, whether I thought it was good or not.”

Not only did Moore begin to draw and paint, her desire to create also resulted in poetry and prose pieces. These, in turn, further inspired her artistic creativity.

“The stories and poems I wrote brought forth illustrations,” she remembered. “It was liberating. My art started to grow and change; in turn my life started to change. I started calling myself an artist and an art teacher.”

Today, Moore has entered her fourth year teaching art at Barton Elementary School.

“I have been learning to focus my art and listen to the inner voice guiding me. For years, I wanted what I painted and drew to be perfect like it appeared in my head, but I am learning to let go of that thought,” Moore wrote. “My art is an exploration of my heart and a surrendering to the creative spirit. I do have a passion for life and art. Encouraging others to live their dreams is what I hope my actions and artwork inspire.”

Her winning submission became the artwork for the 13th Annual King Biscuit Blues Festival poster in 1998. A decade later, her 2008 submission was selected to be the poster for the 23rd annual event.

A member of the Arkansas Delta Arts Partnership, an area arts council, Moore has aided in the presentation of the ADAP’s Delta Daze Art Festival for the past two years.

Moore, the daughter of Horace and Sylvia Griffin, was raised in Lexa. A 1971 graduate of Barton High School, she received her bachelor’s of science degree in education from Arkansas State University at Jonesboro in 1975. Moore and her husband, David, reside at Elaine. Children Cody and Sara are 22 and 19, respectively.

Family, Moore has noted, weighs heavily in her goals and vision. Citing her mother’s encouragement to follow her dreams, Moore has dedicated her new exhibition to her. “She worked hard to help my sister, Vivian, and I establish our lives,” she remembered. “I’m very fortunate to have her on my side. Never once did I hear her say, ‘Cheryl, you can’t make a living with art.’”

Gallery hours at the DCC Visitors Center at 141 Cherry Street and the nearby DCC Depot at 95 Missouri Street are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturday. “King Biscuit Time,” the nation’s longest-running blues radio program, is hosted each weekday at the DCC Visitor’s Center by “Sunshine” Sonny Payne, from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m. “Delta Sounds,” hosted by DCC Assistant Director Terry Buckalew and Payne, is broadcast each Friday from 1 to 1:30 p.m.

For more information, interested persons can call the Delta Cultural Center at (870) 338-4350 or toll free at (800) 358-0972 or visit the DCC online at www.deltaculturalcenter.com.

The Delta Cultural Center shares the vision of all seven agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage – to preserve and promote Arkansas heritage as a source of pride and satisfaction. Other agencies within the department are the Historic Arkansas Museum, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, the Old State House Museum, the Arkansas Historic Preservation Program, the Arkansas Arts Council, and the Natural Heritage Commission.

– 30 –

Press Room