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Seven Sisters Gallery in Black Mountain is hosting “Swirling Around Abstraction,” an exhibition of paintings by Jo Ridge Kelley.  The exhibit – featuring abstract landscapes, waterscapes and just pure “abstract” forms inspired by found objects in nature – will run through June 27.  She was the cover artist for The Laurel in October 2009.

This is a video of Jo in action at Quickdraw 2007, a fun, lively art event where professional artists race the clock to start and complete a work of art in one fast-paced hour while you watch.

Jo Ridge Kelley was featured as the cover artist for the October 2009 issue of The Laurel Of Asheville

While growing up with her four siblings on a dairy farm near Asheboro, halfway between Raleigh and Charlotte, Jo Ridge Kelley’s childhood was mostly about chores. When the last of the work was done, however, she’d slip out to the front yard with her sketch book and record images of her house, the barn, the pasture, the huge shade trees.

While in high school, she found every excuse she could to practice her art. “I painted backdrops for plays, worked on the bulletin boards, just about anything I could think of.” At age 14, she began taking private lessons in painting with oils.