Art Camp Is Coming To TPH

By SANDY DENNIS

The Jasper County Historical Foundation is proud to present Art Camp at Thomas Persons Hall. This will be our third year offering a summer art camp thanks to our Artist in Residence, Linda Aldridge.

Linda is a free-lance artist, illustrator and writer who has lived and painted in Monticello since 1983. She was born in Winchester, Mass. and raised in Alexandria, Va. but followed her heart and David Aldridge down south after college.

She is passionate about her adopted home of nearly 40 years and depicts Jasper County almost exclusively in her artwork. She and David have raised four wonderful children in this community and now with her nest empty, Linda is devoting even more of her time to creating art. She works primarily in oil or watercolor and ink, depicting landscapes, animals, structures and scenes of Middle Georgia.

She tries to capture on paper and canvas the wonder she feels at the natural world here in Jasper County, the weathered brick and wood of our historic buildings and the warmth of the people of our town. She has a combined love for historic preservation, local natural beauty and the changing of scenery in the face of local growth and development.

In 2022, Linda proposed a residency at Thomas Persons Hall in order to explore, through art, those places in Jasper County that may be lost as our community grows and changes. She spends time each week in a studio she has set up on the lower level of the hall. Visitors are welcome to go down to her studio at any time to enjoy her artwork and even to watch her creative process in action.

She is an amazing artist and it is worth a trip to immerse yourself in her artwork. As part of her Residency, Linda will be creating a painting to be donated to the Hall as part of our permanent collection. This will be an historical depiction of the Seven Islands Road trail and will become part of our Level Two Visitor’s Center.

In addition to working and creating her own art here, Linda has also established an annual summer art camp for local children. This year, students will attend classes Monday, July 28 through Friday, August 1 from 9 a.m. until noon. Linda teaches one class and a second is taught by Mari Jablonski with assistance from her artist mom, Karen.

Mari is a 2020 graduate of Jasper County High School. In 2024 she graduated with an art degree from Alfred College in New York. She makes unique artwork utilizing paper, wood, fiber and ceramics that defies category. She has entered national and international art competitions. She augments her art by substitute teaching locally. Mari has great ideas and brings a wonderful energy to our camp.

If you know of any aspiring artists, please send them to art camp! There is still time to register at ThomasPersonsHall.com. The cost is just $125 and includes all supplies.

And be sure to stop by Thomas Persons Hall sometime and visit the studio of our Artist in Residence, Linda Aldridge.