Local artist Kallie Breningstall doesn’t feel confined to a particular art media. Her prints, paintings, photography, pottery, pencil drawings, sculpture and hand-made jewelry are on display this month at the Hinesville Area Arts Council gallery at 102 Commerce St. in downtown Hinesville.
A graduate of Liberty County High School and Armstrong Atlantic State University, Breningstall said she can’t remember ever not being interested in art. She said she is thankful to her high-school art teacher, Marjett Schille, for developing her artistic talents and encouraging her to express herself in visually creative ways. She also appreciates her father, City Manager Billy Edwards, for supporting her goals.
“What I went to school for was to learn how to teach art,” said Breningstall, who graduated from AASU in 2010. “Then I decided I didn’t really want to teach. I just wanted to create things. ... My artwork definitely comes from my life experiences. I love nature, and a lot of my work reflects that.”
One of her prints depicts a dirt trail leading deep into the woods. Another print of a walk along the shoreline at Ossabaw Island looks like a photo with its intricate detail. Details are something she said she’s always trying to capture. She noted that most people fail to notice, for example, the colors in a sunrise are distinctly different than the colors in a sunset.
“Every evening that I can, I enjoy looking at the sunset,” she said. “I can’t help thinking how beautiful it is and how God created it for us to enjoy.”
Breningstall said she likes working with her hands. Her pottery and jewelry give her a sense of completion, which she doesn’t always feel with her prints or sculptures. She said she never quite feels like the work conveys exactly what she wants it to convey. She laughed, though, saying that sometimes she just has to take a step back and move on to another project.
In one corner of the gallery, a 2-foot-tall golden sea horse seems to stand guard over a nearby table that displays several pieces of silver jewelry designed and fashioned by Breningstall. She said she use torches and polishing wheels to create her jewelry, including the necklace she wore at Thursday’s reception.
Along with Breningstall’s pottery and jewelry, tables at the exhibit are lined with small cards that share statistics and information to promote breast-cancer awareness. Leah Poole, CEO of the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce and Liberty County Convention & Visitors Bureau and HAAC chairwoman, said each exhibit takes advantage of the opportunity to make the public aware of something important. Because October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, this month’s exhibit promotes breast cancer awareness, she said.
“Breast-cancer awareness is important to me because my paternal grandmother died from it, and I have an aunt who has had it twice,” Poole said. “We are always happy to support local artists. That is part of our mission with the HAAC gallery. Not only is Kallie’s art in all of its forms inspiring, we are also using it as a platform this month for breast cancer awareness.”
Poole said visitors to this month’s gallery exhibit will see Breningstall’s artwork and, hopefully, learn a little about breast cancer. Breningstall’s exhibit will be on display from 10 a.m.-
2 p.m. Monday through Friday.