Ronda Bryce is the Artist of the Month for the North Augusta Artists Guild. She is originally from Tennessee, but has lived in this area for the last 40 years. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from the University of Tennessee and completed her training in Medical Technology at Erlanger Hospital, both in her hometown of Chattanooga. She moved to this area to accept a job at University Hospital as a medical technologist. After twenty years at that job, she became a stay at home mom for a few years. She designed and sold needlework patterns during that time. During the past ten years, she was the administrative assistant sequentially for two senior pastors and also administrative assistant to the business administrator at Trinity on the Hill, United Methodist Church, in Augusta. When Senior Pastor Dr. Mike Cash retired about a month ago, she felt it was time for her to move on as well.
Ronda reports that she has always been drawn to creative pursuits. While growing up she spent her spare time on art as well as needlework and sewing. She has taken many art classes in drawing and painting at such sites as Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art and the Aiken Center for the Arts. She has taken watercolor classes with Thomas Needham, who she describes as “a wonderfully talented classical artist.” She also studied with Judy Avrett, an artist that influenced Ronda with her joy and enthusiasm for art. Until recently, her time spent on making art had to be relegated to spare time, so she is very happy to have the time now to devote to her art. She has enjoyed structuring her time now with art as her full-time job. She shows a lot of self-discipline in her chosen work schedule at home. She does not wait for inspiration to strike.
Ronda’s favorite artist is Dutch painter Johannes Vermeer, who was renowned for his masterly use of light in his paintings. His style is realism that reveals meticulous observation of his subject and his application of paint shows extraordinary technical ability and time-consuming care. Ronda also paints in a realistic style using careful paint application. Her favorite theme is still life. Occasionally she works from an arrangement that she has set up, but most often she works from her photos of such subjects as fruits, vegetables, flowers and leaves. She is most often inspired to begin a new painting by the colors of the subjects. She has no desire to abstract the subject or to distort for artistic expression. She strives to reproduce her subjects as true to life as possible. She sees the beauty and glory of God’s creation in the natural world and she wants to capture that moment of beauty to share with the viewer. She sees art as a spiritual practice for the artist and the viewer as both contemplate the beauty of God’s creation.
When asked about good advice she has received Ronda gave one of her favorite quotes from C.S. Lewis, “You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.” Her advice to other artists is a quote from Winston Churchill, “Never, never, never give up.” One of her favorite aspects of art is the state of complete absorption that occurs when an artist is totally focused on the process of their work. She also loves that an artist will never run out of subjects or new things to learn. One reason that art is important in her life is that it is her way of meditating on her gratitude to God for all of the beauty of the natural world. When she is not making art, she keeps active by walking four miles a day and she has also been sewing masks since the pandemic started. Before the coronavirus curtailed her activities, she was an active volunteer at her church and community outreach programs such as the Master’s Table and Family Promise. She also enjoys spending time with her family. Her husband, Joe, has been an engineer at SRS for the last 40 years and will very soon retire. Their son, Sam, is a software engineer who is also a musician who plays at the contemporary service at their church.
Her work was recently shown at the NAAG Annual Show. She has also exhibited her work at many venues including Sacred Heart, The Jesse Norman Gallery, the Saint Helena Convent and the North Augusta YMCA. She has a few pieces for sale at The Beveled Edge frame shop in North Augusta and will be exhibiting her work at the Kroc Center next month along with other art guild members. Notecards of a painting she did for the Sacred Heart Art Through the Ages show are available at the gift shop at Sacred Heart.
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October 20, 2020 at 09:50AM
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Bryce is N.A. Artists Guild's Artist of the Month - Charleston Post Courier
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