Three dogs, two cats and flocks of birds inhabit woodcuts

Kent Ambler calls himself a born artist. He counts making drawings among his earliest memories. Art, he has said, has always been a necessity. And for the Indiana native who now lives near Seneca, S.C., art also embodies an intuitive relationship with nature.

An exhibit of Mr. Ambler’s woodcut prints will open Friday at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art, with a gallery talk and reception from 6 to 8 p.m. Included in the show will be works focusing primarily on elements of the natural world, many of them painstakingly produced using multiple colors. See his working process at www.kentambler.com/html/process.html.

His surroundings provide much of the subject matter for his works, with his wife, three dogs, two cats, and the lake, woods, birds and trees on his five-acre property frequently depicted. Mr. Ambler is a prolific artist, producing paintings and drawings in addition to his prints. He has exhibited in more than 50 shows in during the past five years alone, and in 2003, he received a grant from the South Carolina Arts Commission for a project titled “70 Woodcuts in 70 Days.”

He is also represented by half a dozen galleries, most in the Southeast. Among them is American Folk Art in Asheville, N.C., where he is currently in a show entitled “Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird,” inspired by the Wallace Stevens poem. In general, folk art is considered to be produced by artists or craftsmen who have had no formal training, using techniques and subjects handed down through generations and most often identified with certain locales. Southern face jugs, Pennsylvania Dutch hex sign motifs and New England weathervanes would be examples.

There’s no question Kent Ambler is formally trained, since he has a B.F.A. from Ball State University and did graduate study at Clemson. But there’s also no question that his woodcuts reflect his knowledge of folk art traditions. His work draws from both his academic background and his sensitivity to the history and culture of the rural South Carolina environment he chooses to call home.

The exhibit at the Gertrude Herbert will continue though May 23. He’ll also be appearing at the Congaree Art Festival April 26 at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, and in Piccolo Spoleto in Charleston, May 23-June 7.

Thursday, artist Nene Humphrey returns to Augusta for the Terra Cognita contemporary art lecture series at the Morris Museum of Art. She will be talking about her work, including a series called “Smallworlds” in which she incorporates such fabrics as silk and felt in her sculpture to explore forms evolved from structures as diverse as human cells, 18^th century optical diagrams and celestial maps.

Ms. Humphrey’s distinguished career has included visiting artist or visiting professor positions at more than a dozen universities, and numerous awards including a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, Asian Cultural Council Grant, Smithsonian Research Fellowship and the Thomas R. Proctor Prize for Sculpture from the National Academy of Design. Her work is in the collections of the High Museum, Carlos Museum at Emory University and the Museum of Contemporary Art in Atlanta, the Smithsonian Institution, and others.

Art & Lit: About 10 years ago, the Authors Club of Augusta began what has become an annual program in which writers are invited to choose a painting in the Morris Museum of Art’s collection to use as inspiration for their writing. The resulting works – poetry and prose – are read in a public presentation. This year’s event will be Saturday, April 26, at 2 p.m. in the museum auditorium, with refreshments to follow the readings. Admission to the program is free. The Authors Club is also exploring the possibility of publishing an anthology drawn from readings presented over the years.

Other literary notes: The 15^th annual Porter Fleming Literary Competition has increased the prize money this year. Cash awards totaling $11,200 will be offered, and the competition is open to writers living in Georgia, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and North Carolina. Winners will be invited to participate in special literary program Sept. 21, during the 2008 Arts in the Heart of Augusta Festival. Categories are short stories (2500 words or less), Poetry (limit 3 poems), Nonfiction (article or personal essay, 2000 words or less); and short play (professional format, 15 pages or less). Full details and entry forms are available at ArtsintheHeart.com. Deadline for entries is June 13^th.

More deadlines: May 1 is the deadline for entering the Augusta Photography Festival’s juried fine art competition, Environments: Past, Present and Personal. Both amateur and professional photographers are invited to submit images in one or more of the competition’s categories: Past: Images that invoke our past including historic landscapes, architecture or photos taken prior to 1977; Present: Recent subjects including the natural world, current events and activities; and Personal: Portraits, candids, pets, photos evoking emotional or personal experiences.

The Augusta Canal National Heritage Area is the 2008 featured subject and additional awards will be given to photographs that capture the essence of the historic canal. Information and application forms are available at augustaphotofestival.org. Winners will be announced during the Augusta Photography Festival, June 19- 22.

The Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art is accepting entries for its 28th annual juried fine art competition, A Sense of Place. Amanda Cooper, Curator of Exhibitions at The Arts Center, St. Petersburg , Fla., is the juror. The competition is open to U.S. artists age 18 and older working in the following media: drawing, painting, printmaking, photography, ceramics, sculpture, and mixed media. Cash awards totaling $1,750 are available. For more information, call (706) 722-5495. June 6 is the deadline for entries.

The Art of the Garden: Coming up April 25-27 is Sacred Heart Cultural Center’s Garden Festival, with the patrons’ preview party on the 24^th. This popular event turns the historic building’s great hall into a series of beautifully sculpted gardens, offering visitors inspiration and ideas for enhancing their landscapes. There are also educational talks, tours of private gardens, a vendor marketplace and children’s activities. Liz Hopkins is working with cultural center director Sandra Fenstermacher in coordinating this year’s events. For details and ticket information, go to www.sacredheartgardenfestival.com.