College Artists Get a Real World Art Spotlight In The Woodlands — Ardest Gallery Nurtures Young Talents

Ardest Gallery owner Julie Verville didn’t just want to display student art. She wanted the students to learn how the art world really works. So Verville teamed up with Lone Star College-Montgomery art professor Darren Longman to host “Lone Star Rising,” a student art show at her art gallery in The Woodlands.

“Part of the gallery’s mission is to connect with the local community through art,” Verville says. “This exciting collaboration provides a platform for these talented art students to showcase their diverse works in a professional gallery setting during the month of May.”

The show is on view now at Ardest through this Saturday, May 31.

In preparation for the show, Verville hosted a workshop for 50 students and faculty on LSC-Montgomery’s campus. The Business of Art workshop was designed to help students understand how to promote and sell their work.

“It was open to any student or faculty member,” Verville details. “We discussed pricing, presentation, taking photos of your work and how to market yourself. If you want to enter a show, festival or gallery, we talked about those best practices too.

“I wanted them to see the other side of things — the business side.”

Partnerships That Open Doors

Darren Longman, a professor at LSC-Montgomery and executive editor of SWIRL Literature and Arts Journal, collaborated with Verville and the students featured in the show.

Longman sees “Lone Star Rising” as more than an art exhibit. It’s a bridge between the college and the broader arts community. The experience also gives students a chance to navigate the expectations of a professional gallery, from how to present and price their work to marketing it for a public audience.

While LSC-Montgomery’s Mary Matteson-Parrish Art Gallery gives students space to exhibit on-campus, Longman believes off-campus shows like the one at Ardest Gallery offer added value. Young artists get insight into how exhibits work in a professional gallery. They also get a taste of what it’s like to share their work beyond the classroom — and learn how to do that as well.

Seventeen students currently have work on display at Ardest. One of those students is Dean Abilez.

“I was super excited,” Abilez says. “It’s a goal I never thought I’d reach so soon.”

Abilez has two works in the exhibit: a fiber piece and a ceramic one. The fiber piece is a crocheted portrait of Tyler The Creator, titled My love is gone. She created the pattern in Photoshop, converting the image to a grid to guide her stitches. A self-taught crocheter, Abilez learned through watching YouTube videos during COVID. She now sells her custom fiber art on Etsy.

Her ceramic piece is a stingray. “Sea animals have always been my thing,” she says. “I grew up in Florida, and I would catch the critters in my hand. They’re just so beautiful in many ways.”

“Lone Star Rising” is on display at Ardest Gallery through this Saturday, May 31. Ardest Gallery is located at 25200 Grogan’s Park Drive. Gallery hours run Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 am to 2 pm. For more information, go here.