From the moment I stepped inside the Anderson Arts Center, I was surrounded by art, beauty and creativity -- literally surrounded as even the floor beneath my sandals was transformed into a canvas.
Artist John Acorn drew inspiration from preschoolers' paintings to cover the yellow pine stairs with trailer nails, outlining smiling faces, cheerful suns and other simple, child-like designs.
Follow the stairs to the second floor and you will find the center's main exhibition space. A former freight warehouse, the building's exposed brick walls, heart of pine flooring and wooden beams serve as a beautiful backdrop for visual arts exhibitions presented throughout the year.
The high-quality, rotating exhibits feature some amazing area artists and often center around a theme. On one recent visit I was treated to a collection of pet portraits. You might think that this subject matter would lead to a bunch of cloyingly cute puppies and kittens, but the exhibit artists found a way to elevate their four-legged subjects. The portraits showed great artistry and emotion, revealing all the qualities our pets have that make them such important parts of our lives.
