Youth Art Exhibit at Ghost Fleet Gallery-Outer Banks at Its Best

Youth Art Show Best Attended Gallery Opening on the OBX

DaVinci Study, Graphite on Paper, original artwork by Alyse Stewart, 11th Grade Manteo HS.
DaVinci Study, Graphite on Paper, original artwork by Alyse Stewart, 11th Grade Manteo HS.

One of the best parts of life on the Outer Banks is how much support the community gives to our kids, and there is, perhaps no better example of that than the annual Dare County Schools Youth Art Exhibit at Glenn Eure’s Ghost Fleet Gallery in Nags Head.

The show is exactly as the title describes it—the artwork of the children of all ten Dare County schools are placed on display—this year through January 18.

There are a couple of aspects of the show that make it wonderful. First is the quality of the art the kids produce. Especially getting into the high school years, the knowledge of how to use presentation and form is remarkable.

But as wonderful as the art is, the reception for the grand opening of the show is the place to be.

This year it was last Sunday, January 6. Every year it is one of the best attended art openings—probably the best attended—of the year. Of course…an exact count of how many individual student artists is difficult to find, but it approaches 200 and every has parents, brothers, sisters and assorted other relatives.

Attending the opening reception is a joyous occasion. It is difficult to know who is prouder of the works of art on display—the parents or the young artists.

Glenn and Pat Eure, the owners of the gallery, have always made it a point to encourage the creativity of youth and artists of all stripes in the Outer Banks community.

Glenn unfortunately passed away in September of last year, but this show in particular and how much it means to the kids, parents and community in general stands as the exemplary tribute to a remarkable man.

The Outer Banks has so much to offer that any time is a good time to visit. Check out Joe Lamb, Jr. & Associates and make your plans to stay for week or two today.

Glenn Eure-Artist and Outer Banks Legend

A typically irreverent Glenn Eure.
A typically irreverent Glenn Eure.

Glenn Eure, A Life Well-Lived

We meet very few truly memorable people in our lives. Glenn Eure was one of them.

Anyone meeting him felt immediately as though he would be a friend for life. Glenn was funny, outgoing, irreverent and a remarkably complex man.

He passed away this past week, and for the Outer Banks and hundreds if not thousands of visitors that met him there is a void that will be hard to fill.

Operating from his Nags Head Ghost Fleet Gallery, Glenn touched lives with his belief that art was something that would make the world better.

Perhaps that is why he was one of the original members of the Dare County Arts Council. Maybe that belief was why he sponsored so many young artists, helping them to understand what it means to be a professional artist. Every year, he and his wife Pat, would turn the gallery over to the art students of Dare County Schools to put the works of kindergarten through 12th grade on display—and that was for all schools.

He could be incorrigible—every woman was beautiful—but that was said with such innocence that it would be difficult to take it seriously. He told bad jokes, and he would repeat his bad jokes. Some of them we can repeat. “What’s a pirate’s favorite letter. Rrrr.” Some of them…well, they could be a bit off color.

And then there was the other side to him—the side that many people never saw.

In 2010 he finished what may be his greatest work of art. The Via Crucis, the Stations of the Cross. Fourteen hand-carved life-sized depictions of the final journey of Christ that he created for Holy Redeemer Catholic Church in Kitty Hawk.

It is an exquisitely beautiful testament to one man’s faith.

He never discussed where that faith came from. Perhaps he learned it growing up in Hawaii. It may have come to him serving in the US Army. He was an artillery man, and served combat duty in Korea and Viet Nam, retiring as a Major.

Glenn touched lives—it’s what he did. Whether it was through his art, his bad jokes or just who he was, he had an impact on those he met. It was a life well-lived and we are all better for having known him.

Nags Head Roll & Stroll-A Summer Tradition

Flaming hula hoop performance in front of Seagreen Gallery.
Flaming hula hoop performance in front of Seagreen Gallery.

Nags Head’s Roll and Stroll has become a great summertime tradition. Held the second Thursday of July annually, it’s a great introduction to the offbeat, high art and funky stores of the Gallery Row District of the town.

The 2016 version had a fair number of strollers about but probably not quite as many as last year—something about Outer Banks temperatures still hovering around 94  or 95 at 5:30 when the stroll began had something to do with it.

Nonetheless, it was great seeing some old friends in the galleries. Glenn Eure made an appearance at his Ghost Fleet Gallery. Glenn has had some health issues lately so ti was great to see him.

As usual he had a number of stories to tell, all of them sounding factual and real, none of them actually coming within a country mile of true.

There were a number of stores and galleries open along the Beach Road and as the sun set and the temperatures began to fall, a few more people did come out.

The Seagreen Gallery is a wonderful place to wander through and see how many what may be junk to one person can become art when a person with he right vision comes along.

As evening set out front there was a mesmerizing fire hula hoop demonstration—flames burning from four wicks, as the hoop spun it seemed like a solid streak of light.

Perfect for the evening.

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