Thank you to our Sponsors and Volunteers for their generous contributions
to the success of this fundraiser.

Stephanie Beard
Austin, TX

Black and White Guitar - Acoustic Guitar

Stephanie grew up in Waco and is the daughter of Stephen and Alyce Beard of Waco. She is a graduate of SMU.

“Meticulously random,” is how Stephanie describes her approach to modern art. Her work captures the beauty of her environment. Stephanie’s work goes beyond the canvas to include landscape design, personalizing unique objects, photography, and interior design. Her self-taught, experimental techniques ensure an ever-evolving portfolio of original, creative works. Stephanie is available for commission and excels in creating artwork for specific spaces.

View her recent work on her Facebook page at
facebook.com/ADDbySB.

www.addbystephaniebeard.com

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Mayor Jim & Marty Bush
Waco, TX

Nature's Symphony - 4/4 Violin

Jim Bush was elected as Mayor on May 8, 2010, for a term ending in May 2012. Prior to that he served as a Council Member and was reelected to the City Council on May 7, 2005, and served as Mayor Pro Tem for the 2006–2007 council year.

Jim has resided in District V since the age of nine when his family built one of the first homes on Arroyo Road. He was born in Waco, graduated from Texas Tech University, and was on the professional bowling tour before returning to his hometown. Jim started Bush Building Corporation in 1974, becoming the third generation since 1910 to carry on the family tradition of "building" Waco.

He has been married to his wife, Marty, for 45 years. They have two children, Brad Bush and Missi Grubbs, and are the proud grandparents of four boys and four girls.

"As we enjoy our backyard together in the spring we talk about how nature is a symphony – from the birds, bees, insects, flowers, trees. They all come together to paint a picture of movement in motion. In the quietness a symphony can be heard."

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Katie Croft
Waco, TX

Phoenix - 4/4 Violin

Katie Croft is a photographer, painter, and gallery owner living in Waco. She is a graduate of Baylor University where she earned a BFA. Most of her work is reflective of her environment, which contains many wonderful and unusual animals as well as two rowdy boys.

The work “Phoenix” was inspired by legends of the phoenix and her own parrot friend “Rosie.” Katie says, “The patterns and wood grain of the violin were so beautiful, I didn’t want to cover the entire surface. I wanted, instead, to compliment the striations and colors already present in the instrument.”

www.croftartgallery.com

www.katiecroftdesigns.com

Clara Dutton
Waco, TX

John Dan Efferson
Waco, TX

Ingrid Erickson
Salisbury, NC

Jennifer Henson-Hobbs
Waco, TX

Armament - 14" Viola

Jennifer Henson-Hobbs earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Abilene Christian University. Throughout her life Jennifer has been involved in the arts and was awarded the Faculty Award in 1995 by her professors at ACU for her work. She is developing a new collection of paintings and is launching her career after taking time to stay at home with her two active daughters, ages 5 and 7. Jennifer’s studio can be found at the Croft Art Gallery in Waco, Texas. As part of the artist community, she often creates and donates her work to benefit local schools and charitable foundations. Jennifer is married to Waco attorney Mark Hobbs.

Jennifer’s style unfolds with each painting, making use of vibrant color. She incorporates images invoking movement, irregularity, and organic form. Jennifer has been drawing and painting since she was a very young child. Acrylic and mixed media painting are her primary interests. She has also studied many fine art disciplines including graphic design, watercolor, pastels, drawing, and jewelry making. Jennifer frequently paints expressively and spontaneously, often bypassing a conceptual plan.

"The violin is a beautiful instrument. Its form and sound are visually and audibly moving in themselves. Juxtaposing the beauty of the instrument with references to destruction and ammunition creates a visual disparity. One could deliberate instruments we possess as a whole to contemplate their purpose, whether used to bring about peace or strife."

www.jenniferhobbs.com

Chuck Jobe
Waco, TX

Four Seasons – ¾ Violin

Chuck Jobe is an abstract sculptor from Lorena who creates wooden sculptures inspired by natural organic shapes and forms. His painted violin—Four Seasons—is reminiscent of stained glass and was inspired by Vivaldi’s concerto of the same name.

The violin depicts the transition from autumn to winter on the front and from spring to summer on the back.

www.chuckjobe.com

Chuck Jobe
Waco, TX

Tuvix - Cello-Bass Sculpture

When selecting a violin to paint, Chuck noticed a bass and cello that had not been selected because of their condition. He had an idea to use both of them to create an abstract sculpture inspired by the cubist art of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso, whose work frequently featured musical instruments. The result is a sculpture called Tuvix.

Flip Kimmel
Waco, TX

Abstraction of Music #13 - 4/4 Violin

Phillip (Flip) Kimmel was born in Waco and graduated from Richfield High School in 1986 and Baylor University in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Psychology. Flip manages and maintains the family business (rental property). He worked as Curatorial Assistant at The Art Center of Waco from 2000 to 2002 and volunteers throughout the community as an art instructor, visiting artist, curator, juror, and supporter of the arts.

Since he began his art career by coloring a paper tablecloth at a restaurant one evening in 1996, Flip has never stopped creating. An avid reader, Flip studied art on his own and continues to read and learn about the arts. Flip’s vivid and creative sense of color draws you into his work and creates pure simplicity out of a volume of deliberated detail. Most important to Flip is the interaction of the viewer and the artwork—love or hate. In addition to painting Flip explores sculpting, installations, and other art media. Flip’s art includes influences from literature, music, mythology, and people/society/ culture.

"From as early as I can remember, as I listened to music I’d always see shapes and colors in my mind. In approaching this project of painting a violin, I decided to go with the abstract visions that I often envision while listening to music. As an artist, all kinds of music inspire me. Even though I regularly paint on found objects, the delicacy and defined space of the violin was a challenge. The shapes in my painting feel rhythmic and allow one to follow the silhouette of the violin. In addition, the vivid colors I applied to the violin accentuate the form. The obvious incongruity of abstraction on such a familiar musical instrument felt right. Since the violin is three-dimensional, I wanted to display the artwork for all sides to be seen. After contemplating many ideas of how to display the violin, I decided to use a simple rectangular piece of wood I painted black to contrast against the defined shape and colors of my violin. I volunteer teaching art at local elementary schools and have exhibited my artwork locally and regionally."

www.flipkimmel.com

Keith Kusler
Waco, Texas

Bees Flourish - 14" Viola

Keith Kusler is a graphic designer by day and has worked for a local health education company for the past 15 years. He has been painting since childhood.

Along the way Keith has always been careful to do it his own way on his own terms. He strives to keep himself authentic by respecting his influences without letting their vision creep into his work. The two things that govern his painting process are: (1) trust your gut feeling and (2) do it all with integrity.

"Human communities and bee colonies are both collections of living creatures with the common purpose of flourishing. Individual members of these communities strive to be healthy and content and search for happiness wherever they can find it. When we humans find happiness in music, art, or nature, we need to recognize that contentment and let it flourish in our souls."

www.kkusler.net

Abigail Mayfield
Austin, TX

Untitled - 4/4 Violin

Abigail Mayfield lives and works in Austin, Texas. She received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from Baylor University in 2009. Since then, she has had the opportunity to pursue both fine art and art history abroad, studying at CUPA in Paris, France, and at Florence University of the Arts in Florence, Italy. Her work is concerned with impressions and abstract explorations of places and experiences, being chiefly interested in the unequivocal impact of paint. Her work is at once a combination of deliberation and contemplation, balanced by spontaneous movement and gestural mark-making.

“Pursuit of a simple expression for the complex thought compels me to paint, and lies at the heart of my creating. I am interested in the unequivocal impact of paint. My work is at once a combination of deliberation and contemplation, balanced by spontaneous movement and gestural mark-making."

“My paintings are impressions and abstract explorations of places and experiences. I am creating a space that is unknown to the viewer, yet still understood, inviting recollection and reminiscence. I am chiefly concerned with stripping the literal elements away, and through subtleties in color, thin washes, opaque marks, intuitive line, and broad calligraphic brushwork, I am seeking to explore how paint can stimulate or consolidate the compositional space."

“My marks and scratches are impulsively rendered, born of a need to follow the imaginative abstractions of my mind. Close examination will reveal my wanderings.”

www.abigailblythe.com

Beth Mayfield
Waco, TX

America the Beautiful - 1/10 Violin

As a long-time patron and past member of the Waco Symphony Board of Directors, Beth Mayfield is delighted to participate in the Waco Painted Strings...With a Flair for the Dramatic by creating a small painted violin.

A long-time supporter of the arts, Beth has also been active in the Waco Art Center and the Martin Museum at Baylor University and serves on the Texas Committee of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C. Beth has enjoyed the lifelong pleasure of art as a hobby. She has studied in workshops with outstanding artists and has painted with her friends for over thirty years.

“The song, ‘America the Beautiful’ was the inspiration for painting the children’s violin with stars and stripes, in the hope that such music will inspire patriotism in our youth. Congratulations to the Waco Symphony on 50 years!”

Caroline Nicholson
Grand Junction, CO
(sister of Rusty Corwin)

Where the Wilde Thangs Are - 4/4 Violin

A native of western North Carolina, Caroline Nicholson attended Appalachian State University. She later worked as a park guide for the National Park Service in Washington, D.C., where she met and married a park ranger with whom she moved to the Grand Canyon. While living and working in several national parks out west, Caroline gained an affinity for the wildlife she encountered—both animal and human.

Since retiring in Grand Junction, Colorado, she has taught art and calligraphy classes for the Grand Junction Art Center, Mesa State College, and the local school district. In 2006 Caroline painted a violin for the Grand Junction Symphony Orchestra Gala Fundraiser.

“This piece was inspired by my brother-in-law Steve Corwin’s dedication and service to Waco’s Cameron Park Zoo. I’ve created a whimsical interpretation of the bond between music, art, and nature. Early tribespeople began mimicking colors, sights, and sounds in nature thousands of years ago. Today this beauty and diversity is reinterpreted through performance of popular works such as Stravinsky's ‘Rite of Spring,’ Prokofiev’s ‘Peter and the Wolf,’ Copland’s ‘Grand Canyon Suite,’ and countless others. These performances affirm the fact that we are truly in harmony with nature. Oh … and please don’t feed the animals!”

Doreen Ravenscroft
Waco, TX

Discombobulated Notes – ½ Cello

Doreen Ravenscroft is from near Chester, England. She graduated with an S2 degree in chemistry from Carlett Park Technical College in Eastham, England, in 1962, and was employed thereafter by Unilever in England. In 1976, she moved to the United States with her husband, Bill, when he took an international transfer to join M&M Mars in Hackettstown, New Jersey. The couple relocated to Waco in 1979.

Doreen has been very active in the Waco community, serving on the boards of the Art Center Waco, Waco Women’s Symphony Guild, Historic Waco Fort House, Waco Independent School District Foundation, AJ Moore Academy, and the Community Race Relations Coalition. From 1997 to 2003, she co-chaired the Open Door Arts Fest, a visual and performing arts festival, and in 2000, co-chaired “Wacows,” a public art exhibition.

Doreen has won awards from the American Fundraising Professionals, the International Festival and Events Association, and the Waco Foundation. In 2004, Doreen founded the non-profit organization Waco Cultural Arts Fest. She is also founder of the Waco National Outdoor Sculpture Competition and Exhibition and Art at the Arc of McLennan County for students with autism and cerebral palsy. Doreen also coordinates the monumental sculpture project “Branding the Brazos,” a series of sculptures depicting the history of the Chisholm Trail.

“I enjoy art challenges and supporting the arts.”

Jeanne Sadler
Waco, TX

Flamenco – ¾ Violin

Jeanne Sadler is a native of Chicago, where she began her art education at the age of nine at the Huddle School of Art and continued her studies on merit scholarship at the Art Institute of Chicago.

After graduating from the Chicago Academy of Fine Art, she was employed as a commercial artist at R.R. Donnelly in Chicago and later as an illustrator of U.S. Air force training manuals. Over the next thirty years she studied with many noted artists, including Frederick Mizen, Peggy Snodgrass, Walter McCown, Albert Handel, Kathleen Cook, and Ben Konis.

"My husband and I took a wonderful trip to Spain about ten years ago. We found the Spanish music and culture to be so memorable that I found my inspiration to paint this violin from the famous Spanish dancers. I also included our grandson playing the guitar."

Jennifer Seo
(Baylor student/transferred from MCC)

Treasure Box Violin – ½ Violin

College Art Contest Winner

Jennifer Seo was born 1986 in Florida and raised in various parts of this country. She lives in Waco and attended Mclennan Community College for the past couple of years. While there she received merit-based scholarships from the art department and was able to transfer to Baylor University, where she is pursuing a BFA in painting.

"My parents, like any Asian parents, attempted to pair me with a violin when I was very young, but it was unsuccessful. Rather than playing the violin, I would only play with the violin. Even then I guess I was intrigued by the delicate yet bold shape of the instrument."

"Though I cannot play the violin, I love the sweet sounds it makes, which always remind me of hymns praising God. That’s how my Treasure Box Violin was inspired. It was an attempt to incorporate the shapes of the violin that I loved with another love, that of the hymns whose remembrance of the violin's sounds always bring to me."

President Ken & Alice Starr
with Diana Fadal
(Mary-Hardin Baylor student/graduate from TCA Waco)

We’ll Fling our Green and Gold Afar to ‘Light’ the Ways of Time – 4/4 Violin

Kenneth Winston Starr, J.D., has had a distinguished career in academia, the law, and public service. On June 1, 2010, he became the 14th President of Baylor University.

Alice M. Starr is pleased to serve as Baylor’s First Lady. She is CEO of Starr Strategies Co., a consulting firm formed in 2005 to help non-profits and start-up companies strategize on public relations, marketing, and fundraising goals. She has over 30 years of experience working with businesses and has helped numerous charities. Diana Fadal, age 18, is a film and graphic design major at University of Mary Hardin-Baylor. She aspires to make great films and publish a comic book.

“The Waco Symphony is simply superb!” say the Starrs. “We are happy to support the talented director and musicians that make up this fine orchestra and thank Diana Fadal for her artistic endeavors to make this instrument into a fun Baylor keepsake.” Diana adds: “Baylor has always been a big part of Waco’s history, so what better way to honor Waco’s tradition than to contribute a piece of Baylor-inspired artwork to the 50th anniversary of the Waco Symphony Orchestra? The musical piece that inspired this violin was none other than ‘That Good Ole Baylor Line.’”

Jo Stribling
Waco, TX

Lipizzaner Stallions of Vienna – 4/4 Violin

Jo Stribling is an artist as a hobby. She played the violin, thus she is delighted to paint on a violin for the benefit of the 50th Anniversary of the Waco Symphony Orchestra. She is a member of the Texas State Committee and the advisory board of the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington, D.C.

“I was inspired to paint this violin by my love of horses, by my blue and white porcelain tiles depicting the white Lipizzaner stallions of Vienna, and by the memory of the beautiful waltzes of Mozart and Strauss.”

Richard Skurla
Waco, TX

Dance of the Strings – ½ Cello

Richard Skurla was born in upstate New York in 1957 and moved with his family to the north Texas area in 1967. A graduate of Texas A&M University, he has attended workshops at the SMU School of Art in Dallas and workshops taught by New York’s Gregg Kreutz and Wolf Kahn, New Mexico’s Kevin Macpherson and Ann Templeton, and Dallas’s Bob Rohm.

Through extensive study Richard has developed a unique style. He enjoys working on location and experimenting with color, brush, and painting knife. His works are found in private collections and in the collections of corporations such as JCPenney in Dallas. The many details in his paintings encourage the viewer to see more than first appears. “The beauty that abstraction provides is the constant wonder of what can be seen in the painting,” he says. “It is the constant exploration and discovery that excites me and guides me through a painting.”

“In an effort to establish cross support of the arts in Waco, I felt it only natural to contribute my lesser talents to such a fine organization as the Waco Symphony. I was honored to be considered for this event. My work demonstrates the joy and pleasure of music and paint. The figures dance and leap about the surface of the very instrument that creates the melodies of delight they consume. The color of the paint lends to the experience of joy I have when I create my works. Music conveys color, and color conveys harmony—a beautiful marriage from the talents of mankind.”

www.silvermg.com/RichardSkurla.html

Lloyd Voges
Waco, TX

Ranch Serenade – 4/4 Violin

Lloyd Voges has painted intermittently since childhood and became a student of Richard Skurla in 2003. He also farms and ranches in the Central Texas area. Raised in a family dedicated to preserving the farm and ranch lifestyle, Lloyd depicts the beauty of the Western way of life on a personal, day-to-day level.

He and his wife, Teresa, enjoy visiting other ranches and historical Texas towns, which inspire him to paint outdoor scenes and architecural landmarks. Lloyd’s medium of choice is oils, which he applies with palette knife and a wide variety of brush strokes. He highlights the tranquil beauty of his subjects, but also adds an occasional WOW factor. Lloyd is represented by the Silver Maple Gallery. He has placed in juried shows throughout Central Texas and was recently selected into the prestigious Western Artists of America and will present at that organization’s March 2012 show in Corsicana.

“As far as what gives me inspiration, as a rancher the western lifestyle is my life, and the fact that I’m with the Western Artists of America, my slot is western still life, livestock, and ranch landscapes.”

http://www.llvstudiolloydvoges.com/

Scott Wright
Denton, TX

A Sweet And Growing Harmony In The Whisper Of The Wisp – 16" Viola

Scott Wright was born in the final year of the decade best known for its free love, hippie lifestyle, and (as his surprisingly ordinary parents called it) the Sexties.

Named after the subject of the popular Bobby Goldsboro song “Watchin’ Scottie Grow,” Scott grew up in an environment that encouraged imagination. Yet he was grounded by a strong-willed grandmother who instilled in him an appreciation of history and family lineage. These early influences imprinted upon Scott a dichotomy of perspectives that are reflected in his art. After completing his formal art instruction at the University of North Texas, he threw himself into the creation of storytelling panels.

Utilizing rescued photographs and salvaged objects, his work is full of fact and fiction, life and loss, and all that is unique and ordinary about our lives, yet preserves the immortality of us all.

“My painted violin is intended to reflect the perfect marriage of string music and nature. No genre of music more perfectly reflects the natural world than classical music, and no instruments are more attuned to the beauty, nuance, and drama of nature than the strings. I attempted to capture this vibrant synchronicity with a simple palette composed of a single color, paired with a collage of the elegant flowing forms found in nature. My inspiration was the music of the German Baroque violinist and composer Johann Friedrich Fasch, a personal favorite.”

www.scottwrightart.com

David Crowder
Atlanta, GA

Banjo

Additional donation of a Signed Banjo by David Crowder