Jonathan Jackson
The Union-Recorder
MILLEDGEVILLE —
Kim Joris left Milledgeville 32 years ago. After moving to Baldwin County at age 10, she attended Baldwin County Schools. Joris graduated from Baldwin High School where her mother taught for years. After moving, Joris spent time in different professions and has recently become immersed in folk art. Her love for the field has propelled her work and recently carried her back to the town she calls home.
Joris has opened the Folks Art Gallery in downtown Milledgeville.
“I’ve been gone for 32 years, but I guess you can go home,” Joris said.
The gallery is more than a place to display art. Joris said a goal is to have a space set aside for the creation of art, whether through media specific classes or open arts and crafts nights.
“We just want a setting where people can learn and want to create,” Joris said.
The gallery, located at 108 W. Hancock St. in downtown Milledgeville, will feature Joris’ artwork that she describes as found object art. She frequently intermingles words in the pieces and re-imagines the use of objects to serve an artistic purpose.
“For me it is a way to tell a story,” she said. “I have something to say and I get to say it either through the items or through the words and quotes.”
The objects may include rusted saw blades, broken china or wire, but Joris tries to imagine them in a different setting, serving a different purpose.
“It really is about reusing things and re-purposing things,” she said. “I spent about 13 years as a police officer, and for me, this is related. It’s about not throwing things or people away. The hardest thing about my art is not the application, it is the imagination.”
Through Folks Art, Joris hopes to spread a love for visual arts to the community. She’s already held a folk art class and has more upcoming. She plans a found art class on a monthly basis, and beginning at 7 p.m. June 10, she will open the gallery up for arts and crafts.
“You just bring your own arts and crafts,” she said. “All we are asking is that people call ahead, but that is not required.”
Joris, an advocate of education, offers her own contribution to the effort of educators by giving a 10 percent discount at Folks Art to teachers.
Joris spends time teaching at the John C. Campbell Folk School, which offers classes every week of the year. She recently completed an artist-in-residency program in the Washington County school system and also holds classes in Clay County, N.C. You can reach Joris at Folks Art by calling (478) 453-9550.
Joris said that her artistic expression takes many shapes and forms and that many times, the pieces on display in the store front may be composed of family items and have special meaning.
“Folk art is my favorite,” she said. “It speaks to my soul and stops me dead in my tracks. Art makes me feel.”
