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GREENSBORO - Scott Plaster's artist eye couldn't help but notice the cow. It stood alongside the Blue Ridge Parkway, looking so out of place as cars whizzed by.
Plaster snapped a photograph. Someday, he knew, he would paint that cow.
He didn't know then that his whimsically-painted bovine would become the namesake of a new organization of emerging and established artists, the Cosmic Cow Society.
Its 12 members aim to create more public interest in art and get more exposure for their own paintings, collage, mixed media, fiber arts and pottery.
"We are a lighthearted group, and want our community to begin looking at art in a different way," says Plaster, who has shown his whimsical animal paintings in local galleries.
The Cosmic Cow Society hopes that its name and art will entice the public to its first group art show. It opens Dec. 2 at the Maya Gallery on Tate Street, in a spot near the UNCG campus previously occupied by The Space gallery.
The group also will host public art talks there on the second Friday of each month, starting Dec. 12. The series is called START - Smart Talk about ART.
"The location is so perfect to attract the college crowd, but still close enough to downtown to bring in the gallery hoppers," Plaster says.
Not surprisingly, the Cosmic Cow Society took root in an unusual venue: the office of orthodontist Kelly Mitchell.
Mitchell's mother, Sharon, organized an art exhibit there featuring the work of patients and their families. Plaster and his wife, Cheryl, were among them.
An art lover but not an artist herself, Sharon Mitchell was impressed by the talent. She wanted to help get artists' work seen - and sold.
"Art belongs in homes, not necessarily all in museums and galleries," Sharon Mitchell said.
She began hosting monthly dinners for small groups of artists, where they could socialize and talk about their art. They decided to make it more formal and open it to a core group of 12. Others can come as guests.
In addition to Sharon Mitchell and the Plasters, members are Perry Boswell, Karen Shelton, Cass Catlett, Melanie Wilcox, Carole Donovan, Rose Wendel, Karen Fridy, Jude Lobe and Brydie Palmore.
Although their mission is serious, their name shows that they don't want to take themselves too seriously, Scott Plaster says.
"We all like to have fun with our art, and want to keep the art at the center of our focus and something that people can share and enjoy."
Contact Dawn DeCwikiel-Kane at 373-5204 or dawn.kane@news-record.com
