Monthly Meetings

Our Artist Guild meetings encourage fellowship between artists with a half hour of socializing and refreshments at 6:30pm before our program begins at 7pm. The monthly meetings occur the second Monday each month from September – May and are usually held at the Aiken Center for the Arts, located at 122 Laurens Street SW in downtown Aiken. The meetings are free and open to anyone with an interest in art. You do not have to be an artist or Guild member to attend. The presentations feature Guild members and other local artists sharing their experiences in art through demonstrations, fun activities and lectures. We encourage and try to help facilitate ride-sharing and carpooling to our meetings and AAG supported activities.

The current year’s programs include:

🗓 September 8, 2025, 6:30pm
Topic: Member Potluck and Kickoff to the Season
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts

While this is primarily a social event, we will share with you our plans for the year and welcome your feedback. Please consider participating in the potluck. If your last name begins with A through P, please bring a savory dish. If your last name begins with Q through Z please bring a sweet dish. This is a fun event, to regroup after the summer, reconnect with old friends and meet new people. Feel free to bring your friends, all are welcome!

🗓 October 13, 2025, 6:30pm
👤 Marsha Shelburn
Topic: Collecting Museums
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts

Marsha is one of our active Guild members. Marsha started painting with oils and acrylics about thirty years ago. She would eke out time to paint in the evenings and on weekends while teaching economics at USC Aiken. While she loves painting, she also loves national and international travel and does so several times each year, searching out and visiting art museums and art galleries. She discovered “well-kept secret” museums through conversations with well-traveled friends, locals she met, and travel guides. You can see how these visits to art museums influenced her art. Join us on October 13th to learn tips for finding interesting museums and learn of some of her “museum trials and tribulations.”

🗓 November 10, 2025, 6:30pm
👤 Kimberly Hoover
Topic: Music and Visual Art
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts

One of our own, Kimberly, will perform and display her own art. Kimberly Hoover is a classically trained singer with a Bachelor of Music from Furman University and a Master of Music from the University of South Carolina. She is passionate about fostering connections between artists of all genres and enjoys exploring the relationship between the visual arts and music. Her own artistic journey was inspired by her grandmother who was a piano teacher, painter, and arts education advocate as well as her grandfather, an operatic tenor. During her presentation, she will also share about her great grandmother who learned to paint in her eighties. Kimberly is eager to inspire others to embark on their own journeys where they can explore new themes or perspectives. After her music education, Kimberly obtained a MBA from Clemson University and has worked in architecture, engineering, and procurement. Kimberly enjoys dabbling in acrylics, water colors, and colored pencils. She loves the rural landscape, photography, travel, and writing. Come for an evening of renewal and a refreshing conversation about discovering beauty and connection in the world around us.

🗓 December 8, 2025, 6:30pm
Topic: Holiday Party and Potluck
📍 African American Museum

We hope you will join us for a fun evening including live music and exciting door prizes! Please bring a pot luck dish to share: if your last name begin with…
A-J bring sweet items
K-R bring savories
S-Z bring appetizers
We look forward to celebrating with you!

🗓 January 12, 2026, 6:30pm
👤 Nancy “Robbie” Robb
Topic: Gold Gilding
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts

Robbie Robb. Robbie (aka Nancy) is heavily involved in the local artist community, where she is an officer on the Aiken Center for the Arts Board, an appointed member of the City Arts Commission and President of the Aiken Artist Guild. Robbie is a self-taught abstract artist who embraced painting after retiring from a corporate career. With no formal art training, she dove into the creative process driven by curiosity and a love of learning. Her work reflects an appreciation for texture, layering and reflective elements. She works predominantly in acrylic paint and likes to incorporate the use of mediums and gold leaf to create texture and light. Her artistic journey is a testament to the idea that it’s never too late to begin. Robbie values the support and inspiration she finds through the Guild and enjoys learning alongside fellow artists.

🗓 February 9, 2026, 6:30pm
👤 Cheryl Dillinger
Topic: Glass Fusion
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts

Cheryl always wanted to be an artist, even as a kid. She headed to the University of Texas at Austin with that goal, but life took her in some different directions. Still, she always kept her creative side going—she worked as a costumer at a Texas opera house, ran a sewing shop up in Illinois, did some catering, and even owned a café. When she moved to Aiken and tried out a glass mosaic class, she finally found what she truly loved. For the past six years, Cheryl’s been making glass-on-glass mosaics, and lately, she’s gotten into fused glass too.

🗓 March 9, 2026, 6:30pm
👤 Alex Foltz
Topic: Oil Portrait Demonstration
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts

Surprise guest Alex Foltz speed-painted a stunning oil portrait of a live model in front of an enrapt audience at ACA, discussing technique and readily answering questions as he worked. Alex is a contemporary realist based in Augusta who is known for original and commissioned portraits of people, horses, dogs, cats and other subjects. He won second place in the 2025 Artfields portrait competition, was a finalist in the 2018 Portrait Society of Americas members-only competition, and recently was recognized with distinction for one of the top 30 works from 2,200 submissions in this year’s International Portrait Competition. His work has also been published in International Artist Magazine, Sand Hills Literary Magazine, and Basement Magazine. Alex also teaches oil painting and portraiture at the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art.

🗓 April 13, 2026, 6:30pm
👤 Jeff Burchill
Topic: Stone Sculpture
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts

Jeff Birchill took a 30 year detour from producing fine art to being a commercial artist. When he returned to his first love in 2000 he started sculpting stone seriously, becoming a Signature Artist Member of The Society of Animal Artists (2013), an Elected Member of the National Sculpture Society (2015), past member of the American Society of Marine Artist (2015), and recently Artist for Conservation (2018). He has been accepted into six of the Society of Animal Artist Annual Exhibitions, one of his sculptures received the SAA highest award, The Award of Excellence. This year one of his sculptures was selected as one of 55 representing the National Sculpture Society. “Rock Crawler” was purchased by the Blauvelt Art Museum, Oradell, NJ, for their permanent collection (2017), and recently “Born to Run Free” was selected to be part of The Brookgreen Garden’s, Pawley Island, SC, permanent collection of sculpture. One of his River Otters will be headed to The James Museum of Western and Wildlife Art, St. Petersberg, FL.

🗓 May 11, 2026, 6:30pm
👤 Jason and Janice from Hobby Lobby
Topic: Framing Your Work
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts

There’s a framing expert in every Hobby Lobby store waiting to help you make the right decision for your framing needs. Jason Dove from Hobby Lobby, Aiken will discuss practical, price and aesthetic considerations for framing your work. Jason Dove has been a dedicated member of the Aiken community for 20 years, currently serving as the department manager of the frame shop at Aiken Hobby Lobby. He earned his degree in Visual Fine Arts and Multimedia from William Patterson University in the early 2000s. Through his early career in New Jersey then aiken he has gained valuable experience working in various graphic design and art decor roles for multiple companies.  His preferable mediums are Pastels, Photography, and acrylic painting.

Field Trips

Looking for a fun day trip, or maybe 2-day getaway to stimulate or renew your artistic juices? Then you might want to sign up for a field trip with the AAG.

Based on member input, a Field Trip Committee was formed to research various art events within driving distance of Aiken, locations and costs. Our goal is to make at least two small group trips per year led by member volunteers; one local one-day trip and one overnight trip. The costs per trip will depend on the number of participants, transportation and the event. If you are interested in being involved in leading future field trips, contact Chris McKeel at ctmckeel24@gmail.com.

Details on each field trip will be announced in the AAG Newsletter when registration for the event opens. Here is a brief summary of past and envisioned upcoming trips:

🗓 March 21, 2026, 10am-4pm
📍 Edgefield Pottery lecture, lunch and site visit
Status: FULL

Details:

  • Capacity 16 attendees
  • Carpool to Edgefield
  • Meet for lunch downtown
  • Speaker
  • Visit pottery site
  • $5 per person covers speaker’s lunch and drivers’ gasoline

Attendees responsible for cost of their own lunch

🗓 October 14-15, 2026
📍 Brookgreen Gardens “Sip and Sculpt”, garden tour, group dinner and local field trip
Status: Register at May 11, 2026 Monthly Meeting or call Chris McKeel 803-443-8526

Details:

  • Capacity 16 attendees
  • Carpool to Murrel’s Inlet on October 14, arrive by 12noon
  • $70 per person includes Sip and Sculpt class and Garden Tour
  • Individuals book own hotels (block reserved at Hampton Inn Murrells Inlet)
  • Group dinner at Hot Fish Club paid by individuals
  • Morning field trip October 15 to Huntington Beach State Park
  • Group lunch at Inlet Crab House paid by individuals
  • Return to Aiken after lunch

🗓 March 5, 2027
📍 Charleston First Friday ArtWalk
Status: Watch Newsletter for announcement when registration opens

Details:

  • Carpool to Charleston, arrive by noon Friday
  • Cost per person TBA
  • Individuals book own hotels (group block will be reserved)
  • Group dinner paid by individuals
  • Local field trip next morning before returning to Aiken

🗓 April 2027
📍 Artfields Festival, Lake City, SC
Status: Watch Newsletter for announcement when registration opens

Details:

  • Carpool to Lake City, arrive by noon
  • Cost per person TBA
  • Individuals book own hotels (group block will be reserved)
  • Group dinner paid by individuals
  • Local field trip next morning before returning to Aiken

Special Interest Groups

Enjoy membership and build camaraderie with like-minded artists in your favorite special interest group(s). These groups meet on a regular basis and are open to all AAG members, space permitting. Don’t see your interest? You can start your own group.

friday paints

Friday Paint
🗓 Fridays, 10am-3pm
📍 Aiken Center for the Arts
💲 Cost: $5 per session
👤 Contact: Pat Bartlett, patbartcom@aol.com
or text 703-599-0362

Details
abstract

Abstract Group
🗓 Most Mondays at 1pm
📍 Better World Studios
💲 Cost: $5 per studio session
👤 Contact: Catherine Musham, cmusham@aol.com

Details
aikencforthearts

Art Conversations/Critique
🗓 2nd Tuesday of each month at 10am.
📍 Brooks Gallery, Aiken Center for the Arts
💲 Cost: Free for AAG members, $10 every 4 months for nonmembers (fee split with ACA)
👤 Contact: Pamela Moore, PamelaMooreArt7@aol.com

Details
library

Library Painting Group
🗓 Wednesdays from Labor Day until Memorial Day
⏰ Morning group: 11am-1:30pm, Afternoon group: 2pm-4:30pm
📍 Aiken County Public Library
💲 Cost: Free
👤 Contact: Janet Robinson at the Library, 803-642-2020

Details
EVENT CALENDAR