LAURA SPONG: A CHRONOLOGY Compiled by Wim Roefs
1926
Born in Nashville, Tenn., as Laura Miles on Feb. 20
1946/47
Takes a studio art class at Vanderbilt University, audits another one, and takes an art history class
1948
Graduates cum laude from Vanderbilt University as an English major.
Marries Ernest Maye Spong Jr., on June 4, 1948, and moves to his hometown, Columbia, S.C. Her husband was a general contractor, working first for his father’s company, then for another one.
1949
Gives birth to twin sons Bennett Jared and Blakeney DuBose
1951
Give birth to daughter Mary Katherine
1952
Gives birth to son Ernest Maye III, “Trey”
1954
Gives birth to son Thomas Miles
Mid-1950s
Takes art classes at the Richland Art School at the Columbia Museum of Art on and off until the early 1960s, primarily with Gilmer Petroff but also with J. Bardin and Jean McWorther
1956/57
Joins Columbia Artists’ Guild at Gil Petroff’s urging and will do three stints as the organization’s secretary
1957
In May is with J. Bardin and George W. Gunther one of three award winners at the Columbia Artists’ Guild Spring Exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art. Spong’s winning painting is Three Figures, lacquer on masonite, priced at $75.
Has one work selected for the Guild of S.C. Artists’ 7th Annual Jury Show in November at the Columbia Museum of Art, juried by Lamar Dodd. Among others included were Sigmund Abeles, J. Bardin, Carl Blair, William Halsey, Willard Hirsch, David Van Hook, Nell Lafaye, Corrie McCallum, Gil Petroff, Catherine Rembert, Dorothy Yaghjian and Edmund Yaghjian.
1958
In February is in a three-person exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art with the two other 1957 Columbia Guild Exhibition winners. “Ms. Spong is the surprise member of the trio,” The State (Columbia, S.C.) wrote, “with remarkable paint and structural quality plus a sensitive palette of beautifully harmonious color appeal.”
Has two pieces in a Columbia Artists’ Guild Spring Show at the Columbia Museum of Art: “Mobile Abstract,” priced at $100, and “Spring,” $75, both lacquer on masonite.
Exhibits with J. Bardin at the Nashville Centennial Club. Nashville reviewer Louise LeQuire wrote that Spong was developing a personal style, applying “a somber palette leaning toward grays in a way which adds a dimension of tautness and restraint” in contrast to Bardin’s “extensive use of blues and greens juxtaposed.” Spong’s “technique of lacquer on masonite adds an unifying textural effect to her work. There is a sameness in all the paintings which might become an inhibiting factor. The artist has completed all of her three paintings within the past year, so that perhaps a style has been completely exploited. It will be interesting to see further developments in her work.”
1959
Gives birth to son Joseph Kershaw, “Kerk”
1960
Wins Artist Guild of Columbia Award with Abstract I, lacquer on masonite, priced at $100, at the Guild of S.C. Artists’ 10th Annual Juried Exhibition in November, juried by the former director of the Guggenheim Museum, James Johnson Sweeney. Also had Abstract III ($45) and Abstract VI ($75) in the show. Other prizewinners included J. Bardin (Alt-Lee and Blossom Shop Award), Carl Blair (Carolina Ceramics Award), Robert Courtright (Webb-Rawls Art Center Award), Robert Hunter (Windsor Newton Prize), Merida Frederick (Columbia College Purchase Prize), George Owen (Belk Department Store Award), David Van Hook (Columbia Museum Purchase Award), John M. Waddill (Clemson College Purchase Award) and Edmund Yaghjian (Rose Talbert Paint Company Award).
1961
Wins with George Horn and Nell Lafaye the Columbia Artists’ Guild Spring exhibition at the Columbia Museum of Art with Composition No. 10, lacquer on masonite, priced at $150
In October has three-person show with the other two Columbia Guild winners at the Columbia Museum of Art
1960s
Takes care of her family; is a club scout den mother; is a Sunday school and Christian education teacher at Columbia’s Trinity Episcopal Cathedral; works most summers for two to eight weeks at Camp Country Lad for boys in Monterey, Tenn., mostly running errands, taking care of sick kids, supervising the dining hall and helping in the kitchen, which she runs in 1968 and 1972. She also volunteers as a docent at the Columbia Museum of Art.
1969
In July takes a job at the S.C. Department of Archives and History, restoring and laminating old documents. Works there for 18 months
1972
Has paintings accepted to the Springs Mills, Guild of S.C. Artists and Columbia Artists’ Guild exhibitions
1973
In January her husband dies.
In February-March is part of exhibition of six Georgia and South Carolina artists at Bailie’s Gallery in Augusta, Ga.
In March takes a job as a recreation specialist at the Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation, first part-time, then full-time. She’ll keep the job until 1983. She is responsible for arts and crafts programs in Columbia city parks, supervising two to four other recreation employees. She also produces special events such as the Earlewood Park Mini-Festival, Christmas Crafts Shows, Halloween Hullaboos and other park festivities and demonstrates crafts mediums at workshops and festivals such as May Fest, Hootenanny and City Fiesta. As a frequent guest for six years on “Columbia A.M.” a local television program, she demonstrates arts and crafts ideas to publicize her department’s programs. In 1979, as the city’s “Employee of the Month,” she receives two passes to the Irwin-Fuller Theatre of her choice and tickets to Hiers Dinner Theatre on Main Street. During her employment with Parks and Recreation, she occasionally takes art classes at the University of South Carolina, including an oil painting class with Jim Steven and ceramics with Bruce Schultze.
Enters painting in Springs Mills annual art competition
In March-April has paintings in the Columbia Artists’ Guild Spring show with, among others, Roy Drasites, Mana Cochran Hewitt, Eva Carter, Suzy Farrell, Harry Hansen, Guy Lipscomb, Jean McWorther, Philip Mullen, John O’Neil, Boyd Saunders, Truman Teed, and Candy Yaghjian. Spong’s lacquer painting Yellow Suspended was priced at $150.
In May donates three paintings to a Heathwood Hall Guild fundraiser that she prices at $30, $100 and $150. She continues to contribute paintings to fundraisers throughout her career, not in the least because, she says, she would “feel so honored that they asked me.”
In July, two weeks after her job became full-time and health insurance kicked in, is diagnosed with breast cancer and has a radical mastectomy
1976
As a crafts specialist is involved with the Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation’s easy-to-make Christmas decorations program
1978
In November enters two paintings in the South Carolina National Bank’s oil painters’ competition
Has an exhibition at the Little Corner Gallery, Rose Talbert Paint Co., at Forest Drive in Columbia. Her 25 paintings ranged in price from $90 to $400, the majority being priced at less than $200. Sells five paintings for a total of $765, $255 of which goes to the gallery. Local reviewer Martha Beaver called the compositions “well thought-out and coordinated” and detected a pattern in one painting that kept her eye “moving from one point to another with excitement.” Spong, the reviewer wrote, “makes cubism easy to understand and a delight for everyone…”
1979
Is selected for the Columbia Museum of Art’s first Guilds Juried Exhibition that includes work from members of the Artists’ Guild of Columbia, the Trenholm Artists Guild, the Dutch Fork Art Association and the Artists Resource Forum. Juror Roy Slade, president of the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., was unimpressed with many of the submissions, which, he wrote, “showed lack of genuine ability and, too often, (were) derivative in subject matter, technique or style of expression.” He lamented the virtual lack of sculpture, ceramics, fiber and other media as well the many cases of “insensitive presentation” through “over-elaborate or overpowering” frames. Others who made the cut included Nancy Albertson, Angela Bradburn, Eleanor Brown, Eva Carter, Ray Davenport, Toni Elkins, Steve Hewitt, David Lackey, Nell Lafaye, Meg McClean and Wendyth Thomas.
1981
In a Dec. 17 article in The State newspaper, Spong and Rann Ackerman are featured as crafts teachers at the Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation for making nativity scene figures from bottles, bowling pins and other discarded day-to-day items.
1982
Creates an edible mosaic for the Artists’ Guild of Columbia’s supper party on Friday, Jan. 22, at the Columbia Museum of Art. Others creating food art included Mana Hewitt, who created two blue fish from pound-cake, and Meg McClean and Leslie Alexander, who created a food train of beef stick, olives, carrots, oranges, mushrooms, egg yokes and other food items that won best in show.
1983
Resigns from her job at the Columbia Department of Parks and Recreation
1984
Sells her house and rents living space until she buys a new house in 1989
1985
Produces with Margaret Jones Gibbs an Educational Activities Book, a coloring book for children about South Carolina, published by The Greenville (S.C.) News-Piedmont. The next year, Spong and Gibbs produce a similar book for North Carolina, published by Unique Ideas, Inc., in Charlotte, N.C. In the 1980s, Spong also works in a paint store and has a short stint in antiques.
1980s, second half
Takes drawing classes at Columbia College with Steve Nevitt and art classes at the University of South Carolina with Harry Hansen
Paints portraits to generate income, using photos and a projector.
1989
Has an exhibition on the fourth floor of the Seibels Bruce building on Lady Street in Columbia that local reviewer Jeffrey Day said was “worth the trip.” The oil-on-canvas paintings in the show ranged in price from $150 to $850.
1990
In February marries David Johnson; separates from him the next year; divorces in 1993
In July has a solo exhibition at the Cookeville Art Gallery, Cookeville, Tenn., sponsored by the Cumberland Art Society. Prices for her oil-on-canvas paintings ranged from $200 to $800.
1991
Gets a studio at Vista Studios, which was established in 1990 in Columbia’s downtown Vista district. Others working there included Mike Williams, Heidi Darr-Hope, Frances Perkins, Lyn Bell Rose, Robert Kennedy and Anne Bjork.
In the summer returns to Camp Country Lad for boys in Monterey, Tenn., now to be the crafts supervisor. She continues to do so each summer throughout the 1990s.
In September, during Columbia’s Artista Vista art walk, is part of a group show at Vista Studios of artists associated with Trinity Cathedral’s Environmental Task Force. Others in the show included Jim Steven and Eleanor Byrne. Artists showing at other Vista venues, including Meteor Gallery on Lincoln Street, included J. Bardin, Edward Wimberly, Gunar Strazdins and Kim Keats.
1993
Is selected for the annual NBSC Oil Painters’ Open Invitational Exhibition, which opened in March at the Sumter (S.C.) Gallery of Art. Others included were Stephen Chesley, Suzy Farrell and Mildred White.
Has a solo exhibition at Vista Studios during April’s Artista Vista. Her prices ranged from $125 to $900.
Has a solo exhibition of works on paper at the Beckman Art Gallery on Calhoun Street in Columbia
In October is included in the annual Springs Industries Art Show, held at the National Guard Armory in Lancaster. Best of show went to Mike Williams. Other artists included were Stephen Chesley, Jack Gerstner and Scott Hoffman.
1994
Shows at Vista Studios during Vista Lights in November with other Vista Studio artists including Mike Williams, Carol Barks, Bill Jackson, Brent Wahl, Brooks Myers, Janette Grassi, Ruben Gambrell, Robert Kennedy and Brent Davenport
1995
Is part of “Concepts of Drawing,” a January exhibition of Vista Studio artists at the venue’s Gallery 80808. Others in the show included Ethel Brody, Ruben Gambrell and Brent Wahl.
In September–October has an exhibition at the main branch of the Richland County Public Library in Columbia. Prices for oils on canvas varied from $1,200 for a 36” x 36”painting to $450 for 16” x 20”; Spong sold one painting of 24” x 30” for $700.
In October is part of “Six Women Beyond Tara” at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios in Columbia with Carol Barks, Ethel Brody, Cindi Giddings, Janette Grassi and Frances Perkins
1996
In February has a solo show at the Sumter (S.C.) Gallery of Art. The 22 paintings ranged in price from $300 to $1,400
In March wins third place and $350 in the NBSC Annual Oil Painters Open Invitational Exhibition at the Sumter Gallery of Art, judged by Rick Gruber, then of the Morris Museum of Art in Augusta, Ga. Second place winner was Carol Jones White of Sumter, and first place, Lindsay O’Neil of Columbia. Others in the show included Aldwyth, Eva Carter, Stephen Chesley, Ray Davenport, West Fraser, Colin Quashie and Mike Williams. The Sumter Item reviewer called Spong’s awarded painting “clearly the work of a very talented artist.” Spong herself said the painting was “a testament to my willingness and desire to spend large amounts of time arranging the formal elements of painting into an engaging design.”
1997
Wins $75 and an honorable mention in the 19th BB&T–Florence (S.C.) Museum State-Wide Art Competition Exhibition in February. Others in the show included Marcelo Novo, Margaret Carter, Suzy Farrell, Al Beyer and Angela Bradburn.
In April–May has a solo show at the University of South Carolina at Lancaster. Prices ranged from $700 to $1,500.
In April–May has an exhibition with Eddie Bryan at Carol Saunders Gallery in Columbia, which Spong had recently joined
The Schneider Company in Greenville, S.C., adds two of Spong’s paintings to its collection.
1998
In January is included in the 20th BB&T–Florence Museum State-Wide Art Competition Exhibition, won by Mary Bentz Gilkerson. Others in the exhibition included Bryan Hiveley, Ethel Brody, Pat Callahan, Janette Grassi, Dee Hansen, Harry Hansen, Guy Lipscomb, Rose Metz, Marcelo Novo, Carol Pittman, Edward Shmunes and Mike Williams.
In February–March is in “Art for Now,” a group show at Vista Studios with seven other women, including Margaret Carter, Suzy Farrell and Angela Blackburn.
In February–March is part of “Woman Art: A Woman’s Commitment To Art,” a group show at Columbia College in Columbia that also included Cass Brucker, Deborah Lengel, Frances Perkins, Lindsay O’Neil and Janette Grassi.
In March wins third place and $350 in the NBSC 17th Annual Oil Painters’ Open Invitational Exhibition at the Sumter Gallery of Art. First place winner was Ann Anrrich. Other winners were Jennifer Lynn Smith, Stephen Chesley, James Innes and Frances Perkins.
A March article in the Free Times weekly in Columbia by Teri Tynes calls Spong “one of the Midland’s hottest painters” because of the flurry of exhibitions she’s in. The exhibitions show Spong’s “numerous talents,” Tynes wrote. “In most of her work a family of colors dominates the canvas… The end result is a sophisticated and complicated visual image.”
In the spring joins Hodges-Taylor Gallery in Charlotte, N.C.
Forms the artists’ group Osmosis with Eileen Blyth, Michael Dickens, Jeff Donovan, J. Christopher MatyJasik and Tom Ogburn
1999
Is selected for the Florence Museum’s 21st State-Wide Art Competition Exhibition, won by Mary Bentz Gilkerson. Others in the show included Deane Ackerman, Pat Callahan, Tom Flowers, Janette Grassi, Steven Jordan, Rose Metz and Boyd Saunders.
Is part of “Ninefold Journey: Women’s Views – The Winter Exhibit” at Wake Forest University with Susan B. Bidwell, Carol Weisberg Burgess, Maggie Clark, Lynn B. Hutchins, Dottie Moore, Marianne Mylet, Elsie Dinsmore Popkin and B.F. Reed. Prices of Spong’s oil-on-canvas paintings ranged from $800 to $3,000.
In March has an exhibition with Osmosis at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios in Columbia. In “Against the Grain,” the group shows woodcut prints, a new medium to many of the participants, including Spong, who told reviewer Teri Tynes that at first “she fussed, kicked and screamed through the whole thing.” Tynes in Free Times wrote that Spong’s pieces “evoke the respect for the fragments found in nature and the imagination.” The exhibition traveled to the University of South Carolina Lancaster in September–October.
In October has one painting accepted for “Fall for the Arts,” an exhibition organized by the Sumter County (S.C.) Cultural Commission
Is selected for the juried traveling exhibition of the South Carolina State Fair Juried Art Exhibition, which traveled to six venues from November 1999 through August 2000.
2000
In January–February has a solo show, “Fragments of the Whole,” at the University of South Carolina Sumter. The prices of her work range from $800 to $3,500.
In March is part of “Eight at 80808,” a group show of work by women artists, at Gallery 80808 in Columbia. Others in the show are Suzy Farrell, Angela Bradburn, Frances Nelson, Margaret Carter, Laura Dickson, Anna Kay Singley, and Bev. T. Williams.
In February–March is selected for the Florence Museum of Art’s 22nd “State-Wide Art Competition Exhibition.” Others selected included Deanne Ackerman, Pat Callahan, Toni Elkins, Mary Gilkerson, Steven Jordan, Guy Lipscomb, Rose Metz, Alex Powers, Boyd Saunders and Edward Shmunes.
In April–May shows with Osmosis in the Blue Pony Gallery in Charlotte, N.C., with the exhibition “Against the Grain”
In August–December is part of the “Expressions Art Exhibit” at Davidson County Community College in Lexington, N.C. Other artists in the show included Teresa Prater, Eileen Blyth, Eleanor Craig and Jeff Donovan.
In September–October has an exhibition with basketmaker Clay Burnette at Carol Saunders Gallery in Columbia
In October–November is part of Osmosis’ second group exhibition, “3 x 6”, a show of triptychs at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios. The show traveled to Francis Marion University in Florence, SC, in August–October 2001.
Is selected for the juried traveling exhibition of the South Carolina State Fair Art Exhibition, which in December starts a tour of six venues. Others selected include Will Barnes, Betty Bramlett, Chris Robinson and Alvin Staley.
2001
In May joins the new Fish or Cut Bait Gallery in Edisto, S.C.
In May–June has a solo exhibition in the Sarratt Gallery at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn., her alma mater. Prices for her oil on canvas ranged from $900 for 24” x 30” to $5,000 for 48” x 58”.
In September is the guest artist of the Guild of Charlotte (N.C.) artists, where she presents a slide presentation
In the fall joins I. Pinckney Simons Gallery in Beaufort, S.C.
2002
In March is part of another “Eight at 80808” show of women artists at Gallery 80808 in Columbia
Is selected for the 21st NBSC Annual Oil Painters’ Open Invitational Exhibition, which opens in February at the Sumter Gallery of Art and travels to half a dozen other venues. First place winner was Alvin Staley. Others in show included Al Beyer, Ray Davenport, Colin Dodd, Jon Nelson and Kizzi Alicia Staley.
2003
Is among the artists whose work is purchased for Midlands Technical College’s new Center of Excellence for Technology in Columbia. Phil Moody, Philip Mullen and Mike Williams were the others.
In September is part of an art sale benefit for the S.C. Philharmonic at Vista Studios in Columbia. Others artist involved included David Yaghjian, Liisa Salosaari Jasinski, Mike Williams and Susan Dingman.
In September is part of “Papier – Paper – Papyrus,” a group show at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios in Columbia with Lynne Burgess, Richard Conn, Jeff Donovan, Liis Salosaari Jasinski, Gene Speer and Mike Williams.
2004
Has a solo show at the Conn Gallery in Landrum, S.C., January through early March
Wins $100 for an Honorable Mention in NBSC’s 22nd Annual Oil Painters’ Open Invitational Exhibition, which opens at the Sumter Gallery of Art in February and travels to four more venues. Other winners are Dennis Snell, Kaytee Esser, Nancy Davidson, Alvin Staley and John Nelson. Spong’s work is one of the few abstracts in the show.
Is among the artists whose work is acquired for the new Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center. Others artists included were Mike Williams, Virginia Scotchie, David J.P. Hooker, Peter Lenzo, Tyrone Geter, Jean McWorther, Blue Sky and the One Eared Cow glass blowers.
2005
Wins first place and $800 in NBSC’s 23rd Annual Oil Painters’ Open Invitational Exhibition, which opens at the Sumter Gallery of Art in February and travels to four more venues. Other winners were Deborah Tidwell-Holzcheiter, Al Beyer, Jim Finch, Barbara Alston Yongue and Alvin Staley.
Is selected for the April exhibition “Pictures at an Exhibition,” a juried exhibition to raise funds for the S.C. Philharmonic, at Vista Studios in Columbia. Others in the show included Jason Amick, Jill Allen & Andrew Hayes, Stephen Chesley, Pat Gilmartin, Susan Lenz and David Yaghjian.
In October joins Gallery 5 in Rock Hill, S.C.
2006
In February is in an exhibition with Ruth Franklin at Vinson Gallery in Decatur, Ga.
In February has her 80th birthday celebration exhibition at Gallery 80808/Vista Studios, organized by if ART, International Fine Art Services of Columbia. Simultaneously, she has an exhibition at Carol Saunders Gallery in Columbia.
In May–June is part of a group exhibition at Fish or Cut Bait Gallery in Edisto, S.C., with the group of women painters from Columbia that she has exhibited with regularly
In July has a retrospective exhibition at the University of South Carolina’s McMaster Gallery, curated by gallery director Mana Hewitt
