ViBe Story Exchange: Chesapeake Bay Distillery

Join us for an evening of ART & STORIES. Art inspires stories. Stories inspire art. You leave inspired by both! At Story Exchange, we pair artists with authors and embrace the magic that happens when art and written word merge.
Join us Thursday, April 11, 6-8pm to see art by James Pearson and hear the written story (inspired by the art) by Mary Long.
6:00-7:00pm: Hear the story. Experience the art. Q&A with the author and artist.
7:00-8:00pm: Community gathering with light refreshments.
This event is FREE and OPEN TO ALL AGES!
About the Artist, James Pearson: Born and raised in Norfolk VA, Pearson is a self-taught realism graphite artist. Since his early childhood he drew subjects such as cars, faces, shoes, and anything that inspired, interested or captivated his curious mind. In his early 20s, Pearson experienced a rebirth of his drawing passion when he was shown a self-portrait an artist had drawn with pencil. The portrait had sparked the desire and curiosity within him to undertake the task of creating such beautiful works of art as portraits. He sat in a room for a month with only a picture of his Father, pencil and paper, and drew every shape, feature and detail. From that point, Pearson followed his burning desire within to be able to draw anything he saw as realistic and exact as possible. Since 2009, he has drawn over 200 portraits from animals, people, landscapes to still life. His favorite drawing subjects are hands, animals and faces.
About the Author, Mary Long: An English teacher at Virginia Beach Middle School for 30 years, Long said teaching 7th and 8th graders for all of that time has kept her young. She has a fantastic and supportive family, married to a man who teaches along side her at school, and two daughters, both of whom also attended VBMS. One is now a Radford University graduate and the other is a current student at Randolph-Macon College. Her house overflows with pets. Two cats, a rabbit, a bearded dragon, and a tortoise make their lives a little crazy, but fun too. Long writes for young adults. She has written several plays for middle school age actors and actresses, and firmly believes that the best sound in the world is a 13 year old laughing out loud from something she wrote.
About Story Exchange: Story Exchange is a community art initiative bringing together local neighborhoods, businesses and artists to share stories and create art around love, loss and resilience. From young children to the communities’ elders, stories and art of the human experience will be submitted, chosen and shared with the community through local performances and exhibits. Originally inspired by The New York Times’ Modern Love column, Story Exchange is in its fourth year in Hampton Roads having featured 20 Virginia artists and authors. Visit us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/storyexchange or Instagram: @storyexchange
About the ViBe Creative District: Located near the Virginia Beach Oceanfront, the ViBe Creative District is the newest art and cultural hub in Hampton Roads! The ViBe Creative District non-profit is a 501c3 that exists to promote, support, connect, and inspire the creative industries to boost our local economy, grow jobs, and enhance our quality of life. It works to create and revive economic vibrancy in our neighborhood with a remarkable local vibe. Additionally, ViBe strives to enhance a place of discovery for locals and visitors along with economic vitality to meet the City of Virginia Beach’s vision for a quality resort destination. For more information on please visit www.ViBeCreativeDistrict.org, email info@ViBeCreativeDistrict.org call 757-202-9533 or follow ViBe Creative District on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ViBeCreativeDistrict and Instagram at www.instagram.com/thevibecreativedistrict/