Several of his pieces, which will be on display here, are featured in a recently published book, The Contemporary Blacksmith, and will be exhibited this fall at the American Craft Museum in New York. All of the day s events are open to the public. I also enjoy the day because of the involvement of Ann Arida Talley and her family. The Arida Arts Symposium is funded by an endowment in the BRCC Educational Foundation established by Ann s former husband, the late Gamil T. Arida, physician, scholar and lover of both art and philosophy. Gamil was a wonderful volunteer at BRCC and in the community, a role Ann has capably assumed since his death in 1992.
All events are free.
For further information and reservations, call 692-3572, Ext. 266. Preparing for the college s largest international venture since training workers for the Japanese-owned Blue Ridge Metals plant some years ago, five BRCC employees were in Scarborough, England, last month, familiarizing themselves with processes to be taught to employees of the new Raflatac plant here. Raflatac is a world leader in the manufacture of adhesive label stock, which is sold to print houses for the printing of product and information labels. The company has nine plants on five continents, with the new plant becoming its corporate headquarters for North America. The first group of 15 Raflatac machine operators began classes on the BRCC campus April 16 and will be here through next Friday, with a second group expected this summer.