Abstract paintings, beaded jewelry, fiber dolls and other works by two local artists will comprise a new exhibit opening at the Rose Gallery on Sept. 13.

Folk and fiber artist Diana Hiott and Rose Gallery director Sue Anne Hoyt are collaborating with each other for the exhibit, which they dubbed the “Hiott and Hoyt Exhibition.”

Hoyt’s paintings lining the gray gallery walls will be interspersed with Hiott’s fiber and multi-media creations.

Hiott’s beaded jewelry and shawls made of hand-spun yarn will be displayed in kiosks in the gallery.

“I think it’s colorful,” Hiott said of the exhibit. “It seems like our art can’t be much different from each other’s. Our color palettes seem to coordinate.”

The opening will be held from 2–4 p.m. Sept. 13.

Rosetta and The Stones will provide live music from 3–4 p.m. in the instruction room during the opening.

The exhibit will be displayed through the end of September.

Hoyt said she and Hiott have wanted to hold a joint exhibit with their abstract works for several years.

“Neither of us do traditional art,” Hiott said. “I think a lot of it is educational to show that what folks are used to seeing isn’t the only thing out there.”

Hoyt defined abstract art as art based on ideas.

“It’s not about painting a picture of something,” Hoyt said. “So much of it has to do with memory. It’s more about the idea or sensation of a place you’ve been or seen in the past, and our mind is so powerful with memory.”

Hoyt and Hiott have master’s degrees and extensive artistic training and experience with exhibiting works in juried shows.

They have also had works published.

“I have had patterns of my work in magazines and have gotten feedback from people all over the world,” Hiott said.

The personal nature of both artists’ pieces is evident in the details, from the arrangement of thousands of beads on a necklace Hiott fashioned, to the brush strokes and blended colors on a canvas Hiott painted.

“We take our ideas and our feelings and sift through them every time we make a piece,” Hiott said. “We know that we’re different.”

Although the meanings behind some of Hoyt’s and Hiott’s works deal with serious feelings or topics, their exhibit will be infused with humor.

For example, those who walk through the exhibit will encounter a fabric figure, holding a paintbrush, perched on a paintbrush at the end of a string dangling near two paintings.

“We both make serious art even though hers has a lot of humor to it,” Hoyt said. “I just love her work. I think she’s so talented.”

In addition to the artwork and live music, refreshments and conversations with the artists will be available to those who attend the opening.

“It would be really nice to have a big turnout,” Hiott said. “Everyone is welcome.”

The Rose Gallery is located at the Chilton County Arts Council, 703 Second Ave. N. in downtown Clanton.

The gallery is open to the public on Thursdays from 1–3 p.m. and Saturdays from 3–5 p.m.

For more information, call (205) 217-3027 or visit ChiltonCountyArtsCouncil.com.