Walk down the back hallway of the Garner Senior Center this month and you will be amazed by the artwork on display. The pieces are on loan from the Artists’ Guild of Greater Garner for September.

The new group started meeting in May and has accumulated eight members so far with hopes to increase in size even more this month.

“Things have really snowballed in the last few months,” Guild Vice President Cheryl Dalton said.

The group meets at the Senior Center and uses rooms there for classes. One member, Marcelle Hooks has been a professional painter for 15 years and now teaches at Wake Tech, the Cary Senior Center and the Garner Senior Center.

While Hooks is the only professional painter in the group one other is semi-professional. Most of the members are amateurs.

Dalton said she looked at other guilds, like those in Clayton and Smithfield, which met in the middle of the day, while she was at work. She wanted to be part of a group that would help her with her passion in the evenings that was still close to home.

“I think there’s a need for this in the area,” Dalton’s coworker and Guild President Cheryl Ward said.

The guild has provided support for artists of all levels and looks forward to offering more help this month at the Sept. 22 meeting at 7 p.m. Maddy Baumann and Damon Rondo of Artful Color in Apex will be at the meeting to give a presentation on Giclee’ prints, pricing and the business of art.

There will also be a Plein Aire day at White Deer Park Oct. 9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Artists will meet at the park and paint outside for the afternoon. The guild will also participate in an art walk though downtown Garner during the Town’s holiday festivities Dec. 3.

So far, the group has been focused on encouraging artists to practice their craft.

“It’s a chance to get your art out of the closet,” Hooks said. “I think all you have to have is the passion for it.”

Guild membership costs $30 per year, $40 per year for families and $25 per year for seniors. Art classes through the town of Garner can be found in the Parks and Recreation Fall Brochure. Students must be at least 18 to take part in classes.

For more information about the Artists’ Guild of Greater Garner or the upcoming meeting, contact Cheryl Ward at cheryl@wardpreston.net or Cheryl Dalton at daltonfamily@nc.rr.com