FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Enchantment with “Falling Water” is the inspiration for the Eastern Shore Art Center’s and the Committee On Public Art’s (COPA) juried exhibit at ESAC Sept. 4 through Oct. 27.

The exhibit will be introduced to the public at First Friday ArtWalk, from 6 to 8 p.m.

More than 100 entries in both two- and three-dimensional work covering a variety of mediums will be on view for the two-month period. The various pieces will include actual working fountains as well as paintings and other works.

COPA will award cash prizes for first, second and third places for both 2-D and 3-D entries.

First place in each category will receive $750; second place, $300; and third place, $200.

Tommy McPherson, director of Mobile Museum of Art, and Melissa Morgan, former executive director of the Pensacola Museum of Art will present the awards.

“Falling Water” was inspired by, and is in conjunction with, the dedication in late October of the “Mullet Run” artistic fountain by Ameri’ca Jones Gallaspy, which was commissioned by COPA and is located behind the Fairhope Museum of History in the Bancroft Street plaza.

The fountain will be dedicated in a special city ceremony Oct. 18. Also that weekend will be the annual Mullet Run race and walk, which benefits local charities; and the ESAC’s Grand Festival of Art by the Bay which, this year for the first time, will take place in the downtown Fairhope business district.

Also opening at ESAC’s September ArtWalk event is “James Hood: Fifty-year Retrospective.”

The exhibit will consist of artwork created by Hood over the past 50 years, most of which have been done since he retired, moved to Point Clear and began studying at ESAC.

While Hood considers himself primarily a sculptor, much of his early work involves painting; a practice he has largely abandoned because he is colorblind.

Most of his recent work includes clay sculpture, with a bit of pottery and a mixed bag of assemblages made from found objects and other mixed media.

Hood credits much of his inspiration to a number of local artists, including Fran Newmann, Bruce Larson and Coleman Mills, all of whom he met at the Art Center.

Hood has donated much of his work to local charitable causes, and he is actively involved in Alabama's Very Special Arts program.

He was a major influence on ESAC’s and Mercy Medical’s “Calling All Angels” project last year, and his five pelican/antique airplane entries for “Art Takes Flight” yielded $15,000 for the charity.

Hood is a full-time retiree following careers with the Air Force and Boeing, and divides his creative time between his home studio on Bailey's Creek and at the Art Center, where he continues to take classes and teaches the occasional workshop.

Finally, “Compositions of Color” is an exhibition of artwork by two women who express themselves through color and composition.

Erin Fitzhugh Gregory and Colette Martin Waite have enjoyed painting together and separately for many years. They both share painting from a personal viewpoint, using oil on canvas to translate their love of nature into colorful, light-filled works of art.

As Martin puts it, “…my paintings are first and foremost a part of me. In this show, I have given you a glimpse of the where, when, and/or why of my work. As for me, the painter, sharing the reason for the painting is as important as the paint on the canvas.”

“James Hood: Fifty-Year Retrospective” and “Erin Fitzhugh Gregory & Colette Martin Waite: Compositions in Color” will both run through Sept. 26.

The Eastern Shore Art Center is at 401 Oak Ave. in Fairhope.

Gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., and Saturday, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

For more information, and to view the Art Center’s adult and children’s fall classes and workshops, visit www.esartcenter.com, or call (251) 928-2228.