A whimsical exhibition on Sept. 16 featuring the works of local artist Donna Falcone will splash the walls with vivid color at the Art Gallery at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College Georgia Museum of Agriculture and Historic Village.

An alcohol ink artist, Falcone is also the illustrator of the children’s book, “A is for Azure: The Alphabet in Colors.”

Titled “From Azure to Zaffre,” the exhibit opens with a 2 p.m. reception on Sept. 16 and runs through Jan. 19, 2019. The opening reception is free and open to the community and will feature a demonstration and a brief lecture by Falcone, a question and answer session with exhibit curator Polly Huff, and gallery tours with the artist.

“The exhibition will feature all 26 letters of the alphabet expressed in brilliant alcohol ink artwork in a variety of familiar and novel colors,” Huff said.  “Visitors will most assuredly learn new and interesting color words along the way.”

Huff said a pronunciation key will be displayed to help visitors pronounce colors like heliotrope, xanthic, and zaffre.  A hands-on corner will be available to the exhibit’s young visitors. A workshop and demonstration for children will be hosted by the Gallery later this year.

Born and raised in the small canal town of Spencerport, N.Y., Falcone and her husband, Joe, and their two sons have lived in Buffalo N.Y., Winston-Salem N.C., Johnson City, Tenn., Clarks Summit, Pa., and now Tifton.

A debilitating case of Lyme Disease ended Falcone’s long career in Early Childhood Education in 2009.  For years, she helped children, college students, and teachers find their creative voices.  Now she has discovered her own through a venture into alcohol inks which began in 2015.

“A dozen years ago I never would have believed it if anyone said, ‘you will experience a life-threatening disease, suffer depression, lose your career, move to Georgia, become an illustrator, sing in the church choir, and land a gallery show,’” Falcone said.  “Yet here I am, overjoyed and feeling blessed to have this art to share, and this beautiful venue in which to do so.”

Falcone’s illustrations in “A is for Azure: The Alphabet in Colors” have attracted quite a bit of national attention.

“‘A is for Azure’ is a feast for the eyes, ears, and imagination,” Sharon Gibbs said on Amazon.com.  “Its pages are bursting with juicy colors and delicious words. I had such fun soaking up the gorgeous artwork and pronouncing sumptuous phrases like ‘a vermilion climb’ and ‘a heliotrope trio.’”

“When I use alcohol inks my preference is not for brushes or pens,” Falcone said.  “Instead, I prefer to move the inks across the tiles using the sheer forces of nature; fire, forced air, gravity, and centrifugal force. I feel a strong synergy with the colors as they lead me. My favorite pieces have come from places of pure playfulness.”