Words aren’t always necessary to tell a story. Lisa Stroud, former feature writer for the defunct Raleigh Times newspaper, discovered that after leaving journalism in 1989. Paint, rather, led the former writer to continue her ability to tell stories. Lisa Stroud and her one hundred colleagues at Artspace work to convey emotions, narratives and political messages through art. Friday evening, Artworks will host the judged New Works exhibition and will announce prize top winners. The announcement of New Work’s prizewinners coincides with the gallery’s participation in First Friday. The event conduces a free-form tour of galleries, boutiques and restaurants downtown. “There are about 30 pieces of both 2-D and 3-D works in New Works,” Stroud said. “My piece is called ‘Rising Up.’ It’s an abstract piece that about 40 inches by 30 inches in loud, bright colors. I was inspired by the Bruce Springsteen album called The Rising. I just began to do the painting and that is what came out of it.” Stroud won second place in New Works last year during her first year at Artspace. The gallery exclusively selects juried artists to work and collaborate in the dynamic art community. Thirty of the artists have their studios in Artspace, allowing visitors to view open exhibitions and studio art. “I would go to New Works even before I was a member of Artspace just because it’s a prestigious show,” Stroud said. “I have an off-site studio, but I do go down there and commune with other artists and get lots of great feedback from them.” Stroud works from her house, in her garage transformed into her studio. She prefers to work on multiple pieces at a time to keep her motivation fresh. Despite Stroud’s welcome into the Artspace community and warmly-received work, she did not start off as an artist. “I grew up thinking that I wasn’t very artistic,” Stroud said. “I had a career as a writer. A friend dared me to take an abstract art workshop. I responded, ‘I don’t have an artistic bone in my body.’ I tried it and I’ve been hooked ever since.” Stroud completely stopped writing and has picked up painting as a full time occupation. “If you ever see my writing, it is on the canvas, not on paper,” Stroud said. “I might get an idea of something that I want to paint about. One night, my husband and I were out eating Chinese food and I was thinking of how I could show it on canvas. I painted a piece called Stir-Fry.” Stroud is not the only artist at using images to tell stories. Susan Parrish has been working with art for over 30 years and 11 years ago she started working in her on-site studio at Artspace. Specializing in 3-D sculptures and designs, Parrish uses household odds-and-ends to compose and decorate her figures. Parrish’s sculpture called “Button It Up” will also be featured in New Works. The piece takes the figures of a fox, built off of a base of an old radio and broken speakers. “It’s an animal form, like a fox, and it’s a head I built out of clay,” Parrish said. “The fox is covered with buttons, hence the title ‘Button It Up’ but it not only has clothing buttons but also political buttons of all stripes and colors.” Parrish considers the piece to be, as she jokes, a “subtle hint,” and the piece incorporates a retro look into a contemporary message. Political messages abound in Parrish’s work, but she presents them with subtlety and without excessive inflammatory insinuations. Her work is comprised of recycled trash, including spice bottles, corks, batteries and toys and she strives to communicate the importance of recycling. “It is really about saving the environment,” Parrish said. “I can’t do it single handedly, but I can make a statement. For 20 years I did functional pottery and became really burnt out from that.” Parrish’s studio reflects her artwork—busy, somewhat cluttered and full of clashing shapes, colors and figures. However, like her work, it seems to jive in an organized-chaos synergy. Her work includes multiple teapots and statues made of things she scoured from her home, yard sales or thrift shops. “Nothing in my house is sacred,” Parrish said. “Some of those toys I use are my kid’s. I want it to expose our materialism. One of my pieces is covered in money—greed. I call them ‘More,’ then ‘More and More,’ and ‘More and More and More.'” Artspace attracts art observers from all walks of life. According to Lia Newman, Director of Programs and Exhibitions, 1500 people routinely stop by Artspace on First Friday. “We also have other events going on which may bring in a bigger crowd this Friday,” Newman said. “Doug Varone and Dancers through Center Stage at N.C. State will actually be performing in this gallery over the weekend. They are performing a preview here before they perform at N.C. State.” Despite inclement weather predicted for the weekend, Artspace expects a large turnout,   “I try to go to First Friday every month,” Stroud said. “The Visual Arts Exchange and other galleries are open too. It is fun going down to the event. It has gotten really active.”