Bloomsburg University exhibiting equestrian art by 'Chip' Gillespie

Bloomsburg native Dr. Charles "Chip" Gillespie is exhibiting his large-scale equestrian art at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania's Gallery at Greenly Center. The show, "Gillespie Retrospective," will run from Thursday, Sept. 9, to Thursday, Oct 28, with a reception and artist talk, on Thursday, Sept. 23, from 11 to 5 p.m.

Born in 1954 in Bloomsburg, Gillespie has spent most of his life in Titusville, Fla. He graduated from the University of Florida in 1976 with a bachelor's and master's degrees in art education, with a concentration in ceramics, and taught art at Brevard Community College and Daytona Beach Community College.

In 1980 he published his first book, "Cone 04-Low Fire Pottery." That same year, in search of new opportunities, he applied for a job at Rockwell International, the primary contractor for the NASA Space Shuttles. Because of his expertise in ceramics, he was hired as a design engineer for the thermal protection system on orbital vehicles. During this time, Gillespie became inspired to apply for the Educator Astronaut Program, which combined his passions for engineering, art, and teaching. In order to pursue this, he completed a doctorate in art education from Florida Atlantic University and the University of Central Florida in 1984, and then began teaching visual art at public schools in Brevard County. Gillespie was eliminated from consideration by NASA due to his age, but had found a career as a K-12 art teacher.

He retired from teaching in 2004 and in search of a new challenge, turned to drawing. He became an equine portrait artist and a passionate aficionado of sport of horse racing. Between private portrait commissions, Gillespie has created works that are now in the permanent Collection of the Menello Museum of Art, the Florida Museum of Art, and Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania.