Featured faculty: Stacy Barnes, Ceramics
Stacy Barnes is the Lawrence Arts Center's first full-time Ceramics Artist-in-Residence. She also happens to be a homegrown Kansan - she grew up in the small town of Greensburg in southwestern Kansas, and came to Lawrence from Manhattan, Kan., where she studied with Anna Callouri-Holcomb and Yoshiro Ikeda. Stacy received her BFA in ceramics from Kansas State University in 2005.
During her time at the Arts Center, she has focused on developing a body of work exploring functional forms. Utilizing the potter's wheel and researching new glazes, her work exhibits finely tuned wheel skills and reflects an inner beauty that is all her own.
Her current work at the Arts Center deals with ideas relating to personal history and place. She is creating a dinner setting group that is about connections with family. Each place setting in the group is designed to reflect the personality of a member of her family. Seen and functioning as a set, this work is a metaphor of the complexity of family bonds and dynamics.
In conjunction with developing her art in the residency program, Stacy is also a major component of the success of the ceramics studio. She takes on many of the daily tasks that keep it functioning - firing, loading and unloading kilns, mixing glazes, general studio assistance and teaching. Stacy made many of the bowls that were sold at the recent Souper Bowl fundraiser and has been an almost constant presence in the ceramics studio this year. She teaches the Pottery 1 classes, two children's clay classes and is an instructor in the Arts Center's afterschool program at Woodlawn Elementary.
Stacy will be exhibiting her work in the Lawrence Arts Center's Gallery beginning on May 22 with a closing reception on May 28.
JTPS update
Depressed that your daffodils that popped up during the January heat wave will freeze during the unpredictable Kansas spring? Escape from your garden agonies by taking refuge in the John Talleur Print Studio this spring session. Not only are we the only community print studio in Kansas, but in our snug basement location at the Lawrence Arts Center, we are probably about as tornado-proof as a studio can get (if there is such a thing).
Global warming, tornados... enough of this tempting fate. Don't forget to check out the annual JTPS spring show at the Lawrence Public Library. Show coordinator Karen Matheis has put together a great collection of new work from JTPS members. From relief to letterpress and collage, from landscapes and still lifes to social justice and just plain cool stuff, we've got it covered. The show will be up Mar. 1-31.
Letterpress instructor Tim O'Brien received an incredibly groovy commission for Valentine's Day this spring. Working with Education Director Margaret Weisbrod-Morris and kids' art teacher Ariel Sherman, he put together the LAC Valentine's Day card. Quite a glorious production. If you are an LAC member, the card has probably appeared in your mail - spreading love and letterpress throughout northeastern Kansas.
Big news: LAC soon hopes to offer its first Printmaking Artists' Residency, hosted in the JTPS studio facilities. The term will begin in August 2006 and end in July 2007. This program is designed to provide young printmakers with press and studio access as they make the transition from or between academic settings. For more information, check the LAC Web site in a week or two as the details are posted.
Other items of printmaking bliss... Thanks to a fairly colossal paper donation,
JTPS members and students now have access to more cool paper than you can ever imagine. Sign up for our classes now, and revel in the glory. Happy Spring!
Gallery Exhibitions and Events
Stephen T. Johnson featured artist: Lawrence Art Auction
S tephen T. Johnson, born in Madison, Wisc. in 1964, was raised in Lawrence and earned BFA degrees in both painting and illustration at the University of Kansas in 1987. While a student, he studied in France at The Universite de Bordeaux and at The Conservatoire de Beaux-Arts, Bordeaux.
He has taught art at Pratt Institute, N.Y., at Syracuse University, at the Fashion Institute of Technology, N.Y. and at the Lawrence Arts Center. He is one of the country's foremost illustrators, with 17 published children's books to his credit. His book, Alphabet City, was named a Caldecott Honor book in 1996 and won a New York Times Best Illustrated Book of the Year Award in addition to many other honors.
In 2000, Stephen returned with his wife Debbie to Lawrence, where he continues his career as an illustrator and has developed his work in new directions and media. Recently, his design was selected for a sculpture, titled "Freeform," at the southern base of the Kansas River bridge in Lawrence - the "ceremonial" entrance to the city. He also won a commission to create sculpture for the lobby of the Lied Center on the campus of the University of Kansas. "Arrangement in Red, Blue and Gold," his colorful aluminum wall sculpture was unveiled in April to celebrate the Lied Center's 10th anniversary. Stephen also created a 6'x8' oil painting, titled "Spirit of Law" for the University in celebration of the Law School's 125th anniversary.
Stephen also recently completed the 66-foot-long mural, called "DeKalb Improvisation," at the DeKalb Avenue Subway Station in Brooklyn, N.Y. The City of Lawrence recently granted him $35,000 to create seven interactive robot sculptures, 12 original works of art and a rocket ship stepladder for Lawrence Memorial Hospital's pediatrics wing.
Stephen grew up in an artistic family. His father Ted, who taught French and Humanities at the University of Kansas, shared his own artistic abilities with his young son. Ted introduced Stephen to the Arts Center where Ted participated in life drawing sessions and contributed his drawings for years to the Lawrence Art Auction. Stephen's grandfather, J. Theodore Johnson senior, a well-known painter and muralist, taught art at San Jose State College in California. One of his students, Edward Navone, taught art for years at Washburn University. Edward and Ted have been friends since their undergraduate days together at San Jose State. One of the last visual arts events in the Lawrence Arts Center's former Carnegie Library building home, and one they both recall fondly, was a father/son exhibition featuring works by Ted and Stephen. A decade earlier, the Locust gallery presented an exhibition titled "Three Generations of Johnsons" in which work by grandfather, father and son were shown.
After graduating from KU in 1987, Stephen moved to New York with a friend from KU and began to look for work. His first big commission was a Forbes magazine cover. During the next 13 years in New York, his career as an illustrator extended significantly into children's books.
Stephen remembers the Arts Center as important to his development as an artist.
As a painting and illustration major at KU in the 1980s, he recalls that no one on the faculty was teaching watercolor technique. Stephen enrolled in a watercolor class at LAC taught by Diana Dunkley which he recalls as very "organized and thorough" and later used the knowledge gained in his illustration career. While still an undergraduate student, Stephen entered a piece in a Lawrence Art Guild exhibition at the Arts Center and won Best of Show.
Since moving back to Lawrence, Stephen has done life drawing at LAC, attended many events including exhibitions and performances with his family, and contributed annually to the auction fundraiser. His featured work in this year's auction is "Hoops Players," drawn for the cover of the book Hoops which he illustrated and which was written by Robert Burleigh.
LAWRENCE ART AUCTION
Saturday, Apr. 8 at the Arts Center
- Preview Exhibition: Mar. 13-Apr. 8
- Preview Party: Wednesday, Mar. 29, 5-8pm
- Auction Night Party: Saturday, Apr. 8, 6pm
- Live Auction: Saturday, Apr. 8 (Doors open at 6pm, Live Auction begins at 7:45pm sharp!)
The Lawrence Art Auction, a major fundraising event of the Lawrence Arts Center, will occur on Saturday April 8, at the Center, 940 New Hampshire St. in downtown Lawrence. This 26th annual event will feature the work of approximately 200 area artists who made generous donations of original artwork for the cause. This year's auction will be officiated by Col. Wes Schlobohm of Best Deal Auctions in Kansas City.
A preview exhibition for the auction opens on Mar. 13 with an evening reception on Mar. 29 from 5 to 8pm. Over half of the auction items will be available in a Silent Auction. Bids on Silent Auction items may be made during the Preview Exhibition. Winners of Silent Auction items will be announced at the Live Auction on Apr. 8.
The Lawrence Art Auction is the traditional major fundraising event of the Arts Center. As an event, it has grown steadily each year with 220 artists contributing 249 items in 2005. Over 700 people attended last year's auction with total proceeds approaching $95,000.
Major sponsors for the auction in 2006 are Morgan Stanley and Central National Bank with significant additional support from Hy-Vee Food Stores, Mainline Printing and nearly a dozen other local businesses.
This year's auction planning committee members are co-chairs Connie Sollars and Vickie Otten, Jason Edmonds, Diane Horning, Kathleen Hird Kostner, Don Martin, John Olson and Rick Mitchell, LAC gallery director.
For information about the auction, please visit www.lawrenceartauction.org or contact Rick Mitchell by phone at 785-843-2787 or email at lacgallery@sunflower.com.
Information for art buyers
The Preview Exhibition runs Mar. 13 through Apr. 24. During the exhibition written bids may be made on Silent Auction items. No ticket is necessary to enter the exhibition or bid on these items.
This year, advance tickets (available until 6pm on April 8) will be sold for $25 and allow the purchaser to avoid long lines at the entrance on auction night. As of 6pm on auction night, Apr. 8, tickets will be available at the door for $30. Your ticket allows you to obtain a bidder number and participate in the Live Auction that begins at 7:45pm. There is no extra charge for refreshments.
On auction night, you may bid on any item in both the Silent Auction and the Live Auction. Silent Auction items may be picked up one hour after the close of the Silent Auction.
Bidders are encouraged to offer retail prices and above in support of this benefit event. Retail prices are posted and listed in the auction catalog. Amounts paid over retail values may be considered tax deductible donations to the Lawrence Arts Center (check with your tax advisor.) Sales tax is charged on auction purchases.
Information for artists
If you wish to contribute original art to the Lawrence Art Auction, please contact Rick Mitchell, LAC gallery director, at 785-843-2787 or lacgallery@sunflower.com.
Are you prepared to make a gift? The auction is truly an open market. Anything can happen. Sales range from 400 percent to 40 percent of listed "retail value" with an average sales price (in 2005) of 85 percent of retail. Be sure you are truly ready to donate your work to the cause; there are many benefits to doing so.
Retail value. We ask every art donor to provide a retail value for the donated work. We list the retail value in the catalog and on the wall label. Retail values supplied by artists are not questioned; however, there are times when artists may not know what the market is for his or her work in this area. Please be as realistic as possible in setting a value. If your work is available in galleries, please include the portion of the price that the gallery would collect as a commission in your statement of retail value.
Sales price. Retail values are not minimum bids. While it is in the Arts Center's interest to sell your work for the highest possible price, we cannot be sure that a particular price will be reached. Based on recent auction figures, it is nearly as likely that your work will sell for over retail value as below.
Tax deduction. Tax laws permit artists to take the cost of materials as a tax deduction. You may not take the full sales price or the market value as a tax deduction. However, if your work sells for more than its market value, you may be able to claim a tax deduction on the difference. If you are donating a work of art that you did not make, you may be able to use the full retail value of the item as the basis of a tax deduction. (Please check with your tax advisor about your particular situation.)
Monetary compensation. To help offset the costs of making a donation, the Arts Center offers the option of taking 25 percent back on the sale of the donated work. Some artists choose to donate the entire amount to the Arts Center (thank you very much!). But many choose to take the option to help them meet the costs of framing, etc. We are happy to accommodate your wishes in either case.
Exhibition-ready. Please frame your two dimensional works of art. If the work is large and needs to be behind glass, please consider using plexiglass. Large and heavy sheets of glass create a hazard for handlers. Also, please make sure adequate hanging wires, or other appropriate methods of hanging your work, are in place when you deliver the work.
Donating artist timetable. As soon as possible contact Rick Mitchell at the Lawrence Arts Center to indicate your interest in participating: 785-843-2787, lacgallery@sunflower.com. To be included on the auction invitation mailing, you must indicate your interest in donating no later than Mar. 1, 2006. Names of donating artists received after that date will be included on subsequent publicity and in the auction catalog. Donations may be made until Apr. 8; however, early donations are advised and appreciated.
Donating artist benefits. Your donation of artwork entitles you to these benefits regardless of the value or sales price of your donation:
- Free Web page for 1 year ($240 value)
- Free LAC membership ($40 value)
- Two auction tickets ($50 value)
- Certificate for one LAC class ($15 value)
Total cash value of $345 Plus, the option to receive 25 percent back on the sale of your work at the auction.
Late Spring and Summer Exhibitions
- Apr. 10-14
- Lawrence Art Center Preschool Art Show
- Apr. 17-May 19
- Lawrence Public Schools Art Students Exhibition
- May 22-27
- Mini-Exhibition: Ceramics by Stacy Barnes, Lawrence Arts Center artist-in-residence
- » Reception: Friday, May 26, 5-7pm
- June 2-July 14
- "Journey": Paintings, Prints and Illustrations by Jane Voorhees
- » Reception: Friday, June 2, 7-9pm
- July 21-Aug. 31
- Selections from the Permanent Collection of Emprise Bank
- » Reception: Friday, July 21, 7-9pm
- July 21-Aug. 31
- Lawrence Arts Center Faculty Show
Imagination & Place events
PRESENTATION
Models of Reality by Rick Mitchell, Lawrence Arts Center gallery director
- Wednesday, Mar. 15, 7pm, Arts Center Gallery
Public invited
NEW PUBLICATION
The Wakarusa Wetlands in Word & Image: A Publication of the Committee on Imagination & Place (available now at the Arts Center and selected local bookstores and businesses) In spring 2003, naturalist, environmental activist and acclaimed author Terry Tempest Williams took part in a five-day residency at Haskell Indian Nations University in Lawrence, sponsored by the National Book Foundation. Williams' visit was part of "American Voices," a community outreach project designed to promote reading and writing as means of preserving American Indian culture.
While in Lawrence, Williams gave two public talks - the first sponsored by the Committee on Imagination & Place at Prairie Park Nature Center, and the second on the Haskell campus The talks centered on other subjects, but in both instances, Williams spoke directly to the importance of the Wakarusa Wetlands.
The Committee on Imagination & Place, inspired by Williams' passion for wetlands conservation, published Wakarusa Wetlands in Word & Image in late 2005. The book includes writings by 37 national and local writers and paintings, photographs and prints by 13 area artists, all made in the Wakarusa Wetlands.
Foundations and Sponsors Provide Support
A s a non-profit organization, the Lawrence Arts Center relies heavily on private support to help the Arts Center serve as a center of arts excellence in the community.
Our mission is to enrich individuals and the community by nurturing love of the arts through education, exploration and _expression. We see ourselves as a vital resource for both attracting artists and promoting the community's support of the arts.
We have been fortunate to receive some exciting foundation support which helps us further our mission. These foundations are:
- AstraZeneca International
- Bank of America Foundation
- Douglas County Community Foundation
- Kriz Charitable Fund, Inc.
- Ethel and Raymond F. Rice Foundation
- The Francis Family Foundation
- Kansas Arts Commission
- Kansas Gas Service (a division of OneOK)
- Kansas Health Foundation
- Muriel McBrien Kauffman Foundation
- National Endowment for the Arts
- Payless ShoeSource Foundation
- Pearson Government Solutions Foundation
- Seven Trees Foundation
- Target Corporation Foundation
Also, we would like to recognize our major sponsors, who are critical to the success and growth of our programs.
Major Sponsors:
- Capital City Bank
- Capital Federal Savings
- Central National Bank
- Emprise Bank
- McDonalds of Lawrence
- Morgan Stanley
- Sabatini Architects Inc.
- The World Company
Performances and updates
DRAMA
The Diary of Anne Frank
W endy Kesselman's new adaptation of the classic play illustrates the ability of the human spirit to overcome adversity in the most daunting of circumstances. This production will be seen by all 8th graders in Lawrence through the Fine Arts Department of USD 497. The play will be directed by our guest artist, Moses Goldberg, through a generous grant from the National Endowment for the Arts. Arts Center student Clara Kundin will graduate from her roles in Annie, Baba Yaga: The Bony-Legged Witch and Les Miserables to the title role of Anne Frank in a tour that will take the players to more than 13 states from California to Maine. The Eldridge Hotel is sponsoring this production, both by housing Moses during his three-week stay and by providing a special pre-show menu on Mar. 2 and 3. Don't miss this special production which will also include Seem-To-Be and Arts Center veteran actors Chris Waugh, Kitty Mitchell, Chris Johnson and Andy Stowers. SYT alum Colton Rice and newcomer Adrianna Pendergrass will be traveling with the company as well as out-of-town actors Joan Singer, Alanna Reeves and Erik Pratt. Sets are designed by Thomas Sciacca and costumes by Jennifer Glenn.
The Diary of Anne Frank shows at 7:30pm on Thursday and Friday, March 2 and 3, in the Arts Center's theater. $8.50 adults/$6.50 children/students/seniors
Hansel and Gretel
The Family Theatre Series will present Hansel and Gretel, from the Brothers Grimm, featuring students from the Drama Education Program along with community members and professionals in a dark telling of the tale of two children who outsmart an evil witch. Accompanying that piece will be another short play, Hans in Luck, which is a delightful comedy about "trading down" Ric Averill, Tim Clark and Emma Hoyle will perform Ric's original music live. In addition to the two plays, the company will perform sing-a-longs and bits (or Vaudeville for children). This play is highly recommended for children ages 4-9 and their families.
Performances are sponsored by Brad, Susan and Sophie Tate; Dillons Stores; Gaches, Braden, Barbee, and Associates; and Dr. Dennis Hoss and family.
Hansel and Gretel shows at 2pm on Saturdays and Sundays, April 22, 23, 29 and 30, in the Arts Center's theater. Make your reservations now!
First Saturday Players at work
Jennifer Glenn's performance group of 7th-12th graders perform short plays with sing-a-longs and bits for children ages 3 and up and families. Titles are subject to change but will be announced at least three weeks before each performance. This is a great opportunity for kids to go to theatre at a very young age.
- March 4 No T.V.
- April 1 The Princess and the Frog
- May 6 The Great Alphabet Robbery
All performances are at 2pm in the Arts Center's performance studio. Tickets are $4 per person at the door (donation helps support the Drama Program).
Kennedy Center to highlight new work by Ric Averill
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts announces its ninth "New Visions/New Voices" festival to be held at the Kennedy Center, May 19-21. The biennial festival is an intensive workshop that presents rehearsed readings of plays and musicals to theater professionals, educators and others interested in the field.
For the first time ever, two of the seven selected theater companies are from outside the United States. Two theater companies from the UK and Australia join five theater companies from across the United States.
This year's festival will highlight readings of seven new works, including Dream Carved from Stone by our own playwright Ric Averill, directed by Nancy Halverson and presented by the Children's Theatre Company of Sioux Falls, S.D. This historical drama celebrates a warrior's passion and the human desire to fulfill one's dreams: Crazy Horse's powerful medicine included a stone tied behind his ear and he said he would one day return to his Lakota nation "in stone." Korczak Ziolkowski took up a life-long quest to fulfill his part of that vision by carving a mountain in the Black Hills of South Dakota.
Since 1991, "New Visions/New Voices" has assisted in the development of 59 new plays from 38 theater companies. Projects submitted by theatre companies throughout the world are judged by two panels, based on the quality and potential of the work. After being selected, the playwright, director and composer are invited to the Kennedy Center where they work collaboratively in a week-long intensive to further develop the new works. After revisions, rewrites and rehearsals, the works are presented as rehearsed readings during the national conference for theater professionals, educators and others.
Summer Youth Theatre needs you!
Join us for "The Summer of the Anti-Hero: Learning from the Dark Side of the Law"! Students in 8th-12th grades will rehearse and perform The Threepenny Opera in June and The Caucasian Chalk Circle in July. (A three-week workshop in April will give students a jump on these works - did someone say "Mac the Knife?") Students in 4th-7th grades will rehearse and perform Tales from the Arabian Nights in June and Destry Rides Again in July. Kindergarteners through 3rd graders will explore Great Fairytale Villains.
Positions are open for assistant directors, artists and scenic artist. Please send letter and resume to Summer Youth Theatre, 940 New Hampshire St., Lawrence KS 66044, or lacedu@sunflower.com, attn. Margaret Morris and Ric Averill.
We say thanks!
Our most sincere thanks to the individuals and businesses who have chosen to sponsor shows in the Family Theatre Series. Thank you to these community-minded souls: Alvamar Inc., in honor of Bob Billings, Anonymous, Elizabeth Averill, Lauralyn Bodle, Mike Boring, CEK Insurance, Candice Davis, Dillons Stores, The Eldridge Hotel, Hilda Enoch, Oliver & Rebeca Finney, Colette and Ron Gaches, Helen Gilles, Hallmark Cards, Bill & Nancy Hambleton, Carol & Don Hatton, Suzan Hill, Dwight and Peggy Hilpman, Anne & David Hollond, Dr. Dennis Hoss and family, Betty Laird, John & Linda Lungstrum, Mass Street Music, Linda & Larry Maxey, McDonald's of Lawrence, Charles and Laurie McLane-Higginson, Durand Reiber and Martin Moore, OneOk Foundation and Kansas Gas Service, Payless Shoe Source Foundation, Bill & Marlene Penny, Sarah & Mike Randolph, Jim Regan and Nadia Zhiri, Joyce Schmid, Seven Trees Foundation, Jan Sheldon & Jim Sherman, Larry & Suzanne Sherr, Greg & Bronda Silvers, Forest & Donna Swall, Brad, Susan, and Sophie Tate, Michael Treanor Architects, Chuck & Karen Warner, Weaver's, and Susan Freinkel & Eric Willis Wolfe.
DANCE
New Works Concert
J oin us on May 5 and 6 as 940 dance company performs their annual New Works Concert. 940 dance company performs throughout the year for youth (over 6,000 children this year), on tour, in the LAC Choreographers' Showcase, and for Healing through the Arts. But the New Works Concert is the culminating event of the year for the dancers - this is when the dancers perform new works created by Artistic Director Susan Warden and by the dancers themselves.
Warden will be showing two to three new works. "Coffee Clutch," which premiered at the Choreographers' Showcase, will close the program. Set to the spectacular opera quartet from "Rigoletto," the dance is a hilarious look at America's addiction to coffee, depicting four office workers as they move from an early morning torpor to a mid-morning caffeinated frenzy. Says KC Explore Magazine, "[In this] wonderful slapstick piece about caffeine addition, Warden filled the space with clearly motivated movement, surprising lifts and a wry musicality to the sounds of opera singers doing Verdi."
Another work created by Warden is not titled yet but it is about momentum and energy. Set to the driving contemporary music of Annie Gosfield, the work opens with all six dancers bursting onto stage with a high jump. Warden is having fun in her choreographic process, often developing phrases of movement to the dynamic hip-hop music of Missy Elliott, and then transferring them to Gosfield's music.
Tuesday Faust will be showing a work that has been well-received in Kansas City but will be new to Lawrence audiences. KC Explore Magazine says, "'House of Yesterday's Events,' performed and created by Tuesday Faust, evoked mystery and showed profound creativity and risk. In a billowing dress, Faust began by demurely opening two white curtains that immediately turned into screens for video footage. She danced with and against images of herself on the screens. ..." Tuesday is spending her choreographic time this spring deepening into this work, looking at it again and again to continue clarifying her ideas and movement.
Bridget Bartholome is creating a duet for herself and Michael Ingle to music entitled, "Dona Nobis Pacem" composed by Kansas City, Mo. musician, Brad Cox. Bartholome's work addresses some of the difficult and inappropriate relationships found in our culture. Michael Ingle will be choreographing a quintet to the celebrated music of Arvo Part, and Kathleen O'Connor will be starting her rehearsals in March, using the music of Godspeed You Black Emperor.
In addition to the new works, the concert also will feature some favorites from the repertory such as "Spring Fever" and an improvisation.
New Works Concert shows at 7:30pm on Friday and Saturday, May 5 and 6, in the Arts Center's theater.
940 dance company: a stellar season continues
Jan.-Feb.: Young Audiences of Kansas City
30 performances, including all Kansas City, Kan. elementary schools
- Mar. 15: Wonderscope Museum
- Shawnee , Kan.; 11am and 1pm
- Mar. 24-25: Satanta, Kan.
- School performance and concert
- Mar. 30-31: Cowley County Community College
- Arkansas City, Kan.
- Performance and workshops
- May 5-6: NEW WORKS CONCERT
- 7:30pm, Lawrence Arts Center
Growing up with the Arts Center
J ohn and Deanell Reece Tacha were introduced to the Lawrence Arts Center when their four children were very young: John Reece, David, Leah and Sarah had their share of "good ol' messy fun" in the Arts Center's toddler classes. Later, the girls took dance lessons, and for at least a couple of summers, John Reece was a player in Summer Youth Theatre. (As a matter of fact, he played Mac the Knife in The Threepenny Opera in the early 1990s, a production Summer Youth Theatre will present again this year.)
"I always thought of those experiences as a wonderful alternative for kids," Deanell says. "Learning about various art forms and being on stage offers a different way of interacting with peers, an opportunity to perform in front of an audience, and exposure to interesting music and artistic works."
The family's relationship with the Arts Center has continued through the years. Deanell served on the Arts Center's board and chaired its expansion committee several years back - no easy task, especially considering her schedule as a federal judge. John, a retired teacher, is a strong supporter of arts programs and teachers in public schools. John Reece has built sets for a theatre company in Chicago. Leah is studying at the Cleveland Institute of Art, and helps teach at the Arts Center's Arts-Based Preschool during the summers.
"I truly believe that art is the universal language," Deanell says. "Art gives us a way to communicate with an enormous amount of human spirit, and a way to cross cultural boundaries.
"I am so grateful that our entire community embraces the arts," she continues. "We are lucky to live in a place that values art not just for art's sake, but for the sake of building community."
A Kansas Nutcracker Thanks!
A Kansas Nutcracker 2005 was a huge success, complete with Mouse King Munchies, Clara's Tea for Two, sold-out performances and, of course, Magic! Many wonderful people and organizations have helped make A Kansas Nutcracker possible. We thank you for your generosity and belief in this project.
- Angels: $5,000-15,000 or more
- Capital City Bank, DST Systems
- Cavalry: $500-$1,500
- Kathleen & Tom Hodge
- Sugarplums: $250-$499
- Anonymous
- Chocolates: $100-$249
- Nora Murphy & Jim Beach, Kelly Calvert, Rob & Micki Chestnut, Rebecca & Oliver Finney, Durand Reiber & Martin Moore
- Coffee: $50-$99
- Ken & Katie Armitage, Annie & Paul Stevens
- Tea: $1-$49
- Tina Spanos & Zoe Prather, Agnes Walsh & Craig West, Anonymous
- Business Line Sponsors
- Sunflower Outdoor and Bike, Weaver's
Production Staff
Ric Averill, Deborah Bettinger, Candi Baker, Cynthia Crews-Griffith, Jeff Dearinger, Mary Devlin, Jennifer Glenn, Lee Saylor, Danny Rogovein, Sara Cortese, Nishta Long-Dasta, Eaton Saylor, Mariah Saylor
Thank you! To those parents, teachers and performers who gave hundreds of hours of volunteer effort, ushered, created tiaras, supervised our youngest performers, sewed stitches, drove to practices and contributed to this event in so many large and small ways: Shani Andersen, Maggie Backus, Morgen Bahn, Nelly Barnhardt, Terri Bezek, Patti Browning, Micki Chestnut, Laurie Costlow, Brenda Frankenfeld, Debbie Galbraith, Rebecca Gant, Patricia Graves, Randi Hacker, Dawn Hawkins, Carmen Hocking, Kathleen Hodge, Amy Junge, Mary Catherine Keslar, Molly Krause, Mary Ellen Kriegh, Diane Loeb, Sharilyn McGee, Lenard McGee, Mike McKinney, Mary Menendez, Margaret Morris, Nora Murphy, Barb Novorr, Claudia Olea, Durand Reiber, Hildegard Rickhers, Cami Santee, Brenda Schulties, Denise Severn, Peggy Shopen, Tina Spanos, Anne Tormohlen, Jeanette Walther and anyone who stepped in at the last minute to assist in whatever way needed.
Thank you! To the Dance Program Advisory Committee for organizing Clara's Tea for Two and Mouse King Munchies, especially Katie Armitage, Meghan Bahn, Candi Baker, Deborah Bettinger, Jan Biles, Martha Coffman, Mary Devlin, Gunda Hiebert, Barbara Hill, Shaffia Laue, Betsy McCafferty, Annie Stevens and Susan Warden. A special thanks to Curtiss Wood-n-Crafts by Patrick T. Curtiss for making the wonderful swords for the Mouse King Munchies.
Thank you! To Laurie McLane-Higginson and the Lawrence High School Arts Honors Society for the wonderful tiaras and ornaments.
Thank you! To friends in the community whose assistance is priceless: The Bay Leaf, Robert Bettinger, Bruce Bettinger, Chipotle Mexican Grill Downtown, Tere Leyelle, Daren Moon, Nora Murphy, Robert Sitek and Sitekdesign, and Kathy Zacharias. Thank you! To our special dance program sponsor Sabatini & Associates, Architects
Thank you! To the wonderful staff at the Lawrence Arts Center, especially Ann Evans, director; Ben Ahlvers; Ric Averill; Maggie Backus; Bonny Burke; Tolgay Figarelli; Michael Ingle; Royce Matthews; Rick Mitchell; Margaret Morris; Mike Ratzlaff; Linda Reimond; Steve Richardson; Laura Rose; Ariel Sherman; and Noelle Uhler.
Thank you! To the project staff who gave countless hours above and beyond the call of duty and whose positive willingness, commitment to excellence and joy in dance and theatre make all this happen.
Got art? Roll with it: Art Tougeau
B ring your humor, community spirit, groovy music and funky individual aesthetic to Lawrence's own homegrown wheeled art parade! We never know who's gonna show, but last year the Art Tougeau Parade welcomed over 40 art cars made by local kids, community members, artists and students. We also welcomed some nationally known art cars and groups from all across the country: This year the parade will coordinate again with other art car parades across the country to try to attract as many local, regional and national art cars to join the celebration!
The finest in homegrown wheeled art can be seen this year on Saturday, May 6 beginning at noon. Art Tougeau will host a car decorating "ball" the evening before the parade, and more fun will follow the parade on Saturday.
For more information, dates and details about Art Tougeau, please call 785-843-2787 or email lacedu@sunflower.com. To see more photos and download an entry form, please visit www.arttougeau.org.
Participants, line up in the center lane in front of the Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. at 10:30am. Check in at the table in front of the building for registration and judging.
To enter: Complete the entry form available at www.arttougeau.org, write a check for $15 payable to Art Tougeau, and send them to: Art Tougeau Parade, 940 New Hampshire Street, Lawrence KS 66044.
We encourage early registration, but allow late entries until just before the parade begins. Its just nice to know in advance who's coming! A $15 entry fee is requested. As always, kids can enter for free.
Trophies will be awarded immediately after the parade. But don"t take it too seriously. We don't. It's about celebration, not competition.
Performance opportunities for young musicians: Honor Recital in March
"Lawrence is special in that we have incredible musical talent and resources in our city," says Margaret Morris, LAC education director.
W ith that talent and resource in mind, the Lawrence Arts Center, with support from Kansas Public Radio and the Stephen Paul Wunsch Foundation for Young Musicians, is proud to host the 18th annual Honor Recital musical competition again this year. The purpose of the Honor Recital is to recognize that talent, and provide an opportunity for young musicians to perform and build their audience.
Every year during the first weeks of March, the Arts Center hosts over 45 young musicians in this unusual musical competition. The musicians are all students who live in Lawrence, or who study with Lawrence-area teachers. Entrants in the Honor Recital perform a selection of memorized music in front of a panel of judges. They compete for one of 10-12 spots in a public concert. From those chosen to perform, the top four or five performances are invited to perform live on Kansas Public Radio.
Auditions will be held at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St., on Saturday, Mar. 4 from 9am to 5pm. The winners will give a free concert on Sunday, Mar. 12 at 7p.m. at the Lawrence Arts Center. The concert will be hosted by Rachel Hunter from Kansas Public Radio. Musical selections range from classical music to jazz to contemporary selections.
The concert is free, and the public is encouraged to attend. Make plans to join us at the Honor Recital on Mar. 12 to see the talented up-and-coming young musicians in our area!
Why art?
L earning through the arts is a smart and fun way to enhance brain development, support individual learning, and help people prepare for success in school and in life. Arts-based learning is great for kids of all ages, but especially helpful for young children for reasons such as these listed here.
Physical Development
Large and small muscle development and coordination are important aspects of every art activity. Different muscles are exercised in different art activities. As the muscles are exercised, they grow stronger and the child gains better control over them. Coordination of eye and hand movements follow as a child tries to control the crayon in her hand to make marks that are meaningful to her. She learns to use her hands and eyes at the same time. She develops control over eye muscles, an important first step in learning to read. "Free drawing," rather than coloring in the lines of a coloring book, will develop the skills needed for making letters and numbers.
Mental Development
Children learn by doing. Learning concepts, language and skills for a foundation for reading, math and science. If it goes through the hands, feet, body, it goes through the brain.
Language and Literacy
Children learn through direct experience what the word "texture" means as they handle cloth with different surfaces, thick/thin while using paint. As children talk about their art work, they are "reading" their picture. Writing a story is "written down talk."
Thinking Skills
Art provides opportunities for making decisions and problem solving no matter how many times a child has worked with the same medium.
Creative Development
Creativity is the ability to see, make or perform in a new way. Making something new and being creative means taking a risk to do that "something new or different." Making mistakes is a part of this process. Scientific thinking and creativity are difficult to separate. Maya Angelou states, "You cannot use up creativity. The more you use, the more you have."
Aesthetic Development
Aesthetic awareness involves helping children see, hear and enjoy the beauty in their world. It improves the quality of learning and helps the creative process.
Social-Emotional Development
As children work, they learn to share materials, accept other ways of doing art and enjoy being a part of the group. Activities - clay, woodworking, fingerpaint, waterplay - provide an opportunity for release. Children learn to feel good about themselves as they learn they can do things well.
-compiled by Linda Reimond, LAC Arts-Based Preschool director, and staff
Keep your cool! Art camps and classes offered at the Arts Center this summer
The Arts Center is a cool place to be for kids when the weather is hot! We have fun every season here, but summer is the time of year when we roll up our sleeves, put on our thinking caps and plan the most lively, unusual, creative, enriching and outrageously fun ways to spend those long, hot summer days.
All students enrolled in education programs at the Lawrence Arts Center have the opportunity to use state-of-the-art equipment, in professional studios, with real working artists. They use the potter's wheel, learn how to fire a kiln, make real jewelry, create large-scale mechanized sculptures, design and fly kites, learn portraiture, explore photography, draw and paint, write, illustrate and bind their own books, concoct their own art materials, make giant airplanes and fly them, produce, choreograph, learn stagecraft, work on sets, sing and dance in live theatre productions and much, much more.
Our classes aren't just crafty-fun - our classes are designed to provide new and unusual experiences for kids that teach them creative thinking skills, test new ideas, meet friends and learn a new take on who, what, where and why art is and can be. Our goal is to show kids how to connect the arts with different areas of life and the world, and inspire them to be as creative and inventive they can be. All of the teachers in our programs are educated art professionals who hold degrees in art and art education. Many of them hold graduate degrees, and all of them are working professional artists. Our teachers are also familiar with the theoretical framework that tell us that art is a natural extension of the way children learn, and they integrate that understanding into all their classes. We believe that when children learn art, they learn valuable skills and ideas that help them succeed in every area of their lives.
We encourage you to come check out our summer camps and classes. Our summer course schedule will be included in the Apr. 9 issue of The Arts in Action. Our summer enrollment will begin Apr. 14 (Apr. 10 for Arts Center members). And don't forget - this year you can enroll ONLINE at www. lawrenceartscenter.org!
The building's cool, the classes are outrageously fun, and your kids will come away with creative experiences that will last a lifetime.
The Center of Everything: Read Across Lawrence
"So right where we are, maybe this very stretch of highway
we are driving on, is the exact center of the whole world..."
- from The Center of Everything, p. 85
T his year's Read Across Lawrence book, The Center of Everything, is by Lawrence resident Laura Moriarty. Set in a fictional small Kansas town, it tells the story of Evelyn, a girl growing up during the 1980s and coming to terms with her single mother, her place in the world, and her aspirations for something bigger and better.
In the course of the novel, Evelyn goes from age 10 to preparing for college, experiencing joys and challenges that will resonate with readers. However, the story goes far beyond Kerrville and the story's time period.
In the end, Evelyn is ready to embrace a new center of everything - herself and her life, with all its opportunities. Readers will find this a compelling story, told with humor and heart, with a timeless protagonist who discovers the infinite possibilities of who we are and can become, despite - or perhaps, because of - our present and past.
Read Across Lawrence is a project of the Lawrence Public Library, the Lawrence Arts Center and the Lawrence Public Schools. Its purpose is to strengthen community through our mutual experience of reading and discussing the same book. A variety of events and activities are planned in conjunction with this year's selected book and the issues it explores.
Special Events
- Back to the Future: The '80s and Now panel discussion
- Monday, Feb. 27, 7 pm, Library Auditorium
- The Center of Everything reading, discussion and book signing by author Laura Moriarty
- The Raven Bookstore will make copies available for purchase at the event. Tuesday, Feb. 28, 7 pm, Library Auditorium
- The Day After film showing
- Popcorn will be provided, and you may bring a beverage. Sunday, Mar. 5, 2:30 pm, Library Auditorium
Book Discussions
- Coming of Age in Literature
- Monday, Mar. 6, 7 pm, Library Auditorium
- Growing Up in Kansas
- Wednesday, Mar. 8, 7 pm, Library Auditorium
- Mothers and Daughters Sunday, Mar. 12, 2:30 pm, Library Auditorium
- The Politics of the '80s
- Tuesday, Mar. 14, 7 pm
- 4th Floor, Natural History Museum, KU
Film Series
All films will be shown at 7 pm on Friday nights in the Library auditorium. Popcorn will be provided, and you may bring a beverage.
- Apr. 7 Stella Dallas (1937)
- Apr. 14 The Member of the Wedding (1952)
- Apr. 21 Pretty in Pink (1986)
- Apr. 28 Tumbleweeds (1999)
Exhibit and Art Project
On exhibit in the Library lobby during Read Across Lawrence will be a collection of proposed cover art for Laura Moriarty's The Center of Everything. Do you have your own ideas about what would make a good cover for The Center of Everything? Share it with us! Pick up an entry form at the Lawrence Arts Center or the Lawrence Public Library, or use a plain 8.5" by 14" (legal size) piece of paper, folded like a book jacket with a spine. The design may be created using any media, and should include the book title and author's name. Turn your design in to the Arts Center by Mar. 10. All of the entries will be displayed beginning Mar. 13 through Apr.14. People of all ages are encouraged to participate.
All library programs are free and open to the public. For more information, please call the Lawrence Public Library at 785-843-3833, ext. 123, or visit the library at 707 Vermont Street, or go to www.lawrencepubliclibrary.org.
So Souper!
S ouper Bowl Saturday drew a crowd of more than 500 lunch "guests" on Feb. 4. For $10, folks got lunch in a handcrafted ceramic bowl (and got to take the bowl home!). The event, now in its eighth year, supports the Ceramics Program at the Lawrence Arts Center.
Many thanks to these individuals and businesses for supporting Souper Bowl Saturday and our Ceramics Program this year:
- Hy-Vee Food Stores
- Great Harvest Bread Co.
- Ceramics Program faculty
- Ceramics Program students
- The Potter's Guild
A big thanks, too, to these people for their help with the Ceramics Auction!
- Ben Ahlvers
- Dan Anderson
- Stacy Barnes
- Jeremy Kane
- Robert Moore
- Brad Schwieger
2006 Langston Hughes Literary Award winners announced
-by Jerry Masinton
Two Lawrence residents have won the prestigious Langston Hughes Literary Award for 2006, an annual prize jointly sponsored by the Raven Book Store and the Lawrence Arts Center.
Mary Wharff won the fiction award for her story titled "The Waves of St. Augustine." Christopher Citro was given the poetry award for his manuscript containing several short lyrics and three prose poems.
In 2005 Mary earned her master of arts in English from the University of Kansas. She also has more than 10 years of experience as a freelance business writer. In addition, Mary is the fiction editor for Coal City Review and the associate editor of I-70 Review.
The protagonist of "The Waves of St. Augustine" is a 30-something man named Jack who has reached bottom in his life. He's stuck - stuck in a job he doesn't like (painting houses), stuck in the middle of the continent (somewhere in Ohio) while his young son and wife have moved to San Diego, and stuck in a rut in his mind that comes dangerously close to despair.
Jack's an artist, a sculptor, but he hasn't done any work in years. He's not an especially nice guy. He has failed as a father and husband. Jack can't help thinking about a time when he was at the beach with Sam and Rita, his son and his wife, but couldn't make himself wade ankle-deep into the water with Sam. Sam wanted his dad to play with him, but Jack was afraid of the water.
Jack decides to drive his battered van from Ohio to St. Augustine, where his parents had taken him when he was a young boy. His journey from dead-center America to the edge of the continent marks an interior journey as well. When he gets to St. Augustine, Jack does not get into the water. He's still afraid. He does something perfectly typical and, for this reader anyway, quite unexpected: He makes a sand sculpture of a man swimming out to sea. Then he drives back to Ohio. Soon, he decides, he'll make his way to California, to Sam and Rita. Who knows? Maybe something good will develop for them.
People will find this story interesting for its unusual main character and his moral and psychological dilemma. They will also appreciate the clear, seemingly effortless prose style that is actually the product of long labor.
Christopher Citro frequently reads his work at open gatherings in Lawrence and Kansas City, and his poetry has appeared in a number of literary magazines. His lyrics frequently combine wit, sly humor and offbeat imagery. As he tells it, "My work is frequently humorous, sometimes surreal, and has a strong affection for the quirky beauty often overlooked in everyday life."
I think of Christopher as a fisherman who lets his hook and line sink beneath the surface to find the big catch. In a recent conversation he told me that he sometimes starts the process of writing by scribbling for a long time, waiting until his conscious mind tires a bit, and then dredging up the unlikely combinations of words and images suggested by the deeper levels of awareness in his mind.
His originality can be seen in the lyric called "Ohio Boys," which begins with imagery that at the very least puzzle us, then develops the scene of boys roughly playing or fighting, and then resolves itself with a resigned, humorous observation.
Chasing mercury
like a wounded animal
On the floor of the greenhouse
pinned beneath winter clouds.
Everywhere broken glass
like seeds on the concrete.
Rows of hydroponic tubes,
tiny mouths open to the sky.
We tore the hoses loose
to whip each other.
Snapping above our round heads,
plastic sheeting sun-baked opaque.
Everything broken enough for us
to break it the rest of the way.
"Typical, Really" not only displays the "quirky beauty" of the everyday that Christopher mentions but also, in a condensed fashion, contains a philosophy of life.
One thousand chipmunks
woke him up from a deep sleep
and he mistook them for angels
when he could simply have been
amazed at a thousand
chipmunks in one place.
What need is there for the mystical and metaphysical, the poem gently asks, when concrete miracles like this surround us?
Jerry Masinton is professor emeritus of the English department at KU and a member of the Langston Hughes Creative Writing Project Committee.
Lawrence Children's Choir to perform 15th Anniversary Concert
What have you been doing? and What brings you happiness in life? Answers to these questions are what Janeal Krehbiel, Lawrence Children's Choir artistic director, would most like to hear from former choir members when they gather at 5:30pm on Saturday, March 4 to perform a finale with current choir members during a 15th Anniversary Concert at Plymouth Congregational Church.
Krehbiel and her sister, LCC accompanist Marilyn Epp, founded the choir with 54 members in grades 4-7. The current Lawrence Children's Choir has 74 members in grades 5-9. This concert serves as a partial retrospective as the choir will revisit favorites from the past 15 years as well as present new repertoire.
The concert is also a preview for the repertoire the tour choir will perform at the International Choral Festival in Missoula, Mont. in July. The choir is one of only five U.S. choirs invited to participate among 22 choirs from 17 countries.
The festival intends to "promote artistic excellence, global understanding, friendship, and goodwill through music." Also while on tour, the choir will perform at Mt. Rushmore prior to the evening lighting ceremony at the monument.
In addition to the touring and preparatory choirs, an elementary choir class, Cadenza, offers instruction for 1st and 2nd grade singers.
The March 4 concert will feature the Choristers preparatory choir, directed by Pam Bushouse. Advance tickets are available for $6 at Hume Music, 711 W. 23rd Street, or $8 at the door.
Coming up taller
Van Go Mobile Arts wins national award
Van Go Mobile Arts Inc., Lawrence, Kansas' premier arts-based youth employment program for high needs teens, was recognized nationally in January as one of 17 youth arts and humanities programs to receive the 2005 Coming Up Taller award. Van Go's JAMS program, (Jobs in the Arts Make Sense) was awarded $10,000 for its achievements.
Coming Up Taller is an initiative of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities. The committee partners with the Institute of Museum and Library Services, the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities to administer the program, which was founded in 1998.
The Coming Up Taller Awards recognize and support outstanding community arts and humanities programs that celebrate the creativity of America's young people, and provide them with new learning opportunities and a chance to contribute to their communities. The awards also highlight the contributions that historians, scholars, librarians and visual and performing artists make to families and communities by mentoring children. More than 250 nominations were received by the program in 2005.
"Winning this national award is an amazing honor for a maturing organization like ours - something I've only dared to dream about since hearing of its existence," says Lynne Green, Van Go's executive director. "We couldn't be prouder, especially given the competitive nature of the award."
Founded in 1996, Van Go Mobile Arts is an arts-based social service agency that developed JAMS to improve the lives of high-needs youth by using art as a vehicle for self-_expression, self-confidence and hope for the future. JAMS hires 90 high-needs teens annually to create public works of art. Participants learn values that are productive to their communities by refining their artistic talents, mastering professional skills and earning recognition and compensation for their hard work.
Benchmark, JAMS' signature annual program, has transformed the landscape of Lawrence with 150 functional art benches. Local businesses, schools and social organizations commission JAMS participants to design and paint benches, many of which become vibrant and permanent public fixtures. JAMS has also been successful in numerous other projects. Participants are paid for their artwork, which is sold in the Van Go Gallery. The proceeds help support the not-for-profit organization.
"Through the Coming Up Taller program, the President's Committee focuses national attention on exemplary programs that enhance the lives and learning of young people who are most at risk.
We believe our nation's future - our leaders, artists, writers, musicians, educators, entrepreneurs - depends on the investment these excellent programs make in the lives and talents of our youth," says Henry Moran, executive director, President's Committee on the Arts and Humanities.
JAMS participants are often from adverse environments where they face economic, academic and mental health challenges, yet they flourish in an enriched afterschool environment where they are mentored by professional artists as well as prior Van Go alumni.
Further evidence of Van Go's impact is demonstrated by the fact that 85 percent of its alumni are either employed or enrolled in an institution of higher education.
"When young people have the opportunity to explore the arts and humanities and discover their creative side, a new world is opened," said first lady Laura Bush, who presented the award in the East Room of the White House.
International Institute for Young Musicians presents international competition winners
The International Institute for Young Musicians Foundation is pleased to present pianists Charlie Albright and Amir Khosrowpour in concert Sunday, Apr. 30 at the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire Street. The 7pm concert is open to the public for $12, $8 seniors and students. A reception will follow.
Charlie Albright, a 17-year old pianist from Centralia, Wash., was the First Place winner in the 2005 IIYM International Piano competition. Judges described his playing as "sparkling" and "mature far beyond his years." During the winners' concert in July, Lawrence audiences warmed to his charming stage presence and, in a more informal moment, his improvisations on themes from popular television shows. A prize-winner in the MTNA-Yamaha National Competition, Charlie recently won second prize in the prestigious Schimmel International Competition for Young Pianists.
A long-time favorite of Lawrence audiences, pianist Amir Khosrowpour received his bachelor of music degree from KU in 2004. A former IIYM student, Amir was the 2001 Steinway-MTNA Collegiate National Champion. He gave the West Coast premiere of Lowell Liebermann's Concerto No. 2. Describing that performance, the Los Angeles Times said he had "irresistible verve, unpretentious directness, and fingers of steel."
"Both young men have a special connection with audiences that made a natural fit for this concert," says Dr. Scott McBride Smith, IIYM president and CEO. "It's not every young pianist that has received international recognition, while at the same time being able to play in all different styles and talk with audiences. These young men are very unique."
The program will include Beethoven's Sonata, Op. 101, Chopin Etudes, Op. 25, #1, 2, 6, 8, and 12 (Albright), and works by Prokofieff, Ligiti, Franck and Khosrowpour (Khosrowpour).
KU Department of Design students exhibit textile works at the Spencer Museum of Art
Textile design students in KU's School of Fine Arts are showcasing their dyed textile fabrics at the Spencer Museum of Art through May 28.
Approximately 15 textile design students, studying under KU design professors Mary Anne Jordan and David Brackett, are participating in a textiles project for the Spencer Museum of Art. Dyed textile fabrics created by the students will visually transform the museum's Central Court, running in conjunction with Flowers, Dragons and Pine Trees, an exhibition from the Spencer Museum's permanent collection of Asian textiles.
The students dyed approximately 300 yards of fabric, using indigo dye and traditional shibori (tie-dye) techniques. Long, narrow strips of fabric line the balconies in the museum, wider panels of dyed fabric line the walls, and fabric also covers the piano and benches housed in the museum. Each student designed several individual panels for the collaborative textile installation.
"This will be an ongoing project throughout the semester" Brackett says. "Some undyed fabric will be hung for the opening, and these panels will be removed, dyed and re-installed gradually over the next few months until all of the fabric has been dyed. The appearance will change over time and will, hopefully, encourage repeat visits to the museum to see the diversity in the students' works."
For more information about the textile design exhibition, please contact Mary Anne Jordan at 785-864-3919 or David Brackett at 785-864-4283. For more information about Flowers, Dragons & Pine Trees, please contact Bill Woodard, director of communications for the Spencer Museum of Art, at 785-864-0142.
Lawrence Art Guild update
The Lawrence Art Guild is an independent, non-profit organization created to promote art awareness in Lawrence and the surrounding areas. This guild supports the creative growth of our members and area artists. Meetings are held on the third Monday of each month, 6:30 to 9pm, in the Lawrence Public Library auditorium at 707 Vermont Street.
The public is invited to attend and to become members. Artist Forums on various topics begin at 7pm, following the 6:30pm business meeting:
- Mar. 2, Michael Caron
- Michael will make a presentation about the Baker Wetlands. We will ask all artists who have photographed, painted, sculpted, etc. anything relating to the Wetlands to bring an item to display during his talk. This promises to be another "don't miss" presentation.
- Apr. 17, Marybeth Bethel
- Encouraging the Creative Process. Marybeth's presentation will focus on the ebb and flow of the creative process. From her research on creativity and human potential, Marybeth has devised strategies to work through creative blocks and encourage creative flow. She will also be sharing insights gleaned from interviewing 30 artists about their creative lives. Marybeth is a personal coach, psychotherapist and teacher with a private practice in Lawrence. Her creative pursuits have included writing, performing and recording music, publishing numerous essays and poems, and creating glass mosaics.
- May 15, Carla Tilghman
- Carla learned to spin and weave when she was 12 years old and has been playing with fibers ever since. After working in the medical field for 15 years, Carla decided to turn her hobby into her profession. She received an master's degree in art history from the University of Kansas in 1999, and an MFA in textiles from Kent State University in 2004. In 2002 she took a crash course in parenting and earned a son. "Chasing a toddler, teaching art history and weaving like crazy keeps me busy and has taught me how not to sleep."
Be sure to join us at South Park at 11th and Massachusetts on Sunday, May 7, for the Lawrence Art Guild's 45th Annual Art in the Park. More than100 artists exhibit at this fine art fair. The day is filled with activities for all ages and a variety of musicians.
For more information about the Guild and its upcoming events, or for a membership form, visit www.lawrenceartguild.org or call 785-887-6010.
KU music professor to be inducted into National Band Association Hall of Fame
Robert Foster, professor of music and assistant chair of the department of music and dance in KU's School of Fine Arts, was inducted into the National Band Association (NBA) Hall of Fame at Troy State University in Troy, Ala., on Feb. 4.
Foster, a graduate of the University of Texas, taught at O. Henry Jr. High School in Austin and at Lamar Senior High School in Houston following graduation. He then joined the University of Florida as an assistant band director and trumpet teacher before coming to KU in 1971 as director of bands. At KU, Foster has served as faculty for 35 years, and was director of bands for 31 years, conducting the KU Symphonic Band/Wind Ensemble and the KU Marching Band. In 1971 he established the first KU Jazz Ensemble, and he served as its first director.
Foster is vice president of the John Philip Sousa Foundation, and is former president of the National Band Association, the Southwest Division of the College Band Directors National Association and the Big 12 Conference Band Directors Association. He served as chairman of the North American Band Directors Coordinating Committee and is also the conductor and director of the Lawrence City Band. Foster also stays busy as an active guest conductor and adjudicator in the U.S., Canada, Mexico, Japan, Singapore and locations in Europe.
"I am most appreciative of this incredible honor," Foster says. "While this is very humbling personally, I believe that it is also recognition of outstanding accomplishments of the many students and others associated with the band program at the University of Kansas. I have been very fortunate and blessed to be surrounded by so many people whose good work and support have been such an important part of my life."
To be nominated for induction, directors must be at least 65 years old and must have created a national reputation for themselves as a band conductor. Nominees must have also made a national impact on the American band movement. The Board of Electors of the National Band Association makes the final selection.
Past inductees into the Hall of Fame Distinguished Conductors include John Philip Sousa, the world-famous bandmaster; Edwin Franko Goldman, conductor of the Goldman Band in New York City; Frank Simon, famous cornet virtuoso, conductor and soloist; Henry Fillmore, famous band leader/ composer; Merle Evans, conductor of the Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus Band; Col. Arnald Gabriel, ret. Conductor, U.S. Air Force Band; Col. John R. Bourgeois, ret. U. S. Marine Band; and many more.
American and European photography subject of Spencer exhibition
The Spencer Museum of Art on the University of Kansas campus will show Photography Between the Wars: A Survey of American and European Photography, 1920-1940, opening Mar. 4 in the North Balcony Gallery.
The Spencer currently holds in its permanent collection 520 photographs dated between 1920 and 1940. This exhibition, organized by Brett Knappe of the museum's department of photography, traces this vital two-decade span, which witnessed the birth of the photo-magazine, the popularization of documentary photography and the utilization of the camera for scientific investigation.
In the history of photography, the interwar period presents the contemporary viewer with a provocative era in which photographers explored a multitude of approaches to the medium. Simultaneously, aesthetically minded photographers were creating artistic photographs that re-envisioned many of the traditional genres of art, including landscapes, still-lifes, portraits and nudes, while other photographers, steeped in political or social doctrines, revealed new ways of seeing the world with the camera. This multiplicity of diverse directions greatly expanded the photographic medium and ushered in an era in which photography became a ubiquitous part of modern life.
Among the photographers whose work is represented in this exhibition are: James Edward Abbe, Ansel Adams, Manuel Alvarez Bravo, Margaret Bourke-White, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, Man Ray, Barbara Morgan, Alexander Rodchenko, August Sander, Aaron Siskind, Edward Steichen, Weegee and Edward Weston.