Gallery Shop

Gallery Shop Hours: Tuesday-Saturday noon until 5pm


The Lawrence Arts Center Gallery Shop features original work from over 90 local artists. We offer a wide variety of mediums, such as jewelry, ceramics, paintings, photography, textiles, books, cards, prints and much more.

We are open from noon until 5pm, Tuesday through Saturday, as well as for special events. Our shop is staffed completely by volunteers who are willing to donate their time towards supporting the arts. Please stop by and visit the Gallery Shop and experience what the Lawrence Arts Center has to offer.

We are now offering limited edition lithographs by Elizabeth "Grandma" Layton.

If you are interested in offering your work for sale in the shop or volunteering , please contact Lee Saylor at leesaylor@lawrenceartscenter.org.

Gallery Shop Artists

Ben Ahlvers

Ben teaches Intro to Ceramics, Tilemaking and Dinnerware at the Lawrence Arts Center. He has a BFA from Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville and an MFA from Ohio University. His work is exhibited as numerous galleries and museums in the U.S., London, Spain and China. Ben says "I use clay because of its ability to show evidence of the makers hand and mimic other materials. The work I make is primarily figurative. I am essentially asking questions of myself and I believe the work reflects this process."

Debbie Baker

Debbie Baker has always been an avid nature lover and began amateur nature photography while working on a Master’s thesis in Wildlife Biology at the University of Nebraska. Wanting to share her photos in a useful way, she created greeting cards from them to give to friends and family, who encouraged her to sell them. A recent trip to Haiti rekindled her interest in sharing her adventures through photography. Debbie is using the funds from card sales to purchase bird books and binoculars to take back to Haiti to help people start ecotourism businesses through birding. Be on the lookout for new scenes from the 2009 trip!

Randall Bennett

Randall Bennett has spent over 20 years designing, building, painting, drawing, sculpting, and creating museum exhibits. The Gallery Shop features watercolor and oil paintings by Randall.

Ellie Blair

Ellie Blair has a degree in Ceramics from the University of Kansas and has been doing pottery in her studio since 2002. She loves Crystalline Glazes because of the unpredictability of the glaze.

Vernon Brejcha

Vernon Brejcha is a native Kansan from Holyrood. He considers himself a storyteller whose art is about life, passion, and the wonders of nature. He has a MFA from the University of Wisconsin. He retired in 2001 after 25 years as Associate Professor of Design at the University of Kansas. His work is represented in over 40 major museums and public collections as well as numerous corporate and private collections throughout the world.

Grace Carmody

Grace Carmody has been a professional designer and silversmith since 1976. Graduating from the University of Kansas with a BA and MFA, she taught classes at the university in the Design Department as well as the Lawrence Arts Center. She taught classes for 18 years at a private art center in Atlanta, GA, and returned to Lawrence in 2000. She now works exclusively in her home studio doing special commissions and silver works to be displayed and sold at the Lawrence Arts Center Gallery Shop. Her work has been exhibited in over 100 exhibitions and many galleries and is included in collections in the US and abroad. The Lawrence Arts Commission selected her as the designing artist for the Phoenix Awards 2004 presented to individuals who are recognized for their contributions to the arts.

Louis Copt

Louis Copt was born and reared in Emporia, KS. He graduated from Emporia State University in 1971 with a degree in art. Copt began his career as a full-time artist in 1984 after returning from a summer of study at the Art Students League in New York City. The focus for Copt’s painting has been Kansas in general and specifically on the Flint Hills, the annual prairie burning and most recently, figurative painting. New works include a series he calls “remembered landscapes,” relying on impressions and recollections of past encounters with nature. His goal is to create ambiguity or mystery, to reveal what is felt but not seen, to create something absolutely unique, to explore form out of curiosity and to reveal his private vision.

Dee Ann DeRoin

Jewelry

“I love the materials: stones, pearls, shells and silver. It’s a joy to combine them in wearable form for others to enjoy.”



Alison Filley

Alison Filley, Printmaking Artist-in-Residence is originally from Edmond, Oklahoma and after graduating from high school attended Washington University in St. Louis where she received a BFA in Printmaking. A year after graduation she headed north to the University of Iowa where she received her MFA in Printmaking with a minor in drawing. Her works of art explore the ubiquity of celebrity culture in our contemporary society. She works in a variety of traditional and contemporary print mediums and incorporates various elements from DIY craft culture including glitter and flocking. She has exhibited both nationally and internationally.



Herb Friedson
Herb Friedson was born in Cleveland, Ohio and graduated from the Cleveland Institute of Art in 1958 with a BFA in Sculpture. He started enameling in high school. At the Cleveland Institute of Art, he was fortunate to study with renowned enamellists Kenneth Bate and John Paul Miller. He received an MFA in Design at the University of Kansas and was hired by KU to teach jewelry-silversmithing and basic design in the Design Department as well as introducing enameling into the curriculum. Mr. Friedson's work has been shown in more than one hundred twenty regional, national and international exhibitions including those at the Museum of Contemporary Crafts, New York; Cleveland Museum of Art, Aaron Faber Gallery, New York; Long Beach Museum of Art, Nelson Gallery/Atkins Museum and the Biennale Internationale in Limoge, France.
Avis Garrett-Baptist

Registered Art Therapist

Dr. Garrett creates original art in her home, the Gingerbread Castle. She paints using a wide variety of media. She also sculpts magnificent towers based on the beautiful Spanish towers of the Country Club Plaza in Kansas City, MO. Dr. Garrett recently coauthored Drawing and Coloring for Your Life, a 200-page book, including 92 drawings by Elizabeth Layton.

Jan Gaumnitz

As a child I lived on a farm, near a lake in Minnesota. The close association with nature had an enduring influence on my life and art.

I prefer to be outside “seeing, experiencing, remembering, collecting and photographing”, then creating a work of art in my studio.

By investigating sources for new or old ideas, challenging new techniques and materials, yet following basic fundamentals of art, I work to present a unique expression in a variety of media.

Bob Gent

Bob Gent, glassblower, creates one of a kind pieces of art from his home based studio in Lawrence, Kansas. He spent most of his life making things of one sort or another and made his first series of lamps as a teenager, figuring out how to drill holes in glass insulators in order to put a wire though the top. Upon earning a degree from the University of Tulsa, he moved to Kansas to start at a family and establish his own glass studio. For several years, he exhibited his work on the craft show circuit mainly throughout the Midwest but occasionally on both coasts. Currently, his work can be found in fine galleries, artisan shops and online at www.bobgent.com. Originally trained as an offhand glassblower, he became interested in fusing and built an impressive fusing studio in order to explore this new means of creation. Glass offers a chance for a myriad of juxtapositions of color, form, and shape within the rigid confines of the material's technical limitations. There's always something new to try, a different and surprising effect to discover or a new piece of equipment to build. Gent continues to be captivated by glass and finds gratification in discovering new ways to mold and shape his art.



Bar Geyer - Jewelry

It’s all about the minerals! I love the colors, textures and forms of the semi-precious gemstones I work with. I enjoy combining them with fine glass, metal and other materials. Sometimes I use vintage elements. I strive for classic, elegant designs with a timeless quality. Much of my work is one-of-a-kind. I will be happy to work with you on custom designs.



Sarah Gross

Sarah Gross, 2009-10 Ceramics Artist-in-Residence teaches Handbuilding and Sculpture, sarahFirst Time Potter, and Advanced Ceramics. She received a BA in Studio Art from Carleton College and an MFA in Ceramics from the Rhode Island School of Design. Sarah has exhibited nationally and has taught classes and workshops throughout New England. She makes functional pottery as well as ceramic sculpture.



Lisa Grossman

As a painter and printmaker for the past sixteen years, my work's central theme has been open space. I've found my inspiration in the wide skies and prairies of Eastern Kansas and the Kansas River Valley. The power of this place, and my emotional responses to weather and shifts in light, color, and seasons, are the true subjects of my work.

My work has always been about shifts and ephemerality. I'm not so much trying to freeze moments in time as much as I am attempting to convey my experience of them. My wish is to share some of what I've discovered, offering a new way a seeing these waterways and open prairie spaces that hopefully, ultimately, awakens a new appreciation for them.


Sharyn Brooks Katzman

Do wear my jewelry with pleasure, knowing that technique, design and materials have been chose with an eye to beauty, quality, comfort, wearability and unique style. Living abroad in Asia and Europe, obsessively collecting beautiful fibers and special beads for over 30 years, my training and education as an art historian and printmaker—all of this inspires my art jewelry.


Hird and Kostner

Ricardo A. Kostner and Kathleen Hird Kostner. The Gallery Shop features greeting cards by Hird and Kostner.


Hak kyun Kim

Hak kyun is a ceramics resident Artist here in Lawrence Arts center.

Hakkyun holds a B.F.A and M.A in ceramics from Seoul National University of Technology in Korea and holds M.F.A in ceramics from the University of Montana.

I have always returned to the vessel form. My continual fascination with the vessel stems from its literal and conceptual uses as something that preserves, beautifies offers, invites, holds, hides, and reveals. I create new forms and arrangements that explore these combinations and relationships. My work is set up in two metaphorical categories, “Before Serving” (how you might find items in your own cupboard or in a store) an! d “After Serving” series (how you might find after use). Just as these two categories respond to each other, so can the viewer to my table-landscape. I use various techniques to achieve this such as throwing off (double) center or dropping the form while it is still wet in order to make the pieces slightly asymmetrical. These alterations animate my work and subtly vary their lines.


Kimbo

Kimbo moved to Lawrence in 2000 from Kansas City, MO and has shown her work throughout the KC Metro area as well as in Chicago, IL. The artist works as a Publisher and Marketing Director for a local publishing house and sell her paintings and photographs as well as prints, notecards, and refrigerator magnets. Most of her work can be seen at www.kimbogallery.com but the work is much more magical when seen in person. Kimbo works with watercolors, ink and gouche and also produces fine photographic pieces.


Keith Lemley

Sharing experiences is the core of my work. I use materials in unexpected ways, drawing attention to viewers’ preconceptions. Ephemeral substances such as air, light, electricity, cooking grease, and food emphasize the constant change occurring around us. Usually interactive, my work creates direct conversations through the inclusion of viewer’s own body. This links the making of art and the seeing of art into a single ongoing event.

The tension felt when approaching an interactive work in front of a group of strangers is much like the sensation of questioning the status quo – it is not easy to ignore the “hands off” notions we are raised with and single yourself out of a crowd. Why are things the way they are? Is there a better solution? The active shift between viewer and participant is a reminder that the world is what we make it. By guiding viewers to interact with objects in ways they normally wouldn’t, I challenge viewers to rethink their decisions and consider new possibilities.

Robbin Loomis

Robbin Loomas, a working photographer for over 25 years, received her BFA in photography from the Kansas City Institute. Working as a freelance photographer in Kansas City, then as head of photography for University Relations at KU, she now has her own photo studio, Sterling Image, in Lawrence, Kansas.

When people look at the artwork produced by Robbin Loomis the first question is, "Is that a photograph or a painting?" the answer is "yes". Robbin feels a whole new world opened up with the development of digital media. Although computer generated art has existed for nearly 35 years, it is the blending of photography, painting and technology that has excited Robbin and other artists.

Heather MacLaren

The Gallery Shop features cards, magnets and jewelry by Heather.


Ernest Morrow

Ceramics

My work reflects my love and fascination with the systematic randomness of nature as expressed in the weave of threads and blocks of tissue in tree trunks or the interlacing swirls of flowing water. The effect is a blending of forces and/or the action/reaction of opposing forces. This seems to be the essence of human life as well.

I also maintain a relatively unembellished simplicity in my work. In my bowls I combine a more complex symmetrical form with a simple asymmetrical brush stroke. In the architectural work I put in enough realistic texture and function to suggest believable reality but leave it to the viewer to imagine their own function, builder, or occupant of the piece.

All pieces are weather-proof. I have had three pieces outdoors in all weather without any adverse affects. In fact the architectural pieces are designed for outdoor use year round. The functional pieces have proven to be dishwasher and microwave safe.



Carol Nauman

Journeys is a series of greeting cards that has taken photos depicting many different journeys. Whether it be exploring new roads through travel, or discoveries with oneself, they are passages that take us from one place to another. With these photos are a collection of quotes. Putting the two together reminds us that no matter where the journey takes us the best moment is now.


Laura Nugent

Laura is a nationally exhibited and published painter. She lives and works in the Kansas City area. Originally from Rhode Island, Laura obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting from the Maryland Institute, College of Art. She studied painting at S.A.C.I. Firenze and at The New School for Social Research in New York City.


Tim O'Brien

Letterpress Printing

Tim O’Brien has taught Letterpress Printing since the new Arts Center building opened. He loves typography, the manual labor of setting type, and sharing his enthusiasm for printing the old fashioned way. When he is not teaching, Tim gardens, builds houses with straw bales and clay, operates a sawmill and helps with farm chores.



Licha Ochoa Nicholson

Glass Artist

"What I see, feel and touch in my everyday life is what inspires me to create endlessly on glass. The beautiful shapes and expressions of children’s faces, the endless shapes of the human body along with the colorful characters of street life all transform into unique pieces of glass art. My glass is my canvas, my inspirations are my palette."



Marilyn Pilkey

A passionate environmentalist, I am committed to creating functional and decorative art using pre- existing materials. I reclaim discarded mill ends, samples, and scraps - many of them vintage prints from my mother's collection. Mary Johnson loved to sew, and she loved to entertain! Our Kansas City home was often filled with guests, many of them college students, foreign missionaries, or needy children.

When Mom passed on in 1997, I inherited her fabric "stash". It makes my heart sing to resurrect her fabrics, giving them new life as wallhangings, pillows, and place-quilts, which others all over the world can use to welcome their own guests. I like to think that Mom is watching over each family, giving them her special warm blessing, as some of her fabrics grace their walls, couch, or table.

My respect for history and nature also prompts my choice of materials for other products. Doll's facial features are created using antique costume jewelry and buttons from my mother's and grandmother's collections. Pouches and bags come from mill ends and fabric samples. Each hobby horse head comes uses one sheet of an upholstery sample book. Thus each item is truely one-of-a-kind, made in America, signed and dated.

Amy Plymat

Hand painted silk scarves

“Bachelor's degree in Fine Arts from Drake University, with a minor in Horticulture from Iowa State University. I work primarily in earth tones with images of flowers and leaves on silk scarves.”

Mark C. Ralston

Ceramics

“ART” has played a large role in my life. My strongest memories from my childhood come from the act of creating. As a veteran of teaching art in the high school, the role of art in my life remains active. I have always felt the process of creative thinking and the act of creating art was essential to my growth as an individual and educator. I try to intertwine my efforts in drawing, photography and ceramics into a joyful expression. The spontaneous marks in my sketchbooks translate easily to the tactile and decorative discovery of my ceramics. My time spent in the studio is a joyful discovery of what might happen. The act of creating refreshes my senses and recharges my soul. My wheel-thrown ceramic forms are derived from the classic Chinese and Japanese utilitarian forms. I have always admired well crafted vessels that feel good in your hands. I hope that the recipient of these ‘paintings for your coffee table’ will find a special use for my work. They are meant to enhance your living condition. Enjoy!



Nan Renbarger

I have a strong connection to fiber. My interst runs the gamut from whole grains to bark, vines, twigs, and grasses to the cotton, rayon, wool and metallic yarns, threads, and fabrics I use to construct clothing, hats, bags, bowls and sculptures. I have always been attracted to color, texture, and fabric. Nature is a constant inspiration to me. I haven't had formal art education and tend to forge ahead on projects, learning as I go. Spontaneity is precious to me and I let my whims guide me. From flat, straight-edged materials, I fabricate three-dimensional fiberscapes. I often dive into a piece not knowing where it will take me, but am always happy to go along for the ride. As I venture forth, I encounter spirals, curves, angles and loops that create peepholes for color, peaks and valleys, grottos, winding rivers of color, wacky paths, refelective pools, and fauna and flora of fantasy. Befreo the trip is over, colors, textures, and shapes appear, disappear, and reappear. I am bewitched by the trek as discoveries along the way entice, humble, and charm me. Some pieces become vessesl, some become sculptures, some become wall pieces. My work embraces the notion of duality--inside/outside, front side/back side, highly textured/smooth, solid/open, on-the-wall/off-the-wall. An amalgamation of what I see, feel, hear, and sense flows through my fingers, out onto thephysical plane via fibers of every description.




Sally Rondeau

I have been "into" art since childhood while working on projects with my father. He was a gifted architect and I credit him for my artistic talents. My interest in jewelry making came alive while living in Alaska. It was there that I learned to create lampwork beads and was fortunate to work with the native Alaskans on the use of seadbeads. I was hooked!

My first calling was in floral design. I learned from the best and attended a floral design school in Denver. Since then, I have designed and built my home and "artist's sanctuary" near Grantville, Kansas. This inspired the interior designer in me and I often work with clients on their own design projects and garden layout.

My jewelry art is fashioned using primarily gemstones and silver. My dear friend Tom Grayhorse has mined cut and polished the beautiful Alaskan jade that I frequently use. He also cuts and polishes all my opals which come directly from Australia. Needless to say, each piece is unique and one-of-a-kind.

Some glam, mostly earthy, always playful.

Custom orders welcome:

  • Beaded Wrist Corsages -- Bridesmaids, Proms, Gifts
  • Jewelry with your special piece incorporated
  • Baby Bracelets
  • Men's and boys leather and silver pieces

Please visit my website for the whole experience (currently under construction): rondeauxjewelry.com




Libby Schmanke

Painting

I am a native Kansan who has drawn and painted since childhood. I studied art and psychology for my bachelor's degree, returned to school for a certificate in substance abuse counseling, and earned a master of science in art therapy. I have worked as a substance abuse counselor, program director, and art therapist for over eighteen years and have been on the faculty of the graduate art therapy program at Emporia State University since 2002.



Laura Schneider

As Amy Lowell once stated, "Arts is the desire of a man to express himself, to record the reactions of his personality to the world he lives in." I use art as one would use a diary. I record, my experiences, beliefs, and feelings visually. I feel that this is largely due to my background as an art therapy student.

My love for digital art began in high school. I was amazed at the endless possibilities of photo manipulation. After college, I became fascinated with typography and often incorporate it into my art. My goal is to combine raw expression with aesthetic design.



Richard Scott

Richard Scott was born and raised in Kansas City, MO. He graduated from Park College with a degree in Chemistry was employed in his profession for 30 years. Richard has been involved with photography since his teens when he built his first darkroom and worked as a portrait and wedding photographer for his hometown Portrait Studio. Through the years, photography became his main hobby, with specific interest in wildlife and nature photography. Richard's wife, Jackie, is an accomplished gardener and nature lover. Together they seek out everyday beauty that is often passed by in life's fast pace. Richard's creative eye for detail and composition illuminate his printed images. For Richard, capturing these images is "Just a walk in the Park".



Cora Lee Sizer

Handpainted scarves

Fascinated by movement and shape as well as the inter-play of colors of my world, I work to incorporate motion and shape in my art. Nature has had a major influence in my art, because of my Iowa farm background. My interests in art has been hand built ceramics (whistles), cut and torn paper, which has led me to painting on silk. I am finding silk as a great canvas and a challenge for my animals, birds, shapes, colors and motion.



Celia Smith

Acrylic Painting

“I am inspired by ideas, feelings and stories, and use the natural world and people in my renderings of them. In my simple landscapes I like to catch the essence or ‘soul’ of the scene.”

Shala Stevenson

Pysanky Eggs (a Ukrainian folk art)

“Pysanky eggs were once a common tradition in the Ukraine. Decorated with a stylus ("kystka") patterns are drawn with melted wax then placed into progressively darker dyes with new patterns drawn on each layer. After the last dye, wax is melted off to reveal the eggs' brilliant colors. Shala is a graphic designer at the University of Kansas.”

Rachael Sudlow

Photography, Jewelry

Rachael graduated from the Rhode Island School of Design. Her Cowscapes series of photographs explored the use of texture & alternative landscapes that can be formed from livestock. Her jewelry work focuses on the natural world, transforming silver & gold into organic pieces such a peapods & flowers. She now runs Sudlow Jewelry, www.rachaelsudlow.com with over 20 locations selling her work worldwide.

Jeff Thomas

Wood

“My approach to woodturning is very simple; I walk the forest and find a tree or branch or log that says ‘ I have spectacular potential’ . From there I let the wood define what it will become by revealing to me the natural beauty within.”



Britta Tobias

The passion I have for creativity is expressed through jewelry. I like to masque my work behind a plethora of design schemes and colors that leave my true intent hidden. This allows observers of my work the opportunity to reach their own interpretation of my inspiration and therefore gain their own insight.

Towards the end of my junior year at the University of Kansas I started to explore other types of metals such as aluminum. For the duration of my senior year the fabrication of my work relied heavily on anodized aluminum. The use of color fashions a mood or perhaps emotional feeling related to the disguised inspiration. The wide variety of colors and finishes by anodizing, it adds to the playful qualities throughout my work.

Aluminum is a flexible material and helps me express my design by exploring this technique which is new to me. Though anodized aluminum limits my use of other techniques (such as soldering), I have been able to successfully bring about new pieces and incorporate those pieces together by figuring out new methods to fully express my ideas.



Elinor Tourtellot

I consider myself to be an abstract expressionist who uses colors, textures and movement to create various spaces. Sometimes my images are taken directly from a figure or landscape; other times they are purely abstract.

What compels me to paint is the pleasure I recieve from the act of painting. It is the process and not the end product that motivates me. Most of my paintings and monotypes are made in the studio but occasionally I work directly form nature. I use oil or acrylic paint on canvas, or water based inks for making monotypes, applying various techniques to achieve the colors, light and textures that I want. My goal is to express the feelings I have about my experiences in nature.



Katie Van Blaricum

I've been fascinated with bugs ever since I can remember. My mom read lots of science books to me, and I was out collecting cocoons and caterpillars as soon as I was able. I had several "bug boxes" full of captives, and I spent many hours reading bug field-guides. I used many of the insects I found outside to make my own "closet museum", which included everything from bird eggs to fossils.

When I grew up, I took a class at KU called "The Biology of Spiders". That class rejuvenated my scientific inclinations. It taught me how to professionally collect and display spiders, and I became very interested in making my own "grown-up version" of the closet museum I had as a kid.

It's easy to buy a butterfly mounted on white paper, but I wanted something more, something unique that would be suitable to display outside of a stuffy museum. In other words, I wanted an insect display that was also a piece of art. Thus, the concept of Insect Art was born. After I had handled a few basic butterflies, I decided to move onto insects that you wouldn't find in your usual nature shop. It's my goal now to make pieces of art that are unlike anything I've ever seen.

Insect Art is made of real insects from around the world. They come to me all dried out and folded up. I re-hydrate them in a special chamber to make them flexible again. I then spread them out on a styrofoam board with sewing pins and plates of glass. Finally, I analyze the color and form of each insect in order to match them with the perfect art background. I then creatively arrange the insects and mount them into the frame. The whole process takes several days, and each end result is unique.



Lois Van Liew

I grew up in Lawrence, KS and after graduating in art from Kansas University, lived in Kansas city, KS before moving to Austin, Texas, and then Milwaukee, WI. I lived in Milwaukee for many years, as a practicing artist, while juggling the rigors of raising two daughters. In November of 2004, I moved back to Kansas. In Wisconsin, I shared a loft studio with another artist for 21 years. The studio was located in a historic wooden mill on the Milwaukee River. The studio has yearly exhibits as well as classes, workshops and weekly life drawing sessions. The studio had a large printing press to which I had access. I paint in oil, watercolors and acrylic, draw in charcoal, prismacolor and oil pastel and I have worked in handmade paper. I have studied lithography and etching as well as printing monoprints. I have a special love for drawing and painting the figure but have also have times when I am inspired to do landscape and florals. I am eager to explore the prairie theme again after being away for so long.