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SUMMARY:2023 Elementary/Middle/High School Annual Student Show
DESCRIPTION:The Octagon Center for the Arts highlights artwork by local elementary\, middle\, and high school students annually. \n \n\n\n\nGRADES K – 8 (Virtual):\nSHOW DETAILS: \n\n\n\nGoogle Form Submission Due: 5 pm\, Saturday\, April 1\, 2023\nVirtual Exhibit Opening: Monday\, April 17\, 2023\nArt from Grades K – 8 will be displayed virtually.\nEach elementary and middle school student may submit one piece to exhibit. \n\n\n\n\nENTRY REQUIREMENTS: \n\n\n\nAll submitted artwork must be entered into the Google Form by April 1st at 5:00 pm to be included in the show.\nAll media will be accepted.\nPhotographic reproduction of entries may be used or copied by the Octagon Center for the Arts\, without further agreement by the artists\, for exhibition and/or publication (print or online). Artwork may not be credited in publications due to space limitations.\n\n\n\n \nGRADES 9 – 12:\nIMPORTANT DATES: \n\n\n\nShow Opening in the Community Gallery: Monday\, April 17\, 2023\nReception: Thursday\, April 20\, 2023\, 4:00-5:30pm in the Community Gallery. Our juror will announce high school awards and share comments on the show.\nShow Closing in the Community Gallery: Saturday\, May 13\, 2023\n\n\n\n\nENTRY REQUIREMENTS: \n\n\n\nIf you are a 9-12 art instructor or homeschool parent and would like to enter your students’ work into the show\, please email the Gallery Director to recieve a copy of the complete submission guidellines.\nEligible high schools or homeschool students must be located within 20 miles from Ames.\n\n\n\n\n \n\n\n\n\n\n\n2023 EXHIBIT JUROR: SUSAN NORRIS \n \nSusan Norris\, an Ames artist\, is a human magpie. Walk with her and you’ll witness her exclaim as she picks up a bit of rusty metal or a shard of plastic. Variety is the spice of Norris’ life from the colors\, patterns and textures of her thrifted clothing and garden to the way she sets a table. \nShe is a scrappy collector and determined connector who can stitch Humpty-Dumpty back together again in a variety of imaginative ways. During the 2021 Ames Artist Studio tour folks asked\, “How did you think of so many different ways to put things together?” \nNorris is passionate about rescuing discarded objects\, likening them to discarded people. The process of finding\, sorting and grouping objects inspires ideas for expression through assemblage. Norris is currently experimenting with ways to combine her lifelong love of hand stitching and her newfound interest in mending with found object art. \n\n\n\n\n  \nQUESTIONS?\nContact: Casey Bridgham\, Gallery Director \nAddress: 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA 50010 \nPhone: 515-232-5331 \nEmail: exhibits@octagonarts.org \n 
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/2023-elementary-middle-high-school-annual-student-show/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events,Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221119
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221225
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SUMMARY:WHAT'S THE BUZZ? [explorations in handmade paper]: Dawn Wohlford
DESCRIPTION:Artist Statement:\nI could be the Poster Child for the slogan “Reuse\, Reduce\, Recycle.” Handmade paper is the basis for the majority of my artwork\, but I often incorporate\, weave or build using other found materials. I use old clothes\, dead plants\, shredded money\, and items such as old doormats (made of natural fibers) to make paper pulp. I cast or incorporate pieces of rusty metal\, vintage glass\, bicycle inner tubes\, leather and anything else that catches my eye. Pieces are often finished with pigment to achieve the appearance of metal.  \nMy approach to art making is methodical. Each piece is carefully planned and goes through several time intensive processes before reaching its final state. Each stage informs and alters the finished piece. The finished piece aspires to be both a beautiful object and a thought provoking or humorous reflection. \nMost recently\, the plight of bees\, as well as the construction of their hives (which is a form of papermaking) has captured my interest. Recent pieces reflect thoughts about the structure of beehives and how they are similar to human homes as not only a supposedly safe haven\, but a place to work and create. \nAbout the Artist:\nSculptural paper artist Dawn Wohlford discovered handmade paper during a National Art Educators conference in 1983\, while she was a junior at Truman State University. She returned to college and read everything she could find about making paper\, then began experimenting with handmade screens\, an old blender and recycled paper\, using her bathtub as a vat. Using these crude supplies\, she was able to create art for her Senior Show and earned a Bachelor of Arts degree. Still obsessed with creating art with paper pulp\, she chose to attend Arizona State University to learn hands on from one of the authors whose book she had studied. With her new skills\, she moved to Colorado and became an apprentice to Raymond Tomasso\, an internationally known artist. She gave workshops in Vail and Leadville and produced 150 sheets of nearly identical denim papers for a limited-edition book\, Strange Papers\, that was assembled and bound in Germany. At the same time\, she attended the University of Colorado and earned an MFA in sculpture in 1988. She moved back to her hometown in Iowa in 1998 and she became the Visual Arts Director for Quad City Arts\, a nonprofit organization. She oversees two art galleries and a public sculpture program. Additionally\, she serves on the Acquisitions Committee for the Figge Art Museum and teaches papermaking at Gilda’s Club. After caring for her home & family\, she creates art in the wee hours of the night. She consistently exhibits her work in regional exhibitions. \n 
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/dawn-wohlford/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221008
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221113
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SUMMARY:LAYERS OF REALITY: ANDREW CLARRIDGE AND MATTHEW TERRY
DESCRIPTION:Artist Statements\nAndrew Clarridge\n \n“My work is an endeavored process culminating out of experiences many or all of us have had in our lives. I like to focus on an array of issues such as technology and its psychological effects\, enslavement\, love\, loss\, death\, renewal\, enlightenment and empowerment. These are broad topics that have deep historic layers from which to sift through. The “layers” of inspiration are ambiguously related to the layers I build up in each piece. The digital work incorporates up to 50 layers or more of blending\, mirroring\, breaking apart\, color correction etc. This work is derived from hand made pieces involving wildly vivid and bright colors\, wood burned matrices and geometric form interplayed with organic counterparts. In both computer generated and hand-made pieces (sometimes both in one) the colors and forms are created to coexist with each other in a harmonious dance that often resonates with music I may be listening to at the same time.” \n  \n  \n  \nMatthew Terry\nLife is expression; and from a young age Matthew has fully embraced this expression. Lost within his surroundings\, at 16 he found photography\, and through this medium he developed a way to connect with other individuals who also felt a similar level of detachment. By combining subjective perspective with universal appeal Matthew has found unique ways of questioning not only the identity of who we are\, but also how we interact & relate to that which surrounds us. Whether he’s capturing a Landscape\, Architecture\, or the Human Form\, his work challenges the relation of inherent truths & fiction that occur in our existence. Utilizing contrasting tones\, and a distinctly deliberate perspective influenced by combining the conscious and subconscious as a means to question reality\, Matthew showcases conceptual photos which evoke a level of detachment subtle enough for most people to connect with. It is through this connection that Matthew proves on a perceptual level just how related we actually are. \nAbout the Artists\nAndrew Clarridge is from Story City\, and graduated with a BFA in 2009 from Iowa State University. Andrew has exhibited work with the artist group Paintpushers and also independently around central Iowa since 2010. Currently\, Andrew creates work out of Mainframe Studios in Des Moines\, and has an open studio where he demonstrates and discusses his work every first Friday of the month. \n  \n  \n  \n  \n  \n \nMatthew Terry is a Fine Art Photographer and graduate of the Academy of Art University\, where he attained his BFA-Photography with a focus in Fine Art Photography in December of 2014. Currently located in the Davenport Iowa/Quad City area\, Matthew picked up his first film camera in 2004 at age 16\, and since has exhibited and sold work at galleries in Rome\, San Francisco\, and Minneapolis\, among others. Additionally seeing work published both Nationally (Iowa\, Vermont\, New York\, Atlanta) and Internationally (Italy\, England). Growing up in the Midwest\, he long felt alienated in both a physical and mental sense. Lost within his surroundings he found photography\, and through this medium he found a way to connect with other individuals who also felt a similar level of detachment. \nRecently featured in the Iowa 175th Anniversary edition of The Annals of Iowa and a featured guest at the 2021 Celebrate Iowa Gala\, Matthew is a quickly emerging talent from the Eastern edge of Iowa attempting to change up the perception of what Midwestern/Iowa art has traditionally represented. \nExhibit Event\nLayers of Reality Artist Talk with ISU Alum\, Andrew Clarridge   \nWednesday\, November 2\, 4:30-5:30 p.m.\nOctagon Center for the Arts Community Gallery\nFree and Open to the Public\nMasks Required \nJoin artist Andrew Clarridge\, an alum of ISU College of Design and a featured artist in the Octagon Center for the Arts’ Layers of Reality exhibit\, for an artist talk on November 2nd. Andrew will talk about his exhibit artwork and artistic process\, as well as answer questions from students and community members. \n  \nLayers of Reality: Andrew Clarridge and Matthew Terry is sponsored by the Department of Art and Visual Culture at Iowa State University and PhotoSynthesis.   
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/andy-clarridge-and-matthew-terry/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220709
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220814
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SUMMARY:Second Annual Member Show
DESCRIPTION:Located in the Community Gallery \nThis unjuried show celebrates the skills\, creativity\, and lived experiences of the Octagon community! Let’s fill the gallery and surround ourselves with our own amazing work — established artists next to emerging artists\, all media. \n \nThe Octagon’s Member Show 2022: Participating Artists \n\n\n\n\nCarolyn \n\n\nAbbott \n\n\ncarolyntabbott.smugmug.com \n\n\n\n\nPenny \n\n\nAdam \n\n\n\n\n\nRobert \n\n\nAnders \n\n\nInstagram: @bobsretirementhut  \n\n\n\n\nDeb \n\n\nAnders-Bond \n\n\n\n\n\nTiffany \n\n\nAntone \n\n\nInstagram: @My_Lil_Weirdlings  \n\n\n\n\nCarol \n\n\nBarrick \n\n\n\n\n\nLayna \n\n\nBentley \n\n\n\n\n\nTerry \n\n\nBrigman \n\n\n\n\n\nRuthellen \n\n\nCunnally \n\n\nInstagram: @CutandPasteMosaics  \n\n\n\n\nSusan \n\n\nCunningham \n\n\nInstagram: @susanacunninghamart  \n\n\n\n\nLinda \n\n\nEmmerson \n\n\nGoogle Sites: Linda Emmerson papercutting \n\n\n\n\nKristy \n\n\nEvans \n\n\nInstagram: @kristys_abstract_art  \n\n\n\n\nNaomi \n\n\nFriend \n\n\nwww.naomifriend.com \n\n\n\n\nCathie \n\n\nGebhart \n\n\ndanthefishpublishing.weebly.com/ \n\n\n\n\nLydia \n\n\nGebhart \n\n\n\n\n\nJIll \n\n\nGuffy \n\n\nFacebook: Jill Guffy \n\n\n\n\nRex \n\n\nHeer \n\n\nrexheer.com \n\n\n\n\nJim \n\n\nHellemn \n\n\njimhellemn.com \n\n\n\n\nKatharine \n\n\nHensley \n\n\n\n\n\nLaurie \n\n\nHoifeldt \n\n\nwww.etsy.com/shop/LaurieJaneArt Facebook: Laurie Hoifeldt \n\n\n\n\nJulie \n\n\nHughes \n\n\nInstagram: @juliehughesart \n\n\n\n\nLinda Cather \n\n\nJohnson \n\n\nCatherjohnson.myportfolio.com \n\n\n\n\nConnie \n\n\nJohnson \n\n\n\n\n\nLetitia \n\n\nKenemer \n\n\n\n\n\nSvetlana \n\n\nLubota \n\n\n\n\n\nEmily \n\n\nLupita \n\n\nemilylupita.com/ \n\n\n\n\nJoshua \n\n\nMcCunn \n\n\nthumbsphotography.squarespace.com/ \n\n\n\n\nSara \n\n\nMerritt \n\n\nInstagram: @papercranesara \n\n\n\n\nJon \n\n\nMuller \n\n\n\n\n\nNicole \n\n\nNevels \n\n\nFacebook.com/Nicole.Tolson.7 \n\n\n\n\nChristopher \n\n\nNorris \n\n\nInstagram: @hedrawsgood \n\n\n\n\nSusan \n\n\nNorris \n\n\nInstagram: @eccentricoldwoman \n\n\n\n\nHailey \n\n\nNyman \n\n\nEtsy: CourageXConfidence Instagram: CourageXconfidence23 \n\n\n\n\nSasha \n\n\nPhillips \n\n\nInstagram: @SashaBlu_Art  \n\n\n\n\nJoseph \n\n\nPlum \n\n\nemilylupita.com/joeplum  \n\n\n\n\nTimothy \n\n\nPross \n\n\nwww.ProssWildlifeArt.com \n\n\n\n\nKyle \n\n\nRenell \n\n\nwww.kylerenell.com \n\n\n\n\nKimberlee \n\n\nRocca \n\n\nwww.kimberleerocca.com/ \n\n\n\n\nSam \n\n\nSenti \n\n\nSkunkriverburls@gmail.com \n\n\n\n\nRichard \n\n\nShook \n\n\nwww.dickshook.com \n\n\n\n\nJill \n\n\nSneed \n\n\n\n\n\njosh \n\n\nsorrell \n\n\nwww.joshsorrell.com \n\n\n\n\nKevin \n\n\nStow \n\n\n\n\n\nRobert \n\n\nSunderman \n\n\nwww.facebook.com/RobSundermanArt \n\n\n\n\nKathy \n\n\nSvec \n\n\n\n\n\nBarb \n\n\nThompson \n\n\nwww.bthompson.studio Facebook/Instagram: @bthompson.artwork \n\n\n\n\nSean  \n\n\nThornton \n\n\n\n\n\nTheresa \n\n\nWarren \n\n\n\n\n\nAlicia \n\n\nWilkinson \n\n\naliciawilkinson.com \n\n\n\n\nKelsey \n\n\nWilson \n\n\nwww.kelseywilsonstudio.com \n\n\n\n\nNorma \n\n\nWolff \n\n\n\n\n\nIrina \n\n\nYavorskaya \n\n\nArtPal.com/impressionsByIsy \n\n\n\n\nTom \n\n\nZimmerman \n\n\n\n\n\n  \nMember Show artists respond to the question\,  \n“What does Octagon membership mean to you?” \n“The Octagon thanks each of its members and patrons when we all should be thanking them for being here!  In my opinion\, The Octagon has become the cornerstone of the art world in Ames\, Iowa.  Through their hard work they have moved the arts forward in such a way that the lives of the community members has become enriched in many ways.” – Penny Adam \n  \n“Art is important\, it feeds our souls and helps us find our place in the world. The Octagon\, by nurturing artists all ages\, enriches the fabric of life in Ames.” – Ruthellen Cunnally \n  \n“Octagon membership is an intentional way to participate in our local creative community\, which is invaluable.” – Naomi Friend \n  \n“The Octagon has been my safe space to think and create\, teach and be taught.” – Cathie Gebhart \n  \n“Octagon membership is mutually beneficial: It is gratifying to support the arts in Ames\, thereby enriching the broader community. And it is rewarding that the Octagon encourages and supports individual artists and engages those who appreciate art.” – Rex Heer \n  \n“My membership means that I have a place to belong in the community. Where I can experience art and create art.” – Katharine Hensley  \n  \n“The arts are essential to the human experience\, and membership is just a tiny way to show support for local art and artists.  The Octagon has made dramatic\, intentional changes over the past few years and is now I think the most relevant and necessary it has ever been – it is often art that builds empathy within a community\, creates space for dialogue\, and elevates expression so we can connect to each other in meaningful and transformative ways. I am proud to be a member\, and hope to see the arts in Ames expand even more with the Octagon leading the way.” – Sara Merritt \n  \n“Octagon membership means that I can partner with and learn from the greater art community here in Ames and beyond in an accessible and accepting space.” – Sasha Phillips \n  \n“I get to be a part of a great art organization that I can help support\, while it also supports me.” – Josh Sorrell \n \n  \nThe Details \n\n\n\n\n\nEach current member may submit one of their own original works\, any media. This is work created by the member.\nA simple form must be completed (form coming soon!). Let us know if you need a little help signing up.\nThis is an unjuried\, all media show; all submissions will be accepted (one per member) as long as the instructions\, including hanging requirements\, are followed. \nTraditional hanging requirements must be followed; full instructions for accepted works are here. Let us know if you need to talk about this.\nPlease label your work carefully with your name\, e.g.\, the back bottom right corner for a 2D piece.\nDrop off June 11 – July 2\, 2022\nThe Octagon will not take a commission on any work sold in the Member Show\, as a benefit to members. Work may also be submitted as “not for sale.” Work must be picked up August 16 – 20\, 2022.\nKeep in mind \, any artwork that is shown in the Octagon galleries will not be eligible for future Octagonal or other Octagon juried exhibits.\n\n\n\n\n\n			\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n			\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				\n				If you want to join next year’s show by signing up for a membership\, visit https://octagonarts.org/home/membership/ \nFor further information\, please contact us at exhibits@octagonarts.org
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/second-annual-member-show/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220521
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220703
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SUMMARY:Place and Memory CINDY LESPERANCE\, CAROLYN ALBRACHT\, & JEANINE COUPE RYDING
DESCRIPTION:Located in the Community Gallery \nExhibit Reception: Join us at our exhibit reception on June 9\, 6-8pm at the Octagon! Come meet some of the artists\, see the show\, listen to our crowdsourced exhibit playlist\, and if weather permits\, hang out on the patio and enjoy some light refreshments! Masks are required for events. \nArtist Panel: Register here to join a virtual panel event featuring the artists of Place and Memory! Carolyn Albracht\, Jeanine Coupe Ryding\, and Cindy Lesperance will discuss their artistic process\, their artwork that is currently exhibiting at the Octagon Center for the Arts\, and how their work reflects on place and memory. Tuesday\, June 14th\, 6:00-7:00 p.m. CT\, Zoom. \nGallery Show Statement: Place and Memory \nSometimes a place is experienced from the ground. Sitting in the window of a rural coffee shop\, imagining the lives of passersby. Or walking through the prairie as birds flit from one tall stem of grass to another as the sun beats down overhead. Place is made from the detailed goings on\, the minutia\, of everyday life within local communities and ecosystems.  \nSometimes a place is viewed from above\, distilled down into forms\, colors\, and textures. As the scale expands\, the intricacies of place become less important. The composition of the geographies and tone of the topographies as the sun casts shadows across the landscape take precedence over the experiences of the people who live there or the ecosystems those people exist within.  \nSometimes a place is built from the experiences had\, the relationships created\, and the opportunities taken by those who lived there or perhaps those who passed through. Humans bestow emotional meaning. Meaning creates place. Over time\, the place is remembered and re-remembered. The remembering is reflective and performative. As memories are made and re-made\, the place changes.  \nThe concept of place\, or the historical progression of place as an idea\, traces back to Aristotle and Plato in Ancient Greece. Plato wrote of place as simply a location\, and Aristotle defined place as a container 1. Place can be a physical environment such as a city\, town\, or neighborhood; a complicated interplay between people and the environment; or\, more obscurely\, a way of knowing 2. Place is as much a way of knowing as it is a thing in the world 3. With the addition of meaningfulness through experience and memories\, a geographical place has a sense of place\, or essence\, formed by the subjective and emotional attachment that people have to place as profound centers of human existence. 4 \nPlace and Memory is a compilation of three artists. Who come from different backgrounds. Who have different lived experiences. Who\, using different media\, share their conception of place\, and the importance of memory\, through their artwork.  \n\n[1] Tim Cresswell\, Place: An Introduction (Chichester\, United Kingdom: John Wiley & Sons Ltd\, 2015)\, p. 25. \n[2] Ibid.\, p. 18. \n[3] Ibid.\, p. 18. \n[4] John A. Agnew\, Place and Politics: The Geographical Mediation of State and Society (Boston\, MA: Allen & Unwin\, 1987). Also Edward Relph\, Place and Placelessness (London\, United Kingdom: Pion\, 1976)\, p. 43. \n\nBiography: Carolyn Albracht \nCarolyn Albracht is Associate Professor of Art Education in the department of Art and Design at Wayne State College. She is also owner and director of Blue Cat Gallery & Studio in downtown Wayne\, NE. She formerly owned and operated L’eglise Art Center & Gallery in Aurora\, NE and taught K-12 art at Hampton Public School in Hampton\, NE. Carolyn served as the Visual Arts Coordinator for the Fall Arts & Music Festival in Aurora from 2004-2007\, and served on the Fine Arts Board of the Hamilton Community Foundation for ten years. She has been a member of the Nebraska Art Teachers Association since 2008\, has served as the organization’s secretary since 2016\, and served as the organization’s 2014 Fall Conference Chair in Aurora. Carolyn studied Studio Art and Psychology at the University of Nebraska at Kearney where she earned a BA in 1999. She continued her studies at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln\, earning an MA in Museum Studies in 2003. She completed a K-12 Art Education teaching endorsement in 2009. And finally\, she earned a PhD in Education Studies at UNL in August 2016. Carolyn’s personal artistic and teaching philosophy includes the idea that the arts are a necessity and not a luxury\, and so she strives to make the visual arts as accessible as possible to people in her corner of the world. \nFind Carolyn at https://bluecatgalle \nBiography: Jeanine Coupe Ryding \nJeanine Coupe Ryding’s prints\, collages and artists books are in museum and private collections in the U.S\, Europe and Japan. Her work focuses primarily on woodcut prints\, etchings\, artist’s books\, collage and most recently\, painting. She founded both Shadow Press and Press 928 in Evanston\, Illinois for fine art printing and publishing. She received her BA degree from The University of Iowa and her MFA from the Universitat der Kunste\, in Berlin\, Germany. Jeanine has received various awards and residencies including Illinois Arts Council Award\, Arts Midwest Grant\, Frans Masereel Center residencies in Belgium and Anchor Graphics residency in Chicago. She taught in the PrintMedia Department at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago from 1991 to 2019. \nFind Jeanine at www.jeaninecouperyding.com  \n  \nBiography: Cindy Lesperance \nCindy Lesperance is an award-winning Chicago based artist who works out of her private studio in the NW suburbs.   \nHer art has been exhibited in many galleries and museums including:  Zhou B Art Center–Chicago\, IL\, Bridgeport Art Center\, 4th Floor Gallery–Chicago\, IL\, RMU-State Street Gallery–Chicago\, IL \, Atlantic Gallery–New York\, NY\,  Niza Knoll Gallery–Denver CO\, Rockford Art Museum\, Quad Cities International Airport Gallery\, Freeport Art Museum and has been chosen by prominent jurors such as: Joanne Materra\, Kaveh Mojtabai\, Fred Camper\, James Yood\, Aron Packer\, Dan Addington\, Sarah Krepp\, Jerry McLaughlin\, Lisa Pressman and Sergio Gomez to participate and earn awards in many juried shows.  She has been featured in publications including: EA Magazine\, ACS Magazine\, Cover or the Journal of Financial Service Professionals and Featured Artist of the Red Dot Blog.  Her work is displayed in private and public collections throughout the nation and is on view as part of the permanent collection of the Encaustic Art Institute in Santa Fe\, New Mexico.  \nShe is member and Past President of FUSEDChicago (2018-2021)\, a Chicago Based group of Midwest artists who work in Encaustic and a member of the Northwest Area Arts Council.   \nCindy has evolved a personal style that is highly sophisticated and meticulous in attention to craftsmanship. Her process incorporates a technique she developed of applying small droplets of encaustic\, a combination of beeswax\, resin and pigment\, one-by-one to the surface of the painting and exploring the relationship of these drips to the spaces in between them.  The overall effect produces a tactile quality that when viewed in person\, engages those who encounter it.   \nFind Cindy at www.CindyLesperance.com
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/place-and-memory-cindy-lesperance-carolyn-albracht-jeanine-coupe-ryding/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220430
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220515
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SUMMARY:2022 Elementary/Middle/High School Annual Student Show
DESCRIPTION:Located in the Community Gallery/Virtual \nThe Octagon Center for the Arts highlights artwork by local elementary\, middle\, and high school students annually.  \n\n2022 Kindergarten – 8th Grade Student Show\nSee the K – 8th Grade Show virtually! Visit our YouTube channel to see the Show: https://youtu.be/l_N0KeDsDNI \n\n2022 High School Student Show\nSee the High School Show in the Community Gallery April 30 – May 14\, 2022. The reception for High School Show was held on Thursday\, May 5\, 2022\, 6:00 – 7:30pm in the Community Gallery. Our juror announced high school awards and share comments on the show. The award presentation and comments can be viewed on the Octagon Facebook page. \n2022 High School Show Juror: JAMIE MALONE \nJamie Malone (they/them) is an Iowan traditional and graphic illustrator who graduated with a B.A. in Biological/Pre-Medical Illustration in 2019 from Iowa State University. They have been working as a freelance illustrator for many non-profits\, authors\, and schools in the central Iowa area. Their art is heavily influenced by celestial bodies\, music\, mysticism\, and the natural world. \nJamie worked at the Octagon Center for the Arts as the 2021 Curator in Residence. \n  \n2022 High School Show Award Winners \nJeffrey L. Brown Memorial Photography Award: “Cue!” by Derek Peng\, Senior\, Ames High School (Art Instructor: Lindsay Wede) \nDavid Burton Stone Memorial Painting/Drawing Award: “Self Portrait” by Cecilia Moyer\, Senior\, Nevada High School (Art Instructor: Mark Beauchene) \nJuror’s Choice (Sponsored by Ames Silversmithing): “Beautiful Wonders” by Emma Brockman\, Freshman\, Ames High School (Art Instructor: Lindsay Wede) \nJuror’s Choice (Sponsored by Ames Silversmithing): “Starlights” by Emma Hudnell\, Freshman\, Madrid High School (Art Instructor: Danielle Dalluge) \nJuror’s Choice (Sponsored by Ames Silversmithing): “First Night” by Carter Wolfe\, Junior\, Ballard High School (Art Instructor: Lisa Bell) \nJeffrey L. Brown Best of Show Award: “Ancestry Nesting Dolls” by Lorna Schuckert\, Senior\, Ames High School (Art Instructor: Lindsay Wede) \n  \n\n\n\n\n\nTHANK YOU TO OUR GENEROUS 2022 SPONSORS:\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nThe Brown Family Endowment Fund\nThe Stone Family Endowment Fund\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n 
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/elementary-middle-high-school-annual-student-show/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220416
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220424
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
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SUMMARY:Apricity ISU BFA ISA STUDENTS
DESCRIPTION:Located in the Community Gallery\n \nSeventeen Integrated Studio Arts seniors from ISU’s department of art & visual culture will be exhibiting artwork in Apricity\, their BFA exhibition\, with media ranging from ceramics\, painting\, metalwork. wood\, drawing\, textiles\, printmaking\, photography\, and digital media. Students designed the exhibition and decided on Apricity as their exhibition title\, which means the warmth of the sun on a cold day.\n \nThe Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) in Integrated Studio Arts focuses on in-depth studio work with an emphasis on crossing conceptual and media boundaries. It is designed for students intending to become professional artists and those planning to continue their studies in a graduate program in studio art.\n \nThe show runs Saturday\, April 16 to Saturday\, April 23\, in the Octagon’s Community Gallery. Gallery hours are M-W 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.\, Thurs. 10 – 8 p.m.\, Fri. 10 a.m. – 5:30 p.m.\, and Saturday 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. A public reception will be held on Thursday\, April 21\, from 5 – 8 p.m.\n \n\n\nFeatured Artists: \nMali Bilstad\nEmma Bolles\nKalie Callison\nHelen Chandler\nMaddison Edwards\nNicole Eppens\nKalli Goerdt\nJacob Graeber\nCarolyn Henry\nAlyssa Mendoza\nClara Mikovec\nKhue Nguyen\nNur Sachleben\nMarilyn Schuling\nElynn Tan\nAshley Vance\nNikole Vollmer \n 
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/pricity-isu-bfa-isa-students/
LOCATION:IA
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220304
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220410
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
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SUMMARY:2022 Octagonal: The All Media Show
DESCRIPTION:Located in the Community Gallery \nOctagonal: The All-Media Show is the annual\, juried all-media exhibition at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames\, Iowa. Originally titled the Clay and Paper Show\, the exhibit opened in 1968 to provide an opportunity to the central Iowa arts community. Over the past 53 years\, the exhibit morphed over the decades to become the Clay\, Fiber\, Paper\, Glass\, Metal\, Wood Exhibit that has featured hundreds of artists from dozens of states. The newest version of the exhibit\, Octagonal: The All-Media Show\, launched in 2018 taking a note from the past while moving forward to continue to provide an exciting opportunity for artists across Iowa\, the Midwest\, and the nation. This exhibit features a regionally-recognized juror each year\, attracts artists from across the United States\, and provides significant cash awards. \nJoin the Octagon staff\, exhibit artists\, and exhibit juror for the 54th annual Octagonal: The All-Media Show’s opening night reception on Friday\, March 4th at 6:00 p.m.! Juror Akwi Nji will announce Octagonal 2022 award winners and share juror comments. Then\, join four Octagonal artists in a panel discussion on “Identity and Connection: Art as a Reflection of our Environments.” Featured artists are Natalie Deam\, Jennifer Gauerke\, Kimberlee Rocca\, and Anda Tanaka\, who will discuss how connections to their environments – social\, ecological\, occupational – shape their identities and their artwork.  \nOctagonal 2022 will be open for viewing in the Community Gallery\, starting March 4th at 6:00 p.m. and until April 9\, 2022. The Octagon requires proper mask wearing and physical distancing while in all parts of the building. \nThis event is in partnership with the Ames Community Arts Council. A big thank you to the 2022 sponsors: 10Fold Architecture + Engineering\, Cook’s Emporium\, Dog-Eared Books\, Gilger Designs\, Nook & Nest\, Sherwin Williams\, Z.W. Mercantile\, Brown Family Endowment Fund\, Huff Endowment Fund\, Iowa Arts Council\, City of Ames Commission on the Arts.  \n\nAwards\nWinifred V. Brown Best of Show award:  $1000 \nMedia award for each category: $250 \nPriscilla Sage Fiber Award\nSponsored by: Z. W. Mercantile\n“Siphonophore” by Betty Busby \nJanet Harris Squires Clay Award\nSponsored by: Cooks’ Emporium\n“Socially Distanced” by Hank Hall \n\nMartha Benson Metal Media Award\nSponsored by: Gilger Designs\n“Exhale” by Katie DuVal Mihelich \n\nVeronika Ruedenberg Mixed Media Award\nSponsored by: Nook & Nest Ames\n“Forces of Change” by Maggie Douglas \n\nPaper Media Award\nSponsored by: Dog-Eared Books\n“Stink Eye” by Mattea Whetstone \n\nGlass Media Award\nSponsored by: 10Fold Architecture + Engineering\n“Highland Meadow” by Jerene Kruse \n\nWood Media Award\nSponsored by: 10Fold Architecture + Engineering\n“Carousel” by Amelia Currier \n\nPainting Media Award\nSponsored by: The Sherwin-Williams Company\n“Beautiful Nymph” by Jess Quinn \n\nEmerging Artist Award\nSponsored by: The Octagon Center for the Arts and Brown Family Endowment Fund\n“Untitled (For Nona)” by Anda Tanaka \nWinifred V. Brown Best of Show Award\nSponsored by: Brown Family Endowment Fund\n“We’re all under the same sky” by Linda Lewis \n\n2022 Juror: Akwi Nji\n\nAkwi is an award-winning artist creating in words\, performance\, and visual art. She specializes in creative personal narrative storytelling across artistic mediums. Her work and words have appeared on stage from California’s Wine Country to New York’s Fashion Week. \nShe is owner of Threshold Gallery\, an artist-run gallery and micro venue with a mission to support women artists and artists of color in the Midwest; creator of The Remoir Project\, a nationwide audio and visual storytelling arts initiative\, and a champion of the artist and the arts through her role as producer of multi-media arts events in the Midwest. \nAkwi has served as an arts ambassador in multiple roles including as founding executive director of The Hook\, an Iowa Arts Council board member\, producer of nearly 100 events in recent years\, involving more than 300 writers and performers; and advisor of Arts Midwest initiatives. \nHer art serves as manifestations of her exploration of race\, gender\, Black history as American history\, and a parallelism of current social issues with their historical and cultural counterparts\, tensions between the ‘outsider’ and ‘insider’\, and concepts of spiritual and geographic home. As a writer\, voice artist\, performer\, and producer her collaborative partners include Emmy-award winning composers and nationally-renowned dancers and choreographers. She has been an Iowa Arts Council Fellow and\, for her efforts in the business community\, she was named one of Corridor Business Journal’s Forty Under 40.  \nAkwi was born in Iowa City\, Iowa\, and raised in Cameroon\, Africa. Her experiences as a Cameroonian and Cameroonian American inform her work as artist and advocate. She lives in the Midwest with her two daughters\, the family dog\, and her daughters’ cats. \nPROFESSIONAL BACKGROUND\nAkwi’s professional background is in nonprofit leadership\, public education\, journalism\, and strategic communications. Prior to launching her businesses\, she was most recently Director of Communications at the fourth largest employer in her county and serving more than 20\,000 stakeholders. Her professional expertise uniquely spans the corporate and creative world\, positioning her as a sought-after voice on strategic creative communications in the Midwest region. \n\nWe would like to thank everyone who submitted work to be juried for Octagonal 2022: The All Media Show. The following artworks have been accepted by juror\, Awki Ngi. Congratulations!\n 2022 Accepted Artworks\n\n\n\n\nLast Name \n\n\nFirst Name \n\n\nTitle \n\n\n\n\nAdam \n\n\nPenny \n\n\nSunny Day Window \n\n\n\n\nAlberda \n\n\nJoanne \n\n\nWoven Toss \n\n\n\n\nBauerle \n\n\nMarcia \n\n\nSaint Analogous \n\n\n\n\nBrown \n\n\nSara Slee \n\n\nSouls Ascending Green Gate \n\n\n\n\nBusby \n\n\nBetty \n\n\nSiphonophore \n\n\n\n\nCourter \n\n\nCherie \n\n\nBuck Run #2 \n\n\n\n\nCurrier \n\n\nAmelia \n\n\nCarousel \n\n\n\n\nDayton \n\n\nA K \n\n\nLarch Creek \n\n\n\n\nDeam \n\n\nNatalie \n\n\nBloom (Invasive) \n\n\n\n\nDouglas \n\n\nMaggie \n\n\nForces of Change \n\n\n\n\nDouglas \n\n\nMaggie \n\n\nWhere does the time go? \n\n\n\n\nDuVal Mihelich \n\n\nKatie \n\n\nExhale \n\n\n\n\nEastburn \n\n\nJudith \n\n\nGolden Hills #2 \n\n\n\n\nEllis \n\n\nAmee \n\n\nLaundry Day \n\n\n\n\nElshout \n\n\nKaren \n\n\nWild Hair \n\n\n\n\nFlynn \n\n\nMeghan \n\n\nTiger (Lily) Queen \n\n\n\n\nGauerke \n\n\nJennifer \n\n\nSister Earth \n\n\n\n\nGuffy \n\n\nJill \n\n\nMini quilt Aerial Blocks \n\n\n\n\nHall \n\n\nHank \n\n\nSocially Distanced \n\n\n\n\nHarris \n\n\nAmy \n\n\nEbb and Flow 2 \n\n\n\n\nHensley \n\n\nKatharine \n\n\nSeawall \n\n\n\n\nHerren \n\n\nKenneth \n\n\nShofukan \n\n\n\n\nJoffe-Bouska \n\n\nMarcia \n\n\nRio De Memoria (River of Memory) \n\n\n\n\nKruse \n\n\nJerene \n\n\nHighland Meadow \n\n\n\n\nLaursen \n\n\nAnnie \n\n\nLandscape Nesting Bowls \n\n\n\n\nLehmkuhl \n\n\nGayle \n\n\nGus\, Mike and me: we are from the land \n\n\n\n\nLewis \n\n\nLinda \n\n\nWe’re all under the same sky \n\n\n\n\nLopez \n\n\nAna \n\n\nLondon Wall \n\n\n\n\nPasutti \n\n\nLynsi \n\n\nCoil Vessel Part 1: Wave \n\n\n\n\nPiippo \n\n\nMariah \n\n\nUntitled Textural Painting (Size: 16Hx20Wx2D) \n\n\n\n\nQuinn \n\n\nJess \n\n\nBeautiful Nymph \n\n\n\n\nRocca \n\n\nKimberlee \n\n\nFish Out of Water \n\n\n\n\nSchnitzer \n\n\nAmy \n\n\nThe Quest \n\n\n\n\nShook \n\n\nRichard \n\n\nThe Magician \n\n\n\n\nSorrell \n\n\nJosh \n\n\nErupt \n\n\n\n\nStewart \n\n\nLori \n\n\nMaintaining Equilibrium \n\n\n\n\nTanaka \n\n\nAnda \n\n\nUntitled (For Nona) \n\n\n\n\nTanaka \n\n\nAnda \n\n\nWalking With Amira \n\n\n\n\nWhetstone \n\n\nMattea \n\n\nStink Eye \n\n\n\n\nWhetstone \n\n\nMattea \n\n\nTomorrow \n\n\n\n\nWilkinson \n\n\nAlicia \n\n\nHealing Landscapes Series: From Mexico City to the Midwest\, USA \n\n\n\n\nYavorskaya \n\n\nIrina \n\n\nDancing Penguins ’19 \n\n\n\n\nZeitler \n\n\nDeborah \n\n\nThree Bowls in a Bowl
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/13613/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220205
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220220
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
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SUMMARY:Catching My Breath CAMERON GRAY
DESCRIPTION:Community Gallery — View from the Sidewalk \n \nShow Statement\n \nDo we have time to slow down? And I don’t mean that Only in the sense of physically\, but mentality. Though we are living in a pandemic and things are to supposed to me moving much slower\, I feel that is far from the truth. From the multiple Deaths to trials\, when have we had time to be at Peace! \n \nCatching my Breath is the visual representation of me finding (or trying to find) that peaceful state through the trauma and chaos. We live in a society where it is not hard to be wrapped up in the sensationalism of the media with Black death being the tagline. That you can get lost in it all. This installation is all about taking and making space/room to breathe.\n \nThe gallery space will not be entered after install to allow the Black Spirit to be able to flow and breathe uninterrupted! I truly believe that is what Every Black person deserves and needs! \n \n \nBio\n \nCameron Gray was born in Birmingham\, Alabama in 1991. It was growing up in Birmingham when he started to see the effects of racism. He focused on feelings stemming from these effects when he entered his first art class at Auburn University. He graduated from Auburn University in December of 2013 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree with a concentration in Printmaking. In 2014\, he moved to St. Louis\, Missouri to work as a press assistant with a printmaker. In 2020\, he graduated from Iowa State University with a Master of Fine Arts.\n \nGray has shown his artwork in solo and collaborative shows\, nationally and internationally\, including in Cortona\, Italy\, Oklahoma\, Alabama\, Texas\, Iowa\, North Carolina\, California\, and New York. In 2020\, he founded a community-based initiative called The Buxton Initiative where he conceives community-based projects that celebrate Blackness in art\, literature\, music\, and film. His first major project is the Black’d Out Book Library where he is providing space where only Black voices are being heard and felt.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/catching-my-breath-cameron-gray/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20211230T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220130T173000
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20211228T223142Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211228T223142Z
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SUMMARY:The Colors of Nature BRIDGET MARCUS & PAMELA DOUGLAS
DESCRIPTION:Bridget Marcus has been bird watching for most of her life and her wonder and love for birds is only increasing as the vulnerability of our avian neighbors becomes ever clearer. Growing up in South Africa much of her free time was spent in the “bushveld” resulting in a deep knowledge of South African birds. Since emigrating to the midwest United States\, she has grown to know and love the birds of eastern deciduous forests and urban gardens. \nBridget loves intense\, highly saturated color and so has been drawn to pastels. Jack Wilkes\, her private teacher and mentor\, has exposed her to the magic of this medium. \nInspired by the depth of color with pastels\, Bridget has recently started developing a body of work depicting American birds that are attracted to the Michigan woodland property where she and her husband\, Rick\, are actively birdscaping by planting native plants to attract the insects on which specific bird species depend. This summer’s birds of note include scarlet tanagers\, indigo buntings and cedar waxwings bathing in the pond\, which was built as a source of water for the birds. \nAs a part of Bridget’s commitment to aid in bird conservation\, she will donate 30% of any sales at this exhibition or from online sales to the Audubon Society to assist them in the meaningful work being done by this important organization. \n“My lifelong connection with nature feeds my soul but I fear that opportunities to experience first hand its exquisite beauty and wonder are rapidly diminishing with the inexorable rise in extinction rates of so many species. I aim to share my love of and reverence for some of these magnificent creatures by depicting them through the use of texture and vibrant color. I hope to inspire those who see my work to slow down\, notice\, and feel.” \nPamela Douglas specializes in painting and drawing. She has worked in a lot of dierent mediums\, but over the last several years\, her works are primarily created in pastel. Landscapes and still life are the subject matter she paints most often. Rather than represent the row crops of the midwest\, Douglas is  drawn to the beauty of the natural landscape. Her still life work contains contemporary compositions representing simple objects set in a specific orientation in space. \nWhether in the studio or outside along a dusty road\, Douglas enjoys the experience of being in the moment while painting. Through her works\, she invites the viewer to imagine the serenity found in nature and hopefully to realize how important those places are in our world. \nIn Douglas’ work\, the interaction of color intensity and temperature strengthens the illusion of light\, color\, and form. Through her continued investigation of the use of color\, she intentionally works to produce the limits of depth or atmosphere. \nDouglas applies pastel in a layered method\, working first with the hardest density pastels and then finishing with soft pastels. Values are generally applied from dark to light. Depth of space is created by applying just the right temperature\, value and intensity of color where needed. \n“As a child\, most of my fondest memories are about creative play. I believe being actively creative was something important enough to have brought me to what I do today. Making art teaches me something new about myself and the creative process every day. I feel most fulfilled when I am alone and experiencing the creative process.”
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/the-colors-of-nature-bridget-marcus-pamela-douglas/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20211113
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20211225
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CREATED:20210112T214800Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20211011T035808Z
UID:12419-1636761600-1640390399@octagonarts.org
SUMMARY:AMENDA TATE
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY \nArtist Statement: \nIn Latin\, the word Manibus means “from the hand.” I created the Manibus robotic painting device to utilize as an extension of the artist’s hand. A dancer wears a motion-sensing remote directing Manibus to render an artistic depiction of elapsed time and motion. Using this tool\, I capture and translate the movement and visceral dynamics of dance into painted works of art.  \nI facilitate collaborative processes as a director combining the necessary components for creating the work of art. With a nod to Abstract Expressionism\, I allow for spontaneity in the mark\, but utilize my own set of constraints to orchestrate order in the process. I determine the scale\, width of the brush\, the color\, the starts and stops\, while resigning myself to accept some aspects of the output as they occur.  In the spirit of Happenings\, I encourage the contribution of creative energy within a prescribed structure.  \nMy process yields an observable abstract representation of what has transpired. It is an opportunity to analyze the fleeting movements of dance. The works take shape as dynamic linear renderings that embody kinetic verve. The emotion of the dance becomes a painted vestige honoring that instance in time. The lingering traces are mapped connections facilitated by social interaction\, art\, engineering\, and technology. \nMy work explores how art and dance can be utilized in a participatory way to cross societal divides\, break down barriers and increase empathy through tangible and embodied interactions.  Through imagination\, curiosity\, and courage\, we can increase our self-awareness to grow introspectively and consciously thereby enabling us to better understand the experiences of others. I have been conducting happenings/events that encourage public participation in the performative and improvisational creation of a collaborative work of art as a means to explore social structures and confirm connections to being emotionally intelligent humans. \nThis work questions responsible use of technology\, the construction of identity in a socially digitized world\, authorship and ownership\, privacy\, and legacy.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/amenda-tate/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20211012
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20211107
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
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SUMMARY:The Art of Climate Planning
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY \nThe Art of Climate Planning is produced by The EcoTheatre Lab and funded by a City of Ames Small Art Grant. The project is inspired by the City of Ames’ commitment to developing a climate action plan in the coming months. The EcoTheatre Lab commissioned seven local artists to develop art pieces with the aim of encouraging community participation in the climate action planning process. These art pieces will be displayed in various community spaces through March 2022. A big thank you to everyone involved in the Octagon Center for the Arts’ Outrage to Change Project in Summer 2020\, which inspired the structure for The Art of Climate Planning.  \nAbout The EcoTheatre Lab: The EcoTheatre Lab is a small collective of three Ames artists (Charissa Menefee\, Taylor Sklenar\, and Vivian M Cook). They partner with fellow ISU and Ames artists and community members to produce arts events that build community and engage audiences in sustainability conversations. They approach their work from an asset-based perspective\, examining the many assets that exist within our community and identifying ways to amplify and build on those assets through art. Follow The EcoTheatre Lab on Facebook and Instagram.  \nWork in image by Keygan Sands. \n 
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/art-of-climate-planning/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210821
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20211003
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20210112T214305Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210924T214202Z
UID:12414-1629504000-1633219199@octagonarts.org
SUMMARY:Image & Text: Visual Art and Creative Writing in Partnership
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN COMMUNITY GALLERY \nImage & Text features visual and written artworks crafted from partnerships between visual artists and creative writers. Whether the individual artworks or the overarching concepts behind the artworks are the collaboration\, this gallery installation intends to show artwork generated by the interplay between (or among) visual artists and creative writers. A call for artists took place in the summer of 2019. Originally planned for the 2020 gallery season\, the pandemic required rescheduling of this gallery show. \nAdditionally\, throughout the month of September\, The Octagon will be hosting several events to celebrate the collaboration of visual art and writing. We would love to have you join us! \n  \nWednesday\, September 1st\, 7:00 PM  \nGallery Talk with Debra Marquart and Ingrid Lilligren \nA conversation with Ingrid and Debra involving art\, readings of poems and excerpts\, and a view into how collaboration between the artists creates new visual art. Watch the recording here: https://fb.watch/8b3U_6AZd4/ \n  \nThursday\, September 9th\, 6:00 – 8:00 PM  \nEraser Poetry + Collage and Open Mic Night \nA drop-in activity to learn about and create eraser poetry and collage alongside a public open mic night. Share the creative writing in your life. $5 suggested donation to help The Octagon cover material costs. Partnership with the Emerging Writers. \n  \nThursday\, September 16th\, 6:00 – 8:00 PM  \nGalley Show Reception \nA reception to celebrate the works of all artists in the show. Plus impromptu poetry readings of the show artists in attendance. See the Facebook event here. \n  \nThursday\, September 23rd\, 6:00 PM NEW TIME! \nWords Meet Art with Ana McCracken \n A literary arts event that demonstrates through words how art invokes feelings\, triggers memories\, and inspires conversations across divides and demographics\, plus a special announcement. \n  \nThursday\, September 29th\, TBA \nReading Night with the Emerging Writers at Dog-Eared Books \n A literary arts event that demonstrates through words how art invokes feelings\, triggers memories\, and inspires conversations across divides and demographics. \n  \nSaturday\, October 2nd\, 12:30 – 4:00 PM \nBookbinding: The Cross Structure Book\, Ages 16+ \nA class on bookbinding. The Cross Structure binding is a non-adhesive structure that offers much freedom to the text block. This 20th century design is greatly inspired by the Long Stitch bindings of the medieval era. It is suitable for conservation or new bindings\, such as travel journals or decorative bindings. The structure is uniquely constructed by interlocking the front and back covers at the spine. Instructed by Peggy Johnston. Pre-registration is required. Cost $95 class fee.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/image-text-visual-art-and-creative-writing-in-partnership/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210710
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210814
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20210112T213853Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210811T164447Z
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SUMMARY:Theater of The Absurdo LEON RICHMOND
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN COMMUNITY GALLERY \nArtist Statement \nWhy is when\, and now is why\, and we will ALWAYS want\, AND all is “What the holy crap!” \nNever has this been an obstacle for lucid critical or crucial thought for whom the dummbbbell tolls in the skies of material wantonness. Q: How did we even get here? The needs\, creeds and greeds of all the wants are re-assembled in this body of work. Faux luxury facilitated by dead corporate machines like Sears\, JC Penny’s and Montgomery Wards with 1200 page catalogs are a good place to begin perhaps. Paper bricks printed on glossy non-archival paper layered to the sky for empire building. If aliens from outer space were to visit us right now\, many of their questions could be answered in those catalogs. Core samples have been gathered in these non-fine art things and born again from merely rummaging through the grave yards of consumable “goods” re-swapped for $$ in the stores of thrift and performing fleas. By the process of cultural anthropology\, many of these cheap consumer goods have been given a new life\, again to adorn the walls and tables of mainstream America. The artist has found inspiration in the cheap stuff of yester-year\, thusly re-arting the stuff that was mass-produced to give the façade of style and class. So hurry! We’re running out of stuff fast! \nThe white middle/upper/other classes examined have been recorded in both the good and bad books of history and consequently flushed out the birth canals of the unimaginative landfills (progress). Facsimiles with objective meanings defy our understanding in the rubbish now\, yet provide proof-positive of who we were\, who we are and what we mostly still want to be. So uselessly useful in their time now become “utilitarian fine art” again for their utilitarian purpose in the third place. Artistic alchemical license has freely given the artist a full-on-all-out-all-American stratagem with these junk store findings. America in its most peculiar vintage hour… American at its final artistic process… \nSo for now\, we look to the past for where we went wrong\, right and/or left. Based on the hunting and gathering of antiquated pictorial evidence\, allegorical signifiers\, aggressive branding and personal insider insights\, observable clues are given in an absurdist\, unflinching and often lowbrow way for your viewing entertainment. To laugh or to cry?… You decide… \nMeet the artist at the closing reception Friday\, August 13\, 5 – 7pm in the Community Gallery. Everyone is welcome and masks are required.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/leon-richmond/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210529
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210704
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20210112T212921Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210112T212921Z
UID:12400-1622246400-1625356799@octagonarts.org
SUMMARY:Octagon Member Show
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY \nMore information coming soon.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/octagon-member-show/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210417
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210523
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20210112T212548Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T050345Z
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SUMMARY:What's Good Project JENNIFER DRINKWATER
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY \nPlease join us for a closing reception on  Thursday\, May 20th\, 5 – 7pm with artist\, Jennifer Drinkwater! The reception will be at the Octagon Community Gallery. \nWhat is What’s Good\, you ask. \nCulturally\, it seems that we are addicted to negativity. What happens when we deliberately acknowledge and discuss the assets in our communities? What happens when we make a choice to look for what is working where we live? Can this build community momentum and lead to a “spiraling up effect” within the community? \nThe What’s Good Project stems from asset-based community development and highlights community strengths. According to research\, shifting focus from community challenges to strengthening community assets can result in more effective community improvement. Using that as a framework and art as the output\, The What’s Good Project explores what we value where we live. \nA Mississippi native\, Jennifer Drinkwater has lived in various communities across the country – including the Mississippi Delta\, a state park in Western Massachusetts\, New Orleans\, multiple Appalachian Trail crew base camps\, a Blackfoot reservation in Montana\, along the shoreline of Lake Turkana in Kenya\, Eastern North Carolina\, Mississippi suburbia\, college-town Iowa\, Atlanta\, and artist residencies in Truth and Consequences\, NM; Peoria\, IL; Marquette\, NE; Johnson\, VT; and New York Mills\, MN.\nShe has spent one year of her life in tents\, and currently lives with her beloved husband and dog in a house in Ames\, Iowa. \nJennifer is an assistant professor with a joint appointment between the department of art and visual culture and Iowa State University extension and outreach. She has a B.A. in both studio art and anthropology from Tulane University and earned an M.F.A in\npainting from East Carolina University. Her paintings have been exhibited nationally in juried and solo exhibitions and have been featured in New American Paintings and Studio Visit magazine. \nJennifer explores how we bring artwork from the studio into the world\, and accordingly\, how this work can both build and shape community. During the past few years\, she has partnered with communities in Iowa and Mississippi in various community\nart projects\, programming and theatre productions. She helped to organize a community-wide steamroll printmaking event in Perry\, Iowa; created installations in restored prairies in Nebraska; collaborated on public art projects in vacant sites on\nIowa main streets; spearheaded a community knit-bombing project; and painted two murals with middle school children on a juke joint in the Mississippi Delta.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/whats-good-project-jennifer-drinkwater/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210306
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210411
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20210329T170139Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210329T170538Z
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SUMMARY:2021 Octagonal: The All Media Show
DESCRIPTION:Octagonal: The All-Media Show is the annual\, juried all-media exhibition at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames\, Iowa. Originally titled the Clay and Paper Show\, the exhibit opened in 1968 to provide an opportunity to the central Iowa arts community. Over the past 53 years\, the exhibit morphed over the decades to become the Clay\, Fiber\, Paper\, Glass\, Metal\, Wood Exhibit that has featured hundreds of artists from dozens of states. The newest version of the exhibit\, Octagonal: The All-Media Show\, launched in 2018 taking a note from the past while moving forward to continue to provide an exciting opportunity for artists across Iowa\, the Midwest\, and the nation. This exhibit features a regionally-recognized juror each year\, attracts artists from across the United States\, and provides significant cash awards.\n\n\n\n \nAwards\nWinifred V. Brown Best of Show award:  $1000\nMedia award for each category: $100\n \n\n\n  \n\n2021 Juror: Jenie Gao\n\nJenie Gao is a full-time artist\, creative director\, and entrepreneur. She specializes in large-scale projects including murals\, public installations\, curatorial works\, and creative direction. She is an interdisciplinary leader with a professional background in the arts industry\, public education\, and lean manufacturing\, and an advocate for equity for artists and creative labor. As a first generation American\, she is a spokesperson for the arts as a path to cultural relevance for a diverse citizenry. \n\n\nJenie is an arts ambassador who has served as the Vice President of Wisconsin Visual Artists\, Chair of the Biennial at Museum of Wisconsin Art\, and Public Art Committee member for Madison Arts Commission. She is a founding member of Arts + Literature Laboratory and Dane Arts Mural Arts\, where she has served as a fundraiser and systems builder for the financial longevity of these nonprofits. Jenie is a TEDx Madison speaker and outspoken advocate for the value of the arts in our ecosystems. She is a former artist-in-residence at Proyecto’ace in Buenos Aires\, Argentina; Museo de Arte Moderno in Castro\, Chile; Iowa Lakeside Laboratory\, Madison Public Library\, and Artist Campaign School with Fractured Atlas. As a curator\, she has produced exhibits at companies like Promega Corporation and AC Hotel\nMarriott as a way to build bridges between artists and businesses. \n\nJenie currently runs a 1\,700 square foot production studio and has hosted 20 interns since 2018. Through her interdisciplinary work\, Jenie has become a visionary leader who knows how to bring together industries\, education systems\, and cultural representation to create a more equitable ecosystem for everyone. https://jenie.org/ \n \n\n\n\n \nThe competition was fierce this year. Jenie Gao chose 41 pieces from a total of 349 submissions by 134 artists. This means that 12% of the overall submissions were chosen for this show. The artwork is selected through a blind process (the juror sees the artwork without the artist’s name or location). Award winners will be selected by the juror just before the show opens. Awards are partly funded through an endowment from the Brown Family. We would also like to thank our Octagonal sponsor: Haila Architecture\, Structure\, and Planning.\n \n2021 Award Winners\n\nPriscilla Sage Fiber Award: “Iridescent Turkey Sticker on the Outside” by Lily Martina Lee. Sponsored by Haila Architecture\, Structure\, and Planning.\n \nJanet Harris Squires Clay Award: “Ignorant” by Ingrid Lilligren. Sponsored by Haila Architecture\, Structure\, and Planning.\n \nMartha Benson Metal Media Award: “Quilted Grid” by Jeremy Diamond. Sponsored by Haila Architecture\, Structure\, and Planning.\n \nVeronika Ruedenberg Mixed Media Award: “The Transition of Venus” by Jamie Malone. Sponsored by Haila Architecture\, Structure\, and Planning.\n \nPaper Media Award: “Frozen Floral Waste #1” by Jody Boyer. Funded by the Brown Family Endowment Fund.\n \nWood Media Award: “Tortuous” by Tom Whalley. Funded by the Brown Family Endowment Fund.\n \nPainting Media Award: “Self Portrait as an Invasive Species” by Caylin Jayde. Funded by the Brown Family Endowment Fund.\n \nEmerging Artist Award: “Baptism” by Paige Holzbauer. Funded by the Brown Family Endowment Fund.\n \nWinifred V. Brown Best of Show Award: “Stretched Thin” by Katie Walberg. Funded by the Brown Family Endowment Fund.\n\n \nPlease visit our YouTube channel to see the virtual reception\, which includes juror comments and a panel discussion with artists (Jody Boyer\, Tibi Chelcea\, Cyndi O’Hern\, and Josh Sorrell) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvK13pCHrqg\n \n \n \n2021 Accepted Works\n\n\n\n\nFirst Name\nLast Name\nTitle\n\n\nChris\nAbigt\nRock Bridge\n\n\nJanet\nBergeron\nKetchikan\n\n\nJody\nBoyer\nFrozen Floral Waste #1\n\n\nMakayla\nCarlson\nTesting the Waters\n\n\nMakayla\nCarlson\nWhatever Keeps You Is All Right By Me\n\n\nNanette\nCatigbe\nHeart of Glass\n\n\nTiberiu\nChelcea\nRandomly Accessed Memory #4\n\n\nKelly\nDevitt\nOutward\n\n\nJeremy\nDiamond\nQuilted Grid\n\n\nTerry\nDooley\nLittle Big Creek\n\n\nMaggie\nDouglas\nSurroundings\n\n\nJennifer\nDrinkwater\nMan\, Superman\, Gunman (March 11\, 2013: Part I)\n\n\nNathan\nEdwards\nHorizons\n\n\nCharlie\nEsker\nthe divine feminine\n\n\nDesiree\nFuller\nStill Life #4\n\n\nDavid\nGarrison\nRushing Water\n\n\nCindy\nGould\nSalt Flats: Great Rann of Kutch\n\n\nJill\nGuffy\nSmall Quilt Collage II\n\n\nSusan\nHeggestad\nEmbellishments: Adorn/Repress\n\n\nPaige\nHolzbauer\nBaptism\n\n\nRandy\nHoshaw\nSWITCHGRASS ON 69\n\n\nCaylin\nJayde\nSelf Portrait as an Invasive Species\n\n\nMarcia\nJoffe-Bouska\nRIO DE MI CORAZON (triptych)\n\n\nCarole\nKunstadt\nPRESSING ON No. 8\n\n\nDiane\nKunzler\nTurbulence\n\n\nLily Martina\nLee\nIridescent Turkey Sticker on the Outside\n\n\nLily Martina\nLee\nPot is the New Tanning\n\n\nIngrid\nLilligren\nIgnorant\n\n\nJamie\nMalone\nThe Transition of Venus\n\n\nChristopher\nMerchant\nEnd Table Cabinet\n\n\nCynthia\nO’Hern\n(F)emanate\n\n\nChuck\nRichards\nA Gallery of Grotesque Self-Portraits\n\n\nAnna\nSegner\nBite Back\n\n\nJosh\nSorrell\nViral\n\n\nJac\nTilton\nBullis Discount\n\n\nJac\nTilton\nChillin’ Below Michigan Ave.\n\n\nKatie\nWalberg\nStretched Thin\n\n\nGina\nWestergard\nWith The Stars and With Me\n\n\nTom\nWhalley\n3-D Portholes: A Study in Black and White\n\n\nTom\nWhalley\nTortuous\n\n\nAlicia\nWilkinson\nSetting The Oppressed Free
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/2021-octagonal-the-all-media-show/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210213
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210228
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20210215T035716Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210215T035716Z
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SUMMARY:2021 Elementary / Middle / High Exhibit: An Exhibition of Local Elementary\, Middle\, and High School Students
DESCRIPTION:COMMUNITY GALLERY AND VIRTUAL \n\n  \nThe Octagon Center for the Arts is highlights artwork by local elementary\, middle\, and high school students annually. The Octagon loves loves hosting the work of these young emerging artists. \nSee the K – 8 Virtual Show here! The High School Show is in the Octagon Community Gallery\, Feb. 13 – 27\, 2021\, at the Octagon Center for the Arts in Ames\, Iowa. \n\n \n2021 Jurors: Cathie Gebhart\, Nancy Gebhart\, & Lydia Mae \nCathie Gebhart is a former public school teacher teaching all grades preK- college\, including high school art classes. After retiring\, she taught the preK art class at the Octagon for two years. Author of several children’s books\, she manages Dan the Fish Publishing which gives a voice for new writers and artists. Cathie’s favorite artist is Vincent Van Gogh. Cathie is the Mema to nine grands and mother of four\, including Nancy Gebhart. \nNancy Gebhart is currently a PhD student at Iowa State working on her doctorate in Social and Cultural Studies of Education with a focus on the intersection of art and social justice. She was the Education Director at University Museums for ten years and has curated many exhibits both in Ames and Des Moines. Prior to coming to Iowa State\, Nancy worked at the Lyman Museum in Hilo\, HI and the Saint Louis Art Museum in Missouri. Nancy has received numerous awards including Art Educator of the Year from the Ames Community Arts Council\, and the Woman of Achievement Award from the YWCA. Nancy’s favorite artist is Keith Haring. Nancy is the proud mother of Lydia Mae. \nLydia Mae is 2019 Octagon winner in the Kindergarten division for her wood block print on handmade paper. She has taken art classes at the Octagon since the age of two. She has also taken art classes at the Workspace\, Reiman Gardens\, and at Fused\, a glass fusing studio in Roslyn\, WA. Lydia has traveled to 16 states\, visiting museums across the country. Her favorite artist is Georgia O’Keefe. Her favorite living artist is Yayoi Kusama\, and her favorite artist that she knows is Cameron Gray. 
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/2021-elementary-middle-high-exhibit-an-exhibition-of-local-elementary-middle-and-high-school-students-2/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210109
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210207
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20210112T211526Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20210112T211839Z
UID:12391-1610150400-1612655999@octagonarts.org
SUMMARY:Papercutters Times Three LINDA EMMERSON\, LUCKY KIM\, & BETH WUNDER
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY \nPapercutters Times Three \nPaper Cutting is a traditional art form practiced in a variety of guises in countries around the world. The\nthree of us found our ways from different directions. Beth was introduced to the Polish style at a\nWycinanki workshop in New Mexico. Linda visited a museum devoted to Scherenschnitte in Switzerland\,\nand Lucky grew up with the Korean traditional paper (Hanji) art. All of these influences can be seen in\nour individual and developing styles. \n\nLinda Emmerson Statement + Bio\nSince my discovery in 1976 of the Swiss Tradition of papercutting\, I have been happily snipping away.\nAfter 20 years of drawing with a T-square and triangle\, my new career\, 40 years and counting\, continues\nto be a liberating source of discovery and satisfaction. \nBeth Wunder Statement + Bio\nFrom my very first cutting\, I have been fascinated by the challenge of changing a drawing into a\nsilhouette and deciding which lines must be cut to portray the essence of the design.  I like the precision\nand exactness required\, and the clean look of the cut. Doing that with scissors or knife and paper\, easily\naccessible and inexpensive materials\, is always exciting and fun.\nI took a course from Elsbieta Kaleta\, a Polish Wycinanki artist\, in 1993 and have been cutting ever since. I\nhave taught weeklong workshops and do commissions as well as printed cards of original work. I am a\nmember of the Guild of American Papercutters. \nLucky Kim Statement + Bio\nLucky Kim\, originally coming from South Korea\, specializes in Korean Traditional Paper Art\, Korean Paper\n(Hanji) made from mulberry tree. Though she had no formal background in art\, 30years ago\, she\ndiscovered the art of Hanji and fell in love with the bright colors and intricate\, traditional patterns. In the\npast\, she has meddled in woodworking and felt and recently discovered clay as a new medium\, inspiring\nher to make traditional Hanji boxes with clay.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/papercutters-times-three-linda-emmerson-lucky-kim-beth-wunder/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201113
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201220
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20201118T005347Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20201118T005851Z
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SUMMARY:NAOMI FRIEND
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY \nArtist Statement\nI explore the intersection of our urban\, rural\, and wild spaces through artmaking. I am inspired by the love of the land we share in the midwest. My pieces are one-of-a-kind exposures using Cyanotype\, combining the photo process with drawn illustrations of farm animals\, cultivated\, and native species. \nMy work highlights the strength and character of the animals while putting them into the context of our modern lifestyle. Their lives depend on our choices. For example\, the piece Icelandic Chickens of Whipoorwill Farm uses a heritage breed created by the vikings and suggests its current habitat by including pictures of prairie\, city\, and cornfield. Scientific symbols suggest the balance of creation\, evidenced by the sensitivity of crops to our intervention such as chemical applications and medicines. Using these tools well requires discernment. The Icelandic chicken thrives with only basic care\, yet the breed is on the brink of extinction. To lose this breed would be to lose a living facet of history and human reliance on animals. \nThe artwork recognizes a contract of co-dependance between us and the creation around us. This relationship requires our love and respect to thrive and grow. My meticulous process of art-making reflects how I feel we can care for the world. When we care well for the small things\, we care well for the big things too. \nArtist Bio\nFriend’s work has been shown in solo shows in Iowa\, California\, and Nebraska\, and other group shows. It is recognized in local radio\, newspaper\, published in Diffusion magazine\, and resides in public and private art collections. It has received awards in national juried art exhibits. She exhibits in a variety of outdoor public art events including the Des Moines Arts Festival. \nShe earned a Masters of Fine Art in Integrated Visual Arts at Iowa State University in 2013 and grew up in the community of Sioux Center\, Iowa. Her undergraduate degree is from Dordt College where she studied fine art and graphic design. Naomi worked for three years at the Octagon Center for the Arts as the Exhibits Director. Naomi operates a small 3 acre farm\, Friends Flowers\, where she grows flowers for local markets.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/naomi-friend/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201010
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201101
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20201007T021254Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20201007T021254Z
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SUMMARY:Southwest Visions TERRY BRIGMAN
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY\n \nAbout Terry Brigman: After graduating in 1970\, I went to work for a local company as a draftsman. In my spare time\, I painted\, sketched\, and created small pieces of artwork that I sold or gave away. Art and the creation of art has wound its way through my life for the next many decades. Four years later\, I left drafting and embarked on a career in the grocery business. The pay was substantially better\, and I was able to complete some art pieces on the side. I took some classes at the local college and joined the Foothills Art Center in Golden\, Colorado where I later went on to be a part of their “Shows on Loan”\nprogram. Being part of that program\, I became responsible for a one-person show at various government buildings\, offices\, non-profits\, and private companies for one to two months at a time. During this time\, I left the grocery business and went to work for the local utility company in Denver. In 1979\, I moved to Phoenix\, Arizona and joined the local artist guild. After a while\, I decided to broaden my field\, and possibly income\, so I went back to school and got a degree in graphic design. \n\nOver the next several years\, I started my own graphic design business\, got married\, had two kids\, and still found time to do my fine art. I created paintings\, portraits\, and a line of teeshirts. In 1994\, we moved to Des Moines\, Iowa. My art work slowed to a crawl between\nmany different jobs. The kids grew up and moved away. As my wife moved further into her career\, I kept busy with writing. I had always written poetry\, but one day I got an idea for a story. Eventually my writing became an obsession and my painting took a hiatus. I\npublished one book\, another followed as well as a half-dozen short stories. Since that time\, my writing has faded\, and I now paint more than I have in years. My artwork has been accepted into the Iowa State Fair for five years\, and I received an honorable mention in\n2017. I have also shown my work at the Octagon\, in the All Media Show\, three times. \n\nAbout Terry’s Artwork: I have gone from duplicating and practicing with my artwork\, in an attempt to hone my abilities and further my career\, to starting a conversation with my audience. I feel that with my later work\, I have succeeded somewhat in trying to communicate a thought or strike up a conversation. My work became my voice for how I feel about the world around me and how I try to make sense of it all. This work can be large and bold or small and demure. At times\, it is bright and colorful; other times drab and stark. I try to fit the medium with the tone of the content\, so my work reflects a mix of\nmedia. The results are a point of view that I would like to share. \n\nThe few pieces I am showing\, here\, are just some of my Southwest themed work; a discussion on the landscape and the indigenous people as I perceive it in today’s world. One piece\, in particular a portrait of my uncle\, Blackie\, speaks of my heritage. He is half Osage and quarter Cherokee.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/southwest-visions-terry-brigman/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20201010
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201101
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20201007T020523Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20201007T020622Z
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SUMMARY:Wax Cathedral KAT SILENT WATER
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY\n \nKat Silent Water is a printmaker based out of Ankeny\, Iowa\, working in woodblock and linoleum relief since 2014. She recently embraced the alchemical properties of encaustic painting in her latest body of work\, ‘Wax Cathedral’. Silent Water’s inspiration has taken root in Art Nouveau’s celebration of organic forms and cultural anthropology. \n \n\nSilent Water earned a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Visual Culture from Iowa State University in 2015\, with an emphasis in printmaking and painting. Her work has been exhibited across the state of Iowa and St. Louis\, Missouri\, in national group exhibitions. She also painted a Mural for the University of Colorado Boulder\, College of Music. \n\nAbout Kat’s Artwork: Wax Cathedral is a glance into a world we have yet to visit; the bee hive. The body of artwork celebrates the sisterhood and hard work of honey bees in North America. Capturing their sainthood of agriculture and modern struggles against incursion\nof mites\, fungi and disease with beekeepers as watchful guardians of the hive. \n \n\nCathedrals are seen as hallowed ground. When individuals walk through the threshold of the sanctuary\, they are transported to a safe place of spiritual solace. Cathedrals embellish every detail in their interior\, allowing daily worries and hardships to dissipate. It creates an unworldly and beautiful place\, as though you were in heaven itself. \n\n\nJust as these spiritual institutions are maintained amongst a community of like-minded individuals\, so is the hive of the honey bees. The unique fortress is founded on hard work and communication. It serves as an escape from the plague of predators and treachery. The worker bees build their interior with careful yet creative consideration. \n\n\nThe resilience shown in both the honey bees and beekeeper community have been the foundation of my artistic inspiration Although the enemies of mites\, fungi and disease threaten the bee’s hallowed sanctuary\, the beekeepers find ways to repair and mend\nthese colonies with research and patience. \n\n\nMaking the art beekeeping even more valued just like Kintsugi\, the Japanese art of repairing and beautification of broken objects. \n\nhttp://www.orthruspress.com/
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/wax-cathedral-kat-silent-water/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20200822
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20201004
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20200909T161725Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200909T204814Z
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SUMMARY:Super Natural PEGGY JOHNSTON & VERA SCEKIC
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY (STREET LEVEL) \nPeggy Johnston\nArtist Statement\nMy love of paper made it almost inevitable that I would discover the book arts. Since crafting my first books 30 years ago\, I have explored bookmaking as an art as well as a craft. \nI love to be surprised by my work (and usually am). Often\, materials that I have collected inspire a piece. What would happen if I sewed a few hundred slide mounts together? How about coffee filters or heat warped polyester? Pine needles? Beads? Bicycle spokes? I just need to find out. \nI don’t always know what is going to happen when I start a work. As often as not\, an organic form emerges. I often say that I am not in control of my art. It controls me. I name my forms after they are completed\, frequently flipping through a pictorial dictionary until I spot something that resembles the sculpture. Other times\, I make up faux Latin names. \nAbout Peggy Johnston (Artist Bio)\nI graduated from the University of Wyoming with a double degree in Art and Education. Since then\, I have continued my studies in painting\, printing and the book arts. I’ve taught book art workshops in Oregon\, Colorado\, Wyoming\, Connecticut\, and Iowa\, and have studied with leading book artists across the nation. \nLocally\, I’m a busy artist. In addition to my own work\, I teach at the Des Moines Art Center. I have also taught in the public schools as a visiting artist\, working with k-12 students. Other opportunities have allowed me to teach at the University of Northern Iowa\, Iowa State University\, Simpson College\, Central College\, and Drake University. Occasionally\, I speak to local groups about my work and the book arts\, and conduct seminars for graphic designers and art directors. \nI was instrumental in the founding of The Prairie Book Collaborative\, a group dedicated to the book in all its forms. The group produced three books before disbanding in 2012. (A copy of each one is held in the special collections at the University of Iowa library.) My work is in public and private collections nationally and internationally. I frequently exhibit my work in local and national exhibitions. To date\, my work is included in twelve special collections around the country\, including the National Museum of Women in the Arts in Washington\, D.C. \nVisit Waveland Studio for more info about Peggy Johnston. \nVera Scekic\nArtist Statement\n“For the first time in all time a living creature understands its origin and can undertake to design its future.” \n-Robert Sinsheimer\, as quoted in A Crack in Creation \nMy art practice originates from an abiding interest in the life sciences and an ethos that combines chance occurrences with a systematic approach. It is an analog response to recent developments (such as CRISPR) that have enabled alterations to mammalian genomes and\nraised profound questions about human identity. Adopting the cell—life’s building block—as metaphor and armature\, I treat paint as if it were an organism\, exploring its material\, chromatic  and formal properties through a biological lens. \nI generate membranes of paint by mixing it with various thinning agents and pouring the viscous fluid on polyester and ceramic substrates. When dry\, the membranes are peeled\, cut\, spliced\, layered\, abraded and adhered to wood and canvas\, producing naturally unnatural\nhybrid forms that merge the manufactured and organic. \nThe process of creating the paint skins is repeated—frequently on top of existing pours—to mimic the cycle of growth\, repair and degeneration. Gravity is the sole constant in the production process\, underscoring the centrality of entropy and the tension inherent in a living system’s efforts to keep it at bay. Phagocytosis also comes into play as paint skins from earlier (disassembled) works are recycled and integrated into new cells. Framing the tattered\, abraded and misshapen cells within “perfect” circles and rectangles magnifies the relationship between precision and irregularity\, which animates all my projects. \nThe methodology guiding each work is time-intensive and multi-step\, incorporating at certain stages the “gestures” of the lab while inviting extended inquiry into the nature of paint. The surface is a record of my negotiations between opacity and translucency\, flatness and\ndimensionality\, expansion and containment\, chance and control. At the project’s core lies my argument: that painting remains relevant in a digital era\, and its ability to reflect essential questions about human experience and identity endures. \nAbout Vera Scekic (Artist Bio)\nVera Scekic lives and works in Racine\, Wisconsin. She has exhibited her paintings\, drawings and installations at art centers\, galleries and museums throughout the U.S. Recent solo and small group exhibitions include: Art Reflects Science (Prairie State College\, Chicago Heights\, IL)\, Twilight (Fitton Center\, Hamilton\, OH)\, Naturally Unnatural (Birmingham Bloomfield Art Center\, Birmingham\, MI) and Polymorphous Microtecture (Beverly Arts Center\, Chicago\, IL.) Scekic is a founding member of ArtRoot\, a grassroots initiative to revitalize the city of Racine by building arts infrastructure\, fostering connections and facilitating collaborations. Scekic is also the co-\nfounder and director of OS Projects\, a contemporary art gallery located in downtown Racine. \nVisit Vera Scekic’s website for more information. \n 
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/super-natural-peggy-johnston-vera-scekic/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20200118T100000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20200321T170000
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20200122T014109Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20200122T014109Z
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SUMMARY:Alight and Allure EMILY MINNIE
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY (FIRST FLOOR) \nArtist Biography\nEmily Lambertsen Minnie is an artist who specializes in charcoal drawing and oil painting. She\nearned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the University of Northern Iowa and a Master of\nFine Arts degree from the University of Tennessee. Emily taught art for three years at Tulane\nUniversity in New Orleans before living and working as an artist and illustrator for seven years in\nBrooklyn\, NY. In the summer of 2016 she moved back to Iowa. She currently enjoys dividing her\ntime between drawing and painting in her Iowa City home studio\, working for the Iowa City\nSchool District and family time spent with her husband and two children. \nArtist Statement\nMy art practice is the study\, investigation and re-creation of images that entice and allure me\ndue to the beauty of their light and composition and the drama created by the human form\nfrozen in a moment. I employ the ability of a two-dimensional artwork whose source is photo or\nfilm\, to feel personal and familiar while working to create artwork that is separated from its\nsource material’s narrative and considered for its core essence.   \nMy charcoal series consists of 19” x 30” drawings on BFK Rives Paper. I love to watch the\ndrama created on the gallery wall by these black and white images. From afar they look like\ntheir source film still. Up close\, they reduce to illusions of light and velvety smudges of charcoal. \nMy wall installations are made sight specific to fit the wall. They are created from small\, hand\ndrawn pencil sketches and watercolors that are scanned\, enlarged and printed on pre-pasted\nwallpaper. In a gallery\, the change of scale to life-sized adds a human connection and the\nenlarged nature reveals an exaggerated artist’s mark. \nMy oil paintings are created on gallery wrapped 24” x 36” canvas. My canvas preparation\nconsists of 3 coats of gesso with a fine grit sanding between each coat. While painting\, I get lost\nin the textured and smooth layers of warm and cool tones mingling together. I find great\nsatisfaction creating paintings of figures that\, even in their stillness\, interact with the space and\nthe light around them.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/alight-and-allure-emily-minnie/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190112
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190303
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20190111T171722Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20190111T173738Z
UID:4710-1547251200-1551571199@octagonarts.org
SUMMARY:Outside-In PACIA SALLOMI & ALEXANDRA ACKERMAN
DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY (Street level) \nArtist Statement: Pacia Sallomi \nI began this series in 2010. In the beginning\, I was focused on roundabouts or in French\,\nrond-point\, which came about because of an experience of being lost on back roads and small villages\nin the French countryside. I had begun to think about the way we structure the experience of getting\nfrom one place to another. The circular pathways of a roundabout are quite different cultural\nmodalities of disorientation and reorientation than the typical grid-like intersection controlled by a\nstoplight. I begin the painting with an aerial diagram of a place. It became evident very quickly that\npainting into these diagrams is interior process that is ritualistic\, connected to healing and\ncontemplative practices found in many indigenous cultures such as the sand painting by Native\nAmerican shamans\, Australian Aboriginal Dreamtime stories and the mandalas created by Buddhist\nmonks. The search for understanding these themes has led me to visit an Aboriginal community in\nAustralia\, a Vietnamese Buddhist monastery in France\, Celtic stone alignments in England and France\,\nand Shinto shrines and monasteries in Japan. \nThese paintings are always orientated around a centering point\, but they are not always based\non roundabouts. The diagrams have included gathering places such as a Roman Coliseum in Arles\nand Burning Man in Nevada; complex freeway interchanges in Los Angles or towns that are built\nover ancient circular sites such as in Avebury\, England. These marks on the earth tell us about our\nculture\, our times and ourselves. The paintings are always square\, representing the nature of Four as\na symbol of stability\, points on a compass and reference to the mandala. They contain the circle as a\nsymbol of completion and of the cyclical nature of life. \nBiography: Pacia Sallomi \nPacia Sallomi’s path to and through the arts has been a circuitous one. The daughter of\nan Obstetrician and a painter turned poet\, her education in the arts began as a child. During their\nthree years living in Bavaria\, the family camped their way through Europe\, visiting many of the\ngreat museums and then settling in California in the mid-1960’s. These experiences instilled a\nlove of art and of nature. After completing her undergraduate work in Nutrition at the University\nof California\, Davis\, she moved to Colorado\, and then New Mexico\, where she worked as a\nhomebirth midwife in the 80’s and early 90’s. During that time she received an MA in Art\nEducation at the University of New Mexico\, while also studying Photography\, Japanese porcelain\ntechniques and took her first painting class from Martin Facey who introduced her to the spiritual\ninquiry of color. She received her MFA in Studio Art from Texas Tech University in 1997 and is a\nprofessor at Carroll University in Wisconsin where she has been teaching painting and drawing\nfor the past twenty years. \nPacia’s paintings have been exhibited nationally and internationally in over 120\nexhibitions. She has attended a number of international artist residencies and loves travel.\nDuring a residency in France\, 2003\, she created a collaborative book\, Shield/Le Bouclier\, (Pacia’s\npaintings and her mother’s poetry) that was published in 2007 as a bilingual\, limited-edition\nartist’s book. The French translation is by Gallimard poet-translator of Emily Dickinson\, Claire\nMalroux. Pacia’s own work often includes the written word and she is currently studying\nJapanese Brush Calligraphy. \nwww.paciasallomi.com \nArtist Statement: Alexandra Ackerman \nIn this group of paintings I began to explore color\, pattern and form in response to my visceral experience of the landscape of Baja California Sur during March of 2018.  The things I found most visually stunning in Mexico were the cacti (life springing from what appears to be nothing)\, the ocean (both calming and frightening) and the brightly painted walls and buildings everywhere we traveled.  Working from memory I am intuitively combining the natural forms with the manmade bright colors.  \nMy creative process involves layering washes of watercolor pigment to build up fantastic landscapes which convey the juxtaposition of an otherworldly desert and vast ocean\, even letting them bleed together.  In these worlds I invent hybrid plants or creatures that are neither of land or sea\, but uniquely their own.  I’m curious about the mysterious inner life of plants as well as the observable aspects of the diverse variety of life in each new environment I encounter\, asking such questions as:  How do plants communicate?  What is the sound of a plant growing?  Why do they seem to have distinct personalities?  My visual responses range from fairly recognizable to completely abstract organic forms.  The challenge in each painting is to find a balance of both harmony of color and tension in composition.  I hope to return to Mexico and continue to travel to new places in search of common and uncommon life\, as it always stimulates my growth as an artist and human being. \nBiography: Alexandra Ackerman \nOriginally from Ann Arbor\, Michigan\, Alexandra Ackerman grew up a keen observer of the natural world from a young age. She first learned to paint in the wet-on-wet watercolor style at the Waldorf School at age eight\, and has continued her exploration until the present\, maintaining a childlike freedom in her work. Alexandra has found beauty in the places she has lived and worked including the shores of the Great Lakes\, New England vegetable farms and Minnesota flower gardens.  Inspired by the vast diversity of plant life\, she uses luminous color and pattern to create dynamic landscapes and biomorphic abstractions.  Her paintings are intimate meditations on her physical surroundings\, expressions of the pure joy and wonder of watching things grow.  Focusing on the ethereal aspects of nature\, her forms are evocative of leaves\, seeds\, eggs\, sprouts\, wind\, and waves. \nAlexandra began her studies at the Art Institute of Chicago and ultimately earned a degree in painting and printmaking at Massachusetts College of Art\, where she explored a variety of mediums\, often incorporating fabric and found objects into her work. She was part of the Minneapolis art and music community for nearly a decade before moving to northern Wisconsin.  Alexandra now lives with her husband and two children in Iowa City\, working out of her studio downtown.  She has painted commissions for individual collectors and public spaces and has taught watercolor workshops locally. She has participated in numerous group and solo shows across the country\, and has a variety work for sale at Prairie Lights Bookstore.  Her work was recently on display at the Iowa State Capitol in the Governor’s office. \nwww.alexandra-ackerman.com
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/outside-in-pacia-sallomi-alexandra-ackerman/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180817T000000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180929T000000
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20180717T025014Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20180806T173508Z
UID:2024-1534464000-1538179200@octagonarts.org
SUMMARY:Tales from a Ghost Town  JOANNE ALBERDA
DESCRIPTION:Tales from a Ghost Town \nJOANNE ALBERDA \nAugust 17 – September 29\, 2018 \nCOMMUNITY GALLERY \nVirginia City is a ghost town—the skeleton of a booming Montana gold mining camp in the late 19th century. As a museum it is the record of one of hundreds of get-rich-quick dramas related to the search for gold in the American West. Some buildings in the city and in the area around it have been abandoned and qualify as “ghosts.” When I was a child my family visited Virginia City many times\, a day long outing. Years later\, returning to Montana to visit family\, I revisited Virginia City with my camera in the fall of 2009\, 2010\, and 2011. By that time the tourists were gone\, and the place did feel like a ghost town. The silence of this “dead” place gives the viewer time to examine the drama of decay. Empty rooms and broken doorways invite speculation about the lives of people long gone\, but the decaying wood invited me to search out another story\, the life of a living material that grew and developed\, was cut and used by hands both skilled and unskilled\, and finally left to dry and rot. Documenting the evidence of time through photography I was moved to capture some of these “tales” with hand dyed fabric\, created by the ungoverned mixing of colors\, which often resembles the growth patterns observed in cut and decaying wood. I have been creating these works over the past several years with various shades of the gray and rusty reds of decaying wood. Recently I visited an exhibition of works by Clifford Still\, whose content and style reminded me very much of the decayed wood\, but his use of bright colors encouraged me to expand my color choices. \nIn this exhibition I have included a few images of the town and area as it exists today\, some digitally manipulated images of decaying wood\, and textile works that were inspired and nourished by the images of wet and decaying wood.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/joanne-albertas-tales-from-a-ghost-town/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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END:VEVENT
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180816T170000
DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180816T190000
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20180725T031021Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20180806T182027Z
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SUMMARY:Gallery Night with Joanne Alberda
DESCRIPTION:Join us for a FREE reception with artist Joanne Alberta in the Community Gallery! \nArtist Talk by Joanne Alberta at 6:30pm \nTales from a Ghost Town by JOANNE ALBERDA is on display August 17 – September 29\, 2018 \nVirginia City is a ghost town—the skeleton of a booming Montana gold mining camp in the late 19th century. As a museum it is the record of one of hundreds of get-rich-quick dramas related to the search for gold in the American West. Some buildings in the city and in the area around it have been abandoned and qualify as “ghosts.” When I was a child my family visited Virginia City many times\, a day long outing. Years later\, returning to Montana to visit family\, I revisited Virginia City with my camera in the fall of 2009\, 2010\, and 2011. By that time the tourists were gone\, and the place did feel like a ghost town. The silence of this “dead” place gives the viewer time to examine the drama of decay. Empty rooms and broken doorways invite speculation about the lives of people long gone\, but the decaying wood invited me to search out another story\, the life of a living material that grew and developed\, was cut and used by hands both skilled and unskilled\, and finally left to dry and rot. Documenting the evidence of time through photography I was moved to capture some of these “tales” with hand dyed fabric\, created by the ungoverned mixing of colors\, which often resembles the growth patterns observed in cut and decaying wood. I have been creating these works over the past several years with various shades of the gray and rusty reds of decaying wood. Recently I visited an exhibition of works by Clifford Still\, whose content and style reminded me very much of the decayed wood\, but his use of bright colors encouraged me to expand my color choices. \nIn this exhibition I have included a few images of the town and area as it exists today\, some digitally manipulated images of decaying wood\, and textile works that were inspired and nourished by the images of wet and decaying wood.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/gallery-night-with-joanne-alberda/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Events
ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180706
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180812
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20180730T212023Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20180806T173704Z
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SUMMARY:Grilling Ice  LEE RAINBOTH
DESCRIPTION:Grilling Ice \nLEE RAINBOTH \nJuly 6 – August 11\, 2018 \nCOMMUNITY GALLERY \nThis exhibit examines the ways that matters of mortality and masculinity manifest themselves in a contemporary Haitian context. Too often for young men in Haiti the way that they express their masculinity becomes a matter of survival itself. In an environment where simply surviving daily life can become an act of rebellion\, young Haitian men end up constructing layers of masculine identity to protect themselves against the near impossible circumstances that they find themselves in. This collection of work focuses on stripping away those layers that define life for young Haitian men. The majority of my subjects in these pieces are nudes to show them at their most authentic and most vulnerable selves underneath the impenetrable facades that they enshroud themselves in. Life expectancy for men in Haiti is 60.98 years so by the time they reach the age of 30\, Haitian men can expect that they’ve lived half of their life on this earth already. All of the subjects of my paintings are under the age of 30 and are good friends of mine. They are individuals that I see wrestle with these matters every day as their lives depend on what emotions they choose to show and how much strength they carry themselves with. So the way that I depict them represents how they embody the contradictions of their own manliness. The culture of Haiti embodies many contradictions of hetero-masculinity on a macro scale. Men are expected to be tough and defensive but they can also show signs of affection with other male friends that would been seen as taboo in other cultures. They have to confront the negative stereotypes of indulging in sex\, alcohol\, and rap music\, while also demonstrating proof of their masculinity by indulging in those very things. My work weaves the influence of such a culture with the personal experiences of the actual subjects of the paintings. It is intended to reach beyond the stereotypes to portray a more nuanced understanding of what it means to be a young man in Haiti. It is an exploration of how these young men can become more than what they are perceived to be. \nThe title references a response to the question\, “How’s it going?” that my friends depicted in the paintings frequently say. “Oh\, you know\, we’re just out here grilling ice.” It signifies the difficulties of life as a young Haitian male where one might feel like they are constantly working towards something\, but are backtracking rather than making progress. After you’ve worked to freeze the water to turn it into ice\, you just throw it on the grill and make it vaporize. That’s what life in Haiti as a young man can feel like. Nothing lasts long and all the hard work you do to advance in life often feels in vain. Much too often if feels like you’re just finding a way to pass the time until death comes and your life vaporizes in an instant as well. \nThe techniques used to create the pieces in this exhibit include a number of different cultural and spiritual influences that all contribute to the layered experience of young Haitian men. The sequined designs used in many of my pieces are inspired by the use of sequins in Haitian voudun traditions\, specifically in the ritual flags that are used in ceremonies to bring individuals in trance-like experiences with the spirit world. I also integrate designs such as veve’s which are symbols representative of voudun lwas or spirits that focus on intersections\, as well as mandalas which come from South Asian cultures such as Nepal\, which maintains a complicated relationship to Haiti related to the devastating earthquake of 2010 and the cholera epidemic that followed. Traditional bogolan mud cloth textiles are also used in several pieces representing the complex history of slavery and ancestral roots of Haitian identity that lies in West Africa. All of these are combined with my own traditional training in figure painting and portraiture a nuanced story of identity connected to spirit and place.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/lee-rainboths-grilling-ice/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180525
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180701
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20180729T215821Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20180806T173808Z
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SUMMARY:Empty Dresses  PAULA STREETER
DESCRIPTION:Empty Dresses \nPAULA STREETER \nMay 25 – June 30\, 2018 \nCOMMUNITY GALLERY \nEmpty Dresses as a concept was conceived half a lifetime ago while attending the estate auction of an early Swedish immigrant to the Midwest. Among the many hand crafted items from the latter half of the nineteenth century were two intricately and nearly identically embroidered\, grayed with age\, christening gowns that decades earlier were wrapped in brown paper and bound with string.  Many auction attendees commented how the handmade lace and frill represented a lost art and a few identified the embroidered flowers as symbols of hope\, innocence and good fortune. No one commented on the fact that one of the gowns\, nearly three feet in length\, was tied into a knot. \nThis image never left and as time has passed\, other dresses have inspired narratives that have been added to my mind’s eye gallery: the young girl’s exquisite Edwardian summer dress with grass stains down the length of the back carefully starched and preserved in a box\, the 1870 calico dress with patches upon patches found in a bag of fabric once destined to be recycled into pieces for a quilt\, and the 1960’s wedding dress stained with an unknown substance and with the right sleeve detached. \nRather than “the individual can make the dress”\, “the dress can fashion the story” is the focus of commemorating and creating two-dimensional narratives based on the dress. Much more than an exclusive statement or expression\, couture or style\, dress is or has been a gauge of social standing and taste\, a sustainer of emotional and physical stability or vulnerability\, the outward expression of modesty or blatant sexuality\, or used for the concealment or revelation of historic\, cultural and ethnic identity. Dress can stimulate strong reactions and judgements or offer the ability to blend into the scenery\, support individuality through the expression of craft\, skill and creativity or acceptance of mass production and/or mediocrity. \nThe very assortment of materials from which dresses are fashioned; silk brocade to buckskin\, patterned or plain\, worn\, torn and wrinkled or starched and crisp\, as well as the potential to manipulate the form\, offer great possibilities for the development of visual narratives through the rendering the dresses. \nIn the summer of 2016\, the 125-year-old “work of art” became the muse for the translation of the knotted Christening gown to a two-dimensional rendering in sterling silver metal point on board entitled Not and Empty Dresses commenced. Empty Dresses has developed into three thematic series; Childhood Lost illustrating children’s dresses and experiences done in charcoal\, colored pencils\, pastels\, graphite and watercolor\, Handled a series depicting the hand engaged with dress and executed primarily in colored pencil and water color and Historic Media exploring women in history as represented by their dress rendered in egg tempera\, metal point\, encaustic\, handmade inks and charcoals (supported in part by the Iowa Arts Council and National Endowment for the Arts). \nThe breadth of subject matter spurred by the many facets of dress and the dramatic effects of dress as a vacant vessel leave me to believe that Empty Dresses will expand into a multitude of series and continue to inspire.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/paula-streeters-empty-dresses/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20180406
DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20180520
DTSTAMP:20260423T140129
CREATED:20180729T220421Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20180806T174108Z
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SUMMARY:Nice Life  DAVID PARKER
DESCRIPTION:Nice Life \nDAVID PARKER \nApril 6 – May 19\, 2018 \nCOMMUNITY GALLERY \nUsing a limited palette of pine\, maple\, vinyl\, griptape\, and spray enamel I’m looking at the material language of subculture. The work is an abstract look at the outsiders: skaters\, rockers\, hippies\, artists\, stoners\, goths\, shoegazers… and how they project their identity to outsiders and signal their place within their own community. The work has been limited to four standard sizes referencing how they adorn their bodies and our personal spaces sizes 6”x 8” Pins/Patches\, 13” x 11” T-shirts\, 40” x 40” Posters\, and 40” x 84“ Banners.
URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/david-parkers-nice-life/
LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States
CATEGORIES:Exhibits
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END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR