BEGIN:VCALENDAR VERSION:2.0 PRODID:-//Octagon Center for the Arts - ECPv6.15.18//NONSGML v1.0//EN CALSCALE:GREGORIAN METHOD:PUBLISH X-ORIGINAL-URL:https://octagonarts.org X-WR-CALDESC:Events for Octagon Center for the Arts REFRESH-INTERVAL;VALUE=DURATION:PT1H X-Robots-Tag:noindex X-PUBLISHED-TTL:PT1H BEGIN:VTIMEZONE TZID:America/Chicago BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20170312T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20171105T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20180311T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20181104T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20190310T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20191103T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20200308T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20201101T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20210314T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20211107T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20220313T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20221106T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20230312T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20231105T070000 END:STANDARD BEGIN:DAYLIGHT TZOFFSETFROM:-0600 TZOFFSETTO:-0500 TZNAME:CDT DTSTART:20240310T080000 END:DAYLIGHT BEGIN:STANDARD TZOFFSETFROM:-0500 TZOFFSETTO:-0600 TZNAME:CST DTSTART:20241103T070000 END:STANDARD END:VTIMEZONE BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20180817T000000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20180929T000000 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/Alberta.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190112 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190303 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/Sallomi-Ackerman-collage-web.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190307 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20190324 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20190214T203524Z LAST-MODIFIED:20190214T221332Z UID:5419-1551916800-1553385599@octagonarts.org SUMMARY:Iowa State MFA Exhibit DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN THE COMMUNITY GALLERY \nArtist Statement: Jasmine Beul\nI see my ceramic works as sculptural vessels. They are inspired by historical vessel forms\, but without the functionality. The utilitarian function is removed by making the forms asymmetrical\, and exaggerating the scale and perforations. When utilitarian nature is removed what remains is an exploration of formal elements. \nWith my paintings\, I was interested in creating a fragmented view of a landscape to be somewhere between realism and abstraction. In these close up views\, there is never a sense of the surrounding scenery\, but instead\, the confrontation of a vertical surface. This close inspection tells the partial story of a place\, but obscures the whole truth. It hints at a layered history\, but in this extreme close up only a specific part of a story is being told. It becomes a metaphor for the way we retell stories\, remembering only certain details\, and maybe failing to see the complete truth behind a narrative.  \n  \nArtist Biography: Jasmine Beul\nJasmine Beul is grew up in Denver\, Colorado\, and is currently a first year graduate student in the Integrated Visual Art program at Iowa State University. She graduated from the University of Montana in Missoula in 2017 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts and a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and creative writing. Her emphasis with her BFA was in ceramics\, an interest which started in high school and she decided to pursue further in college. She also spent a year as a post-baccalaureate student at Montana State University in Bozeman\, MT from 2017-2018. Her work has been influenced by living in these places\, as well as travelling. This is her first solo exhibition of work in the state of Iowa. \n  \nArtist Statement: Manatsa Mazimbe\nArt curator and Afrofuturist\, Ingrid LaFleur\, quotes\, “Afrofuturism is an intersection of imagination\, technology\, the future\, and liberation.  I generally define Afrofuturism as a way of imagining possible futures through a black cultural lens.” My work will be a series of digital\, traditional\, and animated works based on an afro-futuristic setting where Africans and African Americans live in a thriving utopian society. It is an optimistic view of the combination of both cultures in the future through the lens of a character named\, Mana. \nArtist Biography:   Manatsa Mazimbe\nI am currently a third-semester M.F.A graduate student majoring in the Integrated Visual Arts with a focus on Illustration for Animation. I attained my B.F.A in Animation from an enriching education at the Savannah College of Art and Design. The combination of both areas of study has allowed me to expand my work and offer a complete design and storytelling experience. \nMy time as a student-athlete for four years helped me become disciplined in my work and to appreciate challenges\, allowing for continuous focus and diligence. I also had the privilege to work on an Annie nominated film called\, Frog Legs\, which was directed by an old colleague and friend\, Katie Tamboer. Coming from an African background with no knowledge and experience with technology prior to college\, this was a satisfying accomplishment. URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/iowa-state-mfa-exhibit/ LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States CATEGORIES:Exhibits ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/MFA-exhibit.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20190830 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20191110 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20190812T181926Z LAST-MODIFIED:20191003T172343Z UID:7842-1567123200-1573343999@octagonarts.org SUMMARY:70K: The Biennial Community of Artists Exhibit DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN MAIN GALLERY \nLet’s do a little math! A = πr2 There are 70\,686 square miles in a circle with 150 square mile radius. Thus the name for this exhibit…  70K is a juried exhibition of artists located 150 miles from Ames or nearer. This focus on local and regional artists is an important part of the mission of the Octagon Center for the Arts. \nOpening Reception: August 30\, 2019\, 5-7pm. Awards at 6pm. \n\n \nJuror: \nAllison Sheridan\nMuseum Collections Manager\,\nPublications Coordinator\, &\nFarm House Museum Manager \nSheridan is a two-time Iowa State University graduate with a B.S. in History (’01) and a M.S. in Interdisciplinary Graduate Studies (’11). She began with University Museums at ISU in 2001 as the Education Assistant and has since moved on to the role of Collections Manager\, Publications Coordinator and Farm House Museum Manager. In that capacity\, she is in charge of the many museum collection works of art – over 30\,000! She researches\, coordinates\, authors\, edits and designs all aspects of University Museums’ publications including the popular Campus Beautiful (2015). She is the staff member in charge of the Farm House Museum\, the oldest campus building\, and routinely curates exhibitions\, presents programs and outreach\, provides tours\, and coordinates strategic planning. She has served as the chair of the Ames Public Art Commission\, on the State of Iowa Technical Advisory Network and grant review committees\, Iowa Museum Association conference planning committee\, and recently consulted with the City of Clive on their public art master plan. \n\n \nAccepted Work:\n\n\n\nPenny\nAdam\nBirch Grove 3\n \n\n\nTilda\nBrown Swanson\nOrange Maple Leaf\n \n\n\nNanette\nCatigbe\nThree’s Company\n \n\n\nAnna\nChukharevakhudilayn\nForest Ride\n \n\n\nAnna\nChukharevakhudilayn\nGolden Rider\n \n\n\nRuthellen\nCunnally\nCoral Reef\n \n\n\nRuthellen\nCunnally\nGauze\n \n\n\nJudith\nEastburn\nWild Parsnips\, Elkader Iowa\n \n\n\nCaroline\nFreese\nClaire\n \n\n\nCaroline\nFreese\nDeep Dish Pie Pan with Blue Whale Pattern\n \n\n\nCaroline\nFreese\nRed Fox Face\n \n\n\nJan\nFriedman\nEarth Series: Spiral\n \n\n\nJan\nFriedman\nBefore It’s Too Late\n \n\n\nRex\nHeer\nThinking of Flamingos\n \n\n\nRex\nHeer\nCool Flamingos\n \n\n\nVictoria\nHerring\nWoman in Havana Street\n \n\n\nMarcia\nJoffe-Bouska\nEmblem\n \n\n\nMarcia\nJoffe-Bouska\nSacrifice\n \n\n\nMarcia\nJoffe-Bouska\nEquivalence\n \n\n\nMary\nJohnson\nFaded Bouquet\n \n\n\nHolly\nKellogg\nConstruct\n \n\n\nLinda\nLewis Lieberman\nCow Henge\n \n\n\nLinda\nLewis Lieberman\nJoyous Dawn\n \n\n\nDiane\nMichaud Lowry\nFog Rolling In\n \n\n\nDiane\nMichaud Lowry\nReflections on Sullivan Lake\n \n\n\nPat\nMillin\nIdomeni\n \n\n\nChuck\nOulman\nIn Stockholm\n \n\n\nJarred\nPfeiffer\nTide Pool\n \n\n\nJarred\nPfeiffer\nArctic Circle\n \n\n\nIsaac\nPrior\nMuspelheim Gateway\n \n\n\nIsaac\nPrior\nAsgard Gateway\n \n\n\nJeremy\nRoy\nInsight: Justin and Andrew\n \n\n\nConnie\nSherman\nYellow Dress 89\n \n\n\nConnie\nSherman\nMidnight Dress\n \n\n\nAudrey\nStaples\nWintertime (Grasses)\n \n\n\nTeresa\nTownsend Miller\nMinus One\n \n\n\nRob\nWallace\nThe Naked Truth\n  URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/70k-the-biennial-community-of-artists-exhibit/ LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States CATEGORIES:Exhibits ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/Promo_70K-1.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20200118T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20200321T170000 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20200122T014109Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200122T014109Z UID:9894-1579341600-1584810000@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Minnie_Promo-small.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20200207T100000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20200321T170000 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20200122T014842Z LAST-MODIFIED:20200122T014842Z UID:9897-1581069600-1584810000@octagonarts.org SUMMARY:Limens CHRISTOPHER CHIAVETTA DESCRIPTION:LOCATED IN SWEENEY GALLERY (THIRD FLOOR) \nArtist Statement \nLimen may pertain to the sill of a doorway\, the threshold itself\, or the point at which a stimulus\nproduces a physiological or psychological response. It marks a boundary of perception. The\nthresholds presented here explore feelings of liminality\, and loss. Things emerge and divide\,\ncrystalize in time\, accrete\, stratify\, and dissolve. Sometimes they just burn. I see in these\nmaterial states of transformation a way to discuss inner experience\, but I also see them as the\nlife expressions of the immanent world. Processing charcoal at home has become a way for me\nto reflect on these subjects in a direct and personal manner. URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/limens-christopher-chiavetta/ LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States CATEGORIES:Exhibits ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/Chiavetta-Promo-small.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210109 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210207 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Papercutters-x-3.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210417 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210523 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20210112T212548Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220228T050345Z UID:12398-1618617600-1621727999@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Reflection-web-1.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210529 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210704 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 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 ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210710 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20210814 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20210112T213853Z LAST-MODIFIED:20210811T164447Z UID:12412-1625875200-1628899199@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Screen-Shot-2021-05-25-at-6.24.11-PM.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20210821 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20211003 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/image-and-text-collage-1.png ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20211012 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20211107 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20210112T214613Z LAST-MODIFIED:20211011T034938Z UID:12417-1633996800-1636243199@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/climate-planning.png ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20211113 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20211225 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Amenda-tate.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220430 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220515 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20220329T215723Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220506T191229Z UID:13688-1651276800-1652572799@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/student-show-2022.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220521 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220703 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20220329T220317Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220606T195434Z UID:13695-1653091200-1656806399@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/place-exhibit.png ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20220709 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20220814 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20220329T220623Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220730T200050Z UID:13697-1657324800-1660435199@octagonarts.org 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 GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;TZID=America/Chicago:20220901T080000 DTEND;TZID=America/Chicago:20220930T170000 DTSTAMP:20260423T131133 CREATED:20220614T222456Z LAST-MODIFIED:20220922T163434Z UID:13989-1662019200-1664557200@octagonarts.org SUMMARY:OUT Exhibit DESCRIPTION:On View September 1-30\, 2022 \nExhibition Locations:\nAmes History Museum: “Selfportrait: Flickering” by Sasha Phillips \n416 Douglas Avenue; Hours: Tuesday-Friday 1-4\, Saturday 10-4 \nAmes Public Library: “Queer Family” by Charlie Esker \n515 Douglas Avenue; Hours: Sunday 1-5\, Monday-Thursday 9-9\, Friday-Saturday 9-6 \nBack Alley House Plants: “The Box” by Ashley Vance \n111 Main Street; Hours: Wednesday-Sunday 11-5 \nDog-Eared Books: “Social Medium” by Lane Maxson \n203 Main Street; Hours: Monday-Thursday 9-7\, Friday-Saturday 9-8\, Sunday 10-6 \nHeroic Ink: “Mushroom Abduction” and “Portal” by Jennifer Leatherby  \n211 Main Street; Hours: Tuesday-Friday 11-9\, Saturday 9-9\, Sunday 12-6 \nLittle Woods Herbal: “2424 2.0 (June 24th)” by Jameson Malone \n136 Main Street; Hours: Monday-Friday 10-6\, Saturday 10-4 \nLondon Underground: “a hot haven” by Piper Smith \n212 Main Street; Hours: Monday-Thursday 3 pm-2 am\, Friday-Sunday 2 pm-2 am \n \nExhibition Statement: \nOUT extends an invitation to connect to the LGBTQIA+ community with authenticity. Each artwork was chosen because they bring forward key elements of community building like creation and maintenance or people and locations.  \nThe artwork featured in OUT presents communities in a way that contains abundance\, masses\, and movements that are neither monolithic nor are they stagnant. A few of the artworks invite you to share specifically in the LGBTQIA+ community in hopes that you will understand and see what we know and hold dear. Other artworks invite you to see the more difficult parts of community: the loneliness\, the effort\, the isolation\, and the need to escape. \nBy actively engaging in OUT\, you are actively engaging in the many levels of community in and around the exhibition. You are building a community with the artwork\, with the artist\, with the people and places the artist calls community\, with the Octagon Art Center\, with Ames\, and with me. Welcome. \n \n~aj castle\, Out Exhibit Juror \nJuror:  aj castle (they\,them\,theirs) is currently transitioning from full-time creator of programming and resources to support and advance gender equity in higher education to full-time scholar on the intersection of gender and technology. Their specific interests include researching\, exploring\, and understanding the creation and viewing of digital bodies\, digital gender identities\, power disparities in social media and user generated content\, and the gamification of relationships. Their current multi-media works in progress include an analysis of the technologies of gender in sci-fi/horror films\, a body horror short story\, and various assemblages of found objects that speak on transitioning and expanding gender. \nArtist Bios and Statements: \nCharlie Esker – behance.net/profile/charlieesker; @charlieesker  \nHello! My name is Charlie Esker (they/she)\, I am a nonbinary artist born and raised in Cedar Rapids\, Iowa. I moved to Ames to study Integrated Studio Art at Iowa State and now work as a full-time artist! \nArtist Statement: Often\, queer people’s stories get told for them. Whether it be by their families or by the media\, queer people hardly get a narrator role when it comes to our own struggles. My art is my way of telling my story and working to heal my trauma through the artistic process. Most of my work revolves around my experiences as a transgender person\, both internal and external. Inviting the viewer into my story; whether that be to connect with other queer individuals\, or allow non-queer viewers a chance to see queerness through a queer person’s perspective. I strive to depict queer people in all our diverse\, divine\, glory. \n  \nJennifer Leatherby – @jenleatherbyart \nJennifer Leatherby is a queer multimedia artist who lives in Des Moines\, Iowa\, USA. She was adopted at a young age and grew up in a town of population 200 in rural Iowa. Her work explores themes of gender\, mental illness\, death\, nature\, and escapism. She visualizes her themes through abstract painting and fiber art and with symbolism of black holes\, surveilling eyes\, hands\, psychedelic landscapes\, celestial bodies\, otherworldly plants & animals. Her work includes drawing\, painting\, fibers\, digital\, video\, performance\, and sculpture. \nArtist Statement: My work reflects my life through a mirror of fantasy and abstraction. I am interested in every day connections and contradictions. I explore the time between our first breath and our last breath\, after our breath has ended\, the space between breaths\, and the things that take our breath away. \n \nJameson Malone – jamiemalone.com; @artbyjmalone \nJameson Malone is a 25 year-old multidisciplinary artist who graduated from Iowa State University with a BA in Biological/Pre-Medical Illustration. They create in various mediums\, most commonly known for their digital and acrylic works. Malone is heavily inspired by celestial bodies\, musicians\, the occult\, and the natural world. While infused with themes found in traditional art\, their pieces often focus on the understanding of oneself within gender\, sexuality\, and mental illness. \nJameson is currently located in Des Moines\, IA. This is the the ancestral\, unceded land of the Báxoǰe (Bah Kho-je) or Ioway\, Sauk (Sac)\, and Meskwaki (Fox) peoples. The Meskwaki Nation settlement is located in Tama\, IA\, and you can read more at www.meskwaki.org/  \nArtist Statement: I seldom depict more than one subject at a time in the pieces I create because much of my childhood was spent in isolation. Contemplating how the loneliness of childhood isolation has impacted and informed my young adulthood\, I’ve seen how the pieces I create can often reflect the feelings\, passions\, or subconscious rhetoric that individuals in the community often feel as well. We so often feel we go through hardships alone\, but as we reach out to those we care for\, often the currents of time are having us flow in the same wave. \nProceeds from this piece will be donated to the Iowa Trans Mutual Aid Fund. \nLane Maxson – maramaxson4.wixsite.com/lanemaxson \nArt has been incredibly influential to Lane throughout his life\, though it wasn’t until a few years ago that he really started to enjoy and grow in his art. Within the last year\, Lane has been able to reflect on past traumas and experiences\, which can often be reflected in his work. Through this work\, Lane hopes his art can open windows to help others with their own past traumas. \nArtist Statement: As a twelve year old\, downloading Instagram for the first time seemed like an exciting opportunity. Five years later\, my views on social media are far from exciting. From a young age\, the importance of likes and followers was forced into my brain and eventually became the only thing I was focused on. With each post\, I gained more likes\, fueling that need for approval. Before coming out\, I wanted to be “good enough” online\, and I feared rejection from others if I were to come out. I thought my entire life was based on my presence and popularity on social media. After coming out\, my likes dropped\, and eventually I started to realize how damaging my mindset had been. Portraying the ‘real’ me opened a new window of healing for me. I learned that you shouldn’t hold back or hide yourself for the approval of others.   \nSasha Phillips – @sashablu_art\nSasha Phillips (They/Them) is a Disabled\, Non-binary & Queer Artist living in Iowa. They were trained in traditional art mediums under Painter Dixie Schwisher and continued to pursue art on their own over the next 20 years. Specializing in Oil\, Acrylic and Graphite they prefer a surrealist approach to art\, exploring how nature\, the macabre and the fantastic can tell stories about the human experiences of grief\, joy and reinvention. \nArtist Statement: I create art that blurs the lines between realism and surrealism\, between the binary of life and decay. I use acrylic in this piece for its bold opaque pigment to heighten contrast and emphasize that the light of self knowledge and community cannot fully blot out the pressure of our socialization\, systemic structures and internal doubts. Freedom is a process\, a sometimes ugly\, exhausting process\, even within a supportive community\, when safety isn’t a guarantee. Light is still light\, but it can easily be snuffed out. \nPiper Smith – @paintdbypiper\nPiper Smith is a recent graduate of Iowa State with a Bachelor’s Degree in Performing Arts. She loves to utilize the arts\, especially theatre\, to contribute to her community and elicit positive change. She also loves painting and the ability it gives her to express herself. She is just getting started as a professional\, so she hopes this exhibit can open new doors to her future. \nArtist Statement: I feel that I am my most authentic self when I am able to interact with other trans people. It’s not that I can’t be authentic with people who aren’t trans\, but there is something special about connecting with people who understand me on an even deeper level. Through my art\, I can bridge that gap. Having a medium and also a platform with which to express myself allows me to tell the stories of my experience as a trans woman in a way that can better connect to those who aren’t trans. I believe the greatest struggle for cisgender people understanding trans folks is simply that the stories of trans people aren’t told enough. Even when they are told\, it may not always be done by trans people themselves. When trans people aren’t granted ownership of their own stories\, the narrative tends to shift into one that demonizes and lies about us. It is vital for us to tell our own stories for us to find that beloved connection\, belonging\, and authenticity. \nI chose peppers for this piece not only because I think they’re delicious\, but because they show us a wide array of beautiful colors\, shapes\, and sizes. Peppers are spicy\, yet so are the connections I find with the people in my communities. Just as I am enamored with spicy peppers\, I am with the spiciness of my own relationships. \nAshley Vance – @ashleyvance.studio\nMy work as a printmaker and mixed media artist focuses on issues of social justice and feminism\, specifically. As a queer woman I use my experience to inform the work that I put into the world for purposes of awareness and validation. \nPassionate about both art and issues of human rights\, I combine these to bring awareness of different social justice topics and to validate the experiences of those that are “othered” in society. I use my education in printmaking and women’s and gender studies to create a line of connection and communication from the marginalized to the privileged to further inform those who do not understand\, and to stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves. By using methods of printmaking\, which is the medium of communication and mass production\, I can spread my message to a much larger audience. \nArtist Statement: I work with printmaking and mixed media in my work to spread messages of feminism and social justice. The processes I use are primarily print media based\, where I use an image to create a printing substrate to create the ability to create multiples of one piece. With my work purposefully spreading messages to the masses\, the ability to create multiples is vital to my process and my goals as an artist and activist. By photocopying and resizing my works to make them more accessible\, I am furthering my goals of making art for the people; all people. \nEvents: \nOut Exhibit Walking Tour: Thursday\, September 8\, 2022\, 5:30-6:15 p.m.  \nJoin Dr. Ruxandra Marcu\, director of ISU’s Margaret Sloss Center for Women and Gender Equity\, and Dr. Susan Harper\, director of ISU’s Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success\, for a walking tour of the Out exhibit. Dr. Marcu and Dr. Harper will host the tour\, offering their thoughts\, reflections\, and interpretations of the artwork with community members.  \nAnyone who wishes to join the tour can meet at the Octagon Center for the Arts at 5:30 p.m. Free and open to the public. \nOut Virtual Artist Talk: Monday\, September 26\, 2022\, 7:00 p.m. CST \nJoin juror aj castle and exhibit artists for an informal conversation about the artwork of Out. Register here to receive the Zoom link.  \n  \nThis exhibition is sponsored by the Octagon Center for the Arts\, the Center for LGBTQIA+ Student Success\, Margaret Sloss Center for Women and Gender Equity\, Wheatsfield Cooperative\, London Underground\, Amy and Jason Popillion\, The Women’s and Gender Studies Program at Iowa State University\, Tara Fisher and Dave Svoboda\, and Dawn Budd.  URL:https://octagonarts.org/event/out-exhibit/ LOCATION:Octagon Center for the Arts\, 427 Douglas Avenue\, Ames\, IA\, 50010\, United States CATEGORIES:Exhibits ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/png:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Copy-of-OUT.png ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221008 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221113 DTSTAMP:20260423T131134 CREATED:20220329T221125Z LAST-MODIFIED:20221025T233545Z UID:13699-1665187200-1668297599@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Layers-of-Reality-Andrew-Clarridge-and-Matthew-Terry.jpeg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20221119 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20221225 DTSTAMP:20260423T131134 CREATED:20220329T221406Z LAST-MODIFIED:20221121T163314Z UID:13701-1668816000-1671926399@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/2018-06-16-14.04.07-scaled-e1668707941404.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT BEGIN:VEVENT DTSTART;VALUE=DATE:20230417 DTEND;VALUE=DATE:20230514 DTSTAMP:20260423T131134 CREATED:20230314T165340Z LAST-MODIFIED:20230406T160449Z UID:14918-1681689600-1684022399@octagonarts.org 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 ATTACH;FMTTYPE=image/jpeg:https://octagonarts.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/studentshows.jpg ORGANIZER;CN="Octagon Center for the Arts":MAILTO:info@octagonarts.org GEO:42.0257584;-93.6123172 X-APPLE-STRUCTURED-LOCATION;VALUE=URI;X-ADDRESS=Octagon Center for the Arts 427 Douglas Avenue Ames IA 50010 United States;X-APPLE-RADIUS=500;X-TITLE=427 Douglas Avenue:geo:-93.6123172,42.0257584 END:VEVENT END:VCALENDAR