March's First Thursday (full listing)

Art from the 82nd Student Show, The Atrium Gallery, Ball State University Abby Wagner, My Cup Runneth Over, Forever Young Children's Boutique Scott Anderson, New Normal, Gordy Fine Art and Framing Kim Anderson, Gordy Fine Art and Framing Eugene Boyd pottery, Made in Muncie Tom Walker at Madjax Eugene Mumaw posters and playbills at Muncie Civic Theatre Maring-Hunt Community Gardens project at Muncie Makes Lab Daniel Ragsdale Combs, On the Rocks, at Savage's Alehouse Kim Shawger and Robert Dirden, Studio Exhale

The Atrium Gallery
Arts and Journalism Building, 1st floor, Ball State University campus

The Atrium Gallery will hold extended hours from 5-8pm for visitors to view the 82nd Annual Student Show. MITS Buses run from downtown Muncie to the university campus until 9 PM.  

Each year since 1935, the School of Art in the College of Fine Arts at Ball State University has hosted an exhibition of its students’ artwork. In more recent years, in order for our students to have an experience more resembling that of a practicing professional artist, an external juror actively practicing in a field of art has been employed to adjudicate and make all decisions regarding acceptance of artwork(s) into the exhibition, and for making all decisions regarding which art pieces will be further recognized in the form of monetary awards.

For the exhibition, there will be an award of $500 for 1st place, $250 for 2nd place, and $150 for 3rd place. In addition, each area listed below will see a student artwork be recognized with an area cash award of $100 as specified by the external juror. Three additional artworks will be selected by the juror to receive awards, but the awards are sponsored by the Muncie Art Student League, an organization founded in 1886 by community members, who have contributed to the awards program since the student show’s beginnings in 1935. Another award is the Dean’s Purchase Award from Robert Kvam, Dean, College of Fine Arts.

The School of Art boasts a population of 500 students, with the predominant majority of those being students pursuing the Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA) degree. The BFA is the professional undergraduate degree in studio art whose areas of study in the school specifically are: animation, ceramics, drawing, glass, metals, painting, photography, printmaking, sculpture intermedia/video and time-based art, and Visual Communications (Graphic design). In addition, a representative selection from Foundations/Core courses (Introductory Drawing, Design, and Computer Art) is recognized; an award is given to one of these students who are just beginning their studies in any particular school degree area (BFA, or otherwise). For more program information, please visit our website at http://bsu.edu/art/undergradprograms.

The Ball State University 82nd Annual Student Art Show opening reception takes place on the evening of Saturday, February 25, 2017 from 6 PM to 8 PM with the awards presentations being at 7:00 PM.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts
520 E. Main

Cornerstone Center for the Arts, in partnership with PrimeTrust Federal Credit Union, will host a brand new art show from 5:30 to 8 PM. The show, entitled the “Cornerstone Center for the Arts and PrimeTrust Federal Credit Union Young Artist Exhibition,” will feature the 2D and 3D artwork of students in kindergarten through twelfth grades living in Delaware County.

Artwork will be on display in four grade categories: kindergarten-second, third-fifth, sixth-eighth, and ninth-twelfth. A group of community judges will award prizes for the top three artists in each category. Winners will be announced at 6:30 PM during the reception on March 2 in conjunction with March’s First Thursday. Students and families, along with the rest of the community, are invited to attend the opening to view the artwork, enjoy refreshments, and check out the winning artwork.

More information about the “Young Artist Exhibition,” including submission forms, guidelines, and rules is available online at youngartistexhibition.com or by calling Cornerstone at 765-281-9503. 

Forever Young Children’s Boutique
125 E. Charles

Forever Young Children’s Boutique will feature the work of guest artist Abby Wagner, who will also be doing a live painting at the shop from 5-7 PM. Wagner is a local artist from Selma Indiana who has a passion for painting in watercolor. Her current show is “My Cup Runneth Over,” which consists of beautifully painted pictures of tea and coffee cups.  The store will also

be having a 10% off sale on all new spring apparel, with extended hours until 7 PM.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E. Main

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. will celebrate First Thursday March 2nd from 5 – 8 pm with an opening reception for Disintegration – Propagation, an exhibition of new ceramic work by Kim Anderson and new paintings and drawings by Scott Anderson. The artists will speak briefly about their work at 6:15 PM. Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend. The exhibit remains on view through April 1, 2017. 

Both Kim and Scott Anderson are Gordy Fine Art and Framing Co. represented artists with long histories of addressing the impacts of egoism on the natural and political orders that govern the human experience. Though their preferred mediums and methods of expression differ, the artists’ most recent bodies of work are similarly informed by the imbalance of growth and decay in today’s world. Disintegration – Propagation explores that imbalance though the mixed media paintings and drawings by Scott Anderson and the three-dimensional ceramic sculptures by Kim Anderson.

Kim Anderson is currently the Director of Visual Arts at Arts Place. She holds a BA with an emphasis in Ceramics from the University of California in Pennsylvania, a BFA in Ceramics from West Virginia University, and an MFA in Ceramics from Wichita State University. Previously, she’s held teaching positions at the Indianapolis Art Center for 13 years and the Art Department at Ball State University for 11 years. She is a previous recipient of the Individual Artist Grant from the Indiana Arts Commission.

Scott Anderson was born in Lubbock Texas in 1959. He received his BFA from Texas Tech University in 1982 and his MFA from West Virginia University in 1993, both degrees with an emphasis in painting. He is currently a Professor at Ball State University teaching undergraduate and graduate levels of Painting and Drawing where he has received numerous Arts Education awards. Throughout the past thirty years, Mr. Anderson has exhibited paintings professionally in galleries and museums as well as national and regional juried exhibitions.

Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company promotes talented artists and offers expert design and craftsmanship for framing and displaying treasured family possessions and works of art. Disintegration – Propagation may also be viewed through Saturday, April 1, 2017 during regular business hours: Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5:30 pm, Saturday, 9 am – 3 pm. Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company is located at 224 East Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre.  For more information, visit www.gordyframing.com or call 765-284-8422.

Grace Episcopal Church
300 S. Madison

Grace Episcopal Church will host a choral concert performance entitled “Let Our Voices Be Heard.” The Grace Choral Scholars, a group of students from Ball State University’s School of Music, will be performing work by Alessandro Scarlatti, W.A. Mozart, G.F. Handel, and many more composers. There will be solos, duets, trios, and quartets. The Grace Choral Scholars are Lauren Anthony (soprano), Kendall Anvoots (soprano), James Best (baritone), and Peter Douglas (baritone and organist). The concert begins at 7:30 PM and the Art Gallery opens at 5 PM.

Made in Muncie
313 S. Walnut

Made in Muncie Pottery will be having an opening reception for "Eugene Boyd Pottery" from 5-8 PM. Works of wheel-thrown vessels will be on display throughout the month of March. Boyd is a Muncie native and teaches pottery at Cornerstone Center for the Arts. His passion for clay is apparent in his work along with anyone he talks to about the medium. Join us for First Thursday in DWNTWN Muncie for our opening reception at the studio, 313 S Walnut St.

Madjax Muncie
628 S. Walnut

Madjax will feature letterpress work by Tom Walker, who has spent over 20 years designing professionally, teaching for universities, and exploring art and design in a body of personal creative work. Book Arts Collaborative will have a press inked up, allowing visitors to pull their own print and Tribune Showprint will be giving tours and press demonstrations. Guardian Brewery will also be selling pints of beer throughout the evening.

Muncie Civic Theatre
216 E. Main

Muncie Civic Theatre will be presenting a historic showing of Eugene Mumaw's works curated by Jim Waechter and Mike Mavis of the Delaware County Historical Society, with the help of Gordy Fine Art & Framing. Mumaw was the artist behind every Muncie Civic show poster and playbill cover from the 1970s all the way into the 2000s. His work has adorned the theater's walls for decades and now will be put into the spotlight through this special showing.

Muncie Makes Lab
628 S. Walnut

First Floor
Ball State Architecture students are partnering with Maring-Hunt Public Library to expand the impact of the existing Maring-Hunt Community Gardens. They are working on a project that will include built pavilions that can work as shade and shelter for gardeners, community gathering spaces, a market, community kitchen, educational outreach to the library and Southview Elementary, as well as various other outdoor play and experiential elements. Come view the work and process of the team developing a master plan for the entire site, and construction will be completed in phases over the next several semesters. Students have met with many community members, and have had very productive collaborations with gardeners, library members, and neighbors.

Savage's Ale House (21+)
127 N. High

Savage’s will feature Daniel Ragsdale Combs’s show entitled “How Do We Define Ourselves?” The show focuses mainly on his recent creative portraits ranging in media from graphite, colored pencil, watercolor, acrylics, and oils. Combs states: “I work in traditional materials because I enjoy the feel and smell of the more natural materials. During the creative process, the material speaks to me, there is an intense and personal communication that happens. Most of my work questions who we are as a society and how we relate to our personal beliefs.”

Studio Exhale
103 N. High St.

Join Studio Exhale from 5-8 PM for an opening reception of “Beauty Through the Lens,” featuring the photographs of Kip Shawger and makeup artist Robert E. Dirden. This unique photographic exhibit of two artists highlights different styles of makeup and body art. Dirden and Shawger have been working together for a decade perfecting their craft.  Dirden is a Professor of Theater at Ball State University and produces several major stage productions at the university and the Muncie community throughout the year. Shawger has been teaching at Ball State for over 40 years as a theatrical designer.