April's First Thursday

Earth Thursday at Canan Commons Alfredo Marin-Carle at Gordy Fine Art and Framing Co. First Thursday at Madjax John Burton and Debra Gindhart Dragoo, Madjax, 2nd floor Ron Richcreek, Madjax Ron Richcreek, Madjax Diane Burrell, Muncie Artist's Guild "Artist-of-the-Month" Diane Burrell, Muncie Artist's Guild "Artist-of-the-Month" Will Mueller at Muncie Makes Lab Will Mueller at Muncie Makes Lab Derek Spencer at Plyspace

Please join us in celebrating Earth Day for April’s First Thursday with a number of Earth Day-themed events!

Canan Commons
500 S. Walnut St.
Earth Thursday at Canan Commons!
Earth Day is Friday, April 22nd but you don’t have to wait to celebrate it! Come join your friends and neighbors in a special celebration of environmental arts and education. 

There will be activities at Canan Commons and sites throughout downtown Muncie from 5-8 pm. Featuring:

-“Healthy Kids” program activities inside the YMCA and at Canan Commons. 
-A scavenger hunt hosted by the Audubon Society of Muncie
-Register to “Chalk Up” a square of the sidewalk at Canan Commons. Prizes for best design in each category
-Solar Cooking demonstration on the green at Canan Commons (vegetarian friendly)
-And as usual, fine art from local artists at businesses and galleries and businesses throughout downtown Muncie

Hosted by Muncie Downtown Development, Muncie Chapters of the YMCA, the Audubon Society, and Madjax. 

Book Arts Collaborative (at Madjax)
514 E. Main
Book Arts Collaborative will be in the shop working on final projects during First Thursday if anyone wants to stop in to watch or ask questions.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts
520 E. Main
Cornerstone Center for the Arts will host an exhibition by Matt Blanchfield titled “Befuddled Redux.” The artist states: “I paint and draw whatever draws my or my wife's interest, from fantasy to realism and back to abstraction.” Blanchfield’s show will be in the 2nd floor gallery at Cornerstone.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. 
224 E. Main
Gordy Fine Art and Framing will open an exhibition and sale of new paintings and sculpture by Alfredo Marín-Carle, Thursday April 7th, 5-8 pm. Marín-Carle joined the faculty at Ball State University in 1985. He is now Associate Professor Emeritus and resides in Indianapolis. Throughout the evening, he will be on hand to engage with viewers and answer questions. Light refreshments will be served and the public is invited to attend. 

At 6:15 the artist will give a 10-15 minute presentation about his work and answer questions. 

Visions, the title of the exhibit, states simply that these works of art convey what the artist sees, reflecting his lifetime fascination with eastern philosophies. “In the process of creation, I experience the Buddhist concept of interdependence,” says Marín-Carle, “that nothing exists on its own.” The artist builds up layers and then sands them down. He uses stencils to apply forms and shapes, then rubs them with chemicals and carves deep and aggressive marks that disturb their clarity. In this way he is exploring the creation and destruction always going on around us.

The show will be on view with works for sale through May 28. 

Gordy Fine Art and Framing Company promotes talented artists, provides appraisals, and offers expert design and craftsmanship for framing and displaying treasured family possessions and works of art. Business hours: Monday through Friday, 9 am – 5:30 pm, Saturday, 10 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.

Madjax Muncie
515 E. Main St.
Join us as we celebrate EARTH DAY EARLY! First Thursdays at MADJAX celebrates local Artists and Makers in our community too. Enjoy an evening with family and friends. Have some fun during April FIRST THURSDAYS AT MADJAX. Come and support the creative genius and talents of our amazing POPUP artists, tenant artists, and makers during gallery walk at Madjax Muncie. 

First and Second Floor Galleries:
Drinking Bear Forge/Jacob Buck Price
Tom Stader
Angel Gillette 
Debra Gindhart Dragoo & John Burton Monochrome: BLACK - WHITE 
Foto Therapy 
Georedt Michael Huggins 
DIY workshops AND more!
Support The Guardian Brewery too! 
5-8pm. Enjoy & celebrate locally made arts and unique gifts including painted artwork, jewelry, scarves, hand decorated eggs, baked goods and more! Parking is available in our lot at the corner of Jackson and Monroe, and at the corner of Main and Monroe.

Additional information about Madjax artists is listed below:

John Burton and Debra Gindhart Dragoo:
Monochrome: BLACK | WHITE: Drawing and aerosol painting in black and white is a radical new look at what happens when artists John Burton and Debra Gindhart Dragoo cast aside the color spectrum and focus on the visual power of black, white, and everything in between. John and Debra’s collaboration in Monochrome: Black | White, is an exhibit of paintings, and drawings and united by their monochromatic palettes. Meet the artists. 5-7pm. 

Ron Richcreek
Ron Richcreek will be setting up his pottery tables at MadJax First Thursday on April 7th. Porcelain and Stoneware pieces large and small at reasonable prices. Pieces for gifts or for your own personal pleasure. Come to MadJax, April 7th and support your local artists.

Muncie Artist’s Guild
Various locations
The Muncie Artist’s Guild’s “Artist-of-the-Month for April” is Diane Burrell!

Diane is a painter, enamelist, and teacher, and her work will be on display in various locations throughout the city including Old National Bank, Northwest Bank, Hazelwood Hair Salon, Rosebud Coffee House, and Vera Mae’s.

Diane’s life as an artist has evolved over 50 years, yet the source of inspiration has remained constant. She is affected by her surroundings where she lives and works in her home studio on a lake in North Anderson.  The abundant ever-present fodder, wildlife, deer, blue herons, eagles, osprey, waterfowl, and fish provide a constant source of tranquility, and subject matter, which is revealed through the exploration and use of color in multiple layers of paint or enameling, (which is Glass fired onto metal at 1,450 degrees.) Other sources for subject matter come from her dedication to serving others through a food assistance program at Trinity Episcopal church.  She is energized by sharing her experiences through teaching and displaying her art.

Diane is a graduate from Ball State University in 1988. She continued her graduate work through 1995. She is an art teacher with an emphasis in painting and metal design and enameling.  Diane taught art at Daleville Community Schools and is retired from South Madison School Corporation in Pendleton Indiana.  She continues to teach classes in painting and enameling to all ages at Pendleton Artist Society, Gallery 119 on a regular basis. 

Diane has won numerous awards from, the Indiana State fair, Madison County Artist Society, Pendleton Artist Society, Muncie Artist Guild and was accepted in the Hoosier Salon.

More information is available by contacting Diane at dienamel@gmail.com or 765-617-2853

Muncie Makes Lab
628 S. Walnut
William Mueller is an MFA Candidate at Ball State University. His thesis exhibition ‘Operating Cost’ is a collection of works with a narrative of how public relation, marketing, and advertising campaigns can persuade the public opinion and how we as consumers are to handle that information. The work is constructed primarily with cast concrete, a material that is known for its aesthetic value in modern architecture. This material is viewed as strong, resilient, and sustainable when in fact it can be brittle, require frequent maintenance, and is the third leading contributor to greenhouse gases. Our perception of the world around us is not always correct and quite often, it is shaped by firms that seek to do so for ulterior motives. This work challenges the viewer to think critically about the information that we take for granted.  

PlySpace
608 E. Main
PlySpace, the artist in residence program of the Muncie Arts and Culture Council (MuncieArts) in collaboration with the Ball State Department of Theatre and Dance, presents an open rehearsal by PlySpace ResidentFellow in Theatre,Derek Spencer.

Derek Spencer (Los Angeles, CA) will direct his cast and crew through an open rehearsal at 7pm on Thursday, April 7th in the PlySpace Gallery (608 E Main Street). In preparation for their upcoming performance, the cast is seeking audience members to join them for a brief interactive and immersive practice. No prior experience is required. This event is free and open to the public, but seating is limited. Masks are recommended, but not required. From 5pm to 7pm, the gallery will be open for the public to visit with Derek and the cast prior to their rehearsal. Light refreshments will be provided at this time.

While at PlySpace, Derek has been working with acting students from Ball State University’s Department of Theater and Dance, led by teaching professor Veronica Santoyo, to create a devised adaptation of The Eumenides by Aeschylus as his community collaborative project. This performance will be presentedto the public in a short run from April 21-24 at Cornerstone Centerfor the Arts. Learn more about the performance at plyspace.org/events.

Derek is the founder and artistic director of Ceaseless Fun, an LA-based immersive performance company operating since 2016. Select projects with Ceaseless Fun include: Everyone Agrees it’s about to Explode (2020), The Stars (2018), They Who Saw the Deep (2018), and Agnosia (2018). Derek served as a board member for the League of Experiential and Immersive Artists from 2017-2021 and currently runs an intermittent ensemble devising jam called Soft Focus. In 2014 he received his B.A. in Philosophy and Public Policy from the University of Chicago.

For more information about this and other Spring Term events, visit our website, www.PlySpace.org or the PlySpace Facebook page. Questions or comments about the PlySpaceResidency Program, events,and community collaborations can be directed to the Muncie Arts & Culture Council / 608 E. Main St. Muncie, IN 47305 / www.munciearts.org

The Shoppe by Pink Leaf
108 S. Walnut St.
Spring is finally here! Start your garden and beautify your home with our artist-designed seed packs of flowers and veggies. Buy three packs of seeds, get one free!