September's First Thursday (full listing)

Muncie Mystery! Garfield show at 111 Arts Gallery Entrees are buy one get one free for First Thursday at the Clubhouse Maevyn Stone performs at Cornerstone Center for the Arts Debra Gindhart Dragoo offering a workshop titled “Re-making Maps In Muncie: A Map Into Art Workshop” at Cornerstone Center for the Arts Aaron Nicholson at Gordy Fine Art and Framing Co. Art4Quarters, an art vending machine, opens at Made in Muncie Jean McCauley is Muncie Artists Guild "Artist of the Month" Muncie Makers Market, corner of Walnut and Adams Carmen Nikae at Plyspace Cajun Night at Vera Mae's

Muncie Mystery!
(begins at Canan Commons and continues throughout the downtown area)
Downtown Development and Ball State’s Office of Community Engagement present Muncie Mystery! We need your "hand" solving this year's Muncie Mystery! Join us downtown during September's First Thursday to question suspects, look for clues and - hopefully - solve the case!

What we know so far: The Addams Family’s beloved Helping Hand, Thing, is missing! The butler, Lurch, suspects that someone in the family knows where Thing is because there was evidence from each of them left in the same room where his empty box was found, the library of Addams Manor. 

Pick up your Crime Tracker form and map at Canan Commons beginning at 5:30 p.m., then visit participating downtown businesses to hear alibis from the suspects and look over the evidence. Turn in your guesses at Canan Commons by 7:30 p.m. because the big reveal is set for 8 p.m. on the Canan Commons stage.

Sleuths with correct guesses will be entered into a drawing for great downtown prizes! (You must be present at reveal to win!)

Muncie Mystery is hosted by Ball State's Office of Community Engagement, Muncie Downtown Development Partnership, Ivy Tech Community College, and Muncie Civic Theatre.

111 Arts Gallery 
111 E. Main
@garfieldfrommemory is the guest artist at first Thursday art show in September 9/7 dont miss this !! Kate Parnell is 43 years old, and since February 24, 2019 she has drawn and painted Garfield (the cartoon cat) every day. She lives and works in her parents’ house in Richmond, Virginia, and travels around the country doing small pop up markets where she sells paintings and gets to meet some of her 18,000+ Garfield-loving instagram followers. While her subject matter is deceptively simple, drawing Garfield from memory saved her life, becoming not only a creative outlet but also a source of income, stability and confidence after many years of battling depression. These Garfield drawings and paintings form a body of work spanning four and a half years, reflecting not only her taste but the incredible sensibilities of her followers, whose Garf commissions of album covers, portraits, pets, inside jokes and erotica have “kept the lights on” and kept the project going. It is a kind of self-portrait, not only of the artist but of a community of people who find joy in humor, creativity, and love for a fat orange icon of the past 45 years, in both the tenuous space of a social media platform and in the real world.

Parnell is also attempting to become the Guinness World Record holder for most tattoos of a single cartoon character. She has 32 Garfield tattoos, and needs 24 more to take the title. Like her daily Garfing, the process of building her Garf tattoo collection has given her a joyous momentum and introduced her to artists around the world. Screening at the show will be filmmaker Michael Arcos’ documentary short “Orange From Memory,” which offers a glimpse into the world of Garfield From Memory and its incredibly orange obsession. This 14 minute piece will be screened at multiple film festivals in the fall.

Carrie Wright Silk Gifts and Gallery
405 S. Walnut (above the Caffeinery)
Silk painter Carrie Wright invites you upstairs to visit her multi-purpose studio space after getting one of your Mystery Clues street side! With lots of big plans for the upcoming Christmas shopping season, this is a great chance to place personalized orders ahead of the rush.

The Clubhouse
115 S. Walnut
Stop by The Clubhouse for dinner on First Thursday! All entrees are buy one get one free at equal or lesser value from 5pm until 9pm. 

Cornerstone Center for the Arts
520 E. Main
Cornerstone Center for the Arts, 520 East Main St., again will host local artists and Cornerstone artists in displaying and selling their work Sept. 7 from 5-8 p.m. in the Great Room. 

Artist in Residence Debra Gindhart Dragoo is coordinating this event.

Dragoo is also hosting a project/workshop “Re-making Maps In Muncie: A Map Into Art Workshop”, where participants utilize large format linen maps to create collages, paintings and other unique art pieces. The workshop encourages participants to create new world visions or add ideas about the world as it remakes itself. The workshop will take place during First Thursday from 5-8 p.m. also in the Great Room.

Community artists participating in this First Thursday include Gracelynne Strean, Mike Lassiter, Stefan Mckell, Mikell Vawter, Val Kelley, Hazel McCully, Joleigh M Paul, Tom Stader, Jill Palumbo, Maevyn Stone and her daughters Lily, Emma and Iris. Cornerstone artists include Eugene Boyd, Leon and Laura Crosby of Crosby Family Art, Michelle Metsker-Cass and Olivia Morrow. 

Musician Maevyn Stone, a classical harpist, will perform. 

The featured artist for September is Michelle Metsker-Cass, of Made By Meeshy Art, who will be exhibiting her work titled “Fluid Beauty” in Cornerstone’s Judith Barnes Memorial Gallery. 

Those who want to participate should call Dragoo at Cornerstone at 765-281-9503 ext. 150. Pop-up artists are $20 per table and two tables for $30. For additional information on First Thursday, art classes, rentals and events, please go to www.cornerstonearts.org or call 765-281-9503 EXT. 150.

Cornerstone Center for the Arts offers opportunities for creative expression for all through community and rental spaces in a historic setting. Thousands of area residents attend wedding and civic events, in addition to taking classes in art, dance and music. Cornerstone is home to the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and The Masterworks Chorale. For additional information go to www.cornerstonearts.org or call 765-281-950

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. 
224 E. Main
Patterns in Nature: the Art of Aaron Nicholson:
Gordy Fine Art and Framing is proud to highlight the art of Muncie resident Aaron Nicholson. Nicholson’s art reflects physical patterns found in the natural world as well as behavioral patterns in the way humans relate to nature, both on earth and our observations and speculations about the universe. The party will be on First Thursday, September 7, from 5 – 8 pm with live music by Luke Mitchell and Joshua Vance. The artist will be on hand. Light refreshments will be served, and the public is invited to attend.

Nicholson is a sculptor and a painter. His most ambitious work uses ancient techniques of pouring molten metal into sand molds. When he does this, the act of making art is itself an expression of his relationship to natural materials. Many of the sculptures in the exhibition were made this way.   

At 6:15, Nicholson will speak about his work and the techniques he uses to make it.The exhibit will remain on view through September 30. 

At Muncie’s recent Fire Up Downtown event in early August, Nicholson organized an Iron Pour where he fired a 2400-degree furnace to melt iron which he then poured into molds to make art. It was an extreme demonstration of an ancient technology that we rarely get to see. In addition to the show at Gordy, many of the castings at the Fire Up event will be on view the same evening at the Muncie Visitors Bureau at 410 S. Walnut St. in downtown Muncie. 

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. Summer Invitational may also be viewed through the end of August during regular 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.

Harmony Movement Studio
Harmony Movement Studio is setting up a free dance party in the alley next to the Fickle Peach! (117 E. Charles)

Made in Muncie
313 S. Walnut
Art4Quarters, an art vending machine, will open on September 7, 2023 at Made In Muncie pottery shop in downtown Muncie. Art4Quarters is a flat vend style machine that will sell stickers, mini prints, and zines from local artists for the humble price of four quarters. 
Artwork will be rotated on a quarterly basis. This quarter’s featured artists are Roque Chavez, Kendall Hess, and Lauren Pontenberg. Art4Quarters’ curator, Mary Arnett-Delaney, aims to make buying local art accessible and fun. She hopes Art4Quarters will be an ongoing destination for artists to sell small works.

Join us at Made In Muncie on September 7th from 5-8pm- bring your quarters! Tokens to be paid for via Venmo or PayPal will be available as well. 100% of profits will go to the artist you buy from! Light refreshments will be provided. 

If you would like to submit your work to A4Q– see full prospectus and application here: www.maryarnettdelaney.com%2Fart4quarters&data=05%7C01%7Cnephillips%40bsu.edu%7C117891620929464db15608dba95cd697%7C6fff909f07dc40da9e30fd7549c0f494%7C0%7C0%7C638289988485969070%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=PZrneb3oPrvqGTF3GYlRrO3fTahuJ3zg7R5lWnMGT4o%3D&reserved=0">https://www.maryarnettdelaney.com/art4quarters

Muncie Artist’s Guild
Various locations
Muncie Artist Guild’s “Artist of the Month” for September is Jean McCauley, the winner of the Best-in-Show Award at our Annual Show. 

Jean McCauley is an award winning artist who has been a member of the Muncie Artists Guild as well as various other art groups for many years. She studied art in college but stopped painting to raise a family. About 25 years ago, Jean began painting again and took numerous workshops with a number of Indiana painters. She primarily paints with oils, acrylics, and recently has begun painting with pastels. Her subject matter is usually landscapes but she has been known to paint a dog or two. 

Jean’s work will be on display at the following locations downtown:
Northwest Bank, 110 E Charles St.
Old National Bank, 2401 S Madison St. 
Parlour at Hazelwood Hair Salon, 1300 W University Ave 
Rosebud Coffee House, 1805 S Hoyt Ave. 
Vera Mae’s Bistro, 207-209 S Walnut St. 

Muncie Makers Market
Corner of Walnut and Adams
The Muncie Makers Market is happy to be a part of Muncie’s First Thursday community events, a popular local monthly tradition, going many years back, with all sorts of vendors, artists, and entertainers set up throughout Downtown Muncie. Assuming good weather, the Muncie Makers Market will set up on the sidewalks by the corner of Walnut and Adams Streets for all of the 2023 First Thursday gatherings, and be open ‪to the public from 5-8pm. The Muncie Makers Market is a registered farmers market featuring handmade creations, homemade foods, and locally grown produce! All Vendors must register in advance. 

Murray Building 
405 S. Walnut (between the Caffeinery & Atty. Frank Brinkman's)
Local fine artists invite you to their Open Art Studios! See behind the scenes in these historic second and third floor studio spaces where work from more than five different artists from all mediums will be on display and for sale. Stop by to visit Certified Bob Ross instructor Chris Taylor, Silk Painter Carrie Wright, Acrylics/Oil Painter Cassie Dunmyer, Oil Painter & Print Creator Kate Thorson and Ink Line Artist Jeff Brackett.

PlySpace
304 S. Walnut
PlySpace and MuncieArts presents a First Thursday performance and gallery installation by actor and clown, Carmen Nikae. Nikae explores themes of vulnerability & resilience, simple presence, and The Ridiculous through the combination of live clown work and silent short films. Her silent short films, made in the style of Charlie Chaplin, will be on display at the PlySpace Gallery at 304 S. Walnut St (the old Olive and Slate storefront) from 5:30 - 8:00 PM where she will be creating a short film live in real time at 7 P.M. Stop by to view her films and her process, ask questions, and support the art of clowning!

Valhalla  
215 S. Walnut
The Unknown Jazz Quintet will be playing outside the old Valhalla space from 5:30-7:30pm.

Vera Mae’s Bistro
207-209 S. Walnut
First Thursday Cajun Night at Vera’s! Featuring Fresh Oysters other Cajun fixin’s.