Graham Watson

The Artist Within
313 S Walnut

The Artist Within will have two exhibits for the month of December. "Bette Graham, the artwork of a Local Living Legend" and "Robot Run" will have separate opening receptions held from 5-8pm on First Thursday December 6th. As always, the receptions are free and open to the public.

The main floor gallery will feature one of the Muncie art scene's own living legends, Bette Graham.  Printmaking is her specialty, but she will also have drawings, paintings, Christmas cards and note cards on display and for sale December 6-29, 2012.

"Bette Graham, the Artwork of a Local Living Legend" will be done in a "salon format": "you see it, you like it, you buy it and take it with you."  This makes giving and/or receiving original artwork easy for your holiday shopping.

The upper level gallery will host the first annual "Robot Run" from December 6-29, 2012.

A group of regional artists will have a variety of artwork with a central theme: Robots.

The drawings, paintings, prints and sculpture in this exhibit cover a broad interpretation of the subject.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E Main

Filling an oversized gallery wall, top to bottom, with works of art by local artists is no easy job. Ben Gordy tackles the task on an annual basis for the holiday season.  “We represent about two dozen artists,” offers the manager at Gordy Fine Art & Framing in downtown Muncie, “And once each year – for two months - we like to show them all off together.”  Not only does the salon-style setting make a handsome statement of paintings, prints and drawings, but the arrangement allows buyers to take purchased work with them immediately. Typical exhibit etiquette doesn’t allow works to leave until the show is taken down at the end of the exhibit.  “The salon show supports holiday gift-buying as it supports local artists. “ Gordy adds. “Patrons are invited to bring their out-of-town guests to see a hearty selection of area talent.”

That talent this year includes 2D artists, Scott Anderson, David Dale, Eric Ernstberger, Jim Faulkner, Charlene George, Brian Gordy, Corey Hagelberg, David and Sarojini Johnson, Suzanne Lambert, Paul Laseau, Alan Patrick, Margie Prim and Carol Strock Wasson.  Works by 3D artists will fill out the space and include pottery by Kim Anderson, Sue Beach, Carol Burt, John Peterson and Alan Patrick, jewelry by Jan McCune, and bronze sculpture pieces by Cheryl Anne Lorance. 

The opening reception for Salon Show 2012 will be held Thursday, December 6, 2012, from 5 to 8 PM at the downtown gallery. The public is encouraged to attend, and refreshments will be served. Other downtown galleries will also be hosting exhibits, and there is no charge to attend.

The Annual Salon Show continues through January 31, 2013, and may be viewed during normal business hours: Monday – Friday, 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturdays, 9 to 3, or by appointment.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. is located at 224 E. Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre.  For more information, call 765-284-8422 or visit www.gordyframing.com. 

The Notice Gallery
109 E Main

The Notice Gallery will be hosting a one-night-only art exhibition featuring contemporary sculpture and ceramic art from Bloomington and Indianapolis artists. Artists include Brose Partington, Stacey Holloway, Aaron Nicholson, Mike Wilken, Payson Mcnett, Rachael Bleil, Andrew Perry Davis, Michele Signorino, and Jenny Olinkainen.

Rose Court
125 E Charles

Join Rose Court in welcoming Earl Dunbar, photographer, for the December First Thursday at Rose Court.

Rose Court will be fully decked out for Christmas and, as an added treat, Rose Court will also be hosting the Magic City Music Men singing Christmas carols from 7:00 to 7:30pm before finishing their gallery visits for the evening.  If you've never heard the Magic City Music Men, you must be sure to come hear them in Rose Court - the sound rivals that of a cathedral!  You can't miss this, and best of all - it's free! 

Earl Dunbar, Photographer: Life’s Reflections -  Memories captured by photos last us forever... is the philosophy of photographer Earl Dunbar.  Life long in the making, Earl’s passion for photography started when he received his first camera in grade school.  Through the years, he has progressed from film and slides to digital photos.

As a salesman in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, he carried his camera on all his trips stopping at any opportunity to take pictures. Along with his wife Penny they have traveled throughout the US as well as Australia.  Earl enjoys shooting subjects such as fall colors, wildlife, lakes & streams, sunrises & sunsets; even the moon. 

Several of Earl’s photos reflect his explorations around Muncie and the surrounding area, showing us things we’ve missed or taken for granted in our home town.  He continues to learn about different techniques to improve his work, which is ever evolving. 

Earl and Penny moved to Muncie in 2006 to be close to their son who married a gal from Fort Wayne.  They have 2 grandchildren and have enjoyed watching them grow through his pictures.  Penny is a registered dietitian who worked at Ball Memorial Hospital and retired from the renal dialysis clinics.

Earl hopes to share his passion for memories through his photography exhibit during December’s First Thursday and will be offering framed and unframed (matted) pictures for sale.  Refreshments will be served from 5:00 to 8:00pm.  Please join us.

On the second Wednesday of every month, The Artist Within and the Full Circle Arts Co-op host a roundtable meeting for Muncie's arts community from 7pm to 8pm. All are invited to join and discuss community projects and the promotion and development of the local arts.

The meeting will be immediately followed by Full Circle's monthly public board meeting.

111 Arts Gallery
111 E Main

(tattoo flash) art of tattooing, tattoo designs done I. Watercolor mixed media, raw, and refined in distinct and traditional styles, multiple artist, 5-9 refreshments artist meet n greet

Additional NSFW images: 1, 2

The Artist Within
313 S Walnut

February at the Artist Within will feature "Each Face is Unique", the photography of Rachel Rector.  An opening reception will be held First Thursday, February 7th from 5-8pm.  The reception is free and open to the public with light refreshments, live music by Ric Dwenger and an opportunity to meet the artist to learn more about her inspiration for this moving exhibit.

Rachel is currently a sophomore at Indiana University studying Elementary Education.  This young artist bought her first camera when she was a freshman in high school and started shooting immediately. Miss Rector reminisces about how she worked the entire summer to save up and buy her very own digital SLR camera and proudly claims, "I still shoot with it today." She started taking pictures because she felt she had a terrible memory and wanted to remember the good and bad times. This small way to remember things turned into a hobby and soon she began to love the impact a picture could have on both her life and others. Encouragement came as people began to compliment her on her talent. This gave her the confidence to put herself out there for new experiences like senior portraits, family shots, and candid photos. Rachel readily admits that the most exciting experience she has had behind the lens came from the hundreds of photographs she took while on a mission trip in Haiti. This talented photographer admits that the experience cannot be put into words, but only through her photos. She feels that she was able to capture the very real and true lives of many of the Haitian children living in Port-au-Prince.

A brief background on the mission trip:

In the summer of 2011 about 15 people, including myself, from the Bridge Community Church traveled 1500 plus miles to Port-au-Prince Haiti to work at the local organization called Mission of Hope. On this mission trip we were able to do service work with the orphanage and VBS that the Mission of Hope sponsored. We traveled to another local orphanage to spend the day with the children as well as visit the ground for a soon to be school near the coast. We were also able to travel to the land where small one room houses were being built and painted for families to be sheltered in that lost their homes during the 2010 earthquake. The countless hands I held and smiles I received will forever be in my heart. The simplicity of these children's life is what I will take away most from my trip and I hope that through my photographs you too will be able to see Gods love and grace in the lives of the Haitian children.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E Main

BSU Annual Print Show + Introducing Amelia Morris

In what has become an annual affair, Gordy Fine Art & Framing will exhibit the work of husband and wife duo, David and Sarojini Johnson, for the month of February 2013. Joining the Ball State art professors this year will be two of their students, Terre Keck and Brandon Beeson. The four artists will present works made using either the intaglio or relief process, typically used to create multiple copies of a “plate” that has been altered, via chemicals or gouging tools. In either case, ink is applied to the prepared plate, paper is laid on the inked surface, pressure applied, and the paper – now carrying an image – is pulled away to dry.  Printmaking is a demanding art, as each color represents either a different plate, or the original plate, re-altered. Either way, a challenging series of steps stands between the artist and the final works of art.

Only a few steps will stand between the exhibited works and patrons during the February print show. The main west wall will hold what appear to be calm, even happy, farm animals in glorious colors by David next to dream-like garden scenes by Sarojini. “Frog and Lily” depicts a blue textured frog and orange lilies, both buds and blooms, on yellow-green pads. The scene by Sarojini is quiet, yet boldly exotic. David’s “Animal Farm” beautifully demonstrates the printmaker’s skill of multiple images, perfectly aligned. The students’ works finish out the wall for the print exhibit, and several accordion print books will be displayed on tables. “Garden Flowers and Insects,” by Sarojini, unfolds to show colorful silhouettes of plants and insects, some reminiscent of silk fabric prints.

On the other side of the gallery space, Amelia Morris will kick off Gordy’s “Small Exhibit Series” with, An Honest Assessment: Recent Efforts from Amelia Morris. A 2008 graduate of Ball State University, Morris earned her BFA, magna cum laude, in art and photography. Her images make up a photo diary of her days, post college. “I like to think of the work as a series of public and private confessions,” offers Morris, “my post-grad blues.”

A reception for the artists will be held First Thursday, February 7th , 2013, from 5 to 8 PM at the downtown gallery. A short talk about the print exhibit will take place at 6 PM, followed by another talk about the photo exhibit at 6:30.The public is encouraged to attend, and light refreshments will be served. The other downtown galleries will also be hosting exhibits, and there is no charge to attend.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. is located at 224 E. Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre.  For more information, call 765-284-8422 or visit www.gordyframing.com.

Rose Court
125 E Charles

Rose Court is pleased to host artist Jerry Dreesen for the February 7th Gallery Walk.

Jerry Dreesen is a painter poet. He writes and publishes haiku and other short form Japanese poetry on-line and in paper journals . He is self-taught artist, who loves to challenge himself in a variety of mediums and styles including acrylic, watercolor, pastel and linocut printing. He also experiments on occasion with clay sculpture. He has exhibited his art in various local art shows and exhibitions and has sold work including several commissions throughout the United States, Canada, Great Britain, Europe and Japan.  http://dreesenartgallery.blogspot.com/     OR   facebook/jerry dreesen

The Artist Within
313 S Walnut

During the month of March, the Artist Within will feature the work of Ball State University Advanced Drawing students.  The upper level and main floor galleries will exhibit drawings done in a variety of mediums, "Selections from Ball State Advanced Drawing Classes" will remain on exhibit through March 30th.  There will be an artists opening reception First Thursday, March 7th from 5-8pm with light refreshments.  The opening is free and open to the public. Ball State University will be on Spring Break during First Thursday so a second reception, "Meet the Artists" will be held on Friday March 15th from 5-7pm.  Please make plans to attend one or both of the receptions.

Gallery 308
308 E Main

A passion for the arts often begins at an early age, and the talents and imagination of more than 80 young artists will be showcased in a countywide exhibit when Gallery 308 opens its 9th annual K-12 Juried Student Art Show next week. The public is invited to stop by and see what our young local artists are doing. There’s a free reception for the show’s opening on March 7, the First Thursday of the month.

The nonprofit community art gallery provides a juried show each year for Delaware County students in grades K through 12. Because it’s a juried show, awards will be presented. The presentation will be at Muncie Civic Theatre, 216 East Main Street at 6:30p.m. The exhibit and refreshments will be offered at the Gallery, located at 308 East Main Street, from 5 to 8 p.m. The artists’ families and friends are welcome.

Students from 12 city and county schools are involved in the show. About 87 entries were accepted into the juried process. The students’ artwork will be displayed at the Gallery through the end of March.  Karen Fisher, Gallery 308 Board member and member of the committee that organized this year’s show, said, “This is one of the strongest shows we have ever mounted, the quality of the work is outstanding. It’s a thrilling experience for young artists to see their art professionally framed and hanging in gallery.”

In addition to announcing the prize winners at the opening, the Gallery will announce the name of the school that has won the 2013 Y.B. Williams Art Supply Award. The $500 cash award is given to the school whose students earned the most points for their arts involvement. Fisher explained that students earn points for their school by attending art gallery openings, visiting museums and other art venues. “The school with the most points wins the $500 award which is to be used by the school to purchase art supplies,” she said. The name of the winning school will be announced at the opening reception. Delta Middle School was last year’s winner.

Judges for the juried show were Lynette Whitesell, (primary school artists) and Bob Hartley (secondary school artists).

Artwork for this show was framed at framing workshops offered by the Gallery in February.

The exhibit is made possible by major funding from Trim Masters Charitable Foundation. Other sponsors include: Indiana Public Radio; Department of Art, Ball State University; Muncie Civic Theatre (providing space for the awards presentation); The Artist Within and Art Mart.

Gallery 308’s exhibitions committee consists of David Franklin, Chris Satory Jan Wright, and Karen Fisher.

The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturday from 12:30 – 5:00pm.  Admission is free. The show continues through March 28.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E Main

Margie Prim began painting in the 1960’s. She took classes and occasionally painted with small groups of painters.  It was a doctor’s remark in 2009, however, that kicked the quiet artist into high gear. Reporting that she had some arthritis, the doctor mentioned that it can affect eyesight. Prim decided at that moment to spend as much time painting as she possibly could. She began going along with groups of plein air painters in the region, tromping through fields to paint in every type of weather Indiana can dish out. Between trips, Prim would hone her skills with romantic still life scenes – flower arrangements, a special vase, pears – in the comfort of home. She is now known for both plein air landscapes and still life paintings, quiet of subject and wild with impasto – that is, thick application of paint where brushstrokes are visible and become part of the image. Over a dozen new paintings will be displayed through March on the main gallery wall at Gordy Fine Art and Framing in downtown Muncie.

“Inspiration comes to me by what I see, whether it be plein air or still life,” the quiet artist explains. “Using colors from grays to brights is an adventure for me.”  A short talk about Prim’s work will be given by gallery owner, Genny Gordy, at 6 PM during the opening reception on Thursday, March 7, 2013. The opening hours are 5 to 8 PM.

 Another artist, David Cuatlacuatl, will speak at 6:30 PM about the work he will display in the new “Nook”, a smaller exhibit space on the west side of Gordy’s main gallery. A recent Ball State University graduate, the award-winning artist creates brightly-colored mixed media and collage pieces. A citizen of Cholula, Puebla, Mexico, Cuatlacuatl states, “Seeing the limited conditions of people native to my hometown and south of the border helped me develop a certain perspective, which I believe has a major influence on me and on my work today.” 

The public is invited to the opening reception, and light refreshments will be served. Gordy Fine Art & Framing is located at 224 East Main Street, next to Civic Theatre. Both exhibits will remain on display through March 30th and may also be viewed during normal business hours at the gallery/frame shop:  Monday through Friday, 9 AM to 5:30 PM, Saturday, 9 to 3, or by appointment.  For more information, call 765-284-8422 or visit www.gordyframing.com.

Rose Court
125 E Charles

"This month Rose Court is pleased to be displaying the award winning photography of Grace Hollars.  Grace was recently one of the Regional Scholastic Art & Writing Award Winners.

"March is Craft Month and National Kids Craft Month.  Rose Court is also pleased to be hosting the Creativity Network and their participants for First Thursday.  Several Non-Profit organizations will be having tables throughout the building featuring crafts and fun items.  Come visit the following participants:

Creativity Network - A Nonprofit Org. that welcomes creatives with disabilities, emerging & established artists & crafters in all creative disciplines. Creativity Network members will be celebrating National Craft Month with special contests and a membership drive.

Team Artist Within WalkMS will kick off their 2013 fundraising campaign with a booth offering a "Create a Coupon" coloring sheet to those who stop by and make at least a $1 donation.  The coupon will give the donor 10% off a piece of paint your own pottery at the Artist Within during the month of March.  Information about joining Team Artist Within for the March 23rd WalkMS 2013 at BSU's Worthen Arena will also be available.  So come donate to Team Artist Within Walk MS, have fun coloring your own coupon and then redeem it at Artist Within during the month of March.

Free to Read, A nonprofit that collects books for teachers, local nonprofits, families in need and Servicemen over seas. They will be making bookmarks for First Thursday and collecting gently used children's books. Please help bring a smile to a child's face by donating to this worthwhile cause.

OWENA Old West End Neighborhood Association, A group of neighbors come together to clean up their historic neighborhood and make a difference. Now a nonprofit they have done amazing things in the Old West End. Come see photos of the beautiful homes and learn about their plans to continue their growth as one of our cities most determined neighborhoods shows their spirit and culture.

MACC, Muncie Arts and Cultural Council, is a local organization that promotes the arts in Delaware County. Information relating to MACC will be part of a display at Rose Court during March First Thursday activities March 7th from 5-8pm.

It’s Spring Break Time!

Fun all week! Tuesday, March 26^th – Saturday, March 30^th

MUNCIE, Ind. – Staying in Muncie for spring break? The MCM is offering several activities and workshops the week of Delaware County’s spring break. Create bird and bat houses while you interact with live reptiles, birds, and insects. Learn about their habitat and what to do if you see an animal in the wild. It’s fun for the whole family!

Activities and workshops begin Tuesday, March 26^th and ends Friday, March 30^th. Activities are included with admission. Workshops are $7 or 2 for $10 members; $12 or 2 for $20 non-members plus admission. Registration is required. Parents must accompany children at all times.

Activities & Workshops

Wednesday, March 27^th (11 a.m. & 1 p.m.)

Snake Head Ed will amaze us with his many reptiles for these two shows.

Snack with Snakes Workshop - $7 mem/ $12 non (12 p.m. – 1 p.m.)

Create and enjoy different animal snacks with MCM’s famous Rat Snake, Lucy.

To learn more, call Jennifer Peters at 765-286-1660 ext. 213 or visit www.munciemuseum.com.

The Muncie Children’s Museum provides hands-on, educational and innovative learning experiences.  The Museum is located at 515 S. High St. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $6 per person ages 1-100.

It’s Spring Break Time!

Fun all week! Tuesday, March 26^th – Saturday, March 30^th

MUNCIE, Ind. – Staying in Muncie for spring break? The MCM is offering several activities and workshops the week of Delaware County’s spring break. Create bird and bat houses while you interact with live reptiles, birds, and insects. Learn about their habitat and what to do if you see an animal in the wild. It’s fun for the whole family!

Activities and workshops begin Tuesday, March 26^th and ends Friday, March 30^th. Activities are included with admission. Workshops are $7 or 2 for $10 members; $12 or 2 for $20 non-members plus admission. Registration is required. Parents must accompany children at all times.

Activities & Workshops

Thursday, March 28^th (12:30 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.)               

Bats, bats and more bats meet Dr. Timothy Carter and his bats up close.

Bat House Workshop - $7 mem/ $12 non

(1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m.)

Create a bat houses with your family.  Each family will receive a bat house kit.

To learn more, call Jennifer Peters at 765-286-1660 ext. 213 or visit www.munciemuseum.com.

The Muncie Children’s Museum provides hands-on, educational and innovative learning experiences.  The Museum is located at 515 S. High St. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $6 per person ages 1-100.

It’s Spring Break Time!

Fun all week! Tuesday, March 26^th – Saturday, March 30^th

MUNCIE, Ind. – Staying in Muncie for spring break? The MCM is offering several activities and workshops the week of Delaware County’s spring break. Create bird and bat houses while you interact with live reptiles, birds, and insects. Learn about their habitat and what to do if you see an animal in the wild. It’s fun for the whole family!

Activities and workshops begin Tuesday, March 26^th and ends Friday, March 30^th. Activities are included with admission. Workshops are $7 or 2 for $10 members; $12 or 2 for $20 non-members plus admission. Registration is required. Parents must accompany children at all times.

Activities & Workshops

Friday, March 29^th (11 a.m. – 1 p.m.)

Wildlife Resqu Haus would like to introduce you to some feathered friends.  Learn what to do if you see an animal in the wild.

Bird Bath Workshop - $7 mem/ $12 non (12 p.m. – 1 p.m.)

Create a bird bath to hang in your tree or set in your garden.  Each family will receive a bird house kit.

To learn more, call Jennifer Peters at 765-286-1660 ext. 213 or visit www.munciemuseum.com.

The Muncie Children’s Museum provides hands-on, educational and innovative learning experiences.  The Museum is located at 515 S. High St. Museum hours are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday and 1-5 p.m. Sunday. Admission is $6 per person ages 1-100.

Gallery 308
308 E Main

Gallery 308 opens its Paperchaser 2013 exhibition with a free reception from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, April 4.  The 4th annual show is a juried art show featuring the artworks of contemporary artists working in paper-based media. 

Paperchaser 2013 will be juried by noted artist and gallerist Mark Bercier. Mark lives and works in New Orleans, Louisiana. He will be on hand to visit and talk with artists and visitors the night of the opening.

Dave Franklin, Gallery 308 Board President, said, “More than $1,200 in cash awards will be announced at the Gallery opening on April 4 including the Best of Show winner. The Best of Show winner also receives a solo exhibition in 2014.” Local artist, Alfredo Marin Carle received Best of Show honors in 2012 for his self-portrait, “Introspection”. He along with Paperchaser first place winner Ryan Sparrow will have a show at Gallery 308 in October 2013. 

Gallery visitors will have the chance to see more than 70 works-on-paper ranging from watercolor, to oils, to mixed media to 3-D. The exhibit will be on display through April 19.  The gallery’s new hours are Fridays 3-7pm and Saturdays from 12:30 – 5:00pm.  Admission is free. 

The exhibit is made possible by funding from Art Mart, Lyle Mannweiler Photography and Indiana Public Radio.

Gallery 308, which provides space for local and regional artists with monthly “First Thursday” exhibits, is in its 13th year as a nonprofit art gallery.  For more information about Paperchaser 2013 opening, contact sherry@jackscamera.com.

Located at 308 East Main Street, Gallery 308 is a 501(c)(3) community art gallery which exists to provide exhibition space for artists, encourage innovative work and serve the community as a cultural and educational resource. Contributions to Gallery 308 are tax-deductible. To inquire about gallery hours, volunteer and donor opportunities, call 765-289-8575, or visit http://www.gallery308.org for information about upcoming exhibits.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E Main

What is drawing? This is the question posed by Ball State Art Professor, Scott Anderson, to  fellow faculty members. Their responses – 15, in total – are the basis of this exhibit. Explains Anderson, “I believe the most elegant and thorough answer to the question is:  Drawing is the act of making marks – mark making with many different purposes and outcomes. From traditional approaches and mediums to newer investigations, drawing remains the primary tributary to any art practice.” He continues, “Drawing is still the most direct, unfiltered and honest means to record the world around you and to express yourself.”

While all of the artists have independent styles of creating, and use a wide range of mediums, they all “consider drawing to be an integral, if not essential, component of their art practice.”

Printmakers draw their images before printing them, painters typically draw before painting and potters and sculptors sketch out the details of their pieces before forming or building begins. This universal starting point for each art creation reveals that “drawing remains the primary tributary to any art practice,” as Anderson claims.

Anderson will give a talk about the exhibit at 6 PM during the opening reception on Thursday, April 4, 2013. Many of the other artists will attend the opening, and include Kim Anderson, Hannah Barnes, Brent Cole, Kevin Duffy, Robert Flory, Barbara Giorgio, David Hannon, Heidi Jensen, David Johnson, Sarojini Johnson, Mike Prater, Mary Ann Rahe, Tom Riesing, and Mark Sawrie. Light refreshments will be served and the public may visit between 5 and 8 PM.

On the other side of Gordy’s space, another exhibit will open in the “Nook.” Caitlin Lynch is a recent honors graduate of the BSU Art Department who uses a variety of materials ranging from drawing and painting to performance and installation. Her work “often utilizes invented narratives and simple symbols to tell autobiographical, highly personal stories.” Lynch currently works at Open Door Art Studio in Columbus, Ohio, as an Art Facilitator and at the Columbus Museum of Art. She will speak about her work at 6:30 PM. 

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co. is located at 224 E. Main Street, next door to Muncie Civic Theatre.  For more information, call 765-284-8422 or visit http://www.gordyframing.com.

Rose Court
125 E Charles

Sean Orlosky is an administrative assistant for a law office in downtown Muncie. In addition to doing freelance artwork, he also enjoys volunteering as an actor and voice-over artist for community theatre events in Muncie and Farmland, Indiana. Sean enjoys using bold color palettes and alternates between whimsical and dramatic subject matter in his artwork. He hopes that those seeing his exhibit of original works at the Rose Court see "something that makes them smile."

Please join us for an evening with the artist.   In case you miss it, much of Sean's work will remain on display for the rest of the month of April in the central atrium of Rose Court.

Creativity expert Dr. Robert Root-Bernstein, Professor of Physiology at Michigan State University, and MacArthur Fellow, will present a provocative lecture based on his book Sparks of Genius: The Thirteen Thinking Tools of the World's Most Creative People. The lecture will discuss how scientists and others benefit from their participation in and engagement with the arts. Read more here.

• Lecture is FREE and open to the public. A book signing will follow the program.
• Dinner following the lecture is $40 for Friends of the Museum, $48 for non-members. PDF dinner RSVP here.

Information about parking & directions to the Fine Arts building

The Artist Within
313 S Walnut

May at the Artist Within will feature artwork by advanced high school art students from Muncie Central and Muncie Southside.  Art instructors Helen Zacek and Britt Husman have selected "the best of the best" from their advanced two dimensional and three dimensional classes.  The show, "Advanced Art", will include drawings, paintings, prints, sculpture, jewelry and pottery.  An opening reception with light refreshments is planned for First Thursday, May 2nd from 5-8pm.  The show remains up from May 2-31, 2013.

Gallery 308
308 E Main

“Of Paint and Paper: A Selection of Figurative Works” showcasing the talents of artist Keith Perelli opens at Gallery 308 on May 2.   The opening reception for the new exhibit will be held First Thursday, from 5 to 8 p.m. The public is welcome.

A native of New Orleans, Perelli has a strong connection to the colorfully rich texture of the Southern United States, its environment and its people. He works in painting, drawing and printmaking with an emphasis in mixed-media collage and monotypes.  His figure-based narratives fuse illusory realism, abstraction and naturalism, focusing on socio-political and personal themes of conflict and discord.

Perelli says, “I am an artist with strong ties to the figurative tradition, and am most intrigued by expressing the human condition through the filter of my experience. Art, history and the rich history of narrative painting are perhaps the greatest catalyst of ideas. I am fascinated by both the beauty and cruelty of nature and man himself.  

He added, “I try to see each work as the progenitor for the next idea. I have always been intrigued by images that might be layered or in a sense woven over time. Fabricating and creating collage elements in narrower windows of time allows me the ability to weave or shift disparate elements as one cohesive work, much like a quilter's patchwork, shifting from production within shorter blocks of time to composing when the time and space come together”.

Perelli also teaches painting and drawing at New Orleans Center for Creative Art, a pre-college conservatory for the arts.  He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Painting and Printing from the University of New Orleans, New Orleans, LA; and a MFA in Painting and Sculpture from the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH.

His work has been featured in seven solo exhibitions in New Orleans plus solo exhibitions at Found Gallery Los Angeles, CA and Nau-haus Art Space, Houston, TX.  His work has been exhibited internationally in Innsbruck, Austria, in Como and Milan, Italy and in Tianjin, China. In 2010, he was awarded a commission for a public works project on Canal Street in New Orleans. In addition he has received numerous grants and Individual Fellowships from the SURDNA Foundation, Louisiana Division of the Arts and Ratti Foundation.

The gallery is open Friday from 3-7pm and Saturdays from 12:30 – 5:00pm.  Admission is free. The show continues through May 31.

Gallery 308, located at 308 East Main in downtown Muncie,  is a 501(c)(3) community art gallery which exists to provide exhibition space for artists, encourage innovative work and serve the community as a cultural and educational resource. The Gallery opens a new exhibit every First Thursday. Contributions to Gallery 308 are tax-deductible. For more information about upcoming exhibits, volunteer and donor opportunities, please call 765-289-8575.

Gordy Fine Art & Framing Co.
224 E Main

Like scores of artists before him, Seneca Weintraut keeps a day job. In fact, he keeps many, from trench-digging to casino work to hay bailing. It's how he pays the bills. But Weintraut is also a gifted painter who graduated from Ball State University in 2011 and spent a semester at Pratt Institute in New York City before returning to his father's farm in southern Indiana and all the labor that entails. This latest body of work, in keeping with his biographical and narrative nature, examines the return and what it means to be 'home'. His overall focus is America, and "the honesty of daily life." Using allegory and symbolism to help his audience relate to his images, Weintraut confesses, "I think of myself as a folk artist, telling the story of the American working class through pictures."

http://senecaweintraut.com/

The fourth installment of our 2013 Small Exhibit Series will feature Jamie Gray Williams, a graduate from the University of Southern Indiana's art department and recipient of their first Efroymson Bridge Year Fellowship in 2012. Her figurative acrylic paintings "explore personal and social issues using exaggerated brush strokes, patterning, and soft, feminine colors." A TOUR OF STRANGERS will be on view in our Nook gallery through the end of May.

http://jamiegraywilliams.com/

Rose Court
125 E Charles

Rose Court is pleased to feature Julie Cranfill for May's First Thursday Arts Walk event.  Julie is originally from Muncie, having grown up on an Arabian horse farm.  Her interest in art emerged from drawing Arabian horses.  Now, Julie's work encompasses a wide range of subjects and has been shown locally and as far away as Atlanta, Georgia at the Atlanta Mercantile.  Julie also is a member of the Hamilton County Artist Assoc. and teaches private and group painting classes.   Come visit with Julie from 5pm to 8pm at Rose Court.