Grand Avenue Shop Windows

"Hi! I'm the cutest shop window in Spencer, Iowa!" --Music Connection



Arts on Grand, window by Holly Kellogg (paintings by Holly Kellogg, sculpture by...er..me). That one in the middle looks like and floral explosion to me right now. What do you think?



I stop and look at how cool this pitcher is every time I go by Mainstreet Mall Antiques.



I have never been in this shop but it looks very charming.



Warner Monuments.

Mike Blackwell @ Shaky Tree Tonight

Mike Blackwell (Americana folk musician) is playing at Shaky Tree tonight. It's a good show. I know because I walked by a few times.

The thing is--I don't do "punctual." This has been a problem for me and Shaky Tree events because I also don't do "entering a facility through a door adjacent to a stage during a live show." I mean, I've seen other people do it, but it's not for me. It doesn't help that I know that when I walk in, I'm going to have to find a seat while everyone is looking in my direction, and if I find one, I'll be sitting by myself (because I don't know a soul), and I'm either too scared to get up and get a drink, otherwise I don't happen to have any cash on me if I want to, and therefore I'm sitting by myself with nothing to do with my hands. And that's very awkward. It's easy to see how my track record with these shows doesn't look good.

I really like Spencer a lot (obviously, it inspired me to start a blog about it), and people are really nice, but I don't have any friends. I mean, I literally have not "hung out" with another person on my own without any of my family members present in eight months of living here. I have moved about four times in the last six years and I have never not made friends right away. Part of it is that this is the first time I am not in school, and I guess the older you get, the busier you are. Even with that understaning, it's frustrating. It's no wonder that, yet again, I am chilling at home with the cats instead of enjoying a good show at the neighborhood Tree.

"A Geometry of Space and Time"

Joanne Alberda's current show at Arts on Grand is magnificent. Over-the-top stunning. When, several weeks ago, I was told that the next AOG show was going to me quilts, I have to admit that my first thought was "meh," but the show is far from "meh." The color and shape is great, and I love how she plays with our idea of the medium by matting and framing pieces as if they were paintings. There are also very textural B&W photographs, and big, spare charcoal drawings of seed pods (I am seriously thinking about buying one) that really tie in with some of the shapes found in her quilts.

Show runs till March 24. Artist talk at some point... For more info, call Arts on Grand, 262-4307.



A small quilt on display in the window.



One of these simple charcoal drawings (I guesstimate they're like 2' x 3' but I'm bad with that kind of thing).

My Goodness, My Guinness

Wednesday night brought the return of Irish band Gaelic Storm to the Pearson Lakes Art Center in Okoboji--a sold out show. They'd been there last year and a lot of people came back for more. I've never scene such a buzz in the lobby--people wearing their wellies and Gaelic Storm t-shirts. Myself, I'd been a fan since 1997 when the movie Titanic came out (Gaelic Storm played the party band in the steerage scene). I hadn't heard much of them since then (not that they weren't out there, I just wasn't paying attention), but when I heard they were coming to the area, on my BIRTHDAY, no less, I knew how I was celebrating my __th!

After an excellent meal at Minerva's, followed by turtle cheesecake and crème brûlée, my party enjoyed 3rd row seats to the lively show. Gaelic Storm is made up of five very talented musicians from Ireland, England, Canada, and New Jersey. Frontman Patrick Murphy (accordian, harmonica, as well as lead vocals) is part musican and part comic and introduced the audience to the "Irish moonwalk" (the kind you take after a night of drinking). Bagpipe player Peter Purvis brought out an electric bagpipe toward the end, which I thought was really interesting as I'd never thought about them existing. It's pretty much just the chanter, a wire, and a footpedal (no blowpipe or drones).

I good time was had by all, and the show ended with plenty of audience screaming, singing, and jazz hands. I hope they come back next year!

Check out upcoming show schedule at PLAC.

Buddy Holly and Barb Ryman

When Neal Conover is excited about something, he'll make sure to tell you. You and everyone else he runs into. This time it's Spencer Community Theater's "Buddy: The Buddy Holly Story." The performance was fabulous, he said, Chad Elliott was, naturally, fantastic in the part of Buddy Holly, and not just him! Neal raved about Ritchie Valens (played by Dylan Dykstra) as well. I personally find Neal's excitement infectious, and if I wasn't already planning to go, I would have made plans. This weekend is its second of three weekends. Tickets $16. Times this weekend: Friday at 7:30 p.m., Saturday at 7:30 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. matinee $15. Call 262-7336 for tickets or go to 518 1st Ave. E., Spencer, between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. More info on the Community Theater website.

We're lucky here in Spencer to have our pick of musical entertainment. The House Concert series continues this Friday with Barb Ryman. According to the flier, "Barb Ryman is a nationally touring, award-winning singer-songwriter who expects music to be more than entertaining. Her music is lyric-driven, emotional, heart-opening. With a clear winsome voice and skillfully played guitar, she delivers a rich mosaic of contemporary folk, country blues, Celtic flavored ballads, old-time gospel, and bits of folk-rock." Concert at 8 p.m., doors at 7:30, at Martin Arthur's home (323 E 4th St). Suggeted donation of $10-$15, with proceeds going to the artist. Please RSVP (262-4500). More info at Spencer Area Concert Association's website. Check out Barb Ryman's website.

"Make Your Own Tiles" Class rescheduled

My tile sculpting class is being rescheduled due to, well, only having one person signed up. It'll be on the 12th, 19th, and 26th, same time.

"Make Your Own Tiles" Class at AOG

Arts on Grand offers all sorts of classes for children and adults in a variety of media. Somehow I got bold enough to propose one of my own, but now that it looms closer, I'm getting more than a little nervous. I've never taught anything before! But I'll go on ahead with it, as long as someone signs up, that is.

Some time ago, I decided to make some decorative sculpted tiles. I wanted to do some art nouveau style work, but I don't throw (pots), so I didn't have anything to put it on--but tiles are easy. My first one was (loosely) based on a design I took from a silver art nouveau cup. A year or so later, I made some tiles again, starting off the same pattern I'd used before. This time my main influence came from the enigmatic writer and illustrator (we think of him as an illustrator, but he considered himself a writer) Edward Gorey, known for his gothic/Edwardian style drawings of people and monsters (and elephants!). I made a series of Gorey-style creatures, some direct from his illustrations, some of my own invention. Of course, the result is a lot more gothic than art nouveau. An example is this set of birds (unglazed in these images):



This one is also unglazed in the photo. Finished, it looked amazing, stained dark, reminiscent of a tree or roots, but I also thought of veins:



Looks way cooler in real life, but I sold it (a mistake) and I'm not sure if I have any other photos.

The class is for adults, will be Tuesday evenings February 5, 12, and 19 at 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. in the clay studio at Arts on Grand (262-4307). We'll be carving into and building up on our tiles. I'll try not to be too lousy a teacher...

Artist Profile: Holly Kellogg

This is the first in what I intend to become a series of artist profiles.

Artist Holly Kellogg is a recent transplant to Spencer, Iowa. Though she has a degree in Painting, she has in her recent years explored the mixed-media genre of assemblage, creating art out of found objects (esp. things found in the road while running) and discarded blue jeans (waste-not-want-not), while also incorporating paint. Pattern and geometric shapes also characterize these works. At the same time, she shows her more traditional side through her colored pencil still life drawings and the occasional still life painting. She's been known to dabble in clay.


Things Found While Running


River Rocks in a Bowl

An Oklahoma native, she graduated from Ames High, started out at Cornell College, and ultimately received her BFA from the Kansas City Art Institute. Art has always been a fixture of Holly's life. She is the daughter of two artists (father a retired ISU professor of architecture and painter/sculptor, mother a painter/ceramist/paper sculptor), and grand daughter of an artist/architect. It was during her time as a student at Ames High that she decided that art was important to her (the art program there is on par with many colleges).

Her formal training was in painting. She says, "I enjoyed that [painting from life], but in time felt a desire to work more conceptually. I began dismantling used blue jeans to create a canvas and exploring the use of various materials and ways of applying paint in my work. A reoccurring theme that has developed from these explorations consists of a layering of form or materials, with part of the image being hidden, which suggests to me that our understanding and view of life, ourselves, one-another is partial. That there is more to be seen or discovered. Exploration is key for me."

She is currently working on building a body of work that began with a mop: "I had some cotton cord that came from a mop head (unused). I had the idea of laying the cord on a jean canvas painted red. I lay the cord in curving lines that resemble the lines on a geological map. It took many hours to sew the thread on. I liked what was happening, but wanted to do some work more quickly." The current work (as shown in examples here) sprung from this--2-D paintings using the line of the mop cords. "I began laying the cord down to created shape, drawing along those lines and painting from there. When working, I seek to bring in elements of composition to the work. I hope to created depth through the layering of shape and through color. I play around with various combinations and keep trying things."


Amoeba


Riverwalk

She currently works in a studio in her home. Her work is available at Arts on Grand here in Spencer, at the Octagon in Ames, and by appointment.


The artist in her studio.

One of my personal favorite pieces entitled Are You Awake is an example of Holly's work that uses layers of plexiglass in a shadowbox, spraypaint and stencils, and a photograph of her eldest daughter.:

More on "Together"

I finally got a chance to see the exhibit at AOG, "Together, and Artistic Journey," today. I'd half forgotten about it and I was going anyway to unwrap a pot I'm working on (it's a slow drying process), and I was very excited when I remembered what else I would find there. First off, when you approach the front entrance of Arts on Grand, you see two things. On the left side are some of Gilbert and Vodraska's works. My eyes were immediately drawn to the white sculptures in the center--matte white organic shapes. They're buglike and I immediately thought of fossils. Also in this window are other ceramics and paintings. In the OTHER window, lined by a Pollock-esque background, stands a lone Chad Elliot sculpture. OK, so I can't remember what the title was, but it was very romantic (you know, "Romantic," not "lovey-dovey"), and the work itself is a column of extremely Chad Elliot-esque ocean waves, and at the top, a storm-tossed boat. It's got rich color and, as I said, romance, adventure, and great MOVEMENT.

Moving on... upon entering, I was faced with a feast--a visual feast. As a potter, I'm biased (I notice ceramics more than anything else), and I spent most of my time examining the pottery and sculpture. The front area of the show features works from their collection (not for sale). My favorites were the whitish sculptures emerging from African sand. I believe that Marta (AOG Director) was telling me that these works were inspired by the drought and dryness in Africa (the Vodraska's spent much time there), but everyone approaches art from their own experience, and I just kept thinking of fossils. I really like rocks and everything having to do with rocks, so that includes canyons, caves, potholes, and fossils.

Towards the back, their are works for sale. Many of them are smallish enclosed pots (little round pods), some sculpted, some smooth. FLAWLESS glazes. I am rarely interested in glazes and even more rarely impressed with their execution, but these are just perfect. One of my favorites was a coppery/goldish, sleek metallic glaze that was used in several pieces. BTW, these little pods I'm talking about are all very affordable (around $40-$60), for any of you who would like to own original art but aren't made of money.

I'm sorry I'm not very good at describing things. I am pretty sure that no one is going to be able to read this and come away with any idea of what it's really like. Unfortunately I am unable to include photos, but even those wouldn't do justice. This is why it is so important for everyone to go look for themselves. Not only would it enrich and inspire you, it would help out AOG (become a member! buy something in the gift shop!), and AOG is not something we want to lose.

Not to turn this blog entry into more of a ramble than it already is, I'd like to say that Arts on Grand is a really great place to buy gifts. Not only can you buy a work from the "Together" show, you can browse through all sorts of works, from prints, to original drawings and paintings, to scarves and bags, to greeting cards, photography books, ceramics, jewelry, glass works, etc., etc. Things I have bought recently: a print of a pencil drawing, wooden bookmarks, a wooden box, glass icicles, and handmade earrings. There really is something for everyone!

Together: An Artistic Journey

The exhibit by Anita Gilbert and Anthony Vodraska opened at Arts on Grand yesterday. I haven't yet had a chance to see it, but based on the show postcard, it looks very interesting. It includes paintings, ceramics, and photographs. The couple has lived in Africa and it shows in the ceramic work that I have seen.

There will be an artist talk and reception on the 11th at 5:30.

I look forward to seeing their work myself because I've heard rave reviews from others who've been to their studio. Even my dad is impressed, and he isn't into art.