This world is but a canvas to our imagination. ~ Henry David Thoreau

MidCoast Musings:

Call for Volunteers - June 24 and Sept 17-18


	Fiber bombed at Bucktown

MidCoast Fine Arts is a platform for grassroots support of our community's visual artists. It was founded by artists who volunteered their time because they had a passion to support the cause. While the MidCoast board wants to compensate artists for their artistic services, we appreciate generous help. During the summer months we look for many volunteers.

In fact, Bucktown Center for the Arts has been fiber bombed by local fiber volunteers! See our front and back entrances. Bucktown is celebrating fiber arts during May.

In May, for the annual ArtWorks Expo, the juror and mentor will have an honorarium but nine high school art teachers will volunteer some time to guide their students while they create mural-sized pastel drawings. For that matter, the 80 or so students are volunteering their time as well--they compete for cash awards that go back to their art departments, not to themselves. It's a lot of fun to watch the creative energies unfold--you are welcome to drop in to watch.

For the June 24 anniversary BASH, we're very grateful for the donation of evening concerts from Bucktown Revue and Waking Robots. We look forward to Bucktown at Bucktown (their winter headquarters are at the Davenport Nighswander Junior Theater). The Streets of Italy wood-fired pizza folks helped us out last year by donating a portion of their proceeds from sales at the anniversary concert, so please join us, enjoy the music, browse the suites and bring your appetite. Volunteers are needed to help with various organizational tasks.


	Annual Riverssance Festival of Fine Art

The Riverssance Festival of Fine Art will take place again in the splendid locale of Lindsay Park, perched across from the Mississippi River, in the East Village of Davenport, Sept 17-18. We expect over 90 exhibiting artists and visitors also can enjoy music, wine sampling, carefully-selected food vendors and the view. For this outdoor art fair event, we depend on approximately 65 volunteers over the Saturday and Sunday schedule. Want to enjoy the cultural fare and get an artist-designed t-shirt too? For two hours of volunteering, you also have free admission. We need folks to help as "art angels" who assist with the exhibiting artists, and need volunteers to take gate entry fees, assist with wine sampling and other duties.

Contact info@midcoast.org if you would be interested and available to help as a MidCoast volunteer. If we have the help, all we need is the good weather.

~ Sherry

Remembering Mark Fowler

Third Thursday | June 16, 7:30 p.m.


	Shield (cast glass), 2014 by Mark Fowler

Join us on the Bucktown second floor to remember Mark Fowler, Quad Cities glass artist who passed away in early May. He was the artist who brought hot glass to the Quad Cities, and he taught the practice to a number of people (including Joel Ryser's Hot Glass program) who continue in the field.

In a 2008 Quad City Times article, David Burke relayed "Fowler said he got into glass work by accident. Already a painter and a photographer, he was working during 1980 in a museum that offered weekend classes in glass blowing."

Fowler received his MFA in glass work in 1990 from the University of Illinois, Champaign-Urbana. By the mid-90s, he settled in the Quad Cities and he operated Liquid Fire glass studio in Rock Island. He was determined to bring a major glass exhibition to this area, and curated Clear Your Mind: Contemporary Glass Invitational at the Figge Art Museum in 2008. That exhibition led to the collection addition of Michael Meilahn's Corn Zone, described by the Figge as one of its "most popular works of art."

Save the Date: REVIVE II

Stay tuned! REVIVE II call for entries will be available soon. Contact info@midcoast.org for details.

June 25	Call for entries deadline
July 9 - Aug 26	REVIVE II juried exhibition of upcycled, recycled and assembled art
Aug 26	REVIVE II closing reception and awards

MidCoast Gallery West / The ARTery

1629 2nd Avenue, Rock Island
Open: Wed - Sat, 11 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.


	Heat Skeleton by Carolyn Krueger

The exhibition Poetic Vision, which partners poetry with visual art and features new works by Jeanne O'Melia, continues through mid-June.

June 10, 6-9 p.m.
Join us for the last chance to see our poetically inspired art exhibit. Meet many of the ARTists and writers while enjoying tasty snacks and drinks. We'll have live music by Jerry Schroder!

Jeanne O'Melia has brand new work on display; check out her Shel Silverstein tributes. The poets involved in our show are also welcome to join us for readings, led by our friend, Ryan Collins, from the Midwest Writing Center. Sean Whitney will probably show up too... because this whole thing was kind of his idea.

Moline Centre Station

1200 River Drive, Moline

Open: Mon -Fri, 6 a.m. - 7:30 p.m.; Sat, 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.; and Sun, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.

Jeff Selander and Barabara Lundeen
through May

Margery Franklin, Twin Rivers Photography
through July

Margery Franklin combines two loves-world travel and photography. This exhibition reflects her explorations of Norway, and she has photo documented travels in six continents leading to this excursion.

While she came to photography after a previous career and did not have formal academic training, she has attended photography workshops in Boston, in New Mexico at Santa Fe and Albuquerque's Balloon Fiesta, Portland, Oregon and at the National Geographic Headquarters in Washington, D.C. She has won Best of Show at the Blackhawk State Park Contest and participated in previous exhibitions with MidCoast, and at Illinois centers including the Next Picture Show in Dixon, Maple City Show, Geneseo, Quad City Botanical Center, and the Woodlawn Fine Art Academy, Sterling.

Cabin (oil on canvas)
by Jeff Selander

Storm at Sea, Norway (photograph)

by Margery Franklin

Bucktown Center for the Arts

225 East 2nd Street, Davenport
Open: Wed - Sat, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Fiber Works Celebration Final Friday, May 27, 6-9 p.m.


	Boho Chic Gallery celebrates fiber artist Dee Schricker

Tapestry Exhibition: Rowen Schussheim-Anderson: Fiber Intersections

Ber�skin Fine Art Gallery and Studio through June 17

The tapestries of Rowen Schussheim-Anderson, chair of the Augustana College Art Department will be on exhibition at Bereskin Fine Art Gallery and Studio May 27-June 17. The artist will be present at the opening reception this Friday.

Rowen Schussheim-Anderson weaves large scale contemporary tapestries, often incorporating beads or glass to heighten contrast. The delicacy of the beaded surfaces juxtaposed with the textured surfaces creates an elegant accent and focal point. Many works are inspired by travels to West Africa and Latin America.


	Tapestry by Rowen Schussheim-Anderson

One tapestry on view, Gorom Gorom, captures the frenetic energy of the market in Gorom Gorom, Burkina Faso. Other works play off forms found in nature, especially the organic lattice found in many species of butterflies. The beautiful structure and rich color of butterflies, the contrast of line and lively organic shape, the points and splashes of color are all at play in the work. Butterflies represent progressions found in nature, designs ranging from orderly to fluid, from complex to formal symmetry. Patterns create elegant, lively tension. While grids offer structure, organic grids, like curvilinear labyrinths, impose structure upon the abstract.

"I weave tapestries. I weave tapestries the same way they have been woven for hundreds of years. Yet, I am continually trying new approaches, introducing new elements, and incorporating new materials and new inspirations," said Schussheim-Anderson. Pat Bereskin, director of the gallery, observed "The vibrancy and textures recreate the environment of the gallery. The expression of energy and skill of each piece showcases the unmistakable imprint of Schussheim-Anderson's originality, imagination and personal creative expression. It is the blend of fiber arts and contemporary fine art in one unique show."

Laura Goldman Weinberg's Abstract Expressionism Inspiration Art, The Blissful Artist

MidCoast Gallery through May 27

Fiber Jam

Bucktown Second Floor Casement through May 27

Fiber Jam is a wide-ranging exhibition of regional fiber works co-curated by Colleen Curry and MidCoast staff. Incredible pleats! Eye-defying needle felting! Daredevil fiber structures! Don't miss it.

Participating artists are: Rosalie Baker (Mt. Vernon), Mary Bent (Bettendorf), Rita Bowen (Orion), Chris Clark (Muscatine), Colleen Curry (Donahue), Kimberly Darling (Davenport), Diana Engelbrecht (Eldridge), Jeanne Elliott (Bettendorf), Julie Ferring (Dubuque), Laura Hopkins (Davenport), Abi Hutchison (Letts), Sue Kirk (Davenport), Donna Kitchell (Davenport),Terre Klipsch (Davenport), Linda Klyman (East Moline), Jeanne Knape (Davenport), Georgeann Kreiter (Moline), Rosanne Krubsack (Davenport), Barbara McIntyre (Rock Island), Penny Pearcy (Maquoketa), Mary Pement (Moline), Diana Strait (Maquoketa), Cher Testroet (Bettendorf), Dorothy Towler (Rock Island), Deb Veber (Moline), Mary Wells (Davenport) and Cheri Wujek (Galesburg).

Fiber Jam Exhibition, second floor

ArtWorks Expo High School Pastel Competition

Competition: May 28, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Exhibition: June 4-30
Bucktown Center for the Arts


	2015 ArtWorks Expo North Scott High School team

Teams from nine area high schools (Alleman, Assumption, Davenport's Central, North, North Scott and West, Moline, Rivermont Collegiate and Rock Island) create mural-sized pastel drawings in competition for prize awards for their art departments.

The 2016 juror is Heidi Draley-McFall, whose drawings were exhibited at Bucktown in October 2015. Artist Paul Lange and Sherry Maurer also will be on hand for individual portfolio reviews with the participating students.

All entries are on exhibit through the month of June. This project is supported with Quad City Arts Dollar$ funds, provided by Hubbell-Waterman Foundation, Illinois Arts Council Agency, and John Deere. Additional support provided by Seiffert Lumber.

BASH! 11th Anniversary Celebration and Fundraiser, ArtWorks Expo Awards

June 24, 6-10 p.m.

Support MidCoast and enjoy Bucktown at Bucktown! Browse the Bucktown galleries and exhibitions. Bring your lawn chair to enjoy a variety of musical entertainments and your appetite for Streets of Italy wood-fired pizza. Beverages available, including Great River Brewery crafted beer.

Schedule

6 p.m.	Juliana & A Soul Purpose
6:30 p.m.	Bucktown Revue at Bucktown
8:30 p.m.	ArtWorks Expo High School Pastel Competition Awards
9 p.m.	Waking Robots

Bucktown Revue

Waking Robots

Entertainment sponsor

Support the Arts. Support MidCoast.

We are a non-profit community arts agency founded and run by artists. Our mission to stimulate our community's cultural and economic vitality through the support of regional visual arts and artists is accomplished by having amazing art-focused programming and events like Final Fridays, ArtWorks Expo and Riverssance Festival of Fine Art.

Copyright � 2016 MidCoast Fine Arts. All rights reserved.

MidCoast Fine Arts
PO Box 4142 Rock Island, IL 61204-4142
225 East 2nd Street Davenport, IA 52801
(563) 424-1210 | midcoast.org

MidCoast Fine Arts programs are partially supported by operational grants
from the Illinois Arts Council and the Iowa Arts Council.