Without art, the crudeness of reality would make the world unbearable. ~ George Bernard Shaw

MidCoast Musings:

Focus on Tony Seabolt, MidCoast Gallery Manager


	Tony Seabolt, MidCoast Gallery Manager

Tony Seabolt radiates enthusiasm for support of local artists. He arrived at this enthusiasm from a life colored with other career paths: chef, preschool teacher, even punk rock band singer/songwriter. Yet, he found his passion rooted in teenage years spent in his home basement making art. He was an art major At Black Hawk College. Now he's the MidCoast Gallery Manager for Bucktown Center for the Arts in Davenport and Centre Station exhibits in Moline.

"I feel at home here and part of an art family" says Seabolt about his MidCoast involvement. Since joining MidCoast, he has attracted and maintained a full roster of artists-about thirty at any one time- renting modest spaces for sale of their work in the Artists Market section of Bucktown's second floor. The area includes works in ceramics, jewelry, glass, fibers, painting, drawing, sculpture and mixed media.

As Gallery Manager, Seabolt has a space to create his own art when business is quiet or during non-business hours. Visitors will see that he's equally adept at both non-objective and representational image-making. Currently, his paintings have varied between super-realist renditions of car engines and lyrically-colorful abstractions that hint at bird shapes in fantastic architectural settings.


	BASH! Celebration and Fundraiser, June 24

Seabolt has "a rising tide lifts all boats" attitude about showing his work with others at Bucktown. He observes, "It's inspirational and rewarding to see other artists growing, selling and working together to create a rich art community." He loves to make a sale for the other exhibiting artists, and mentors them based on his years of experience in marketing his work: labels, price ranges, artist statements, audience interactions and social media.

For more than a year Seabolt has served as a member of the Rock Island Arts Advisory Council. He also helps with MidCoast programming and is responsible for the outreach to Waking Robots, winners of the most recent Rock Island Brewing Company Battle of the Bands, who will play at the June 24 BASH! Final Friday concert outside Bucktown on June 24. His positive grassroots outlook embodies the visual arts service mission of MidCoast, and we encourage you to stroll the second floor Artists Market Gallery for local varied and affordable art.

~ Sherry

Revive 2 Call for Entries

Revive 2 is a juried exhibition of upcycled, recycled and assembled art. Two $100 awards will be presented. Questions? Contact info@midcoast.org.

June 25	Revive 2 Call for Entry deadline
July 9 - Aug 26	Revive 2 juried exhibition of upcycled, recycled and assembled art
Aug 26	Revive 2 closing reception and awards

MidCoast Gallery West / The ARTery

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

Kathleen Washington's exhibition Black Lives Matter runs July through August. The opening reception will take place Friday, July 8, 6-9 p.m.

by Kathleen Washington

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.

Margery Franklin, Twin Rivers Photography
through July


	by Margery Franklin

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.

Bucktown Center for the Arts

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

ArtWorks Expo High School Pastel Competition Exhibition

through June 30


	Rock Island High School students working on First Place pastel photo by Jack Wilhoit, Worldly Views

Art as a team sport? Teams from nine area high schools (Alleman, Assumption, Davenport's Central, North and West, Moline, North Scott, Rivermont Collegiate and Rock Island) have created mural-sized pastel drawings in competition for prize awards for their art departments. The 2016 juror is Heidi Draley-McFall, and artist mentor was Paul Lange. Visitors are encouraged to vote for the $150 People's Choice Award, which will be tallied at 3 p.m. on June 24. All entries are on exhibit during June in the MidCoast Gallery at Bucktown Center for the Arts.

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


	Larry Devilbiss at 2016 ArtWorks Expo High School Pastel Competition photo by Jack Wilhoit, Worldly Views

As part of the 8:30 p.m. reception for the ArtWorks Expo high school pastel competition, we wish to recognize retiring art teacher Larry Devilbiss. He taught Art for the Davenport Schools for 27 years. While at Davenport West for the last 11 years, he was the lead teacher for the MidCoast Pastel Competition team. Twenty or so years ago, he was a judge for the pastel competition along with Bill Hannan.

As one of the founding members of the Riverssance Festival of Fine Art, he served as its director for over 20 years, including five under the MidCoast mantle. He also was one of the early members of MidCoast working with a number of venues, including director of the Great Mask Auction & Halloween Bash and the organization's early digital presence on web sites. He designed and directed the MidCoast Art-O-Mobile program that for several years presented art education on a remodeled school bus to grade schools in a 25 mile radius of the Quad Cities. He was the first acting President of the MidCoast Fine Arts Board of Directors and served on the board for a number of years.

Devilbiss has a BA in Art Education from St. Ambrose and a MS in Instructional Technology from Western Illinois. In addition, he has created and sold his own artwork throughout the country and he is a member of the Iowa Watercolor Society.

Thank you for your many visual art contributions Larry Devilbiss!


	Dean Kugler

For Bereskin Fine Art Gallery and Studio there will be a reception for Dean Kugler's show, Animal Farm. Nationally recognized for his bold sculptures of the human form, Kugler was inspired to explore the world of animals after seeing gallery owner Pat Bereskin's portrait of a cow. The show will run through July 23.

Goodwill of the Heartland Exhibition, Second Floor Casement

through July

The Quad Cities SKILLS Day Habilitation program participants worked together to complete multiple art projects to have in this display. Participants helped staff to repurpose everyday items into works of art. You'll see wild coffee filter art, Pop Art inspired smiling G's and the made-from-nature Goodwill sign. Take a walk through this multicultural experience and enjoy versions of Chinese lanterns, an African shield and masks, and Native American dream catchers.

Goodwill of the Heartland offers SKILLS Day Habilitation services to help individuals with disabilities and other barriers to become more involved in their communities and increase their independence. SKILLS stands for Socialization, Knowledge, Integration, Leisure, Life Skills and Support, which are considered the key elements of our programming.

Goodwill SKILLS Day Habilitation services are offered in Burlington, Cedar Rapids, Clinton and Iowa City as well. Goodwill programs are funded using a variety of resources including Medicaid funding, Regional Funding and profits from our Goodwill retail stores.

If you would like more information on the Goodwill SKILLS Day Habilitation Program please feel free to contact Lead Day Habilitation Specialist; Sarah Cetanyan at 563-484-3737 or scetanyan@goodwillheartland.org.

Goodwill of the Heartland Exhibition, second floor

Save the Date: July events

July 8, 6-9 p.m.	Kathleen Washington's exhibition Black Lives Matter opens
July 9	Revive 2 exhibit begins
July 29-30	Plein Air Art Fair for Bix Street Fest, as well as Lights, Lines and Waves, an exhibition by Barry Sharp at Bereskin Fine Art Gallery and Studio

For Rent: Bucktown Center for the Arts, Suite 101

We bid a fond au revoir to Juliet Stock who has closed her Vintage Home and Art shop to spend more time on her own art production and with her family. Her move opens to a visual artist (or artists) a 351 square-foot space with valuable Second Street frontage. Occupancy will open in July. The optimum leaser will be able to manage a successful blend of on-site studio practice and gallery display.

The lease includes electricity, heat and air, security and fire monitors, access to cleaned restrooms and a communal custodial sink (no sink in suite). Most importantly, the occupant joins a committed group of artists who share dedication to artistic quality and business success.

Leasers are required to have their business open during Bucktown business hours: Wednesdays through Saturdays, 11 a.m. - 6 p.m. They're expected to join monthly meetings and be involved and pitch in on building programming, such as Third Thursdays and Final Fridays when business hours extend to 9 p.m. The suite will be rented on a monthly basis with a 2016 contract: $234 per month with a $234 damage deposit.

For inquiries contact info@midcoast.org, or 563-424-1210.

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.