Dear Friends,
As of May 31, The Galena Center for the Arts completed seven years of operation. It’s been an exciting period of growth and growing relationships, and, while we are temporarily set back due to Covid-19, we trust that in time we will once again be vital.
We at the Center have rejoiced in gathering the community together as members of celebratory opening receptions and enthusiastic performance audiences, and we all thrive on that sense of community. Obviously, it’s not safe to physically draw people together right now, but there can still be a sense of community while separately enjoying the arts. The Center for the Arts will be even more important as society again begins to function, and people seek out love, communion and beauty in the world.
This is an incredibly hard time for the Arts, especially performing Arts. Statistics show that of all the non-profit sectors, the Arts have taken the biggest hit. The Center’s monthly income has declined by more than 75% in the last three months, but the bills still need to be paid. We’re working on the challenge, writing for grants when possible, and gratefully accepting all help that comes our way.
In the meanwhile, we are creating virtual art. Patricia Lehnhardt, our Gallery Manager, is branching out from our norm of indoor art exhibits, and is in the process of creating a virtual visual art show appropriately titled “Branching Out”. We are beginning to record some of our Songwriters, and will soon be sharing those links. My heart was touched when I opened an unsolicited donation from a friend of the Center, with a note that said “What you do is good for the soul”. We will continue.
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Please help us to advance our mission to elevate and celebrate regional arts and artists.
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You may click on
This Link
to donate online, or send your check to:
The Galena Center for the Arts, 219 Summit Street, Galena, IL 61036.
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Thank You to
Our Corporate Members
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As we thank our Corporate Members this month, we also encourage your patronage and support for these local organizations. Their contributions toward the Arts are much appreciated and have enabled our staff and volunteers to deliver the Center's many art, music, theatre, and other events these past seven years.
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- 2 Preserve Arts, Inc.
- Best of Galena
- Blaum Bros. Distilling Co.
- Chestnut Mountain Resort
- Culver’s of Galena
- DeSoto House Hotel *
- Dupaco Community Credit Union
- Eagle Ridge Resort and Spa
- Eaton Financial Advisors
- Exact Pest Solutions
- First Community Bank of Galena
- Galena Gazette Publications, Inc.
- Greater Galena Marketing Inc.
- GT Mobility/Don Gereau *
- Honkamp Krueger Financial Services
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- Illinois Bank & Trust *
- In Touch With Nature/Barbara Baird
- Jail Hill Inn
- Jo-Carroll Energy, Inc.
- Michael Johnson Photography
- MJ Properties LLC *
- Mount Hope Vineyard Farm *
- Outside the Lines Art Gallery
- Paul Chase Graphic Guitars *
- Prairie Ridge of Galena
- Prairie Works, Inc.
- SullivanLavacek Enterprises*
- U.S. Bank
- Willis Computer Solutions Inc.
- Woodbine Bend Golf Course and Restaurant
- The Workshop
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* Charter Corporate Members Since 2016
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Honoring Charlene Price
for Ten Years of Service
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The VISION2020 GALENA survey, taken in 2010, showed that the community was interested in an art and performance center.
Committees started working on this soon after, and Charlene Price was always an enthusiastic participant.
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She has worked tirelessly to encourage and support the arts, while also being an amazing artist herself.
She will now be leaving the board of directors of the Galena Center for the Arts, and we will miss her. We trust she will still be creating artwork, exhibiting her paintings, and supporting the arts. Thank you so much, Charlene, for your dedication to the arts.
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Our galleries are closed until further notice.
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Eclectic Mix:
The Art of Barbara Heitzman
Barbara Heitzman, a celebrated painter from Dubuque, Iowa is the solo artist in our Special Exhibit Gallery. She works both in pastel and cold wax and oil. Going beyond realistic local color, she is able to portray a mood or feeling in her own unique way. She and Larissa Distler worked together on this film to give you a glimpse of the work that is now in the gallery.
We are posting images of Barbara’s work on our FaceBook page also.
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In a few weeks we will be offering private showings of the Barbara Heitzman exhibit at the Center, on an appointment only basis, once it is safe to do so.
for more information.
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The artwork in our gallery is getting lonely. Here are some of the pieces displayed in the current exhibit, which few patrons were able to witness in person.
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Orange You Glad You Saw It
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Abstract Bronze
bronze
Charles Fach
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Main Line, Storm Front, The Cosmos
slab construction, raku-fired pottery
Richard Hess
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O’s and Arrows
welded steel
John Martinson
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Angel
stainless steel
Gail Chavenelle
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Forgotten Beauty
photograph on canvas
Brent Becker
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Lagoon—Spring Snow
watercolor
Brain McCormick
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Web Links for Regional Artists
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Many artists have embraced technology and would like to share their websites, newsletters, and Facebook pages.
Here are a few of them:
Our website also has artists profiles if you had not had a chance to peruse it in the past.
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Regional Visual Artists
In the Studio
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What are the Visual Artists Doing?
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Barbara spent the winter in southern Texas photographing birds. Out in the wild with a telephoto lens created the perfect social distancing. Before things were curtailed, she attended the
Laredo Birding Festival
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and a photo shoot at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. She took a 32-hour course in ‘Certified Interpretive Guide Training,’ a Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program,
and photographed heron and
egrets in the midst of nesting activities at Bent Oaks Rookery Park.
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Catherine is a bead embroidery and wildlife artist, who set the beads and paints aside for a time to pull out her sewing machine to make a few masks for family and friends, and is also sewing lots of spring blouses and cloth napkins.
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Connie keeps the creative spirit alive by drawing and painting small pieces of art and displaying them on her mini art gallery—the perfect place—her refrigerator!
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Ten artists rent studios at the Center in former exam rooms when the building served as a medical center. Many of us remember those rooms—not always in a good way. They have been transformed into retreat and creative spaces, utilizing the cabinets and sinks that remain. They each have wall space outside their door to display their work, which is part of The Artists Circle.
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Rosemaling in various styles
Janet Eggleston
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Sunflowers
needle felted wool
Larissa Distler
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Ballet Slippers
watercolor and ink
Mackenze Stephenson
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Springtime Poppies in Bloom
oil
Cathy Dorwick
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High Desert Drama
acrylic on canvas paper
Sheila Haman
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Maureen is spending lots of time in her studio working on a series incorporating words, and finding solace and inspiration in the great outdoors.
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Nanette gives us a glimpse of her studio in a drawing which conveys the effect of a cozy, well lit drawing board that is in a relatively dark basement setting. She has made it for a theme show at Freeport Art Museum this summer, "A Sense of Place”.
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Joe is busy painting in his studio on rainy days (and Mondays, perhaps…)
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Lenny Wayne
We videoed this set of songs by Lenny Wayne, and plan to record other songwriters in the next few weeks. We miss hearing live concerts with our many talented songwriters, but will virtually share their music with you.
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We hope you enjoy these classical musicians having fun with Bolero, by Maurice Ravel.
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Summit Street Singers
Fever River Voices
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Eric Whitacre
, a modern classical composer, created the idea of a virtual chorus in 2010. He now is composing music during the pandemic, and inviting all of us to be a part of his choir. The rehearsals are wonderful, starting with a warm-up, and even include sectionals, as well as interpretation and group rehearsals. This is close to a choral rehearsal experience.
It’s too late to join his latest recording of “Sing Gently”, a piece he wrote in April, as a response to the pandemic. However, you can still access the rehearsals and learn the song. (Carole was able to participate in the recording, as one of over 1700 singers from all over the world.)
Go to
https://virtualchoir6.com/thinktank
to learn more about Eric Whitacre, to learn more about singing and rehearsing, and to be able to sing along with rehearsals with Eric. Maybe we should “Sing Gently” when the pandemic is over, and it is safe to sing together again. Keep singing!
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Harrison Sheckler
, from Charles City, Iowa, gathered 300 people from 15 countries to virtually perform 'You'll Never Walk Alone' from 'Carousel,' a Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.
Sheckler, who is currently working on his Masters degree in piano performance at the Brooklyn College Conservatory of Music, says
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he spent over 200 hours promoting, organizing submissions, and video editing the project.
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Lost in Art on the Internet
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Funny how one thing leads to another. Sometimes it pops up on Facebook, and sometimes in a newsletter the attacks our eye. In
this case, the Dali Museum in Florida led to the Victoria and Albert museum in London for a collaborative connection to a fashion designer—which then led to a Japanese exhibit on YouTube. Check these out, if they are of interest. Who knows where the journey will take you.
-also-
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Dali Museum
—
you can view the collection, take a virtual tour of the museum, listen to an audio tour about the surrealism movement, involving twenty artists in "Midnight in Paris, 1929.” Lots of things to explore
here
.
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Elsa Schiaparelli was
a couture fashion designer in the early 20th century known for her surreal creations sometimes collaborating with Salvador Dali. A short video of her
work
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And while at the
V & A explore the
collections
ranging from paintings to opera to wedding dresses, and much more.
And perhaps the virtual exhibit of Kimono: Kyoto to Catwalk
here
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Figure Drawing
Postponed until it's safe
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Cancelled for June
All River Road Talent hosts a monthly art drive the first weekend of each month. All River Road Talent is a synergy of artists building a cultural and visitor awareness of artistic talent in the Galena region of Northwest Illinois.
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Arts Work Fund
Gail Chavenelle
Chicago Community Foundation
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Larissa Distler
Barbara and Glyn Evans
Grant Central
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Upright floor vacuum cleaner
if you have a vacuum to donate. Thank you.
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Support us with AmazonSmile Foundation Donations
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We invite you to show your support for the Center when shopping on Amazon. We are now established as a charitable organization for contributions via the AmazonSmile Foundation. The Foundation will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to us whenever you designate the Center as the charitable organization of your choice.
Here’s how to support the Center:
- Visit smile.amazon.com (you need to follow this step each time you designate donations).
- Log in with your regular Amazon account information.
- Select “Galena Center For The Arts Inc” as your charitable organization choice.
- Begin shopping.
Thank you for your support! We truly appreciate your thinking of us when shopping with Amazon!
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Become a Member
Did you know you can become a member online?
Click
HERE
for information about our membership program.
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Please help us to advance our mission to elevate and celebrate regional arts and artists.
You may click on
This Link
to donate online, or send your check to:
The Galena Center for the Arts, 219 Summit Street, Galena, IL 61036.
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We'll advise when we need volunteers to staff again.
Gallery Volunteers
Volunteering is good for the soul, and it really helps us to keep the gallery open four days a week.
Gallery hours are 11-4 pm for the spring and summer seasons.
Our
desk volunteers greet visitors, provide an introduction to the Center, accept payments for art and gift shop items (involves writing receipts, calculating tax, and processing online credit card transactions), and answer phone calls.
Please check out the available dates, choose a shift that works for you, and fill out the information at the bottom of the page.
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After you fill in the form be
sure to click the “Sign up to volunteer” button at the bottom before you leave.
Thanks for all your valuable time and talents to share artwork with our visitors.
If you need help signing up, just call
779-214-0261
and we can assist you.
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Please forward our newsletter to your friends and relatives. They can click below to receive their own monthly update. Thanks for sharing our news with others!
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This program is partially
supported by a grant from the
Illinois Arts Council Agency
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Don't forget to "Like" the Galena Center for the Arts on
Facebook
Have a preferred email address? Please let us know.
Thanks so much for your support of the Galena Center for the Arts!
Newsletter produced by Dennis Waltman
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