Nifty, Gifty (and Under Fifty)

Our little gallery is chock full of colorful, hand-crafted, artful offerings from our co-op members, with new work coming in weekly through the holidays. We now have hand knits and pocket-sized sketchbooks, new jewelry items and pottery, ornaments and stuffies, and a fresh batch of kid-crafted tree jewelry and nativities from Art & Company. It's all quite nifty, definitely gifty, and most is priced well under $50. Come browse, and make it a handmade holiday.

All Member Fall Show

Our All-Member Fall Show opens November 1st at artWorks. Featured artists include Jane Case Vickers, Peggy Pirro, Joe Smith, Claire Helfrich and Lisa Dayvolt, along with the young artists of Patchwork Central's Art & Company.

We snapped some pictures in the process of setting up the new show. More items will be added following the annual Patchwork Holiday Art Sale that takes place Saturday, November 8th, from 10-3 at 100 Washington Avenue in downtown Evansville.

Organica

The artWorks Gallery September exhibit features art created by members from
recycled, re-purposed and eco-friendly materials.

Featured are pottery by Joe Smith, found-object pendants and repurposed
sweater Monsters by Jane Case Vickers, shadowbox assemblages by Amy Rich,
rope-and-bead tree jewelery by the children of Patchwork's Art & Company,
and tattered fabric pieces and handmade notebooks by PS Pirro.

The show will be up in the gallery at 116 Washington Avenue
through mid-October.

The Human Garden: Photography by Calvin Kimbrough

Through June at artWorks.

Photography at artWorks.

This month at artWorks: The Human Garden: Photographs by Calvin Kimbrough.

We'll post images of some of these engaging photographs as soon as your friendly blogger can get down to the gallery with her camera. Meantime, the vital details (courtesy of co-op member Tom Loesch, who hung the show this past week):

Kimbrough was one of the founders of Patchwork Central, and documented the early years of its outreach to neighborhood children through art and garden programs. The photos are beautiful, large-format (many are printed on foam core and measure 20"x24") and affordably priced. Proceeds benefit the Arts & Smarts Program at Patchwork.

Tom reminds you that Mondays are an especially good day to visit us, because the River City Food Co-op (our community grocer with whom we share space in the White House next to Patchwork) offers organic, vegetarian lunches every Monday from 11 am to 4 pm. It's a relaxed social affair, and you can dine right in the gallery.

Come see us soon.

Spring Sale

Come see what we've got going on at artWorks Gallery through May: new jewelry and pottery, collage works and critter portraits, handmade cards and unique gift items, and all kinds of ceramic garden tags made by the Patchwork Art & Company kids.

It's our all-member spring show, with fresh work by Jane Vickers, Joe Smith, Joyse Rivers, Peggy Pirro, Claire Helfrich, Billy Hedel, and our newest artWorks member, Amy Rich. We're in the salon at the River City Food Co-op. Wander on over!

Portraits

Through Easter: artWorks Gallery welcomes Spring with a new exhibit, Portraits. Featured are portraits in clay by Joe Smith, and portraits in pastel and acrylic by Billy Hedel.



The Smith sculptures are from a series called Artrelief that has been traveling the country since January of this year. Hedel's work includes a selection of paintings from his Faces of Katrina series, which has been on exhibit throughout the Tri-State area for the past two years.

The gallery is pleased to include a number of Hedel's popular miniature tree portraits, as well.

Come visit us in the front parlor of the River City Food Co-op at 116 Washington Avenue in downtown Evansville. We're open daily. For hours and times, see the sidebar. For more information, call 401-7301.

4 Art Dolls Opening

The gallery at showtime: three dolls by Amy Rich await the arrival of guests...










(left) Two goddess sculptures of fabric and raku with ephemera by Jenny Smith, and one of Peggy Pirro's painted ladies...

(right) A gallery visitor is directed inside by a Jane Case Vickers wall puppet.

(below) A happy-faced Pirro doll and a Squishy from Vickers relax together. On the table, stoneware goblets by Joe Smith and a handmade journal by Leah Eads.

Thank you to all who came in from the cold for a cup of hot Chai (served in mugs by Joe Smith) and a visit with all of our fabulous dolls (including the more camera-shy ones).

If you missed the opening, you can still see this collection before it moves on at the end of February. As always, your continued support of artWorks is much appreciated.

Four Art Dolls (and their Art Dolls)

Amy Rich, Peggy Pirro, Jenny Smith and Jane Case Vickers will be showing their Art Dolls in the gallery January 13 through February 29, with an opening reception Sunday, January 13, from 2-4 p.m.

dolls above by Jenny Smith and Peggy Pirro

Amy is a former Patchwork Mennonite Service Volunteer, now living in Cincinnati. Her found-object artwork often graced the walls of Patchwork during her years in Evansville, and we're really excited to be able to include her in this show.

Peggy is an artWorks member whose collage and assemblage work has been featured in the gallery throughout 2007.

Jenny has been creating and showing her goddess soft sculptures for just over a year, both at artWorks and in Arts Council shows throughout Evansville. Last year one of her dolls received an award at the Arts Council's Inspired Women in Art show at Deaconess Hospital.

Jane creates much of the found object jewelry on display at artWorks, and she was instrumental in bringing the Guatemalan Trunk Show to the gallery this past fall. She is director of the children's art program at Patchwork.