BY LORI ILLNER GREENE
FORT MADISON - The Art Center is switching from pencil work in September to painting in October. Oil and Water opens on Friday, October 7th with an Opening Reception from 5pm to 7pm. This lovely exhibit features work by two sisters-in-law, Carol Swetye Janosik of Fort Madison, Iowa and Christine White Swetye of Selem, Ohio, who share a love of art and color which plays out in their watercolors and oil paintings.
They say of their art practice: "While our personalities, media, and styles are different they also complement one another. We encourage each other to grow and to learn and to express and develop our own unique style. We are sisters in art."
Living in different states they spoke by phone often, but didn't notice they had a mutual love of color and art until 2012 when they took a class offered by Pat Wynn, an oil painter and instructor in Fort Madison. Thoroughly enjoying it, they repeated the experience in 2019. "We had so much fun that week that we swore to do it every chance we got. We became brave and tried new things ... We learned to laugh at our disasters and urged each other to try something outside our comfort zones." It was a watercolor plein air class in Tubac, Arizona that cemented their painting relationship and pushed them to grow as artists. They have painted together in variety of states and locales saying of the experiences, "We always look forward to the next time we’re together and can paint and sketch."
Lunch ala Art the Art Center's monthly artist gallery talk, and FINALE the free musical concert series will both be held on Friday, October 28th in connection with this exhibition. Remember to get your reservations in by October 26th for the luncheon artist talk to be held at noon on FINALE is 7pm to 9pm featuring singer/songwriter Tommy Caruso with open mic during the intermission. Poets, musicians, and other performance artists are encouraged to come and take advantage of the open mic time.
This exhibition will be on display from Oct 7 - Oct 30 in the Main Gallery. We thank month's sponsor DuPont for their generous financial support of this exhibition.
Classes and Creative Time at the Art Center
We hope to see you at the Art Center this month! Besides our monthly Main Gallery exhibition, there are several classes available. Please call 319-372-3996 to register in advance for all classes so we can have enough supplies on hand.
For adults: Raku Pottery, Paper Quilling, Silk Scarf Dyeing, and Watercolors fine arts instruction available at the Art Center this month.
Thursday, Oct 13 5:30pm-8:30pm Raku Pottery $45
Wednesday, Oct 19 6:30pm-8:30pm Paper Quilling $10
Saturday, Oct 22 1pm-3pm Silk Scarf Dyeing $25
Wednesday, Oct 26 5:30pm-8:30pm $45
For Kids check out our Saturday Spooktacular to be held Saturday, October 29th from 10:30am until noon with creative time, stories, snacks and face painting. PLEASE NOTE: Younger children must have already attended Kindergarten or be accompanied by an adult at all times.
Keep track of the variety of classes available on our website
fortmadisonart.com or by following us on Facebook.
The Art Center partners up with The Madison to provide creative time for Residents
The Art Center is going to provide creative time at The Madison each month for Residents that would like to participate. Conversations first began last year between Brian Wright, a Madison employee at the time, and FMAAA Art Center Director, Lori Illner Greene to come up with some programming options for Residents and Community members alike to enjoy. A December guided painting class at the Newberry Center was well attended. This summer, conversations resumed, now driven by Shelly Gregory of The Madison. Gregory reached out to see if she could arrange regular visits from Art Center instructors to provide creative opportunities at the Madison facility. Illner Greene went to the Madison in July to give an artist talk about her then currently installed art exhibition, Fragility and Impermanence. She met with Gregory after the talk to review some of the possible ideas local artist, Diane Jennings of Burlington, initially proposed for potential programming. They have since agreed on ideas to take them through the next few months, and will continue to evaluate the program for what can be improved in the new year.
In addition to working with The Madison, Illner Greene notes that Residents from the Kensington and Sunnybrook both recently visited the Art Center. A few weeks ago, a group from the Kensington glazed ceramics. After, staff took supplies back to Kensington to do glazing with those who couldn't make it for the outing. The pieces will be returned when they are done and the Art Center will include them with the others to be fired. A small group from Sunnybrook visited the Art Center earlier this summer for an outing.
If you would like to arrange a visit for your group, or set up at time for glazing ceramics or some other creative activity, please reach out to Lori Illner Greene at
fortmadisonart@gmail.com or by calling the Art Center at the number noted above.
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