The "Value Added" Exhibition opened Thursday at the University of Illinois Springfield's Visual Art Gallery.
The exhibition features mixed media sculptures by Patrick Collier. The event also opened with a reception and talk by Collier.
"Value Added" is a term used in agriculture and other industries to describe a marketing and production strategy."
"This is the one time you can come out to the exhibition and see and meet the artist and talk to them about their work," Director of the UIS Visual Arts Gallery Jeff Robinson said.
The exhibition will run until October 17th.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on September 26, 2019.
Watch the story online.
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Art. Show all posts
Friday, September 27, 2019
Monday, February 18, 2019
Art Express gives people with dementia creative outlet
An art expression class for people with dementia and their care partners learned of a new way of creating art that even one who balks at creativity may like.
University of Illinois Springfield graduate student Cheyenne Snodgrass told people gathered Wednesday afternoon for the Art Express class at Hope Presbyterian Church how they would work on abstract painting using acrylic paints and palette knives that day.
Established in 2012, the Art Express class is co-hosted by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Neuroscience Center and the University of Illinois Springfield Human Development Counseling Program.
Art Express gives people with dementia an outlet to creatively express themselves without needing memory, management or verbal communications skills. It promotes creativity, self-expression, social engagement and autonomy in a supportive environment. Its goal isn’t to produce beautiful artwork, but that can be a by-product.
Meeting weekly for a 2-hour session on a semester basis, the class is led by Karen Lee, UIS clinical instructor of Human Development Counseling, and Maggie Schaver of the Neuroscience Institute, SIU School of Medicine.
Graduate students from the UIS Human Development Counseling Program, community and church volunteers also assist with the class, partnering with individual participants.
“I was out at UIS, and I had this idea that it would be fun to bring some of my graduate students with me so that they could get experience in art therapy and working with this population,” said Lee, a trained art therapist.
UIS graduate student Rachel Stewart was helping a woman Wednesday with the painting project, first asking her if she wanted to paint on a big piece of paper or a smaller one. “You get to pick,” Stewart said. “What colors are your favorite colors?”
Stewart is in her second semester helping with Art Express. “I just really like working with people with dementia. I think they’re super honest, and they’re just genuine, and I like interacting with them and helping them to feel normal, even if it’s just for the two hours that we’re here,” Stewart said.
This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on February 16, 2019.
Read the entire article online.
University of Illinois Springfield graduate student Cheyenne Snodgrass told people gathered Wednesday afternoon for the Art Express class at Hope Presbyterian Church how they would work on abstract painting using acrylic paints and palette knives that day.
Established in 2012, the Art Express class is co-hosted by Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, Neuroscience Center and the University of Illinois Springfield Human Development Counseling Program.
Art Express gives people with dementia an outlet to creatively express themselves without needing memory, management or verbal communications skills. It promotes creativity, self-expression, social engagement and autonomy in a supportive environment. Its goal isn’t to produce beautiful artwork, but that can be a by-product.
Meeting weekly for a 2-hour session on a semester basis, the class is led by Karen Lee, UIS clinical instructor of Human Development Counseling, and Maggie Schaver of the Neuroscience Institute, SIU School of Medicine.
Graduate students from the UIS Human Development Counseling Program, community and church volunteers also assist with the class, partnering with individual participants.
“I was out at UIS, and I had this idea that it would be fun to bring some of my graduate students with me so that they could get experience in art therapy and working with this population,” said Lee, a trained art therapist.
UIS graduate student Rachel Stewart was helping a woman Wednesday with the painting project, first asking her if she wanted to paint on a big piece of paper or a smaller one. “You get to pick,” Stewart said. “What colors are your favorite colors?”
Stewart is in her second semester helping with Art Express. “I just really like working with people with dementia. I think they’re super honest, and they’re just genuine, and I like interacting with them and helping them to feel normal, even if it’s just for the two hours that we’re here,” Stewart said.
This story appeared in The State Journal-Register on February 16, 2019.
Read the entire article online.
Thursday, August 2, 2018
Interiority gets exteriorized at UIS Gallery
A smiley-face pin balanced on a wall-mounted thermostat; an infant’s onesie reflected in an antique mirror; an office lamp propping open a window shade.
The experience of walking through “Interior Space” – an installation which opened July 26 at University of Illinois Springfield’s Visual Arts Gallery – is something like wandering into a stranger’s sparse attic or onto the set of a dream sequence in a 1960s Italian film.
The work, by Allyson Packer, is spread throughout the entire gallery (occasionally even beyond its physical boundaries).
Packer, who is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a summer resident in the Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists program. Although at first glance it might seem like there is little or nothing on display, a little hunting gradually reveals a bounty of unlikely objects, including the ones described above, many of them displayed in even less likely ways.
The items, distributed throughout the space with deceptive precision and wit, were all borrowed from Springfield residents by Packer for the purpose of the exhibition.
Also at the UIS gallery on July 26 was a one-night-only multichannel audio installation by Normal, Illinois-based artist and composer ZW Buckley, entitled “faith comes by hearing.”
Buckley described the work as “exploring the themes of transience and permanence within Springfield’s Enos Park neighborhood.”
This article appeared in the Illinois Times on August 1, 2018.
Read the entire article online.
The experience of walking through “Interior Space” – an installation which opened July 26 at University of Illinois Springfield’s Visual Arts Gallery – is something like wandering into a stranger’s sparse attic or onto the set of a dream sequence in a 1960s Italian film.
The work, by Allyson Packer, is spread throughout the entire gallery (occasionally even beyond its physical boundaries).
Packer, who is from Albuquerque, New Mexico, is a summer resident in the Enos Park Residency for Visual Artists program. Although at first glance it might seem like there is little or nothing on display, a little hunting gradually reveals a bounty of unlikely objects, including the ones described above, many of them displayed in even less likely ways.
The items, distributed throughout the space with deceptive precision and wit, were all borrowed from Springfield residents by Packer for the purpose of the exhibition.
Also at the UIS gallery on July 26 was a one-night-only multichannel audio installation by Normal, Illinois-based artist and composer ZW Buckley, entitled “faith comes by hearing.”
Buckley described the work as “exploring the themes of transience and permanence within Springfield’s Enos Park neighborhood.”
This article appeared in the Illinois Times on August 1, 2018.
Read the entire article online.
Monday, March 6, 2017
34,000 Pillows casting a spotlight on immigration reform
“34,000 Pillows” at UIS are helping to cast a spotlight on immigration reform.
The new exhibit, featuring their latest project, "34,000 Pillows", opened at the University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery Thursday.
It's titled, Safe Harbor, Work By Diaz Lewis, and was developed in response to the congressional mandate enforcing immigration and customs enforcement to detain at least 34,000 immigrants every day in over 250 private prisons and county jails across the country.
"Safe harbor; A harbor is a place where a ship can come into and be safe during a storm, and that's what we're hoping for the immigrant community as well," artist Cara Megan Lewis said.
The exhibit will run through Thursday, April 13. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on March 2, 2017.
Watch the story online.
The new exhibit, featuring their latest project, "34,000 Pillows", opened at the University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery Thursday.
It's titled, Safe Harbor, Work By Diaz Lewis, and was developed in response to the congressional mandate enforcing immigration and customs enforcement to detain at least 34,000 immigrants every day in over 250 private prisons and county jails across the country.
"Safe harbor; A harbor is a place where a ship can come into and be safe during a storm, and that's what we're hoping for the immigrant community as well," artist Cara Megan Lewis said.
The exhibit will run through Thursday, April 13. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This story aired on WICS Newschannel 20 on March 2, 2017.
Watch the story online.
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Visual Arts Gallery: Safe Harbor: Work by Diaz Lewis Opening Reception
The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery presents "Safe Harbor: Work by Diaz Lewis". Diaz Lewis - the collaborative duo comprised of Alejandro Figueredo Diaz-Perera and Cara Megan Lewis - creates art that address themes of immigration and prompts social change.
The exhibit, featuring their latest project, "34,000 Pillows", will open with a reception on Thursday, March 2 and run through Thursday, April 13.
In conjunction with their exhibition reception, Diaz Lewis will present a UIS Engaged Citizen Common Experience (ECCE) lecture titled "Diaz Lewis: Artivism and Immigration Reform" on March 2 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium.
Their talk will center on "34,000 Pillows" which was developed in response to the Congressional "detention-bed mandate," a statutory quota that enforces Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain at least 34,000 immigrants every day in over 250 private prisons and county jails across the country.
To materialize the human impact of the mandate, Diaz Lewis is creating a pillow to represent every designated bed and each immigrant detained as a result of the mandate. The pillows are comprised of articles of clothing donated by undocumented immigrants, prior detainees, and their allies. In an attempt to symbolically "buy back" the 34,000 beds for one single day, 100% of the funds raised from sales of the pillows are going towards alternatives to the bed mandate, and organizations whose efforts restore human dignity such as Human Rights Watch and Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants.
"Safe Harbor: Work by Diaz Lewis" prompts participation from our campus community and beyond. "34,000 Pillows" is an open invitation to anyone who wants to contribute to the process by creating a pillow design, donating clothing, deconstructing clothing, or purchasing a pillow. Since the project's inception in early 2016, over 300 students and individuals have participated in the project by bringing donations of materials and participating in the creation of pillow designs. A design workstation will be located directly outside of the UIS Visual Arts Gallery throughout the exhibition run and is open to the public.
This story appeared in The Illinois Times on March 2, 2017.
Read the entire article online.
The exhibit, featuring their latest project, "34,000 Pillows", will open with a reception on Thursday, March 2 and run through Thursday, April 13.
In conjunction with their exhibition reception, Diaz Lewis will present a UIS Engaged Citizen Common Experience (ECCE) lecture titled "Diaz Lewis: Artivism and Immigration Reform" on March 2 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. in Brookens Auditorium.
Their talk will center on "34,000 Pillows" which was developed in response to the Congressional "detention-bed mandate," a statutory quota that enforces Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain at least 34,000 immigrants every day in over 250 private prisons and county jails across the country.
To materialize the human impact of the mandate, Diaz Lewis is creating a pillow to represent every designated bed and each immigrant detained as a result of the mandate. The pillows are comprised of articles of clothing donated by undocumented immigrants, prior detainees, and their allies. In an attempt to symbolically "buy back" the 34,000 beds for one single day, 100% of the funds raised from sales of the pillows are going towards alternatives to the bed mandate, and organizations whose efforts restore human dignity such as Human Rights Watch and Interfaith Committee for Detained Immigrants.
"Safe Harbor: Work by Diaz Lewis" prompts participation from our campus community and beyond. "34,000 Pillows" is an open invitation to anyone who wants to contribute to the process by creating a pillow design, donating clothing, deconstructing clothing, or purchasing a pillow. Since the project's inception in early 2016, over 300 students and individuals have participated in the project by bringing donations of materials and participating in the creation of pillow designs. A design workstation will be located directly outside of the UIS Visual Arts Gallery throughout the exhibition run and is open to the public.
This story appeared in The Illinois Times on March 2, 2017.
Read the entire article online.
Friday, February 10, 2017
Oblique strategies: UIS Gallery exhibit pushes boundaries of ceramics
The current exhibit at the consistently innovative University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery is not your grandmother’s ceramics display.
A series of evocative, colorful and otherworldly shapes, the elegant “Oblique Frontiers” offers hints of an alternate reality of tactile beauty and mysterious utility.
Artist Tyler Lotz is a professor of ceramics at the Illinois State University College of Fine Arts in Normal. His work has been displayed throughout the United States as well as in prominent exhibits in France, Poland and Korea.
Described by Lotz in an artist’s statement as being “influenced by both natural and mediated landscapes, a longing for the wilderness, and failed attempts to conjure personal experiences in the landscape,” the work in “Oblique Frontiers” is mesmerizing and indelible.
“I had never seen his work in person,” said UIS Visual Arts Gallery manager Allison Lacher. “When it arrived here I was very impressed. While we were hanging the show, I fell in love with it. I keep calling it a gorgeous show and a stunning show.”
Interestingly, one of the pieces featured in the show, ‘switchback,’ was identified by Lotz during his artist talk at Brookens Auditorium on Jan. 26 as being the one the artist was most unsure about. “That piece is easily my favorite,” Lacher said.
“Oblique Frontiers” will remain on display through Feb. 16.
This article appeared in the Illinois Times on February 10, 2017.
Read the entire article online.
A series of evocative, colorful and otherworldly shapes, the elegant “Oblique Frontiers” offers hints of an alternate reality of tactile beauty and mysterious utility.
Artist Tyler Lotz is a professor of ceramics at the Illinois State University College of Fine Arts in Normal. His work has been displayed throughout the United States as well as in prominent exhibits in France, Poland and Korea.
Described by Lotz in an artist’s statement as being “influenced by both natural and mediated landscapes, a longing for the wilderness, and failed attempts to conjure personal experiences in the landscape,” the work in “Oblique Frontiers” is mesmerizing and indelible.
“I had never seen his work in person,” said UIS Visual Arts Gallery manager Allison Lacher. “When it arrived here I was very impressed. While we were hanging the show, I fell in love with it. I keep calling it a gorgeous show and a stunning show.”
Interestingly, one of the pieces featured in the show, ‘switchback,’ was identified by Lotz during his artist talk at Brookens Auditorium on Jan. 26 as being the one the artist was most unsure about. “That piece is easily my favorite,” Lacher said.
“Oblique Frontiers” will remain on display through Feb. 16.
This article appeared in the Illinois Times on February 10, 2017.
Read the entire article online.
Thursday, January 26, 2017
Oblique Frontiers Opening Reception
The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery is pleased to present "Oblique Frontiers", an exhibition of ceramic works from artist Tyler Lotz.
The exhibit will open on Thursday, January 19 and run through Thursday, February 16. A reception will take place on Thursday, January 26 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Influenced by both natural and mediated landscapes, a longing for the wilderness, and failed attempts to conjure personal experiences in the landscape, Lotz's ceramic sculptures are fragmented and illusive abstractions that can elicit a single place and time or an amalgam of time, experiences, and desires.
The Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, Room 201. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This story appeared in the Illinois Times on January 26, 2017.
Read the entire article online.
The exhibit will open on Thursday, January 19 and run through Thursday, February 16. A reception will take place on Thursday, January 26 from 5:30 to 8 p.m.
Influenced by both natural and mediated landscapes, a longing for the wilderness, and failed attempts to conjure personal experiences in the landscape, Lotz's ceramic sculptures are fragmented and illusive abstractions that can elicit a single place and time or an amalgam of time, experiences, and desires.
The Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, Room 201. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
This story appeared in the Illinois Times on January 26, 2017.
Read the entire article online.
Friday, December 16, 2016
Springfield’s art scene is riding high
The UIS Visual Arts Gallery, on the campus of University of Illinois Springfield, where Allison Lacher works her day job as gallery manager has hosted an eclectic array of work this year, including an exhibition by St. Louis artist Lyndon Barrois, Jr., which took as its subject the late iconic musician Prince. “That was really timely in the context of Prince’s passing and it was a different show for us,” Lacher said. Other memorable exhibits this year included Washington, D.C.’s Paul Short who mounted an ambitious combination exhibition, lecture and workshop centering around cultural and economic stigmas associated with loitering. A recent two-person show by central Illinois figurative painters Amanda Greive and Stanley Bly turned out to be a big hit with attendees. “They presented a cohesive exhibition where their work was very much in dialogue with one another while maintaining their individual identities,” Lacher said.
The spring semester is slated to kick off at the gallery with an exhibition from Tyler Lotts, a professor of ceramics at ISU, followed by a March 2 presentation from Diaz-Lewis, a husband and wife collaboration between Alejandro Diaz and Cara Lewis. “Alejandro is a Cuban refugee,” Lacher explains, “and he and Cara have created an ongoing work entitled ‘34,000 Pillows’ in response to a congressional mandate stating that immigration and customs enforcement agents are required to maintain a quota of 34,000 detained immigrants per day in 250 centers around the country.” The couple is trying to make a pillow for every detainee of this mandate and will be bringing a “Pillow Workshop” to the UIS gallery along with other work.
“That’s the beauty of programming here at UIS,” Lacher said. “One month you might have a more traditional exhibition of figurative painting and then follow it up with a very socially conscious and culturally diverse project.”
The story was reported by the Illinois Times on December 15, 2016.
Read the story online.
The spring semester is slated to kick off at the gallery with an exhibition from Tyler Lotts, a professor of ceramics at ISU, followed by a March 2 presentation from Diaz-Lewis, a husband and wife collaboration between Alejandro Diaz and Cara Lewis. “Alejandro is a Cuban refugee,” Lacher explains, “and he and Cara have created an ongoing work entitled ‘34,000 Pillows’ in response to a congressional mandate stating that immigration and customs enforcement agents are required to maintain a quota of 34,000 detained immigrants per day in 250 centers around the country.” The couple is trying to make a pillow for every detainee of this mandate and will be bringing a “Pillow Workshop” to the UIS gallery along with other work.
“That’s the beauty of programming here at UIS,” Lacher said. “One month you might have a more traditional exhibition of figurative painting and then follow it up with a very socially conscious and culturally diverse project.”
The story was reported by the Illinois Times on December 15, 2016.
Read the story online.
Thursday, November 6, 2014
'Copy Shop' at UIS gives artistic visitors chance to create
Visitors to the reception for the University of Illinois Springfield’s Visual Arts Gallery’s installation “Copy Shop” can interact with the exhibition on more than one level.
Chicago-based artists Tom Burtonwood and Holly Holmes have created 3D-printed and digitally fabricated objects for the exhibit. But visitors also can bring their own objects to be 3D scanned and 3D printed during the reception to be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the gallery located in Room 201 of the Health and Sciences Building on campus.
The exhibition runs through Nov. 27.
Visitors are welcome to bring objects the size of a softball to be 3D scanned and 3D printed. Original and printed objects will become part of the exhibition. “The plan is to display their originals on the left-side shelves (of the exhibit) and the copies on the right.
Visitors can collect their creations on or after the 27th,” Burtonwood said in an email. “The printing process is fairly slow; it would take much longer than the time of the reception to print a single object. Average time is probably 5-6 hours.”
What’s called 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file, according to 3dprinting.com. The creation of a 3D-printed object is achieved using additive processes in which an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created.
Giving visitors the opportunity to have their objects 3D scanned, 3D printed and added to the exhibition at UIS is a reprise of what Burtonwood and Holmes did in January at Firecat Projects gallery in Chicago. People had objects such as stuffed toys, cameras, flowers and keepsakes 3D scanned, 3D printed and added to that exhibition.
“Participants in ‘Copy Shop’ received a limited-edition, 3D-printed sculpture in recognition of their help in this project,” Burtonwood said on his website tomburtonwood.com.
Working from a variety of sources, Burtonwood and Holmes create 3D-printed, modular works that borrow from natural systems of organization.
Among creations in “Copy Shop” are “AIC Candy Dispensers, 2014.” There’s also the “Dana Thomas House Frieze Interactive Project.” “These molds, depicting the frieze design created by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Dana Thomas House in Springfield, have been created through the process of scanning and 3D printing,” said an accompanying statement.
“You are welcome to use the available air-drying clay to press into the molds to create your own frieze design. Take the product with you; the clay will harden and serve as a permanent artifact from ‘Copy Shop.’”
Burtonwood said the 3D printer/scanner is to sculpture what the sampler was to music.
“The world is open. It can be copied and pasted at the touch of a button. This is a paradigm shift in terms of how we make objects, and the economies that support their production,” Burtonwood said.
“Artists have always tinkered with the newest technology and have taken the tech places its creators never intended. With 3D printing, I imagine you’ll see the same.”
The article appeared in The State Journal-Register online, November 5, 2014.
Read the article online.
Chicago-based artists Tom Burtonwood and Holly Holmes have created 3D-printed and digitally fabricated objects for the exhibit. But visitors also can bring their own objects to be 3D scanned and 3D printed during the reception to be held from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday at the gallery located in Room 201 of the Health and Sciences Building on campus.
The exhibition runs through Nov. 27.
Visitors are welcome to bring objects the size of a softball to be 3D scanned and 3D printed. Original and printed objects will become part of the exhibition. “The plan is to display their originals on the left-side shelves (of the exhibit) and the copies on the right.
Visitors can collect their creations on or after the 27th,” Burtonwood said in an email. “The printing process is fairly slow; it would take much longer than the time of the reception to print a single object. Average time is probably 5-6 hours.”
What’s called 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a process of making three-dimensional solid objects from a digital file, according to 3dprinting.com. The creation of a 3D-printed object is achieved using additive processes in which an object is created by laying down successive layers of material until the entire object is created.
Giving visitors the opportunity to have their objects 3D scanned, 3D printed and added to the exhibition at UIS is a reprise of what Burtonwood and Holmes did in January at Firecat Projects gallery in Chicago. People had objects such as stuffed toys, cameras, flowers and keepsakes 3D scanned, 3D printed and added to that exhibition.
“Participants in ‘Copy Shop’ received a limited-edition, 3D-printed sculpture in recognition of their help in this project,” Burtonwood said on his website tomburtonwood.com.
Working from a variety of sources, Burtonwood and Holmes create 3D-printed, modular works that borrow from natural systems of organization.
Among creations in “Copy Shop” are “AIC Candy Dispensers, 2014.” There’s also the “Dana Thomas House Frieze Interactive Project.” “These molds, depicting the frieze design created by Frank Lloyd Wright for the Dana Thomas House in Springfield, have been created through the process of scanning and 3D printing,” said an accompanying statement.
“You are welcome to use the available air-drying clay to press into the molds to create your own frieze design. Take the product with you; the clay will harden and serve as a permanent artifact from ‘Copy Shop.’”
Burtonwood said the 3D printer/scanner is to sculpture what the sampler was to music.
“The world is open. It can be copied and pasted at the touch of a button. This is a paradigm shift in terms of how we make objects, and the economies that support their production,” Burtonwood said.
“Artists have always tinkered with the newest technology and have taken the tech places its creators never intended. With 3D printing, I imagine you’ll see the same.”
The article appeared in The State Journal-Register online, November 5, 2014.
Read the article online.
Thursday, April 3, 2014
UIS faculty part of Springfield Art Association exhibition
The latest exhibition at Springfield Art Association is the new work of University of Illinois Springfield faculty. An opening reception is Friday, April 4, from 5:30-8:30 p.m.
Featured faculty artists include Brytton Bjorngaard, Shane Harris, Tim Kowalczyk, Allison Lacher, Mike Miller, Michael Prault, Megan Rigoni-McCormic, Jeff Robinson and Clay Stalter.
The event is in conjunction with the DEMO Project Opening Reception of UIS Professor of Art Mike Miller’s “Please to See You” exhibit. What’s unusual about Miller’s presentation is his use of a drone to get video and re-create a simulated paparazzi response to Abraham Lincoln’s probable attendance at an onsite Edward’s Place event in 1857.
DEMO Project is located on the grounds of Springfield Art Association. Both exhibits are on display throughout April.
The story was featured by the Illinois Times on April 3, 2014.
Read the article online
Featured faculty artists include Brytton Bjorngaard, Shane Harris, Tim Kowalczyk, Allison Lacher, Mike Miller, Michael Prault, Megan Rigoni-McCormic, Jeff Robinson and Clay Stalter.
The event is in conjunction with the DEMO Project Opening Reception of UIS Professor of Art Mike Miller’s “Please to See You” exhibit. What’s unusual about Miller’s presentation is his use of a drone to get video and re-create a simulated paparazzi response to Abraham Lincoln’s probable attendance at an onsite Edward’s Place event in 1857.
DEMO Project is located on the grounds of Springfield Art Association. Both exhibits are on display throughout April.
The story was featured by the Illinois Times on April 3, 2014.
Read the article online
Wednesday, December 18, 2013
3D printing making museum artifacts more accessible
Mike Miller’s first exposure to 3D printing occurred in 2005 while serving as a resident artist at EIGERlab in Rockford, where he had access to a commercial 3D printer that jets multiple modeling materials simultaneously. Similar equipment costs in the $500,000 range.
He was behind the recent purchase of a $2,800 MakerBot Replicator 2X for the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Department of Art, Music and Theatre, where he serves as chairman.
The story was published on December 18, 2013 in The State Journal-Register.
Read the article online
He was behind the recent purchase of a $2,800 MakerBot Replicator 2X for the University of Illinois at Springfield’s Department of Art, Music and Theatre, where he serves as chairman.
The story was published on December 18, 2013 in The State Journal-Register.
Read the article online
Thursday, December 12, 2013
Auction to benefit UIS art gallery
Artist ANN E. COULTER of Peoria has an art piece in the silent auction benefit at the University of Illinois Springfield that at least met its minimum bid (as of Monday).
Coulter’s “AWAY # 4” pastel drawing on vintage postcard had a minimum bid of $50. The piece’s pastel drawing offers deep blues in a landscape setting on a vintage postcard that has writings such as “c/o The Brickyard at New Bedford” and a 1-cent Benjamin Franklin postage stamp.
Broadly described as a landscape artist on Facebook, Coulter’s pastel drawings are from photographs she takes of “weedy little patches of nothing and nowhere” in central Illinois.
Coulter’s artwork is among dozens of original works of art donated for the UIS VISUAL ARTS GALLERY 2013 SILENT AUCTION BENEFIT.
Final bidding and a closing reception will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12 at the gallery, Room 201 of the Health and Sciences Building at UIS. The UIS Music Camerata will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. during the closing reception.
The story was featured by The State Journal-Register on December 12, 2013.
Read the article online
Coulter’s “AWAY # 4” pastel drawing on vintage postcard had a minimum bid of $50. The piece’s pastel drawing offers deep blues in a landscape setting on a vintage postcard that has writings such as “c/o The Brickyard at New Bedford” and a 1-cent Benjamin Franklin postage stamp.
Broadly described as a landscape artist on Facebook, Coulter’s pastel drawings are from photographs she takes of “weedy little patches of nothing and nowhere” in central Illinois.
Coulter’s artwork is among dozens of original works of art donated for the UIS VISUAL ARTS GALLERY 2013 SILENT AUCTION BENEFIT.
Final bidding and a closing reception will be from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 12 at the gallery, Room 201 of the Health and Sciences Building at UIS. The UIS Music Camerata will perform from 5 to 7 p.m. during the closing reception.
The story was featured by The State Journal-Register on December 12, 2013.
Read the article online
Thursday, December 5, 2013
State of the arts: Allison Lacher
Allison Lacher was an accomplished installation artist when she moved to Springfield from Utah a few years ago to accompany her husband who had been hired as a professor in the business department at UIS. A frustrating period of dormancy followed, but Lacher has since rallied to become an essential conduit for the local fine art scene.
Her position as manager of the Visual Arts Gallery at UIS, where she is also an instructor, has provided a link to the local arts establishment and gives her a legitimacy that has been useful in forging connections between Springfield and the wider world of art.
In addition to presenting visiting artists at the university gallery, she has been able to facilitate connections between the local grassroots Pharmacy collective and similar groups in other towns. This year she, along with UIS Visual Arts Gallery Director Jeff Robinson, volunteered time to help found and curate the DEMO Project, a sui generis, artist-run gallery located on the campus of the Springfield Art Association. The DEMO Project continually presents work by eminent, contemporary artists from Chicago, New York City and elsewhere.
Lacher was featured by the Illinois Times on December 5, 2013.
Read the article online
Her position as manager of the Visual Arts Gallery at UIS, where she is also an instructor, has provided a link to the local arts establishment and gives her a legitimacy that has been useful in forging connections between Springfield and the wider world of art.
In addition to presenting visiting artists at the university gallery, she has been able to facilitate connections between the local grassroots Pharmacy collective and similar groups in other towns. This year she, along with UIS Visual Arts Gallery Director Jeff Robinson, volunteered time to help found and curate the DEMO Project, a sui generis, artist-run gallery located on the campus of the Springfield Art Association. The DEMO Project continually presents work by eminent, contemporary artists from Chicago, New York City and elsewhere.
Lacher was featured by the Illinois Times on December 5, 2013.
Read the article online
Thursday, October 10, 2013
PBS' Mr. Steve to perform at UIS
Children’s artist Steve Roslonek of SteveSongs will perform at 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Friday at the University of Illinois Springfield’s Sangamon Auditorium Studio Theatre in Springfield.
Roslonek, considered a rising star on the national children’s music scene, creates music featuring smart lyrics, catchy melodies and messages that appeal to both children and adults. He has five full-length CDs, a DVD and two volumes of children’s music from his role as Mr. Steve on the PBS Kids morning block, which features a schedule of cartoon favorites geared toward children.
As part of Friday’s pre-show activities, the PNC Grow Up Great Mobile Learning Adventure will be on site for children ages 2 to 5 to explore interactive learning kiosks, have their photo taken at the “When I Grow Up” station and receive take-home activity books.
The story was featured by the Jacksonville Journal Courier on October 10, 2013.
Read the article online
Roslonek, considered a rising star on the national children’s music scene, creates music featuring smart lyrics, catchy melodies and messages that appeal to both children and adults. He has five full-length CDs, a DVD and two volumes of children’s music from his role as Mr. Steve on the PBS Kids morning block, which features a schedule of cartoon favorites geared toward children.
As part of Friday’s pre-show activities, the PNC Grow Up Great Mobile Learning Adventure will be on site for children ages 2 to 5 to explore interactive learning kiosks, have their photo taken at the “When I Grow Up” station and receive take-home activity books.
The story was featured by the Jacksonville Journal Courier on October 10, 2013.
Read the article online
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Make music with college students
If you play a musical instrument or sing, and like being around undergraduate students, you might find an outlet at the University of Illinois Springfield.
The UIS Music Ensembles are open to students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members, and rehearsals for several groups start next week in Room 33 at the Visual and Performing Arts Building on campus.
You can even get academic credit for these groups:
UIS Band: 4-5:50 p.m. Mondays.
UIS Chorus: 7-9:15 p.m. Tuesdays and 3:30-5:30 p.m. Thursdays.
UIS Chamber Orchestra: 5:40-7:30 p.m. Thursdays.
Other groups you can check out:
UIS Old Time Jam: 7-9:30 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.
UIS pep bands: The group performs at home basketball games
For more information, go online at www.uis.edu/music, or contact Sharon Graf, director of co-curricular music, at 206-6570 or sgraf1@uis.edu.
The story was featured by The State Journal-Register on August 20, 2013.
Read the blog post online
The UIS Music Ensembles are open to students, staff, faculty, alumni and community members, and rehearsals for several groups start next week in Room 33 at the Visual and Performing Arts Building on campus.
You can even get academic credit for these groups:
UIS Band: 4-5:50 p.m. Mondays.
UIS Chorus: 7-9:15 p.m. Tuesdays and 3:30-5:30 p.m. Thursdays.
UIS Chamber Orchestra: 5:40-7:30 p.m. Thursdays.
Other groups you can check out:
UIS Old Time Jam: 7-9:30 p.m. the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month.
UIS pep bands: The group performs at home basketball games
For more information, go online at www.uis.edu/music, or contact Sharon Graf, director of co-curricular music, at 206-6570 or sgraf1@uis.edu.
The story was featured by The State Journal-Register on August 20, 2013.
Read the blog post online
Thursday, December 20, 2012
The arts scene in Springfield finds vitality in niche markets
With the addition of new assistant professor Dathan Powell, the Theatre Department at University of Illinois Springfield is prepared to tackle new challenges in the coming year, starting with a production of Clifford Odets’s 1935 play Awake and Sing, dealing with timely issues of economic hardship.
For UIS Theatre Director Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson, it’s all about education and community.
“Our students learn from the faculty, and the people from the community who work with us learn from the students, and I think we learn a lot from the community folks as well. So it’s a win-win,” he beams.
Auditions for Awake and Sing will be held Jan. 22 and 23. For details visit www.uis.edu/theatre/productions/auditions.html.
UIS Theatre was featured by the Illinois Times on December 20, 2012.
Read the article online
For UIS Theatre Director Eric Thibodeaux-Thompson, it’s all about education and community.
“Our students learn from the faculty, and the people from the community who work with us learn from the students, and I think we learn a lot from the community folks as well. So it’s a win-win,” he beams.
Auditions for Awake and Sing will be held Jan. 22 and 23. For details visit www.uis.edu/theatre/productions/auditions.html.
UIS Theatre was featured by the Illinois Times on December 20, 2012.
Read the article online
Thursday, November 29, 2012
UIS music at UIS
The following is a portion of an Illinois Times article written by Tom Irwin:
Most of the live music shows held at the University of Illinois Springfield, our still growing, four-year institution of higher learning on the southern outskirts of Springfield’s civilized world, come from beyond the college’s borders. Part of the reason for this apparent lack of college-based music making comes from the absence of an extensive formal music program at UIS.
You can major in business, history, English, communications and many more subjects, but for now, an aspiring musician at UIS doesn’t have a lot of choices in pursuing a formal degree as a major or minor in music. There are courses in historical aspects of music and computer-related recording technology, along with opportunities to perform in UIS sponsored groups, but nothing that specifically offers a degree in music.
Determined to continue and poised to grow, the department has its sights set on soon becoming an academic minor. With Susan Koch, the new chancellor at the UIS helm, possessing a healthy history in liberal arts education and especially supportive of the arts, the UIS music department is in a good position to be making beautiful music for years to come as a vital part of the university community.
The article was published in the Illinois Times on November 29, 2012.
Read the article online
Most of the live music shows held at the University of Illinois Springfield, our still growing, four-year institution of higher learning on the southern outskirts of Springfield’s civilized world, come from beyond the college’s borders. Part of the reason for this apparent lack of college-based music making comes from the absence of an extensive formal music program at UIS.
You can major in business, history, English, communications and many more subjects, but for now, an aspiring musician at UIS doesn’t have a lot of choices in pursuing a formal degree as a major or minor in music. There are courses in historical aspects of music and computer-related recording technology, along with opportunities to perform in UIS sponsored groups, but nothing that specifically offers a degree in music.
Determined to continue and poised to grow, the department has its sights set on soon becoming an academic minor. With Susan Koch, the new chancellor at the UIS helm, possessing a healthy history in liberal arts education and especially supportive of the arts, the UIS music department is in a good position to be making beautiful music for years to come as a vital part of the university community.
The article was published in the Illinois Times on November 29, 2012.
Read the article online
Thursday, October 25, 2012
'Tartuffe' opens UIS theatre season
A comedy by “France’s Shakespeare” this weekend kicks off the 2012-13 season of plays presented by the University of Illinois Springfield theatre program.
“Tartuffe,” a 17th-century farce by Moliere about the machinations of a religious fraud, will be presented in a contemporary setting in an English translation that preserves the poetic nature of the 350-year-old French script, said director Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson.
“The text is translated from French into English rhyming couplets,” said Thibodeaux-Thompson, associate professor of theatre at UIS. “It’s a blend of modern colloquial language with poetry.”
“Tartuffe” (comedy)
Read the article online
“Tartuffe,” a 17th-century farce by Moliere about the machinations of a religious fraud, will be presented in a contemporary setting in an English translation that preserves the poetic nature of the 350-year-old French script, said director Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson.
“The text is translated from French into English rhyming couplets,” said Thibodeaux-Thompson, associate professor of theatre at UIS. “It’s a blend of modern colloquial language with poetry.”
“Tartuffe” (comedy)
- When: 7:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday and Nov. 1-3; 2 p.m. Sunday. Preview/dress rehearsal 7:30 p.m. today.
- Where: UIS Studio Theatre, lower level, Public Affairs Center, University of Illinois Springfield
- Tickets: $6 (age 17 and under), $8 (college/university students with ID), $10 (UIS faculty/staff), $12 (age 65 and older), and $14 (adults), available 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays at the Sangamon Auditorium box office or by calling 206-6160.
Read the article online
Thursday, October 4, 2012
Internationally renowned artist Roger Shimomura coming to UIS
Roger Shimomura, an internationally renowned artist known for his prints, paintings and performance works, talks at the University of Illinois Springfield Oct. 11 at 5:30 p.m. Following the lecture, there will be an exhibit reception from 6:30-8 p.m. in the UIS Visual Arts Gallery.
Shimomura’s collection of prints, America Behind Barbed Wire, colors a Pop Art-flavored yet serious commentary on American and Asian-American cultures and stereotypes imbued with his own experience as a child during WWII when his family was displaced from their home in Seattle to a Japanese-American internment camp in Idaho. Shimomura’s work is in more than 85 permanent museum collections nationwide including New York City and The Smithsonian Institution.
The exhibit runs through Dec. 1. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery for more information.
The exhibition was featured by the Illinois Times on October 4, 2012.
Read the article online
Shimomura’s collection of prints, America Behind Barbed Wire, colors a Pop Art-flavored yet serious commentary on American and Asian-American cultures and stereotypes imbued with his own experience as a child during WWII when his family was displaced from their home in Seattle to a Japanese-American internment camp in Idaho. Shimomura’s work is in more than 85 permanent museum collections nationwide including New York City and The Smithsonian Institution.
The exhibit runs through Dec. 1. Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit www.uis.edu/visualarts/gallery for more information.
The exhibition was featured by the Illinois Times on October 4, 2012.
Read the article online
Friday, September 28, 2012
Shimomura to display works at UIS Visual Arts Gallery
The University of Illinois Springfield Visual Arts Gallery welcomes Roger Shimomura, an internationally renowned and celebrated artist known for his prints, paintings and performance works.
The gallery exhibit, "America Behind Barbed Wire", runs from Oct. 1 through Dec. 1. Shimomura will present a lecture from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11 in the Public Affairs Center. A gallery reception will follow from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the UIS Visual Arts Gallery. This event is free and open to the public.
The exhibit was featured by the State Journal-Register on Sept. 27, 2012.
Read the article online
The gallery exhibit, "America Behind Barbed Wire", runs from Oct. 1 through Dec. 1. Shimomura will present a lecture from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 11 in the Public Affairs Center. A gallery reception will follow from 6:30 to 8 p.m. in the UIS Visual Arts Gallery. This event is free and open to the public.
The exhibit was featured by the State Journal-Register on Sept. 27, 2012.
Read the article online
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