Logan County artists collaborations inspirational

 

[October 16, 2018] 

LINCOLN 

There is an old cliché that goes “Let’s put our heads together and come up with a solution.” The latest art show opening from Logan County Arts at the Lincoln Art Institute is a take on this saying. The theme of the show is called “Collaboration.”

The artists of LCA were asked to partner with other members and see if unique art would come from the melding of imaginations. The result is a fascinating exhibit. Some of the pieces on display were produced by two people; one has the hands of fourteen involved, and one uncounted numbers from the community.

The largest painting is a community art project arranged by Jason Hoffman. He invited people to his studio and supplied paint, brushes, and a very large canvas. Everyone was urged to paint anything that inspired them on the image. The finished product is not some jumble of weird lines and shapes, well it sort of is, but the whole thing makes sense.

The imaginations of fourteen people produced a painting of shapes and colors that brought the artists together.

Jason is all about community art. “Art must coexist with the community. It can’t exist in a vacuum,” said Hoffman. He even took his idea of community art to the Third Friday events in downtown Lincoln this summer.

Lines of potential artists waited to add their inspiration to the large canvas he supplied. Two of these community projects are also on the wall for this exhibit. Stop by and see if one of your paint strokes was added to the painting.

Nature photographer Bev Noble and artist Pam Moriearty had another idea of how to facilitate their collaboration. They exchanged phones and looked at the photographs each had taken, then selected one to transfer to canvas. The transition from photo to painting is fascinating.

Alice Ferguson usually works in ceramics, especially the Japanese technique of raku. Cheryl Spove stated that she had not done ceramics since retiring from the high school as the art instructor. “I had never done raku, and when Alice asked me to collaborate with her I was excited to learn something new,” she said.

The duo set off for the Springfield Art Association, which has a kiln specifically for raku. Their collaboration revolved around ceramic faces that represent strong women throughout history. Their combination of talents produced art that is very timely, and Spove was able to learn a new skill to go with her other art skills.

One of the most fun projects was a combination of the imaginations of Jason Hoffman and Pam Moriearty. They had to leave the studio to find objects for the two sculptures that they collaborated on. Where did they end up?

The great big pile of scrap metal at Lincoln Iron and Metal provided parts for their two pieces.

Jason would see a piece of twisted metal that spoke to him and would start to clamber up a mountain of cast off iron, and Pam would admonish him about not getting hurt. “Pam was like the mother figure telling me to be careful,” he laughed.

After getting their metal treasures back to Jason’s studio, he taught Pam how to weld with his laser torch. “I had a blast learning this new skill,” she said.

There are other examples of two or more LCA members combining their talents to construct an art piece that would not have been possible from one acting alone.

Another piece is from two artists who do not even live in the same state. New to the Lincoln Art Institute, Ashley Sanders hung her first painting on the walls of Lincoln’s downtown art gallery. Her collaborator? It turns out that her grandmother has been mentoring Ashley to develop her artistic talent since Ashley was seven years old.

“My grandmother would give me paint and brushes, all the things I would need to create art, including her loving encouragement,” she said.

Now that Ashley has taken a first step to displaying her art, her goal is to pursue a fine arts degree. Her grandmother lives on the east coast. Who says collaborators have to be in the same room?

The art show “Collaboration” is currently on exhibit at the Lincoln Art Institute through the end of the month. Stop by and check it out. Contact Moses Pinkerton at 217-651-8355 to arrange a viewing. Artists working together produce a feast for the eye.

[Curtis Fox]