Art display at the LAI hints of fall and Halloween

[October 25, 2021]    The October exhibit at the Lincoln Arts Institute is hosted by the Logan County Arts. The show opening on Thursday, October 14th featuring local artists will remain at the LAI through Saturday, November 6th.

The theme for the exhibit this month is “Texture and Tone.” The two part theme allowed the artists plenty of latitude in their creations. Visitors encountered many works that were multi-dimensional utilizing found objects or various mediums to give the pieces depth.



The first such example of texture in the show was found in the entry way of the gallery. Bev Noble presented a work entitled “A Fall Day.” The backdrop featured lovely bright colors in a cloud kissed blue sky with paper birds and artificial fall leaves adding the texture. Accompanying the work were decorated pumpkins painted by Noble and adorned with fall florals.

Inside the gallery, the beautifully designed pumpkins dominated the front table and drew much attention from visitors.
 

The Halloween/fall theme continued on with works by Margie Douglas and Cheryl Spove, who featured a three dimension “Day of the Dead” style skull work.



Spove continued the Day of the Dead theme with a second piece entitled “Calavera Catrina.” The work was three dimensional and utilized a number of mediums to emphasize the texture in the work.

Alice Ferguson’s preferred medium is Raku Ceramics. She often shows pieces that she had made that are beautifully shaped and colored, many serving a secondary purpose, such as a bowl for holding flowers.



This month she presented a set of wall hangings. The pair was entitled “Music Artifacts.” Both pieces featured texture through stampings within the ceramic. The works added atop the ceramics to create dimension were found objects. Viewers also see an example of “tone” as Ferguson utilizes similar colors in varying shades.



Molly Pickering presented an eye catching two-dimensional water color and charcoal piece that she skillfully gave depth and dimension through use of color and shading.

Ruth Fredericks presented a canvas entitled “Birches.” This was a textured paint piece with a different quality than many of the other pieces. While the lines of the work were sharp and clear, the texture gave a somewhat soft and fuzzy look to the details of the grass and trees.

Throughout the gallery there are numerous works that show off the use of color on canvas to show tone in their works. Some have chosen to give an overall color with varying shades to show the concept of tone. Others use the play of shadow that mimics depth in a two dimensional work along with tone.

All of the works, though greatly varying in style, are interesting interpretations of the theme and also mirror into the complex personalities of each artist.



One such piece is that of LAI owner Jason Hoffman. Though done on canvas the intricate and intentional placement of pieces of plastic strapping tape create depth, motion and also tone.



Randy Washam is a local photographic artist who uses digital software to alter and enhance his works. In “Full Flower Supermoon,” Washam utilizes gold, amber, and mahogany shades to draw the eye to the bright golden supermoon. A dark vignette is amplified to show the subtle rings of color and create depth as the viewer gazes across a farm field with a barn and tractor and the moon slightly above the horizon.

The Thursday evening reception was very well attended with guests coming and going throughout the three hour event.

For those who were unable to attend the first showing, there are additional opportunities available. The Lincoln Arts Institute is open each Friday evening from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. Featured artists will be present each night to visit with guests and talk about the works.

In addition, most of the works on display in October are for sale. Come in and pick out your favorite piece to take home and add to your personal collection.

The next show at the Lincoln Arts Institute will feature the works of resident artist Chris Tice.

[Nila Smith]