First Friday is Aug. 1

First Friday Art Walk is breaking new ground in August. The Art Walk welcomes a new venue with Live at the Met – Metro Credit Union, that is – a celebration of art and music in Metro’s newly renovated downtown building. Meanwhile award-winning Fashion Designer Cherrelle Hitchcock takes center stage at Global Fayre, Artist Jesse Cox explores the parameters of faith and culture in The Covering at Good Girl Art Gallery, and Sandra Strother brings her Wild West Paintings to Bellwether Gallery of the Arts. View the August Newsletter here.

First Friday Art Walk, a free, self-guided walking tour of downtown art galleries, will be held 6-10 p.m. Aug. 1. The August event features live art demonstrations, live music, food and fun in 19 participating galleries. Among the August highlights:

• Mixed-media artist Santiago Jim Delgadillo and OUTREACH: An Exhibition of Ceramic Work Created by the Claymobile Teachers at the Creamery Arts Center
• The Art of Stevia Bonebrake at DB Design Salon & Art Gallery
• Brian King, featured artist at Figment Art Gallery & Culture House
• Landscapes of the Netherlands by Anne Cox at Fitzwilly’s Gifts & Antiques
• 10 Million Colors, new paintings by popular up-and-coming Springfield artist Gavyn Sky, at the Keyes Gallery
• The Water Project: Part 2, images of Africa by Springfield Photographer Doug Pitt, at Randy Bacon Studio & Gallery
• Torchwork Treasures, torchwork jewelry-making with hard and soft glass, at Springfield Hot Glass Studio
• New Work by Potter Nathan Falter at Springfield Pottery
• Mutation Sensation by Barcelona-based artist Charity Blansit at Studio 405
• Celebrating the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics at Susan Sommer-Luarca Fine Art Gallery and Frame Shoppe
• See the full August Gallery Listing below for more details

AND DON’T FORGET … Family Art Night at the Downtown YMCA provides a fun, affordable child-care option for children ages 6 weeks to 12 years on First Friday. The cost is $10 per child and hours are 6:30-9 p.m. This month kids will design tissue fish, work with an experienced artist on drawing and enjoy inflatables and a healthy snack while their parents experience Art Walk. Call Kyla Bentley at (417) 862-8962, ext. 149, to preregister or for more information.

 

August Gallery Listing

 

Bellwether Gallery of the Arts, 600 W. College St., welcomes Sandra Strother and her Wild West Paintings along with the Original Oil Paintings of Dee Giles. The artwork will be on exhibit through August. (417) 831-1778 http://www.bellwetherarts.com

Big Smile Photography, 207 Park Central East, continues to showcase its Staff Photography. (417) 527-2885 http://www.bigsmilestudios.com

The Creamery Arts Center, 411 Sherman Parkway, presents mixed-media artist Santiago Jim Delgadillo as well as OUTREACH: An Exhibition of Ceramic Work Created by the Claymobile Teachers, in association with Springfield Pottery. Don’t miss the ARTalk by the artists from 7 to 8 p.m. Delgadillo, a native of Tucson, incorporates religious images and motifs into his work from the strong spiritual environment in which he was raised. Claymobile OUTREACH artists include Sherri Alexander, Michael Bishop, Ashley Byers, Andrew Eggers, Josh Heaton, Joel Harrison, Brian Lynch, Nathan Falter and Jennifer Falter. The Claymobile is a mobile ceramic education outreach offering fun and rewarding programs for schools and community-based organizations throughout the region. (417) 862-2787 http://www.springfieldarts.org

DB Design Salon & Art Gallery, 326 S. Campbell, presents The Art of Stevia Bonebrake, featuring the brightly colored and dynamic acrylic paintings of Bonebrake, a Springfield native. (417) 864-4343

Fashioned By Jaye, 212 S. Campbell, presents Photographs by Laina Jean Ridenhour. Fashioned By Jaye is a gallery and boutique featuring work by local artists and locally handmade jewelry, handbags, home decor, and gift items. (417) 862-4100 http://www.fashionedbyjaye.com

Figment Art Gallery and Culture House, 600 W. College Street in the Monarch Art Factory, is focusing potter Brian King as this month’s featured artist-in-residence. “The ritualistic, rhythmic process of plopping a lump of clay on to the wheel and coating each piece into shape is something that has intrigued and challenged me from day one,” King says. “In learning to center the clay, I have found a way to center myself and to have focus and patience. As I continue to create with clay I continue to create myself.” New works by King will be joined by those of Figment painters Kathlene Allie, Kelly Taylor, Abby Waters and Emily Elmore; painter/portraitist Annette Broy; mixed-media artist Nikki Howell; and photographer Cory Bates. (417) 868-8179

Fitzwilly’s Gifts & Antiques, 308 South Ave., is pleased to present Anne Cox’s newest works. A group of Landscapes of the Netherlands, done in acrylic, is one of Anne’s newest projects, and she has shown her works at Nelson Art Gallery in Kansas City, Lincoln University in Jefferson City, and has a permanent display of the five-piece Metamorphosis on the second floor of the Cox Health Hulston Cancer Center in memory of her first husband, the late Thomas Spencer Cox. (417) 866-3696

Gillioz Theatre, 325 Park Central East, presents Featured Artist Charli Stout. Stout’s primary medium is watercolor but she also enjoys acrylics. Many of her works are of local scenes, but a painting trip to Italy has inspired many of her more recent works. (417) 863-7843 http://www.gillioz.org

Global Fayre, 324 S. Campbell, features Cherrelle Hitchcock – Fashion Designer. Hitchcock holds top placements in competitions by Fashion Group International and MSU’s Project Runway. Her designs are primarily focused on custom work and one-of-a-kind clothing, allowing her to create truly unique pieces. A fall 2007 graduate of MSU with degrees in fashion design and fashion merchandising, Hitchcock’s future plans are targeted to special occasion wear and utilizing vintage fabrics and findings to create her one-of-a-kind pieces. (417) 873-7843 http://www.globalfayre.com

Good Girl Art Gallery, 215 W. Olive St., presents The Covering, an exhibit by artist Jesse Cox, for the month of August. The Covering is a collection of portraits in oil on wood, exploring the complex and often hidden world of women who choose to cover their heads – a reminder to the wearer and a statement to the observer of the adherent’s culture, background and faith. (417) 865-7055 http://www.goodgirlartgallery.com

Hawthorn Galleries Inc., 214 E. Walnut St., presents An Eclectic Collection of Fine Art accompanied by the live music of guitarist Dale Auguston. Choose from original paintings, prints, sculpture, glass work, and a unique selection of jewelry. (417) 866-6688 http://www.myspace.com/hawthorngallery

Keyes Gallery, 229 S. Market Ave., presents a new exhibition, 10 Million Colors, in the front showroom. 10 Million Colors features fresh new paintings by popular up-and-coming Springfield artist Gavyn Sky. “They say the human eye can see up to 10 million colors,” Sky says. “I want people to see them all in one of my paintings.” Also, in the secondary gallery showroom, visitors will find an Exciting Mix of Original Art by regular Keyes Gallery artists such as Daniel Flodin, Juan Pena, Billy Spicer, Debra Sutherland, and Hugh Yorty. And remember, Keyes Gallery not only sells high-quality artwork and rents showroom space for weddings and other events, but also offers an in-house frame shop, The Keyes Framery, which is now under new management. (417) 866-2722 http://www.keyesgallery.com

Metro Credit Union, 447 S. Campbell, joins the Art Walk in August with Live at the Met, celebrating the grand opening of its newly renovated building with live art and music. Sculptor and artist Richard Dudden will be working on a 50-foot jungle-themed mural in oil pastels in the credit union parking lot, and a diverse assortment of his sculptures and illustrations will be on display inside. Crafting in wood and metal since age 6 and drawing from the time he could hold a crayon, “What I love most about art is that it’s a naked expression of who I am and how I see myself in the world,” Dudden says. Accompanying the artist will be Lance Sitton & The Seed, a band whose musicians combine elements of roots surf rock, reggae, blues, jazz, folk and hip-hop to create a laid-back groove with an underlying vitality. (417) 869-9654 http://www.iownmybank.com

Nonna’s Italian American Cafe, 306 South Ave., continues its show Big Easy Jazz & Blues, paintings by Springfield native and New Orleans transplant Richard Lewis. (417) 831-1222 http://www.nonnascafe.com

Randy Bacon Studio & Gallery, 600 W. College in the Monarch Art Factory, features The Water Project: Part 2 by Springfield Photographer Doug Pitt. Although Pitt has had camera in hand for more than a decade, he has selectively exhibited his work only a few times locally and nationally, which makes this event truly special. His exhibit of photography in 2007 at the Bacon Gallery was a major success, with proceeds from the show helping to fund a well in the driest part of Africa. The Water Project: Part 2 features Pitt’s new photographs, taken during a 2008 trip to  Mali, Africa, where he focused on the cities of Timbuktu and Koro. The trip was taken on behalf of Worldserve, a worldwide organization that works to help people in more than 30 countries. Pitt was asked to document the work in the villages, and the results are an amazing series of photographs depicting the people and land of Africa. Pitt and the Bacons are donating the proceeds from the sales of the exhibit to help Worldserve finance water projects in Ethiopia. (417) 868-8179 http://www.randybacon.com

Springfield Hot Glass Studio, 314 S. Campbell Ave., presents Torchwork Treasures, emphasizing torchwork jewelry making using hard and soft glass. A working hot glass studio/gallery with facilities for furnace, torch and kiln work, Springfield Hot Glass Studio continually displays its current blown glass, beads and fused work, and offers live demonstrations on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and First Fridays. (417) 868-8181 http://www.springfieldhotglass.com

Springfield Pottery, a fine craft gallery and community clay center, is featuring New Work by Potter Nathan Falter, co-owner of Springfield Pottery. Springfield Pottery also represents the work of more than 40 local, regional, and national artists in clay, wood, metal, glass, fibers, photography, printmaking and more. (417) 864-4677 http://www.springfieldpottery.com

Studio 405, 405 W. Walnut St., features Barcelona-based artist Charity Blansit, in a show titled Mutation Sensation. (417) 865-0450.

Susan Sommer-Luarca Fine Art Gallery and Frame Shoppe, 221 Park Central South, is Celebrating the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics with Susan’s Official 2008 U.S. Olympic Team art. Susan will be autographing a limited number of her official Summer Olympics posters for the public, and she will offer a special First Friday-only price of $20 per signed poster, 6-8 p.m. during the Aug. 1 Art Walk. A portion of all proceeds goes to support the U.S. Olympic Team in its efforts at the summer games in Beijing this month. Susan’s Official Olympic art was unveiled at the International Swimmers Hall of Fame in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, by Gold Medalists Amy Van Dyken and Greg Louganis. The Publisher of the Official Olympic Art for the U.S. Olympic Committee has stated, “Susan Sommer-Luarca is one of the greatest living sports artists of our time.”

 

Please note: Drury Pool Art Center, MSU Student Exhibition Center and OTC Fine Arts Gallery & Studio are closed for the months of June July and August in accordance with the academic calendar. All three galleries will reopen in September. MSU Art & Design Gallery is open for regular summer hours and will rejoin the Art Walk in September.