Local Spotlight – Dan Billen

Dan Billen, a senior at Washburn University and co-worker of mine at jhP, is showing his Senior Art Exhibit at the Art Building on Washburn’s campus until Friday, December 14. If you have any way to make it there, I highly encourage it!
Dan’s show is very unique, and uncommonly cohesive for a student. His artwork is bold and humorous, yet heart warming at the same time.
The main feature of the show, is Dan’s series of eight 4′ by 4′ mixed media collages. Each collage features a portrait of a patient he worked with during his year at The Institution. These larger-than-life portraits are simple in overall composition, yet complex with various shapes of papers and their colors and textures. The juxtaposition Dan created brought each character to life and gave it personality.
Click here to see Dan at work making one of his collages. There was also some coverage WIBW TV coverage and the newspaper article in the Capital-Journal.

A Day of Inspiration: the Bloch Building

My hubby and I took a road trip today to Kansas City on Saturday, to catch our first glimpse of the new addition to the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, the Bloch Building. It was breathtaking! I ended up spending more time admiring the features of the architecture and the interplay of light than I did looking at the actual artwork on display . . . not to say that the artwork wasn’t worthy, but I’ve been waiting a long time to see the new addition!

My Very Own Terry Maxwell Watercolor

The weekend’s art activites exceeded my expectations in many ways.
Friday was a total bust – I came home from work so worn out, I feel asleep 7pm.
Brandon and I were up bright and early on Saturday morning, on our way to the Toad Hollow Art Show with his parents. The show was quaint, more like an intimate artist’s village, with artwork of all varieties. Pottery, fiber arts, photography, drawing, metalwork, jewelry – only 13 artists, but rich with diversity.
Brandon and I walked away as the proud owners of “Evening Silence”, an original watercolor by Terry Maxwell. We’ve been talking about buying one of Terry’s peices for at least the last 4 years. Brandon’s parents have a couple of Terry’s paintings, and we’ve always been huge fans. We will be taking the piece to J & Co. Frameshop to have UV-protective glass installed to help retain the brilliant colors of the landscape. I’ll take a photo while the glass is off (to prevent glare) and post it on here soon.
I also heard great things about the Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Fair at Washburn University. Linda Park, a co-worker of mine, was showing Jewerly and Mobiles with her friend Debbie McRae, and she said that the crowd was constant and the sales were good. I was planning to go – but considering my purchase on Saturday, I really couldn’t afford it.

Another Great Weekend of Art

There is a wide variety of art events going on in the area this weekend. Everything kicks off with First Friday here in Topeka on Friday night – I am particularly interested in checking out Topeka’s newest gallery, Westboro Fine Art, owned by Rod Seel.

Brandon and I will spend Saturday in Emporia checking out all of the artwork on display at Toad Hallow. It’s is smaller art fair, but I hear the intimate garden setting really sets the mood. I am hoping to purchase a Terry Maxwell piece!

On Sunday, I plan on visiting the Mulvane Mountain/Plains Art Fair at Washburn’s campus.