Never have I been as proud of the Topeka art scene, as I was on Friday at the Art Walk! I began my evening at Freda and Maude hanging a few more pieces of donated artwork for our Concealed/Revealed Art Auction to benefit the YWCA.

From there I walked three doors down to The Collective to review new work by Barbara Waterman-Peters. As always, it was inspiring. Each of the characters in her “At the Event” showing, has their own expression that helps bring the imagery to life. My favorite piece featured a young woman wearing a green shirt and clown makeup. Her expression is so natural and comfortable, I felt as though I could be looking into a mirror and seeing myself in another life. 

From there, my husband Brandon and I met up with our friend and framer, Josh Pattie of J & Co. Frameshop.  We walked a couple doors down to Beachamp’s to view “Christian Themes in Modern American Art II”. The show featured religious imagery created by Brian Jekel and Michaels Buesking. After that we headed on down to Glass Expressions at the end of the block, to admire all of the beautiful glass work.

Brandon and I then drove downtown to visit Topeka’s two newest galleries, Creative Photography & Gallery and The Uptown both located in downtown Topeka. Of all the gallery settings, these two excite me the most! I love that both galleries recognize the importance of bringing culture back to the downtown area – they also have young ownership, fresh ideas and motivation, and tons of potential for the future.

I want to give a special shout out to Creative Photography & Gallery because it’s founded by two ladies that I attended classes with at Washburn. I spent a lot of class time collaborating and discussing projects with Lyn Weichert, in particular. It’s great to watch these two women creating their own destiny and doing their part to revitalize the downtown area - I hope that I will have the opportunity to show my artwork there soon! 

Finally, Brandon and I ended our night of art-seeing by visiting the Washburn University Art Department to view Phill Hall’s senior show. He had a variety of mediums on display, yet still managed a very cohesive, personal show. I walked away wondering if he had been planning this show throughout his college years – everything seemed so well thought out and connected. I really enjoyed Phill’s pieces with plexiglass. The plexi utilization and painting technique are far different than my own, and underscore the realm of possibilities that this non-tradional medium has to offer.