Jennifer Snopko Collects Plastic Bottles

Artist Jennifer Snopko could use your help creating her installation for Installation Wars!  She is currently collecting lots and lots of plastic bottles.  If you drink water or soda at home, feel free to save your bottles for her and drop them off at the gallery.  Watch your trash turn into art! 



Dennis Morris - Collecting Rubber Bands

Artist Dennis Morris has been collecting rubber bands and other items from his daily newspaper and other places to help you release your inhibitions in this winter's Installation Wars.  Look for his work front and center, in the window of PAA Gallery II!



Felicia Olin - Installation Creation

Be sure to look out for the same ethereal qualities in Felicia Olin's installation work that you can find in her popular painting career.  She is one of the seven artists in Gallery II's "Installation Wars" exhibit this January and February. 

Mary Frances Spears - Collecting Stories Through Medicine

Mary Frances Spears is creating an installation out of x-rays, busts, projections, and various other medical items to bring attention to domestic abuse and its consequences. We look forward to seeing this powerful installation being pieced together.  Learn more about the exhibit "Installation Wars" that Mary is participating in along with six other artists.

Adam Perschbacher - Buying Tape

Artist Adam Perschbacher is stocking up on something he uses on a very regular basis - tape.  But he won't be using it to create the straightest of lines with paint this time around.  Visit Gallery II's "Installation Wars" and discover what he has in mind!

Jed Leber - Artists Sign Up for Installation Wars

Prairie Art Alliance artist Jed Leber has agreed to be a part of Gallery II's "Installation Wars" January-February Exhibit.  Learn more about "Installation Wars".  We're excited to see his creation!

Installation Wars - Linda Preps for the Exhibit

Linda is at home creating a large abstract piece ready to be "unrolled."  Here are a few patches of what she's doing!

Learn More About "Installation Wars"

Holidays Around the World Kids Art Contest

The Prairie Art Alliance and Downtown Springfield, Inc. added something a little extra to the Old Capitol Holiday Walks this year... a kids art contest ages 0-18!  A special thank you to Myers Commercial Realty, Inc. for sponsoring the contest and reception.  The reception was held Thursday, December 6th on the prestigious main floor of the Old State Capitol.  Patrons enjoyed cookies and soda and were serenaded by the Hoogland Kids Chorus.  Congratulations to the award winners and all participants.  Everyone received a ribbon. 

Holidays Around the World Kids Art Contest 2012

View photos from the reception.

2012 Holiday Around The World

Children’s Art Contest Winners

Ages 0-5

1^st Place – Addison Jones – “The Star of Christmas”

2^nd Place -  Lydia Cunningham – “Decorated Trees Under the Stars”

3^rd Place – Ciaran Wall – “Family Feast with Aunt visiting from Australia”

Ages 6-9

1^st Place – Matthew Young – “Matthew and his brother Joseph decorating the Christmas Tree”

2^nd Place – Joseph Young – “Joseph Loves Trains – inspired by Polar Express Movie and Holiday Express Train in Roodhouse, IL”

3^rd Place – Vanessa Little – “Watching Christmas Movies”

Ages 10-13

1^st Place – Jayden Graves – “Snowmen & Friends”

2^nd Place – Katie Bilinsky – “Santa Bringing Gifts to Children of the World”

3^rd Place – Mady Schmidt – “Kitty’s Favorite Christmas”

Ages 14-18

1^st Place – Kelsey Harms – “Christmas Angel”

2^nd Place – Molly Sue Check – “Winter Sunrise”

3^rd Place – Haley Limper – “Decorating the Tree with her Mother and listening to Christmas Music”

Dancing with the Stars 2012 - Recap

This past October 13^th, Prairie Art Alliance held its seventh annual premier fundraising event, Dancing with the Starz.  This year’s event was held at the Downtown Springfield Hilton, and was chaired by Teresa Bierman and Barb Granger.  With their endless amount of energy and dedication, along with the efforts of many volunteers, comprised of PAA members and nonmembers, this was one of the most successful events to date.

 

Prior to the event, beginning in August, thirteen dance couples practiced and perfected their dance routines every two weeks at the Ansar Shrine auditorium with the help of the talented dance instructor, Pat Lyttkar, as well as, met individually on their own time to practice.  

The night of the main event, guests enjoyed a cocktail hour, a wonderful live and silent auction, wine wall, dancing and of course dance entertainment by our competing dance couples.  Master of Ceremonies Gus Gordon led the evening seamlessly, along with our three judges Cara Ann (Dr. Mary Ann Rackauskas), Len (Bruce Beeman) and Bruno (Chuck Granger) provided funny and entertaining critiques of all the dancers that participated that evening. 

After three rounds of dancing, the following four Starz; Erica Beeman with dance partner Gene Weiser, Drew Davis with dance partner Jan Smith, Dr. Geoff Bland with dance partner Teresa Becker, and Drs. Tim VanFleet and Korine Vlahos advanced to the final round.  In the end, Drew Davis and his dance partner Jan Smith, walked away with the honor of most votes for the event

Thank you to all the Starz and their dance partners, Teresa Bierman, Barb Granger and the many volunteers that put so much time and energy into the evening, and a big thank you to everyone that made reservations, voted, contributed and supported the event.  Each and every one of you helped make Dancing with Starz a huge success!!!

- by Erica Beeman

To view all photos from the event visit our events page.

Dancing with the Starz 2012!

Check out our video on the Prairie Art Alliance's largest and most exciting fundraiser - Dancing with the Starz!  This year it will be held at the Hilton Springfield on October 13 and Gus Gordon with be our Master of Ceremonies!  Visit www.prairieart.org today to reserve your seats and vote for your favorite Starz!

Poets, Painters, & Performers - A Magical Evening

The evening of Wednesday, August 29th, was one of magical feeling.  Poets read, singers sang, and artists explained.  If one came early enough to get a seat in the front row, they would be shocked to turn around and see the gallery packed to the brim.  Patrons were at standing room only, rows deep, some congregated around the wine, some backed up against the storefront windows.  We laughed, we cried, we clapped for one another, congratulated one another, and were filled with love.  Each artist, through their own particular art forms, were not only given the chance to display their personal talents and strengths, but in the spirit of the Year of Compassion (www.prairiecompassion.org) communicated with one another through the arts.  A painting was created from poetry, a poem created from an original musical composition, and so on and so on.  The inspired caused inspiration and the cycle seemed to build on itself throughout the evening, leaving everyone who walked out the door a the end of the event in cyclical state of inspiration and hope.  The next morning, the gallery space was still ripe with energy from the evening before, left in an afterglow of discarded wine glasses and haphazardly placed chairs.

President of Springfield Poets & Writers Anita Stienstra reads her piece "Into the Cathedral" inspired by Mary Ellen Strack's oil painting "Into the Allerton."  A connection of understanding was built between the two, surely from similarly expressed experiences.  Wet eyes and hugs silenced the room.

Musician Josie Lowder impresses the crowd with her original composition "Here to Love."  Her rich voice filled the space and enveloped us all in her talents.  Joanna Beth Tweedy created the poem "Here to Love" based on Josie's composition.

Hugh Moore shared his original musical composition "White Squirrels" which inspired the three part poem "White Squirrel Variations in Music, Myth, and Haiku" by Lola Lucas.  With the performances came a lot of "Hugh-Moore (humor)"!

UIS Creative Writing Professor Meagan Cass shared her short fiction piece "Horse Head with Comb" inspired by Teri Zucksworth's plaster sculpture "Domino".  The story had the audience bursting into belly laughter, and then, by the end of the story, humbled by the harshness of life this horse head would have prefered to witness.  The artist spent four months making the mold for this very realistic sculpture.

Shawna Mayer shared her poem "What We Cannot Ask" which inspired the identically titled mixed media piece by artist Lynn Hotes.  Lynn researched the poems references thoroughly to create a work rich with meaning.  By the end of the evening, the artist had gifted her piece to the talented writer.

Thank you to the members of the Springfield Poets & Writers, members of the Prairie Art Alliance, and all contributing musicians for creating such a special evening inside the walls of Prairie Art Alliance Gallery II.  To view past poems and paintings, please visit the Poets & Painters blog, administered by the Springfield Poets & Writers: http://springfieldpoetsandpainters.blogspot.com/.  To view more photos of the evening please visit the Prairie Art Alliance Gallery II Facebook Fanpage: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/Prairie-Art-Alliance-Gallery-II/174125409323457



Artist Studio & Garden Tour 2012 Photos

The 2012 Artist Studio & Garden Tour, held on June 9, 2012, was a success... and a lot of fun too!  Patrons of the event enjoyed five gorgeous locations, plein air painters, demonstrations, interesting studios, and beautiful gardens.  They perused fine artisan work, floral interpretations by the Springfield Garden Club, raffles, silent auctions, and bonsai by the Springfield Bonsai Society in the H.D. Smith Gallery, and discovered hidden treasures of the Springfield artisan community all along the way.  Thank you to volunteers, staff, patrons, and supporters for all your help in making this event happen!



A special thank you to Bob Fox for taking photos of the event.

In The News

Emerging artists can find a place to exhibit and grow in the Prairie Art Alliance  Also there are only 2 days left to purchase your Artist Studio & Garden Tour tickets!  Read about it all, and the busy art weekend, in this Arts & Entertainment feature.

In The News

The Artist Studio & Garden Tour is featured in the Illinois Times Calendar!

Buy Local ...Art!

For the month of June, during the opening of the Farmer's Market, a busy downtown summer, and of course... being a local art gallery... we are encouraging visitors to take the time to think "local first"  with our special exhibit "Buy Local" at Gallery II.

Front wall display:

Ceramic "Snowcap Vase" by Bob Dixon, Gourd Art "Together" by Liz Drake:

Wall quotes to inspire you:

Here's a few of the pieces.  Warning: Your mouth may water!

Green Onions by Bernie White Hatcher

Tomatoes and Asparagus by Bernie White Hatcher (Sorry, Already Sold!)

Radishes by Debbie Megginson

Carnival by Tracery Maras

You Tell 'Im Girls! by Tracey Maras

So come on out for First Friday Downtown June 1st and celebrate, learn, and appreciate the local arts and the potential of our local economy.  Thank you to our sponsors: Illinois Stewardship Alliance, Downtown Springfield, Inc., and Illinois Times

The Art of Being a Woman

Friday, April 27th, I barely peaked out from behind the sales desk... which is a good thing.  Before the festivities really got going, I was able to take this one photo:

I was not amongst it, but I knew the amount of estrogen in the room was probably suffocating.  Though every time I looked over, it seemed as if our male volunteers did not mind!  Women were invited to the Prairie Art Alliance Gallery II on Friday, April 27th from 6-8pm to celebrate the art of being woman, to be surrounded by fine art, artisan jewelry, chocolate, champagne, and many other activites and items often times associated with, but never limited to, our gender.  But the evening wasn't just about over indulgences or sales, we also wanted to inspire a feeling of sisterhood.... so we invited a local charitable organization that deals with womens' issues and works towards creating a better quality of life for women in our community. 

We had a very successful silent auction that benefited Sojourn Shelter & Services, Inc. with items donated from many businesses, organizations, and artists in Springfield, IL:  Maldaner's Retaurant, Hoogland Center for the Arts, Davis Cleaners, Iris & Ivy, The Wardrobe, Flowers by Mary Lou, artist Felicia Olin, artist Joan Burmeister, artist Pam Allen, KM Hairworks, Recycled Records, BJ Grand Salon & Spa, J Parsons, Uptown Looks, J Design, Denny Jewelers, Pease's, Cold Stone Creamery, artist Leslie Smith, and artist Mike Manning.  Sojourn was founded in 1975 and operates with a mission to build a community free of violence through service, leadership and education.  Sojourn provides emergency shelter, a 24-hour hotline, individual and group counseling, court advocacy, pro bono legal assistance, community education, volunteer opportunities and operates Sojourn Westside Fashions. Sojourn is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization and a certified United Way member agency.

We were also a designated drop off this evening for any items the Sojourn typically needs such a non perishable food items, bedding, toiletries, and gently used clothing.  We have collected a lot, and are still collecting!

We also prepared a "Ladies' Night In" basket for one lucky winner, as well as offered mystery "grab bags" full of fine art and beauty products.

Feast your eyes on some other little details from the evening:

Interrupting your usual programming! (Photo courtesy of Ginny Lee)

Chandelier made entirely of plastic bottles.

"willow heart" curtain

Pink lights and artisan jewelry helped set the mood for the wonderful evening.  So many women who usually do not make it into the arts community were re-exposed to the visual arts.  We were so happy to raise awareness for Sojourn Shelter & Services, Inc. and for the visual arts community.  We cannot wait for another ladies' night next year!  Thank you to everyone who made the event a success.  Women's issues and the arts are both so very close to my heart.  If only I had a picture of the chocolate table for you to drool over...

-Jennifer Snopko, Gallery II Manager