Memorial Exhibit of John Blake Bergers

See the Memorial Exhibit of the work John Blake Bergers in the Heritage Gallery of McPherson Opera House, through May 31. Reception, Sunday, May 22, 2–4 pm. His Lindsborg and Smoky Valley series of paintings, sketches, and studies of early history captured days-past important events, homes, Main Street stores, festivals, parades, country schools, given form for new generations to discover, older generations to recall and reflect.

March-April Exhibits open!

Don't miss serigraphs and prints by David Brock on display in the Heritage Gallery of the McPherson Opera House through March 31. April 5–30, the gallery features a retrospective show of the work of John Blake Bergers.

See the Fort Hays State University Faculty Exhibit in the VAAM Gallery through April 30. Reception is Saturday, March 19, 5–7 pm, in the VAAM Gallery!

Spring Art Workshops!

Painting in Acrylics or Watercolor, taught by Donna Brigman

Saturday, March 5, 9 am–4 pm

Hand-building Clay, Decorative and Functional, taught by Michaela Groeblacher

Thursday, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31, 6–8 pm

Jewelry Making with Precious Metal Clay taught by Susan Shepard

Saturday, April 9, 10 am–2 pm

For information call the VAAM Gallery, 620-241-5774

A painting workshop taught by Donna Brigman will be held March 5. She will give demonstrations and lessons on landscape and abstract painting. Participants may paint in acrylic or watercolor. The class meets at 9:00 a.m.–4:00 p.m. Cost for the class is $50. A supply list is available at the VAAM Gallery. Class size is limited to 12.

Donna Brigman owns Brigman Studio, a gallery and frame shop, in Hutchinson. Her paintings have won many awards, and in 2010 she won the “Award of Excellence” at the Springfield, Missouri Art Festival, the “Best of Show” at the Prairie Art Exhibition in Sterling, Kansas, and “1st Place, Mixed Media” and “2nd Place, Watercolor” at Russell's Original Art Review (ROAR) in Russell, Kansas.

The clay workshop will be taught by Michaela Groeblacher, a VAAM Gallery artist whose figurative ceramic sculptures have won awards at the regional and national levels. Her sculpture The Journey Is The Goal is in the permanent collection of the Marianna Kistler Beach Museum of Art, Manhattan, Kansas.

In this clay class, participants will hand-build some decorative and some functional ceramic creations by applying basic construction methods to the clay. The class will meet five Thursdays, March 3, 10, 17, 24, 31 from 6:00–8:00 p.m. Cost for the class is $50 plus $10 for materials and firing.

Jewelry-making with Precious Metals Clay will be taught by Susan Shepard, April 9, 10:00 a.m.–2:00 p.m. Learn about this interesting material that recycles silver particles from used camera film to make 99.9% pure silver items for jewelry, buttons, and other decorative items. Class fee is $65, which includes 16 grams of PMC silver (enough to make two or three projects), access to working supplies, firing, and instruction.

Susan Shepard is a VAAM Gallery artist who works in many mediums, including mixed-media, fibers, collage, jewelry, warm glass and precious metals clay.

Enrollment forms are available at the VAAM Gallery, 223 S. Main St. (in the McPherson Opera House). Classes will be held in the Mary Anderson Arts Center in the McPherson Opera House, McPherson.

Jeff Cowell, juror of the Community Photography Show, February 13, 2:00 pm

Photographers, Artists, and Teachers: Several people have expressed interest in a critique session with photographer Jeff Cowell, the judge of VAAM's community photography show. He agreed to come back on Sunday, February 13, at 2:00 pm in the gallery. Everybody is invited to participate or just listen in, so please feel free to invite people who might be interested in photography but did not participate in the show. Participation is free of charge and is made possible by the great public support VAAM receives from our McPherson community!

Community Photography Show Opens

VAAM, the Visual Arts Alliance of McPherson, is proud to announce a great turn-out for its first community photo contest: Faces and Places of McPherson! 101 photographs will be on display at the VAAM and Opera House galleries, starting January 12, until the end of February.

A reception in honor of all the photographers will be held on Saturday, January 15, 5:30 to 7:00 PM. The community is invited to attend! Come and see the winners and pick your favorite photo by voting for the People's Choice Award! This award will be announced the last day of the show.

Due to the success of this first community photo exhibit, VAAM plans to repeat it in two years and make it a bi-annual event. It is never too early to save your great photo shots!

The mission of VAAM is to create avenues for participation, education and appreciation in the visual arts.

Faces and Places of McPherson

“Faces and Places of McPherson” Community Photography Show

Entry Deadline extended to December 31st, 2010

VAAM, the Visual Arts Alliance of McPherson invites all members of the community to participate in a juried photography exhibition. The show will take place in both the VAAM and the Opera House galleries in January and February 2011.

Photographs need to be approximately 8x10 inches in size and not mounted, not matted or framed. VAAM will prepare the photographs for hanging. There will be a $10 entry fee for up to three photographs. The judging fee for any additional submitted photograph is $5 each. Participants should bring their photographs to the VAAM Gallery during open hours: Tuesday–Saturday, 10 am–5 pm, and fill out an entry form.

A reception and award ceremony for this exhibit is scheduled for January 15 at 6 P.M. in the VAAM gallery, 223 S. Main in McPherson.

Artful Holiday Gifts!

and much More!

Faces and Places of McPherson

On November 20th at 10:00 am, VAAM will host a 45-minute talk: “What Makes a Good Photograph” in conjunction with the below mentioned show. The talk is free, open to anyone and will give a broad overview on the parameters of good photography.

If you are interested in learning more specifics about digital photography, a special 2-hour class, starting at noon, will be offered the same day following the talk. The fee for the class is $30 for VAAM members and $40 for non-members. There is a class minimum of 10 participants. Pre-registration is necessary by November 13 at the gallery. Jeff Cowell, a Wichita based photographer, will give the talk, teach the class, and judge the show entries. If you want to learn more about Jeff, please visit his website http://www.jrcowell.com/

VAAM, the Visual Arts Alliance of McPherson invites all members of the community to participate in this juried photography exhibition:

"Faces and Places of McPherson" Community Photography Show

The show will take place in both the VAAM and the Opera House galleries in January—February 2011. Photographs need to be 8x10 inches in size and not mounted, not matted, or framed. Only after the 100 best photographs are chosen by the juror, will they need to be framed for display. There will be a $10 entry fee for up to three photographs. The judging fee for any additional submitted photograph is $5 each. Participants should bring their photographs to the VAAM Gallery during open hours: Tuesday to Saturday, 10:00 am–5:00 pm, and fill out an entry form.

Collage, Printmaking, and Batik on Paper

Stop in the Heritage Gallery of the McPherson Opera House to see the artwork of Moundridge artist Geneva Flickner. The exhibit includes batik on paper, collage, and printmaking. October 2–31. The Heritage Gallery is open Monday–Friday, 8:30am–5:00pm.

Atmospheric Images, September 2-October 30

Experience the handwoven tapestries "Atmospheric Images" by
Marilyn Grisham, The Fiber Studio, Wichita

and more...