The Artwork of Paul Friesen

Paul Friesen, potter and sculptor, wood and stone

March 1–April 28, 2012

Reception, Sunday, March 11, 2–4 pm

Spring 2012 Art Classes!

Beginning Metalsmithing & Jewelry
Instructor: Lori Martin-Price
Explore the basic techniques for fabricating jewelry and decorative pieces through demonstrations and hands-on projects. You will learn about soldering, texturizing and other metal techniques while creating your own jewelry and wearable art. Learn basic ring fabrication, bracelet and necklace linkage, texturized pendants or rings, bezel stone set.
Thursdays, March 1–April 5; 5:30–7:30 pm
$55 Registration Fee
Plus materials purchased from the instructor


Ceramics I & Wheel-Throwing

Instructor: Leanne Kilmer
Wheel-thrown forms, from conceptualization to the fired finished product, will be explored. Students will develop possibilities for an individualized style. Learn both basic hand-building and wheel throwing skills and make a variety of pottery shapes such as open, enclosed, organic, and sculptural forms. Learn various methods of making and attaching handles to pottery. Join separate wheel thrown and hand built forms into composite pots with pleasing proportions. Learn methods of glazing and or decorating pottery. Learn about the care of a studio how to avoid health concerns and the importance of keeping the facility as clean as possible.
Mondays, March 5–April 2; 5:30–8:30 pm

$55 Registration Fee
Plus materials purchased from the instructor

Spirit Assemblages
Instructor: Nancy Masterson

You will learn the diversity of assemblage art past and present; discover your creative spirit through group and personal experiences; explore the potential of music and the written word; express the above in your personal “spirit assemblages” and create a journal of inspirations. The class is designed for individual development in exploring relationships between found objects and their arrangement or assemblage. Learn about assemblage history, materials, contemporaries, the instructor’s work and influences. Discover their creative spirit through body tracing collage” and cigar box self-portraits and group and individual creative activities. Share “self-portraits.” Begin assemblage process with collected boxes and objects. Share insights and discoveries. Continue the explorations. Share the process and emerging possibilities. Some assemblages are never finished with a life of their own. Possible exhibit.
Thursdays, April 5, 12, 19, 26, and May 3, 6–9 pm
$55 Registration Fee
A supply list will be sent to each participant

Add Pizazz to Your Photos

Instructor: Dale Cole, Salina
Discover the photographer you are while you explore art made with a camera. Spend an evening with Photographer Dale K. Cole as you explore skills that will add pizzazz to your photographs. Learn how to compose your photograph, how to use lighting and filters for better pictures, and how photograph difficult images such as moving objects, vertical images, waterfalls and reflections and much, much more.
Tuesday, April 17; 7:00–8:30 pm
$15 Registration Fee

Intro to Block Printing

Instructor: David Brock

Block printing is the process of using an object to make an inked impression upon a plain surface. It is one of the oldest and most enjoyable of all the crafts and has given color and pattern to paper, cloth, and other surfaces for nearly 4,000 years. The process is simple and inexpensive, making it an ideal hobby or art form for the beginner. Yet its possibilities can be numerous and complex enough to challenge the most experienced. Learn to design, produce and print images using several block techniques. Have fun as you create unique greeting cards and other projects.
Saturdays, April 14 & 21; 1:00–4:00 pm
$55 Registration Fee (includes all materials)
$45 for adults - $35 for youths (ages 12–17)

All classes are held in the Mary Anderson Art Center

of the McPherson Opera House

Sign up today!

Just stop in the VAAM gallery, 223 S. Main, McPherson

Can't stop in? Just call 620-241-6131

Through My Eyes, by Michael Yates

THROUGH MY EYES, an exhibit of drawings and paintings by Michael Yates is featured in the Heritage Gallery of the McPherson Opera House, January 10–March 31.

Award-winning artist and instructor, Michael Yates is an individualist in the contemporary abstract realm, and defies any easy pigeonhole. His images are both thought-provoking and inspiring. He is adept in a number of different styles and mediums, including charcoal, pastel, acrylic and oil, and has worked in stained glass, ceramics and sculpture. He began instructing private lessons in 2008, and his works have been featured in such Kansas galleries as the Kemper Museum of Modern Art, the Wichita Art Museum, and Gallery 101 of the Flint Hills.

Michael grew up in Marion, Kansas and the surrounding area. He studied at Butler Community College in Eldorado, Kansas where he majored in Art with a minor in Business. Michael will donate ten percent of his sales proceeds from this exhibit to the McPherson Humane Society.

Stop in today!

McPherson College Art Student Exhibition at VAAM!

Annual Holiday Gift Show!

Handmade, handcrafted, hand-thrown, hand-painted, hand-dyed, hand-woven, hand-blown, personally designed....pottery, necklaces, tree ornaments, prints, vases, cards, paintings, china, rings, sculpture, bracelets, coasters, bowls, scarves, paperweights, handbags, shawls, more!
Stop in today!

A Night of Black & White!

A Night of Black & White formal gala to celebrate the VAAM gallery exhibit of one of the most contemporary Kansas painters, Philomene Bennett, Kansas City, and the McPherson Opera House performance of Marilyn Maye, Kansas City. Ticket holders will enjoy a champagne and hors d'oeurves reception in the VAAM gallery 5:30 pm, followed by an elegant three-course dinner in the Grand Ballroom of the McPherson Opera House. The dinner tables will be set by members of the community and the grand centerpiece will be specially designed and created by students in the McPherson College Art Department. Guests will also receive personal black and white photographs taken by fine art photographer Jim Turner, Lindsborg. As the crowning finale of the evening, cabaret singer Marilyn Maye, Grand Dame in her own genre, will perform in the McPherson Opera House auditorium. Tickets are available from the McPherson Opera House Box Office, or by calling 620-241-1952, ext. 200, or on-line at http://www.mcphersonoperahouse.org/now_pages/playing2.html

The Art of Philomene Bennett

For the month of November,
VAAM is proud to announce an exhibit by

one of the most important contemporary painters of Kansas

Philomene Bennett

Kansas City

Photography by Jim Griggs, McPherson

In the Heritage Gallery of the Opera House, the images of McPherson photographer Jim Griggs, who has explored landscapes, wildlife and people from the Flint Hills to Tanzania and many points in between. Come see a beautiful, hand-picked selection of Jim’s photography. The show ends on October 27!

Don't miss photographer Jim's program on Wednesday, October 26, 7 pm in the Ballroom of the Opera House. He'll take you on a Tanzanian safari via his vivid images and videos of the wildlife, landscapes, and people of the Serengeti. He leads photo safaris to Tanzania, and the next one is scheduled for 2013.

Fall 2011 Art Classes for adults! in the Mary Anderson Arts Center of the McPherson Opera House, Sponsored by the McPherson Arts Council & the Visual Arts Alliance of McPherson (VAAM)

Evening classes are $55 for the class series. Saturday workshops are $55 for each workshop. Participants will pay the supply fees for materials used in the classes directly to the instructor.

Saturday workshops:

Bleach Discharge on Cellulose Fabrics. Saturday, October 1, 10 am–2 pm. Create design on cotton or linen fabrics or 100% cotton t-shirt with various methods of applying and resisting bleach by painting, stamping, stenciling, spraying, dipping, and some Shibori techniques. $55. Supply list provided. Instructor: Karen Arzamendi, Denton, TX

Jewelry-Making with Precious Metal Clay (PMC). Saturday, November 12, 9 am–4 pm. Learn to form PMC into pendants, rings, charms, etc., fire and finish with a patina if desired. $55. Students will purchase 16gms PMC silver (about $41.88) directly from the instructor. Tools and access to firing provided. Instructor: Susan Shepard, McPherson

Evening Classes:

Intro to your Digital Camera. Mondays, October 3, 10, 17, 24, 6:30-8:30 pm. Learn how to “set” your camera to obtain the best images while learning the basics of camera operation, image capture, image adjustments, and storage of images. $55. Instructor: Jim Turner, Lindsborg

Drawing (for the Artistically Undiscovered). Tuesdays, October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 6:00-8:00 pm. Learn basic expressive drawing skills and lose your fear of drawing! $55, plus materials fee. Instructor: Michaela Groeblacher, McPherson

Basic Hand-Building with Clay. Thursdays, October 6, 13, 20, 27, November 3, 6:00-8:00 pm. Learn about basic hand-building and sculpting techniques in clay and several finishing methods for ceramic surfaces. $55, plus materials fee. Instructor: Michaela Groeblacher, McPherson

Register today! at McPherson Arts Council office, 620-241-6131 or at the Visual Arts Alliance of McPherson (VAAM), Tues-Sat, 10am–5pm, 620-241-5774. Both are in the McPherson Opera House, in downtown McPherson.

Assemblage! by Nancy Masterson & Kurt Wolf

The new “Assemblages” exhibit by Nancy Masterson, Hutchinson, and Kurt Wolf, Salina, is up and it’s great! You’ve got to see it! The exhibit runs September 1 to October 31. Be sure to come back for the reception on Saturday, September 17, 5-7 pm and meet Nancy and Kurt!