Gallery 92 West / Fremont Area Art Association

Get Ready to Go West!

We have a special treat this month in the Tracy Gallery–

a Private Collection of Western art & artifacts. The exhibit features a wide range of fine art pieces in a variety of media, as well as saddles, bridles, beadwork & more. Open your mind to a broader sense of the eternal question, “What is Art?”

Included will be work by such notable artists as:

Clarence Ellsworth, Artist of the West, who resided in Fremont for a time; walk back in time with a re-creation of his art studio

Miles Maryott, Born in Tekamah and a life long resident of Nebraska

Einar Petersen, a traveling artist with much time spent in Nebraska

Donna Toelke, Mountain artist, “She lived the west”

Show also includes:

• Prison made Horsehair Bridles, a unique American folk art

• Advertising Pieces depicting the Old West

• Numerous Indian made beaded works showing intricate designs

  

Hinds Gallery: Goin’ West Juried Show

“Goin’ West,” our annual Themed and Juried Show will be featured in the Hinds Gallery. Left up to each Artist’s interpretation, the exhibit is a mix of our Member’s work and all media were encouraged. The entries will be judged by Linda Meigs, “The Mill Lady” and director of The Historic Florence Mill in North Omaha.

Cash Awards will be given for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places. Gallery visitors can vote all month long for the “Viewer’s Choice” Best of Show which will be announced at the Goin’ West Event August 26th*.

LOFT ARTIST FOR AUGUST: Jana LeGrande

 *: Goin’ West! Fundraiser event will take place on August 26th at Gallery 92 West from 5:30-7:00pm for cocktails then continuing on to the Fremont Opera House for Meal, entertainment, and fundraising events. $60 per person or $480 per table If you would like to attend please RSVP by August 18th as Seating is Limited.

The Reception for the August Exhibits (with Judges Remarks at 6pm) will be held Friday, August 4th from 5:00-7:00pm

All Members Assemble!

July is a month filled with celebrations that include our country’s Independence and a festival honoring John C. Fremont. The Fremont Area Art Association also celebrates who we are and the wonderful things that happen at Gallery 92 West by showcasing the creativity and artwork of our membership.

All members are invited to submit two pieces to display in our All-Member Show. Once again, we’ve outdone ourselves! The Tracy Gallery is delightfully filled with an entertaining mix of subjects, styles and media. What better testament to our mission?! You might see something that was made in one of our classes or a veteran artist’s award winning creation. You may discover an unknown talent connected to a familiar name and face! Come see what your friends have created! AND… for those who are still unsure of your artistic abilities, this is your gentle encouragement… Next Year! (Also look ahead on our Events Calender for fun opportunities to get started at our “Try it Tuesdays”)

Plan to attend our July 14th Artists’ Reception, during John C. Fremont Days. Get out of the heat, enjoy  some refreshments and recharge with the energy of art!

Hinds Gallery: Jay Allen Michelsen

Gallery 92 is happy to announce Jay Allen Michelsen’s paintings will be featured in the Hinds Gallery this July. Michelsen was born and raised in Fremont. Michelsen’s frist art teacher was his mother, a gifted artist herself. Jay’s list of art teachers also includes our very own member, Barb Tellatin. Michelsen recalls Barb helped him refine his drawing skills and introduced him to other art media. Growing up, art made Michelsen feel included and successful.

Jay later joined the US Navy and continued creating. He worked on art ventures for various Naval bases including murals and flag designs. He even worked on portraits of other sailors’ girlfriends.

In 1982 Michelsen began pursuing his BA in Fine Arts at the University of Nebraska Omaha. His focus at UNO was primarily drawing and art History. Jay worked as a probation officer in Omaha before moving to Texas to pursue his dream of attending law school.

Jay now lives and works in Hastings as a public defender with his wife, Karol Ann. Together they enjoy creating and helping one another with ideas and projects. Jay and Karol Ann find inspiration in their love of art and each other. As Jay put it, “It’s a beautiful life.”

LOFT ARTISTS FOR JULY: Jason and Meredith Schleicher (Mixed Media)

The Reception for the July Exhibits will be held Friday, July 14th from 5:00-7:00pm

“Larger Than Life” Art Quilts by FiberWorks

The quilts featured in the Tracy Gallery were made by 12 textile artists from the Lincoln and Omaha areas who are members of Fiber Works, a group from seven cities in eastern Nebraska who have hundreds of years of quilting experience between them. They have been working together for about eight years to expand their knowledge and push the boundaries of their creativity. They learn from, inspire and support each other in all sorts of fiber art endeavors. The group has capped its membership at 12 so it doesn’t outgrow monthly meetings at members’ homes where they explore new techniques.

These aren’t your great-grandmother’s quilts, but they are rooted in the precise seams and intricate designs of bedcovers sometimes drafted to hang as doors or room dividers in rude prairie dwellings during pioneer days. Quilting has long been a mainstay of self-sufficiency; homesteaders had to take advantage of all of their resources, yet they found ways to make recycled products beautiful. Today quilting isn’t as much about recycling, but has grown into an amazing art form, incorporating modern and traditional techniques. These quilts are destined to grace a gallery wall, not brighten a bedroom.

Stitches in art quilts are created with free-motion quilting. That means rather than stitching in a straight line, the fabric is moved around as it passes through the sewing machine to anchor the batting between the top and bottom layers. The design dictates the stitch pattern. The quilters and artists invite non-traditional quilting techniques and media, such as buttons, cheese cloth, dyed fabrics and photographs printed into the fabrics. Fiber Works members include: Jo Drueke, Sheila Green, Merrilee Hansen, Dorothy Heidemann-Nelson, Cynthia Levis, Karen Murphy, Roxann O’Hare, Lynne O’Rourke, Cindi Pape, Peg Pennell, Marilyn Rembolt and Pat Stava.

Hinds Gallery: “Beauty Everywhere” Julie Collins – Mixed Media

Gallery 92 West is pleased to introduce Omaha artist Julie Collins, in her first solo exhibit. Through photos, paintings, and sculptures, Collins’ art explores the beauty of the everyday, and indeed the everywhere.

She describes her artwork as “seeing, capturing, and noticing the magical beauty of the simple things in life. ”Often lost in the hustle and bustle of our busy lives, plain, honest joys are too easily overlooked. Collins contends those things are around and readily available for us every day–we just need reminding! She enjoys finding “the hidden shapes, the dance of color, and the subtle movements that when combined, create endless compositions.”

Photography is the constant as well as the inspiration for creativity in Julie Collins’ work. Her well-developed and keen eye for finding surprises through the lens has led her to explore those images in other media. Not merely copies of her photographs, her paintings and sculptures have become instead a rendering of the mood and emotions experienced at that time.

The journey turns inward. “Photography and painting are a meditation for me. These tools still my mind, outside noise, internal noise, fade unknowingly, until soon I am only able to see and feel beauty everywhere and in everything.”

LOFT ARTIST FOR JUNE: Sara Womsat (Mixed Media)

The Reception for the May Exhibits will be held Friday, June 2nd from 5:00-7:00pm

Face: The Icons of Presence

Jane Tan Creti’s interest in iconography was first inspired by her brother. In the 1960’s he wrote icons for the New Skete monastic community in Cambridge, New York. In 1999, after several years of independent study, Tan Creti attended her first icon writing workshop held at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The workshop was offered by Vladislav Andrejev, master iconographer and founder of The Prosopon School of Iconology. Jane continued taking workshops around the country and eventually began hosting her own workshops in Omaha. In 2006, Tan Creti attended a full cycle of master classes.

Jane Tan Creti’s work is framed within the Prosopon School of Iconology (with roots in the Byzantine – Russian tradition of icon painting); her works are 24 karat gold leaf on wood panels written with egg tempera (in which egg yolk serves as the binder, holding the pigments together). Egg tempera achieves a luminosity in the finished icon that is a signature of 14th century Russian Masters.

For Tan Creti, each work is an act of prayer, connecting the writer and recipient in the context of the spiritual mystery being depicted. While practicing her art, Tan Creti senses herself releasing a deeply seated light that she feels will flow from her work to the observer. For Tan Creti, iconography is both art and ministry. Jane Tan Creti continues to facilitate classes for The Prosopon School, write commisioned icons and host iconography classes in her own studio.

Hinds Gallery: Fremont Public Schools Select Show Grades 5-8

Gallery 92 West and the Fremont Public Schools welcome the Select Show of artwork from grades 5-8 inthe Hinds Gallery through May 14. The Art Teachers from Fremont Middle School and Johnson Crossing Academic Center have chosen works representing the highest achievements of our local middle school student artists.

On Sunday, May 7th from 2-3 pm, special Awards in both 2D and 3D categories will be announced for each grade level. Please join us in honoring these young artists!

The Reception for the May Exhibits will be held Friday, May 5th from 5:00-7:00pm