Our Featured Artist for September 2010 is Judy Pampalone Judy in her own words:"  Recently I have been concentrating on non-representational water colors. I enjoy the freedom of creating a balance of shapes and lines that work together in a cohesive way. I feel that the variety of effects possible with watercolors makes the medium especially suited to abstract art."   The Power of White Watercolor 36" x  48"     Action-Reaction Watercolor 18" x 36"     Our last Featured Artist was Beverley Topa     Beverley is a very accomplished artist, an oil painter as well as a writer. Her poems and paintings are frequently accepted and published in " From The Edge Of The Prairie", a literary publication put out by the Prairie Writers Guild, of Rensselear, Indiana. This year her painting "Interlude in Blue" has been accepted for the 2010 cover  and her painting " Magdalene" alongside with her poem" The Penitent" will also be published there. 18 artist.com is very proud to have Beverley as our member.   Interlude in Blue   Magdalene oil on canvas   Spirit Dancer Oil on Canvas   Quiet Waters Oil on Canvas   Mission San Carlos Borromeo de Carmelo Oil on Canvas   Our last Featured Artist was Betty Kupke Wagner   Betty designs and produces porcelain jewelry with accents of metal and glass. Please visit her main page to see and enjoy all of her new pieces.   　 Formal education consists of a B. S. in Education in 1956 and a B. S. F. A. in 1985 both from Valparaiso University. ` Exhibitions include Valparaiso University, Chesterton Art Gallery, Collectible Arts Gallery, Chicago, Valparaiso University Law School and several shows sponsored by 18 Artists.com, at Chesterton Art Gallery, Vickers Theatre, Three Oaks, Michigan, Lake Street Gallery, Miller, Indiana, Southern Shores Gallery, Michigan City, Indiana, and Cornerstone Gallery at Centier Bank, Whiting, Indiana. "I'm particularly drawn to porcelain because of its unique and special qualities of strength and delicacy. For twenty years I primarily formed hand built aesthetics and organic vessels of porcelain. Recently, I turned to creating porcelain jewelry experimenting with accents of metal and glass. Each  is one -of-a-kind piece." Porcelain Pin, may be worn as pendant also   Porcelain Pendant     Porcelain Pendant       We Featured Darlene Lenz during Spring 2010 Darlene has been pretty busy lately, participating in several art shows around Indiana : The Illiana Artists Show at the Cornerstone Gallery in Whiting, In The 18artists Show at the Cornerstone Gallery in Whiting, IN The 18artists Show at the Southern Shores Gallery in Michigan City, IN 18artists Show in Hobart. IN Juried Show in Rockville, IN July 2009 *First Place* Lake County Fair Fine Arts Show, July 2009,  * Several Ribbons*   Darlene is now selling cards  ( 5" x 7" ) from her art at Leo's in Cedar Lake. a feed and garden center, she has quite a variety there and adding new ones all the time Leo's is on Rte 41 in Cedar Lake   Prairie Thunder, was on display at the Southern Shore Gallery Leaves of Blue was displayed at the Cornerstone Gallery Moonlight was displayed at the Cornerstone Gallery        We have another featured Artist for February: Marilyn Diller                            Marilyn is a very accomplished oil pastel artists and her passion is volunteering at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago.                 The Shedd Aquarium with the permission of the Bahamian government collects reef creatures for research and aquarium exhibits once a year.   Great care and expertise is used in the collection and care of the animals. Marilyn and a group of other volunteers spent a spent a little over a week in the    Bahamas and did some off the boat diving and collecting. What a fantastic learning experience!   " After chasing fish under water all day, I relaxed just watching the clouds go by. Funny thing- they started to look like fish. Other people see sheep, bunnies and funny faces in clouds, I saw fish; so that's what I have started painting....fishy clouds?! Here are some samples:       Cloud Fish           Fishset, Watercolor                                                               Watercolor   The Great Fishy Way Watercolor   Go Fish Oil Marilyn donated this oil painting to the Shedd Aquarium for " Art Sharks" Benefit     For more of Marilyn's new work click here         Our Featured Artist for January/February is John Sowles John joined our gallery in 2008. He is working as a sign artist but this is not the only art form he is good as, as you will see in the samples below. All of his artwork, in any medium, can be bought or ordered. John has done numerous client work, mostly in Indiana and Illinois. Please contact John if you are interested in his services.    Ceiling 2                     Ceiling5   Ceiling 4                                                                                               These are three mural examples, painted on ceilings. Work like this can be commissioned. John has decorated numerous houses in Munster, IN and in Orland Park, Il as well as his own house. His fee for a day's work is usually $320.00                                 This style of decorative painting is called "Rosemaling" Rosemaling is Norwegian flower art in its simplest definition. there a a few different styles depending on which region of Norway you're representing, and each style has its own color variations. To name a few of the more popular styles...Rogaland, which you see on the table...Gudbransdal, Telemark and Os. This guitar is one of a kind. John has decorated it for a friend who builds guitars.       These are two samples of Johns day job work   Please contact John Sowles directly if you are interested in his work.   jasowles@msn.com 18Artists are having a new "Beyond The Web" Exhibit   18 Artists at the Lakefront www.Lakestreetgallery.com   Photo: " Three Graces" Oil on Canvas, 24" x 20" by Dawn Fetty The Opening Reception is on Saturday, Oct. 10 at 7:00 pm at:   Lake Street Gallery 613 S Lake St. Miller Beach  Gary, IN 46403   219 938 4566   Gallery Hours:  T., W.,     10:00 am - 6:00 pm                        Th., Fr.,   10:00 am - 7:00 pm                        Sat.,         10:00 am - 5:00 pm   here are some of the images our artists displayed                                         June Krsek           Gerrie Govert         Marilyn Diller                 Judy Pampalone     June Krsek                Our Featured Artist for the next weeks is Brenda Farris Brenda is an emerging artists, a sculptor who loves to portrait faces. Below are two new samples.     When Jonny Comes Marching Home                 Jonny has Gone for a Soldier   Brenda in her own words: "Three years ago I started sculpting people in clay. It was an awakening of my soul and is now my passion. My references for the sculptures are family, friends, professors, and other artists. The work is often triggered by something someone said, or an expression on a face in a magazine, or just from my environment. Faces are of great inspiration to me, showing such expressions as serenity, sadness, and contemplation. The way the expression is transferred to the clay depends on my mood at the time of creation. The inspiration of these pieces starts as a large block of clay that I take a paddle and beat until I get the desired shape. Then I start sculpting with my hands and sponges going from general to specific features. When the visual images I desire are on the front and dry enough to flip over without damage to the features; I flip it over on foam and the grunt work starts. The excess clay from the back is painstakingly carved out until the piece is uniformly thick in all areas. I leave two pieces in the center in which I place a hole to put a wire through for hanging. It is important to create the hangers from the original clay to provide the strength and support needed to suspend and support up to 25 pounds of clay at a time. I think of myself as an alchemist – its all about common elements (earth, water and fire), I create from a thrilling place within me and bring together various ideas to form materials using images of people in a moment in time. I pick people that are a challenge to capture in clay. I look for an expression that I trust to be as transforming, peaceful and harmonious in ways to others as they are to me. When I abandon product expectation and simply remain awake to all that is in my midst; forms, images, and inspiration miraculously lead the way. Often I am amazed when looking at a completed piece that really pleases me. I look over my shoulder and say, 'who did that?' I feel sometimes humbled and honored, and even horrified knowing that I could go there; my hands following something much larger than myself. Then it all goes in a gallery and I look at my whole life in my work, happy, sad, and sexual, and I think, I need a shrink!"   Brenda has participated in quite a few shows lately. Please click here to link to her main page     Judy   All of Brenda's pieces are wall hangings in clay   Our Featured Artist for the Month of August is Kathy Los Rathburn Kathy is a very prolific watercolor painter. She loves the challenge and spontaneity of this medium so much that she doesn't feel like it is work to her. Recently she completed a series of 50 - 5" x 7" ( framed to 8" x 10") watercolors for an art fair that she participated in. Kathy won 3rd place for her paintings. Currently in her card design collection she has over 60 cards which she has professionally printed into 5" x 7" cards and giclee prints. Her most recent venue is a new watercolor DVD shot by professional photographer Mitch Brown. It is a demonstration of "water lilies" It is presently going through the final editing. Pre-Order copy NOW for $ 20.00 (plus shipping and handling) You can see all that Kathy is doing by visiting her web - site @ www.kathylosrathburn.com or by following her blog@ http://kathylosrathburn.blogspot.com Here are two sample out of the 50 which won 3rd place. Please click on the images to see the rest of Kathy's art.                                            Trillium II                                            Pink Roses     Original Watercolor                            Original Watercolor     Art 5" x 7"                                          Art  15" x 19"     Art/Mat 5" x 7"                                  Art/Mat 22" x 26"     $ 50.00                                              $ 250.00       Kathy Los Rathburn Ma's Tulips Watercolor     This was a commissioned piece Kathy painted. The original is not for sale but there are prints available. Please contact Kathy personally to order those.     One of the paintings in Kathy's award winning series of 50       Our Featured Artist for the Months of May and June:                            June Krsek        In June's own words:       I have painted several interesting house portraits lately..  I'm showing here a Grandmother's beautiful home in Mississippi, that her children and grandchildren have     childhood memories of. This makes such a nice gift to the family members.               The second house is a home of a friend, when we moved last year, I was in the process of drawing this lovely home and guarded it jealously so it would not      get damaged or lost in the move. But in spite of our careful attempts, it was lost and I had to repeat it.       I never tire of painting and drawing and as time passes thee interest that I have takes me along new pathways that make my live interesting. I have a few ladies that come to my house to paint once a week, It has become a pleasure to see them progress and come up with beautiful original paintings of their own design. Of course in teaching, that is when you really learn. We have been studying backgrounds and complementing the subject of the painting with the complementary color across the color wheel. My backgrounds have become more colorful as a result of this study. A friend and I are now volunteering at a senior home and giving Art lessons to a group of seniors some of them engineers and nurses, even a pilot, people that never had the time in their busy lives to explore their interest in art. So I continue to believe that we have a responsibility to continue to develop the talents that we have been given. To continue to grow and develop as we grow older makes life an exciting adventure. here is a quote from R. Serra:   " Play is a necessary ingredient in art, because there is a kind of wonder that goes on when you play"                                                                                         One Tulip                              Wild Posies                     Fun w. Apples                         Spring Tulips        All paintings are watercolors                          Our Featured Artist earlier this spring was Eva Pleuhs Spring:  It is the time that we all have been waiting for. It is now when we all take a deep breath and when we are ready for something.   Spring: It is the season for creativity, inspiration and joy.| Blue Quartz Necklace with Opal and Sterling Silver Beads   It is this time of the year that I like most. I listen to the melody of nature that awakens again and that brings to life many of my new ideas and creations. It is the pleasing arrangements of the sounds of spring that form the air in any in any new composition of my fine jewelry that I am happy and proud to present to you on this web page.                            Sterling Silver               Short Lava Stone             Hand made Gold filled Necklace with              Necklace with                 Chain Necklace with With Gigantic               With Sterling Silver          With Tourmaline Jump Rings                   Nuggets and Flower   Take a look at the wonderful shades of pastel colors that I have chosen for the semiprecious stones of my latest creations, the frail structure of my new silver necklaces and the silver flowers that make you feel like spring is all around when you wear one of this new line.   Forget about the cold-it is over: we are no longer hiding behind scarves, coats and turtle necks. Let's embrace the new season with new styles. My creations are just like the feeling we all are experiencing now: light-hearted, lively and full of optimism.Enjoy!                   Our  Current Featured Artist Is Anke Korioth Abstract Red I This is one of Anke's newest creation, please read about her very interesting technique because it makes you understand her abstract and more conventional paintings better.                                                           Techniques Since I used to paint in a more traditional style, people always ask me why I use photography and other images in my newer paintings. Growing up in Germany afforded me many travels throughout Europe and therefore my collection of travel snapshots had grown over the years. The boxes of pictures had survived many moves and instead of getting rid of them I decided to use them in my art work. I only had to find a way to permanently attach them to the canvas. or paper. To hide the edges of the images proved a little more difficult and since I always liked to work with plaster or modeling paste I gave that medium a try. Using this additional layer on the surface, painting became a totally different experience. In addition to using foil and colored paper I started using salt in some of my paintings. This added even more texture and sometimes a little glow and the reaction of the acrylic paint to the salt introduced another dimension. In my newest work I took it all a step further and used old original paintings on the new canvas, creating more of a collage painting. For me this holds the promise of the ultimate recycling process and in the end, it is the creation of something new that excites me.                                                 Abstract Red II                English Countryside         Illusion III                     Italian Renaissance    Sunday Afternoon   Darlene Lenz was our previous featured artist. Darlene Lenz is a very busy artist, she is the treasurer for 18artists as well as 2nd Vice President for Illiana Artists. in addition, she has created several new pieces, some in oil, some in colored pencil, which she has "newly rediscovered"   " I renewed an interest in colored pencil in 2008 due to the "OUT OF THE BOX" 18Artists member show at the Vicker's Theater in Three Oaks, MI July 2008 when it was suggested we show a piece in a different medium, and I decided to get back into colored pencil work. I had used them years ago, but then got so involved in oils that I had put them aside. Happily, I have really enjoyed them and have shown (a few newly created pieces), in member shows and Juried shows.   My favorite vacation is driving to MA to visit my grandson, Brandon, who will be three years old Jan 2009& that will be my next trip there- we enjoy our birthdays together as mine is soon after, & I also enjoy my son and daughter - in - law, & my daughter who also lives nearby. It is also an opportunity to add to my references with all the beautiful scenery & my last trip was in October 2008 so I have many more ideas to paint and draw".   Her work can be seen at Diner's Choice Restaurant ( Ridge Road, Hobart,I N. )at the Hobart Art League, Hobart, In and the Chesterton Art Center in Chesterton, IN   Here are a few samples of her newest work, all done in  colored pencil   Moonlight III     Magnolia     Snack Time     Marilyn Diller                                                Marilyn was very busy last year creating a lot of new  beautiful art. She is also working on a proposal for two murals: one for the Chicago Park District  and one for the Ice Arena at Midwest Training and Ice Center, Dyer, IN. More details  to follow " Since retiring from teaching, I hadn't "done" the human figure. I missed it. Now I have one proposal in the works of a shark attack room mural for the Chicago Park District and another of a winter skating pond for the ice arena at Midwest Training and Ice Center, Dyer, IN" Here is an excerpt of Marilynn's "Artist Statement" (Please click here to read all of it)   Floral Oil Pastels Santa brought a HD-TV for Christmas. Wow! I love the shows of extreme skiers flying off snowy cliffs and jet fighter pilots zooming low over mountain tops to dive bomb their poor little targets. It never occurred to me to view my big floral oil pastels in that way, but that's the exact effect I've been going for all along. Building layer on layer of oil pastels in that way, I study the 3-D structure of the flower, as well as, the lighting effect on translucent petals. The resulting piece is often an insect's view, perched on an outer petal ready to take the plunge. Here are her newest creations:                                                            Two Old Friends                 Hotties                                           Spring Snowball Oil Pastel                            Oil Pastel                                        Oil Pastel 14" x 20"                             12" x 18'                                        20" x 20"                                                  The Great One                     The Collection                             Three of a Kind Oil Pastel                             Oil Pastel                                     Oil Pastel 16.5" x 27"                           22" x 27"                                     18" x 18"                                                     A Rose by                                                         By another                                                     Name                                                             Oil Pastel 14" x 18" Origami As a teenager I received an origami book from my aunt at our very boring Christmas party. I enlisted everyone's help to figure out the paper folding instructions with next to no success. A month later when I needed a study break, I pulled the book out. It clicked. I couldn't put it down 'til I finished all the models in that short beginner's book. I was hooked.  I taught my middle school art students origami. They donated origami tree ornaments to Christmas charities and always had cool things to hang from their lessons on balance- a mobile. Now I aim at the original or a variation on a traditional model. Sometimes I combine models into something new. " Dancing with the Stars" on TV got mixed up in my head with a visit to the Field Museum's updated exhibit of dinosaurs that resulted in a series of origami sculptures" Dancin' with the Dinos"                                                Dino Dancin'                                   the Conversation Paper Origami                                Paper Origami 6" x 5" x 5"                                     7" x 5" x 2" Some earlier Pieces:                                                       Red Cranes in the Sun                                      Crystal Construction Origami                                                            Origami 11" x 8" x 8"                                                     11" x5" x 5" $ 75.00                                                            $ 20.00                                             Falling Snowflakes Origami 10" x 5" x 5" $ 35.00   18Artists Galley is pleased to announce the following event   Big Show of little Pieces   This show will be held at the Active Art Salon in Munster, In. No piece will be larger than 16" x 20". Our opening reception will be on Sept. 19, 2008 from 7:00 -9:00 pm                                Opening Hours at the Salon are:                    Tuesday:   10:00 am - 6:00 pm                  Wed:        12:00 am - 7:00 pm                  Thurs:       12:00 am - 9:00 pm                   Fri:           10:00 am - 6:00 pm                   Sat:            9:00 am - 3:00 pm            Closed on Sunday & Monday    Beverley Topa.   Beverly had two of her paintings, "Dune Tapestry" and "Questions without Answers" published in the 2007 edition of "From the Edge of the Prairie". Another, "Stands Proud!" has been accepted for publication in the 2008 edition.   Beverley Topa Dune Tapestry Oil on Canvas $ 800.00                      Beverley Topa Solitude Oil on Canvas 22" x 28" $ 800.00     Bevereley Topa Young Love Oil on Canvas 24" x 20" Private Collection         Gerrie Govert has currently two new paintings exhibited at: Tamarac Gallery, Indiana University Northwest, Gary, IN   the exhibit is called FUSION and runs from September 02, 2008 until September26, 2008 The Artists Reception will be on September 26, 2008 from 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm   Peony Reflection # 1 Charcoal 30" x 40" $ 2,500.00       Outside the Box Beyond the Web # 4 was our show in July at the Vicker's Theater 6 N Elm Street Three Oaks, Michigan. . It was a great success, we had a lot of people attend the opening and sold a few pieces. Thank you Jennifer Vicker's Theater for hosting us! Here are some of Dawn Fetty's experimental pieces which were in the show:         These are Lino Cut Prints   These pieces are by Karin Eisermann:     Abstract, Oil   Abstract II, Oil  Dawn Fetty                   Abstract 1                                            Abstract 2                     Leaves                        Dawn's own words : Like a child in a candy shop I am an artist excited by all possibilities and new avenues. I am like a butterfly that wants to land on all the pretty flowers. I am an artist still looking for a language. I am an artist that doesn't fit in any one shape. I am an artist still searching. I say"I" because my art reflects what "I" am at this time.       Judy Pampalone       Entanglement 2 Watercolor  9" x 9" $ 350.00     Affinity Watercolor  7.5" x  18" $ 500.00     Elongations Watercolor Image 5.5" x 22" NFS " Recently I have been concentrating on non-representational watercolors. I like the freedom to create shapes and lines that work together in an interesting way. I begin painting very loosely and gradually work toward tight details while keeping in mind balance and a sense of graceful motion"   Judy Pampalone
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