The Brownie is coming and bring us your art!

 By Hope Wallace

This is one big table. Our 15 dedicated board members will now fit comfortably around a new 14 foot boardroom table for our monthly meetings instead of cobbling together card tables or locating folding tables around the center. We want to warmly thank Larry Wendel and his wife Gloria for donating this beautiful and unusual table to the art center. They have both been instrumental in the re-creation of the art center and we are grateful for their generosity and insight! The table, hand-crafted by master carpenter, Dave Salway of Rockford, is unusual for a boardroom table, in that it is modular. It is designed in four parts, which fit together to form up to ten different combinations. It is constructed out of solid oak and moves easily on glides. Keeping the table use flexible helps us utilize the space in different ways.

We also wish to thank the Niswonger Foundation and scholars for their visit, tour and lunch on Monday. It’s always great to share how quickly the arts can revitalize an area. The Niswonger foundation also provided a donation to the Art Center in support of our programing. Thank you.

Call for entries! Call for entries for our 59th Annual June Art Exhibit has gone our and we want your art! Art check-in days are scheduled for May 23 and 24 from 1–5 p.m. We encourage all regional and national artists both amateur and professional to enter the exhibit and competition. The exhibit itself opens on June 13 at 6 p.m. with a free, public opening reception. The Dan Smyth Band of Fort Wayne will play and a cash bar will be available. This band has a jazz background, which has jammed into something a bit less mellow. They often play Columbia Street West, Country Heritage Winery, the Botanical Gardens Roots concert series. Members are: Dan Smyth, Ed Renz, Casey Stasifer, and Colin Boyd. Big groove, funky funk.

What? Brownie in Motion? Camp? We will explain! This unique summer camp will be held between June 17, 18, and 19 for ages 8 –15 and will feature not only a life size, but operational Brownie Camera. The camera that you can literally walk into was built by Stephen Takacs of Columbus. Stephen is a professional photographer and lecturer from Ohio State University and will be exploring the ancestor of today’s point and shoot and smart-phone cameras with the young people in the Van Wert area. The campers will make pinhole cameras and learn about camera obscura among other things. Students will even get to use the giant Brownie, which makes…giant photos! You can read more about Stephan on this online article: http://www.lomography.com/magazine/278681-an-interview-with-photographer-stephen-takacs. Give us a call if you would like to reserve your child’s spot. Cost is $40 member price and $45 non-member price. Limited space!

Our exhibit, Art from the Fort which will open on July 11, which features five prominent artists Gregg Coffey, Mindy Penneycoff, Terry Ratliff, Joel Fremion and Gary Travis from our neighbor city Fort Wayne just got a bit more celebratory. We will announce what’s coming in the next few days. Quack. Roar.

A new drawing class will be added on June 5, 12, 19, and 26 from 10 a.m.-noon. Instructor: Pat Rayman. The class will learn how to improve drawing skills and learn new techniques using a variety of materials. Materials required: drawing pad or paper, drawing pencils, kneaded eraser, colored pencils, ink pen and oil pastels (provided if required).

Our ongoing watercolor class continues on Tuesday mornings from at 10 a.m.–noon and the instructor is Pat Rayman. Persons are encouraged to jump in anytime and the class is sold in monthly increments. $35 for members and $40 for non-members.

We have an acrylic painting class with Pat Rayman scheduled for May 15, 22 and 29 from 10 a.m. until noon. The class will learn composition and color value to create light and shadow effects, night scenes building texture and more. Materials required are basic acrylic paints in assorted colors, brushes, palette for color mixing (we use foam plates), canvas boards, panels or watercolor paper.

For more information on exhibits or to sign for classes and events visit wassenbergartcenter.org. The Wassenberg Art Center is located at 214 S. Washington St. (former Van Wert Armory). We can also be reached by telephone at: 419.238.6837, email: info@wassenbergartcenter.org and our website is: wassenbergartcenter.org.