High School invitational winners announced

By Hope Wallace

The Annual High School Invitational opened at the Wassenberg Art Center with a reception. Braden Thatcher, Kaitlyn Wendel and Aubrey Gebert provided live music. Awards were distributed as follows:  First place; Brooke Ripley, Crestview High School, Second place; Kayleigh Klir, Fort Jennings, Third place; Jade Moles, Parkway High School. Honorable mentions were awarded to: Olivia Wieging, Nick Olson, Leslie Skelton, Morgan Boggs, Skyla Menke, Leslie Skelton, Taylor Andrews, Annalee Burnett, and Lindsey Core. The juror was Michael Bendele, artist/sculptor of Delphos.

Are you ready to join the conversation? We don’t care if you are yo pro, con or undecided about wind energy, we want to see your artistic statements. This is a call for entry for our Winds of Change Exhibit. The wind can be exhilarating. It can also be challenging. So can change. Wassenberg Art Center is challenging artists to contemplate the breezes that tickle our imaginations. We’ll be accepting wind-themed artwork in painting, drawing, photography, and sculptural mediums. Artists are encouraged to consider the effect of wind and wind-based clean energy in their lives and in the regional landscape. Do you make mobiles, kinetic sculptures, or wind-swept landscapes? This exhibit is for you. Please submit your work, entry form, and fee before the May 1 deadline. You may enter up to 4 pieces. All works meeting submission requirements will be judged for the following cash awards: First Place: $400, Second Place: $150, Third Place: $75. Please call the art center or visit our website for more information. Entry deadline is May 1, 5 p.m. The exhibit opens on May 7 and a closing reception is scheduled for Friday, May 27, 6–9 p.m. Featured performer, international blues musician Radoslav Lorkovic, of Chicago, will be returning to provide live music on our baby grand and his accordion.

ArtNight, kind of like an after work happy hour, with art! No entry costs and you don’t even to have to make anything. Just come and hang out.  ArtNight takes place on Thursday from 6–9 p.m. bring a friend, listen to some music, drink some wine and be a maker! Or, just watch, maybe the maker bug will catch on.

Watercolor Techniques (ongoing) Tuesdays 10 a.m.–noon, ages 15–150. Instructor: Pat Rayman. Students will learn some of the classic and time-tested watercolor techniques for a solid base and further their watercolor painting skills. Wet on wet, dry brush and other tricks will be demonstrated and explored. This class is ongoing but we encourage you to jump in anytime. $35 members, $40 non-members. Materials required: Watercolors, watercolor paper (140 lb.), brushes, palette (we use foam/paper plates), drawing pencil, eraser, permanent black pen.

Because one call for entry is not enough! For 60 years the Wassenberg Art Center has hosted the Annual June Art Exhibit. Some of the first June Art Exhibits were hosted right here in our still new-to-us home, the former Van Wert Armory. While we embrace change, it’s good to come home to one of our favorite comforts, the Annual June Art Exhibit. Entries will be accepted Saturday & Sunday, May 13,14,15, from 1 – 5 p.m. Entry is open to all artists 18 and older. A non-refundable fee of $25 for Wassenberg Art Center members or $30 for non-members entitles the artist to submit up to three entries. Almost $2,000 in total cash prizes will be awarded. Please call the art center or visit our website for more information. This exhibit opens on June 11 with a reception, featuring the return of, by popular demand, of The One-eyed Show of Saint Mary’s! T.O.E.S. performed last year here behind the Wassenberg Art Center for Eats on the Streets.

It just keeps going. Main Street Van Wert and the Wassenberg Art Center’s combined baby; Town Creek Live (Formerly Eats on the Streets) will happen again this year! Mark your calendars for July 9, 3 p.m. – midnight. We will have twice the trucks, more ducks and not one, but two bands this year! We are happy to announce some of the line up for music as Dan Smythe Band (6-piece) of Fort Wayne followed by the Holbrook Brother’s Band of Montpelier. (don’t let the small town fool you, these guys rock!) We will have Sam Dell of Bryan performing acoustic inside earlier on in the day and Van Wert’s own Real Human Robot will return to funk it up. Ducks will go on sale early May and this year’s recipient of our donation will be The Wrecking Crew!

For more information on exhibits or to sign up for classes and events visit: wassenbergartcenter.org. The Wassenberg Art Center is located at 214 South Washington Street (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.