Members’ Exhibit award winners named

Congratulations to the award winners of the Annual Wassenberg Artist Members’ Exhibit and Sale! Artists who received awards are:

Mary McVay Worthington Memorial Award: Anita Lehman: Midnight Map

Van Wert County Foundation Award: Misty Hughes: Girl Wonder

Douglas Koch Memorial Award: Jan Boone: Wild Thing

Gertrude Sluterbeck Memorial Award: Brian Michael Sirois: A Timeless Rest

Van Wert County Hospital Sponsor Award: Judith Snook Choir Practice

Merit Awards (3): Jan Boone: Bovine Beauty Parlour, William John Jr.: Narrow Escape,
Ralph Stuckman: Oil Inked No. 14

Honorable Mentions: Karissa Jaggers: Happy Day, Richard Morgan: T-Bird, John Leatherman: Blue Bow, Robert Minto: Baby Faces

Call the art center or check out our website for more information on this great opportunity to purchase one-of-a-kind items for this holiday season. This sale will be on-view through December 17. Our hours are Tuesday-Sunday, 1-5 p.m., and we are open 1-9 p.m. on Thursdays for your convenience or by appointment. This exhibit was sponsored by the Van Wert County Hospital and through the Van Wert County Foundation.

Our next exhibit following the Artists Exhibit & Sale will be the American Watercolor Society. This international exhibit will open on Saturday, January 6, at 6 p.m. with an opening reception. Please drop by and see these stunning works by the time-honored group, the American Watercolor Society.

We will be hosting our Warm Up the Ridge drive again this year. This year we are also requesting donations of electric space heaters. Many of the residents of Pine Ridge Reservation, where most of the descendants of our Little Bighorn warriors reside, live in third-world living conditions and winters there are brutal. Fuel oil is hard to come by and expensive. People have lost their legs and there are fatalities due to the inability to get heat.

One of the challenges that makes it hard to get heat and help is logistics and connection with people on the Pine Ridge end to aid in distribution. Our friend, Marian Whitemouse handles this for our project and our donations go right to where they are needed, quickly. Faces of Little Bighorn donor Brent Stevens, owner of our Faces of Little Bighorn collection, personally drives the donated items to Pine Ridge.

In addition to the electric space heaters, the Wassenberg Art Center will be collecting clean, new or gently used items (in good condition, please!) such as hats, gloves, warm socks, coats, boots, and blankets, through December 20 to send to Pine Ridge Reservation. The more items the better. The focus would be on adult sizes. The past two years we received an overwhelming outpouring of support and would like to see if we can surpass that this year. Simply drop off your items here during our regular hours and we will see they warm someone up.

Art Classes

Classic Watercolor: Tuesday mornings from 10 a.m.-noon. Ongoing. $40 art center member price/$45 regular price. Instructor: Pat Rayman. Materials required. Online sign up available.

November 30-Elf Workshop: The Elf Workshop is back! You and your family can partake in all or just a few of the holiday craft stations. The elf workshop is great for all levels. You can create unique, projects to give as special gifts or use for holiday décor. We will be making felt pine tree centerpieces, tassel earrings, pinecone Christmas trees, Tea light snowman ornaments, and more! Several instructors will be on hand to assist you. Light snacks, hot chocolate and the cash bar will be available. Cost for the session, is $20, make all projects or choose what you like.

ArtReach: We still have some openings available in both age groups. We still have some openings, and you can sign up anytime. Tuesdays (ages 7-11) and Thursdays (11 and up) 3:30-5 p.m. We are currently taking reservations at this time for this great, stress free after-school art program. Official forms are available online at wassenbergartcenter.org or at the Wassenberg Art Center office.

The Wassenberg will be closed from December 22 through January 2, 2018. We will however, be available by appointment, so please give us a call or email if you need access. 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.