Pictured: Dreaming of a wide isthmus by Kory Northrup

FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Celebrate the arts and help support Maude Kerns Art Center!

 

Join us on Sunday, May 14, from 11 am to 5 pm at the Art Center for our 2nd annual “Marvelous Mother’s Day at Maude’s,” a benefit to support the Art Center’s education and exhibits programs. Spend a fun afternoon filled with artwork from over 20 local artists, food and wine, raffles, art demos and activities, a Club Mud ceramics sale, and more. Thank you to all our marvelous participating artists, sponsors, and volunteers for your support!

 

Although most Spring term classes have started (and are full!), check out our upcoming adult workshops in “Urban Plein Air with Pastels,” “Intro to Cyanotype,” and “Lumen Printing.” Also, don’t miss our next Family Workshop, “Inspiring Women Artists,” on Saturday, June 3. Summer adult class registration opens later this month and classes and workshops start in early July. Get creative this summer and try something new!

 

The Art Center is thrilled to present our new show “Not Just: A World Collage Day Exhibit,” opening on Friday, May 12. Inspired by guest curator Beth Robinson, who envisioned celebrating World Collage Day (May 13) with an exhibit, “Not Just” features 40 selected local and national collage artists, as well as an international invitational showcasing collage artists from eight different countries, including France, Greece, Spain, and more. Join us on Saturday, May 13, for World Collage Day as the Art Center hosts a variety of collage events.

 

Thank you for your support and I hope to see you at the Art Center!

All my best,

Michael Fisher
Executive Director

MARVELOUS MOTHER'S DAY AT MAUDE'S

Join us for the 2nd annual “Marvelous Mother’s Day at Maude’s” fundraiser at the Maude Kerns Art Center on Sunday, May 14, from 11:00 am – 5:00 pm. The fundraiser features a wide variety of artwork by over 20 local artists, raffles for wine and gift baskets, “make and take” art projects for kids and adults, art demonstrations, and refreshments. There is a $5 suggested donation.

 

Enjoy work by some of your favorite local artists, including Carolyn Bloom, Tim Boyden, Pat Condron, Barbara Counsil, Ron Dobrowski, Suma Elan, Jan Eliot, Dee Etzwiler, Kathy Fraser, Heather Halpern, Sharon Kaplan, Tara Kemp, Kay King, Rogene Mañas, Patricia Montoya Donohue, Satoko Motouji, Viki Neville, Lynn Peterson, Margaret Plumb, Marilyn Robert, Beth Robinson, Jerry Rosa, Ed Teague, and Michael Whitenack.

 

Artist demos: Barbara Counsil, Patricia Montoya Donohue, Rogene Mañas, Lynn Pederson, and Marilyn Robert

 

Thank you to our Sponsors: Buffalo Exchange, Café Yumm, Capitello Wines, Susan Castillo, Falling Sky, Hop Valley Brewing, J. Scott Cellars, Karen Angell-Mendez, Metropol Bakery, Prince Puckler’s Ice Cream, Beatrice Roberts, Sundance Wine Cellars, and Alice Strong

 

Don’t miss this great opportunity to purchase local art and support the Art Center!

 

Pictured: “Marvelous Mother’s Day at Maude’s” in 2022

IN THE GALLERIES

Not Just: A World Collage Day Exhibition:

Opening May 12

Maude Kerns Art Center presents “Not Just,” a juried exhibit in honor of World Collage Day on May 13, featuring work by 40 local and regional collage artists, as well as the collage art of 11 invited international artists. Initiated by Kolaj Magazine in 2018, World Collage Day is an annual international celebration of collage. “Not Just: A World Collage Day Exhibition” was curated by Beth I. Robinson and Michael James.

 

Mediums vary widely, including acrylic, paper, paper collage, puzzle montage, assemblage, intaglio, found objects, natural pigments, cyanotype, textile, appliq, embroidery, ceramics, kiln-cast glass, musical instrument parts, blackout poetry, ink, monoprint, aerosol paint, magazine clippings, and mixed media.

 

The exhibit is on display through June 9. A variety of activities are planned at the Art Center to celebrate World Collage Day on Saturday, May 13. Please see below for a detailed list of World Collage Day offerings.

World Collage Day at Maude Kerns Art Center 

Collage Making Open Studio

10:00 am – 12:00 pm

$10 Studio Fee

Register Here

 

Collage Making Open Studio with artists Beth Robinson and Ann Bumb Hamilton. Let’s celebrate this art form with a community meet up, brief art talk on collage art history, and collaging session. Bring your favorite materials or tools. Some collage materials provided. Open for all levels.

 

 

Collage Artist Trading Cards Workshop

Beth Robinson

12:30 – 2:30 pm

$20 Workshop Fee

Register Here

 

In this workshop, we will discuss what collage artist trading cards are and how they started. We will then create three trading cards to be exchanged with other members of the workshop. Bring your favorite materials or tools.



Celebrating Collage Family Workshop

Sara S. Spahn

1:00 – 3:30 pm

Registration Full

 

In celebration of World Collage Day and taking inspiration from the Art Center’s international collage exhibit, families will learn the fun art of collage. The Art Center will have all the supplies you need.

 

Exhibit Jurors Talk

3:00 – 4:00 pm

Free. No registration required.


Join us for a special Jurors Talk with “Not Just”: A World Collage Day exhibit jurors Beth Robinson and Michael James.  

Upcoming

Two Shows Open June 23

Vestiges: Work by Julie Anderson Bailey, Janine Etheridge, Jason Greene, and Karen Russo features four artists who, through painting, printmaking, mixed media, and sculpture, tell visual stories that represent a kind of call and response collaboration with nature. Their work can be seen as vestiges of what might be lost through climate change, war, and disconnection.


Evocation: This two-person exhibit showcases the encaustic paintings of Andrea Schwartz-Feit, who translates and interprets patterns in nature and self in her work, and the carved wood standing figures of John Richey, whose sculptures evoke a psychological human presence.

 

Pictured: Nature Discontinuity (Infinite) by Andrea Schwartz-Feit

“Oregon Imagined” at the

Gallery at the Airport

On view through July 11 at the Gallery at the Airport is “Oregon Imagined,” featuring 29 Art Center member artists who envision a future Oregon in a diverse variety of approaches and mediums. Some imagined an Oregon where the state’s cherished natural environment and landscapes were protected. A number depicted an Oregon ravaged by wildfires while others took a more humorous approach, playing on Oregon's history with cryptids and legends. The exhibit includes a mixture of 2-D and 3-D pieces in a variety of media, including paper, cold wax, acrylic, oil, ceramics, assemblage, fused glass, dyed reeds, paper clay, printmaking, photography, gouache, chalk pastels, and found natural materials. The Gallery at the Airport is located inside the terminal’s main lobby.

 

Pictured: Devastating Beauty, Hills, Wind. Fire, mixed media by Leanne Ellis

Members Art Gallery & Gift Shop

Work by Art Center members and Club Mud ceramicists is exhibited in the Members Art Gallery on a quarterly basis. The work of 13 member artists is on display in the Members Gallery through June 9.

 

Pictured: Still Life with Sunflowers by Cathy Meyer 

Online Members Gallery

The Exhibits Program continues to accept artwork for display and sale in the Online Members Gallery. Current Art Center member artists can get information about how to participate by emailing the Exhibits Coordinator Liberty Rossel at exhibits@mkartcenter.org. Participation is free for current members.

CALLS TO ARTISTS

Mayor’s Teen Art Show:

Teen artists ages 13 – 19 years living in the greater Eugene area are invited to submit original 2- and 3- dimensional artwork for the 24th Annual Mayor’s Teen Art Show, September 8 – 29. Awards offered include cash prizes, art supplies, and more. The Title Sponsor is the Susi Larsen & Cameron Serbu Memorial Scholarship Fund of the Oregon Community Foundation.

 

Turn in a completed application form with up to five good quality digital images. Submissions may be made on paper with a thumb drive and mailed to the Art Center, by email to exhibits@mkartcenter.org, or by digital submission from our website.

 

The submission deadline is Tuesday, May 30. For the prospectus and application form, visit: mkartcenter.org.

Día de los Muertos Exhibit:

The Art Center is accepting submissions for our 30th annual Día de los Muertos Exhibit, October 13 – November 3. Work must be original and must focus on the Mexican Day of the Dead, which blends the ancient harvest rituals of the Aztec god of death and the Roman Catholic holidays of All Saints and All Souls Days. All artists, working in all mediums, are eligible.

 

Application may be either online or with a paper application. For online entry, go to Día de los Muertos Form. For mail or in-person entry, include a flash drive with jpeg images, a completed application, a resumé, an artist’s statement, and a $15 submission fee.

 

Entries are due or must be postmarked by Monday, August 7. For more information, call 541-345-1571 or email exhibits@mkartcenter.org.

ART EDUCATION

Weekend Workshops

Upcoming Weekend Workshops are still taking registrations! We have two alternative photography processes: Cyanotype and Lumen Printing. Or perhaps you would enjoy the great outdoors while drawing with pastels in our Urban Plein Air with Pastels workshop. 

Intro to Cyanotype

Brenna Hansen


12:004:00 pm

Saturday, June 3

Register here


Cyanotype is a photographic printing process that uses the sun to produce a cyan blueprint. The process is simple but diverse, lending itself easily to experimentation. In this one-day workshop, learn both the fundamentals of the process and experimental techniques, producing the following works in cyanotype: photograms using natural objects, photographs using digital negatives, and toned & manipulated prints. No previous experience is required, and all materials for this workshop are provided! Participants will be asked to email the images they wish to print in class ahead of time.

Lumen Printing

Brenna Hansen


12:003:00 pm

Sunday, June 4

Register here

 

Lumen prints are photograms made with the sun. This is a camera-less photography process that combines photographic paper and chemistry traditionally used in a darkroom setting with light and subject matter found outside. The results yielded from this open and experimental process are surprising and dynamic. In this workshop, we’ll introduce this alternative analog process, experiment with a variety of materials, and briefly cover DIY digital methods of presentation and archiving. No previous experience is required, and all materials are included.

Plein Air Weekend Workshops

Urban Plein Air with Pastels

Channing Rudd


Saturday & Sunday,12:00 – 4:00 pm

June 10 & 11

Register here

 

Capture the hilly streets, storefronts, and urban skyline of Eugene in this plein air class. Learn to create a convincing sense of space, light, and time of day while depicting streetscapes, trees, and sky. Color mixing and pastel techniques will be demonstrated, but all drawing/painting media are welcome. Saturday we will meet at the Art Center. Sunday's location will be announced at the end of that class session. Note: Students are responsible for their own transportation to the plein air locations. All levels welcome!

Family Weekend Workshops

In honor of Women's History Month, the Art Center presents a Family Weekend Workshop on Saturday, June 3. Bring your family members to the Art Center to learn about the work of two inspiring women artists. 

Inspiring Women Artists

Sara S. Spahn


Saturday, 1:003:30 pm

June 3

Register here

 

Come celebrate Women’s History month with a family art experience. Work with some of the colors, techniques, and ideas of creative women! Our instructor will guide you through painting, drawing, and collage activities. We will be exploring works by assemblage artist and sculptor Lillian Blades as well as abstract painter Helen Frankenthaler.


Pictured: Abundanscape, mixed media assemblage by Lillian Blades

Open Studios

Open studios are a great way to extend your creative practice. Drop in Thursday morning for the Clothed Figure Painting Open Studio or Friday in the morning or afternoon for the Figure Drawing Open Studio. The drop-in fee is $15.00.

 

These sessions are open to any level. While there is a facilitator who will set timed poses for the model, there is no guided instruction. This allows you the benefit of working at your own pace and focusing on techniques or development of your own style and approach to figure painting or drawing. 

Open Studio: Clothed Figure Painting

Facilitator, no guided instruction 


Thursdays, 9:30 am12:30 pm 

Through June 8 

Open Studio: Figure Drawing 

Facilitator, no guided instruction 


Fridays: 

AM Session: 9:30 am – 12:30 pm 

PM Session: 1:30 – 4:30 pm

Through June 9 

Summer is right around the corner and we are still registering for young adult labs. Our youth camps are currently full. However, we encourage you to call and add your name to the waitlist. 


Young Adult Labs are for ages 11 – 16 years. These labs provide 3 hours of guided creative exploration. Come and learn a new skill or try something you have always wanted to learn. Labs are designed for experimentation and all levels are welcome!

Drawing & Illustration

July 1014

9 am12 pm

 

In this class we'll explore drawing and illustration focusing on scenes with characters: human figures, anthropomorphic animals, and animal characters. Using example illustrations, we'll study how the image was made and create our own versions inspired by them. Join us to develop your art style and learn some art fundamentals along the way!

Acrylic Painting 

July 17 – 21

9 am – 12 pm

 

Join us in this class where we'll create a series of acrylic paintings. For the first projects, we'll work from an example, getting familiar with the process and techniques. As we progress, participants can work more independently. Some of the subjects we'll paint include stylized animals, landscapes and cityscapes, and a painting of your own design.

Clay Hand Building 

July 24 – 28

9 am – 12 pm

 

Explore slab building, coil pots, and pinch pots! We will spend the week learning to texturize and glaze the forms we make. Learn how to make your clay creations ready for firing. Join us in this fun 3-D clay class!

Design Lab

July 31 – August 4

9 am – 12 pm

 

This week is all about drawing, printmaking, digital illustration, and more. Explore ways to transfer your designs onto a variety of materials, including cloth, canvas, and even wood.

Sustainable Art Lab

August 7 – 11

9 am – 12 pm


Learn to create, repurpose, and imagine new creations from everyday materials.

Drawing Fundamentals

August 14 – 18

9 am – 12 pm

 

Learn basic skills using both traditional and experimental drawing techniques. This week we will produce drawings using ink, charcoal, pencil, colored pencil, and pastels. We will learn to layer these mediums and experiment with textures, positive and negative space, and composition.

Wildlife Art Lab

August 21 – 25

9 am – 12 pm

 

This week you will immerse yourself in wildlife art making, learning the basics of anatomy and rendering fur or feathers. This class will draw from wildlife photos as well as live animals.

Summer Class Preview


Our summer schedule will be out at the end of May! 

 

Perhaps you are ready to begin your artistic journey through “Drawing Essentials,” where you will focus on volume, line, edge, and texture. “Understanding Color” offers participants a chance to discover color mixing and how to create a powerful image when limited to 5 colors. 

 

If you love the outdoors, join our “Urban Pastels Plein Air” weekend workshop. And for those who are on the go but love to draw, consider taking our digital class on “Learning Procreate,” a great way to make art when you are traveling. 

 

We continue to have courses in ceramics this summer. Join us for the evening Wheel-throwing class or the weekend workshop in Raku Firing.

 

Our printmaking studio will have two new classes. Join us for “Screen Printing,” where we explore photo emulsion. If you have some drawing and painting experience, register for “Relief and Linocut Printing,” a faster paced class with instruction on several printing techniques from soft cut to linoleum carving to 3-color reduction printing. 

 

Please check our website by May 26th for the complete summer class schedule. And remember to join the waitlist as cancellations do happen. See you this summer in one of our studios!

Scholarships

The Art Center currently offers scholarships for 50% of the cost of tuition for classes and camps. Scholarships are available for all age groups through the Susi Larsen & Cameron Serbu Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Madeleine Christenson Scholarship Fund. You can apply today on our website! 

WELCOME, BEN!

We are happy to welcome Ben Davis to the Art Center Staff as our Digital Media Coordinator. Ben began working on contract for the Art Center in 2011. He designs and updates both the Art Center website and the Art and the Vineyard website. Ben also provides photograph documentation for all our art exhibits and events throughout the year and creates video content for the Día de los Muertos exhibit and the online Member Artist series, an ongoing video series of prominent Art Center member artists. He received his BFA in Digital Art from the University of Oregon in 2008. 



Ben says that he was attracted to the Center when he became aware of the unique base of creative individuals involved here, a circle of art-makers who sustained and were supported by the Art Center. Ben comments: “Housed in a historic church building, the Art Center is one of the oldest, most storied organizations in the area. I enjoy being a part of this history.”

EUGENE DARKROOM GROUP

Eugene Darkroom Group is working with the Center to launch a new series of artist talks by impactful analog photographers. Our hope is to inspire our members and bring our community closer together. Admission to the artist talks is Free for members and $5 for the public.

 

On Monday, May 22 at 6 pm, join us in the Art Center’s main gallery for our first artist talk hosted by Shawn from the YouTube channel “Attic Darkroom.” Shawn is an inspiring member of the larger film photography movement and a University of Oregon alumnus. His channel is all about pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with analog photography and includes a focus on “trichroming”- an amalgamation of in-the-field techniques, with some digital wizardry.

 

If you're experienced in analog photography, joining our nonprofit community darkroom gives you access to a fully equipped darkroom space where you can continue to hone your skills in both film development and silver gelatin printing. Members also get other benefits, such as access to our equipment library, show and publication opportunities, and first access to community events. Visit eugdarkroom.org/membership for more information. 

THANK YOU!

We are very grateful to our Volunteers, Board members, Staff, and Art Center donors and patrons for their ongoing dedication and support.

MISSION STATEMENT

To nurture artistic expression and creativity in the individual and

to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of art and culture

in our community.

Maude Kerns Art Center programs are made possible in part by:
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