May Newsletter
"Red-headed Woodpecker”

“Goldfinch”

"Baltimore Oriole"
Watercolors by Sandra Principe
Dear Friends of the Arts,
Spring brings with it hope, and we all hope that this will turn out to be a safer and better year than last. I am particularly enjoying the pink blossoms in the lovely crabapple tree at our new site, and imagining how beautiful it will look with an audience walking by it.

We have been watching various art centers and theatres around the country, to see how they are transitioning to being open to the public. We are eager to make art again, and long to entertain you! We will try to make tiny steps toward being open, but feel that, especially as a non-profit, it needs to be a safe transition. We hope to have a small outdoor Songwriters Showcase in June, and will continue to offer new YouTube postings and virtual art flipbooks until it’s safe for us all to gather again. Our earned income in the last year has been minimal, and we are so grateful for the continued support of our members and friends, which has kept us afloat. Thank you!

Much of our focus right now is on our new building, and making it ready to use when it is safe to do so. Planning seems to take so long, but we want to get it right the first time. It’s exciting, but scary too. I’m sure we will have “sticker shock” when we get the bids for some of the work and the materials, but we are also planning what work has to be the priority, and what work could be done later if necessary.

I can’t wait till we can share the new building with all of you!
Onward!

Carole
Flowering trees at the new Center
New Building Progress Report
Exciting progress! Our architect, Jim Baranski, completed the design for the lower level of the new building, which includes the performance area. He has created plans for a flexible theatrical space, which will comfortably seat a hundred in the audience. The lower level will also have a lobby area with a concessions booth, audience restrooms, performers’ dressing rooms, a scene shop, tech office,
storage, studios and a large meeting/classroom.

We now have the specifications for the design, so we can start ordering materials.

The first work that needs to be accomplished is installing drain lines under the floor for the new bathroom facilities. Elite Plumbing has started on that by locating and determining the depth of the existing line. I never thought I would be so delighted to have someone drill a big hole in the floor! By next month we hope we will have installed drainage pipes, and actually started construction on the performance space floor and walls. Stay tuned!
Nick Wagner, from
Elite Plumbing, getting
started on the job
Virtual Exhibit
Animal Art...wild and wonderful
Our current exhibit is a collection expressing our relationship to animals. It depicts our beloved pets, painted up close and personal, the wild creatures photographed from afar with telephoto lenses, and the abstracted forms sculptured in metal, clay, or stone. The subject matter runs the gamut of a long- horned cow, to a rubber ducky, to a dancing bear. Playful cats, a fanciful octopus, barnyard chickens, graceful “Backwater Dancer” egrets, and more, fill the pages of this virtual flip book in paintings, drawings, photographs, collage, poetry, and sculpture. Our talented regional artists have done it again!
 a slideshow by Bob Rivoire
all around…a few of nature’s colors
After a long winter and cool April, the blooms of spring and summer are emerging to bring beauty to our world. Sometimes we just walk by and don’t pay attention to them.
Bob Rivoire seeks out these small wonders and records them to remind us of nature’s delights. He has graciously put together this collage of images he has photographed, for us to enjoy and remind us to take the time to see nature’s colors.
Songwriters Showcase
The Amazing City of Galena
In case you missed it, here’s the YouTube link to our last Songwriters Showcase, featuring musicians in sites around the Amazing City of Galena.
Summit Street Singers
Fevre River Voices
If you haven’t heard, Kent Parry is back and he and Vivian are making Galena their permanent home. He is once again enthusiastic about leading our choirs.
We wanted to share an update on the status of the choirs. Many of you have reached out asking when we might be singing again. We are hoping that we will be singing this fall with all safety precautions in place.   You won’t want to miss the fun and joy of singing in the group again and seeing your music friends. Stay tuned for more information.
Call for Art
Celebrating Summer
Celebrating Summer, the next virtual exhibit, will debut in our June newsletter. With the past months of isolation and many fun events cancelled last year, we are hoping to enjoy a great summer ahead. We are looking for artwork and poetry inspired by whatever you enjoy: perhaps fishing or golf, riding or seeing hot-air balloons, flowers and gardens, children playing, picnics in the park, Fourth of July celebrations, music and dining on Main Street. These are a few of our favorite things—what are yours?
“Wesley’s Bubble Game,” pastel by Barbara Heitzman
The deadline for submissions is May 21.
Please email Patricia for details on how to submit your work.
View from the Studio
With the physical gallery still shuttered, and construction in our new site, we thought you might want to see what our regional artists are up to.
Michael Frain
Michael Frain proves that studio doesn’t always mean a room of one’s own, as we see him sketching next to his sleeping dog on the sofa. He is working on one of Vincent Van Gogh's original early paintings, "The Potato Eaters."
The controlled chaos of paints works for him at the easel.
Michael and his wife Patti have five grown children, some in professional music and ballet, so along with their dad, they have felt the financial affects of the pandemic. The starving-artist thing came into view, all too clearly.  
COMING EVENTS
We will have two Songwriter Showcase events in June!
Wednesday, June 2, 7 pm
We will have a YouTube Premiere for a showcase that we will record in Turner Hall, featuring Scott Guthrie, Twinray, and Jay Vonn.
-----------------Scott Guthrie-----------------
Twinray
---------------------Jay Vonn---------------------
Sunday, June 20, 8 pm
We plan to have an outdoor “Fete de la Musique” Solstice concert. This is still in the planning phase, but we hope for good weather and for audience members to be able to safely distance themselves on the lawn by the new Center.
Subscribe on YouTube for Notification of All New
Galena Center for the Arts Video Releases
Click on this link, scroll down to the Center's logo, move your cursor
to the right and click on SUBSCRIBE. To receive notification of new videos, click on the bell icon next to SUBSCRIBED, then click on All.
THANK YOU!
  • Jim Baranski
  • David Bronson
  • Angela DeVere
  • Larissa Distler
  • Elite Plumbing
  • Cathie Elsbree
  • Tom Erdman
  • Katherine Georgeson
  • Mark Haman
  • Lenny Wayne Hosey
  • Andrew Houy
  • Desiree Irwin
  • Naomi Kimball
  • Tom Kirkwood
  • Sarah Lentini
  • Lord of Love Lutheran Church
  • Joe Mattingley
  • Paul and Nancy McMenamin
  • Kate Miller
  • Jen Nottrott
  • Stephanie O’Shaughnessy
  • Nancy Schuldt
  • Mark Kelly Smith
  • Liz Snavely
  • Brittani Stephenson
  • LA Suess
  • Cindy Tegtmeyer
  • Irene Thraen-Borowski
  • Connie Warnsing
  • Dan Wienen
  • Ted Williams
WISH LIST
Please contact Carole at info@GalenaCenterForTheArts.com if
you are able to donate copier paper to the Center this month.
Support us with AmazonSmile Foundation Donations
We invite you to show your support for the Center when shopping on Amazon. We are now established as a charitable organization for contributions via the AmazonSmile Foundation. The Foundation will donate 0.5% of eligible purchases to us whenever you designate the Center as the charitable organization of your choice.

Here’s how to support the Center:

  1. Visit smile.amazon.com (you need to follow this step each time you designate donations).
  2. Log in with your regular Amazon account information.
  3. Select “Galena Center For The Arts Inc” as your charitable organization choice.
  4. Begin shopping.

Thank you for your support! We truly appreciate your thinking of us when shopping with Amazon!
Become a Member
Did you know you can become a member online?
Click HERE for information about our membership program.
Please Donate
Please help us to advance our mission to
elevate and celebrate regional arts and artists.
To donate online click on This Link, or send your check to:
The Galena Center for the Arts
971A Gear Street, Galena, Illinois 61036
Please forward our newsletter to your friends and relatives. They can click below to receive their own monthly update. Thanks for sharing our news with others!
This program is partially supported by a grant
from the Illinois Arts Council Agency.
This program is supported in part by an award from The Chicago Community Foundation, from the Arts Work Fund – Arts for Illinois Emergency Relief Fund housed at The Chicago Community Trust.
Don't forget to "Like" the Galena Center for the Arts on Facebook 
Have a preferred email address? Please let us know. 
Thanks so much for your support of the Galena Center for the Arts!
 
Newsletter produced by Dennis Waltman