Artists show their colors

With a few strokes of her paintbrush, Donna Heiman quickly and almost magically changes a blank white canvas into a mountain landscape.

In the foreground, a crystal blue lake reflects the mountain’s majestic, snow-capped peak. Looking at the scene with an artist’s close eye, Heiman decides a few trees up front would be a nice way to frame the setting.

Dabbing the brush in a brown-tinted paint, she squiggles in the silhouette of trees, and then works to fill them in with branches and leaves.

Heiman is a long-standing member of the Wednesday Painting Group at the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts, 2001 N. Ewing St. in Seymour.

She, along with other members, have been busy putting on final touches and getting their work ready to exhibit in the center’s annual Members’ Art Show, which runs from now until Dec. 19.

A reception where the public can meet the artists and discuss their work will be from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Nov. 20.

SICA member Judy Carter of Seymour said the members’ show is an excellent way for local artists to display their work.

“It’s a good opportunity for people to come in and see how many great and talented artists we have here,” she said. “The show is a setting where artists can interact with the community.”

The show also serves as a way for artists to fund their passion.

“A lot of the work will be for sale and they make great Christmas gifts,” Carter said of the many paintings, drawings and other works on display.

The Wednesday Painting Group has several members whose work will be showcased, including Heiman, Carter, Eileen Whitaker, Wendall Geurkink, Ruth Bateman, Mertice Johnson, Jo James and Florence Wray.

Although the art center has been in existence only since the early 1990s, the Wednesday painting group has been together far longer.

“Some of us have been painting together since 1978,” Whitaker, a North Vernon resident, said. “We didn’t know beans about painting when we started.”

Geurkink, of North Vernon, hasn’t been an artist that long, only about three years, but art is something for which he’s developed his talents. He uses colored pencils to bring out details in his drawings of wildlife and local landmarks.

“I have been a furniture designer all my life, but I had never done art like this,” he said while working on a drawing of a largemouth bass.

One of his works, a large picture of a bald eagle, is on display as part of the members’ show.

“For me, displaying my work with other artists is part of the learning experience,” he said. “You get to see different techniques and ideas and can see how you’re progressing.”

Being in a members’ show is a way to build confidence in your work, Bateman added.

“Having a show is an encouragement,” the Seymour woman said. “We help each other and learn from each other. It’s just an easy camaraderie.”

Whitaker said even though she doesn’t sell her paintings, she enjoys being a part of the members’ show.

“I love to show my art and see other people’s work,” she said. “I paint for me, but it’s still nice to be able to show people what you are doing.”

For Heiman, painting with the Wednesday group at the arts center is something she looks forward to each week.
“I won’t miss a Wednesday,” she said. “I absolutely love it.”

Johnson, of Reddington, agreed.

“This is my day out,” she said while working on a landscape. “I just like it here and I like the people. They are like family to me.”

James, of Seymour, said the members show is a well-loved tradition at the art center. She was finishing up an oil painting of a young woman in period clothing standing near a pond feeding ducks.

“It gives us a chance to put our work someplace where other people can see it,” she said.

Driving down from Greenwood, Wray, a former Seymour resident, said artists need to have an outlet to show their work, and SICA’s members’ show is the perfect way to do that.

One of her floral paintings is part of the show.

She invites everyone to stop by to see the exhibit and to come paint with the Wednesday group.

“Everyone is welcome to come out here and see what we do,” she said. “Maybe they will want to join us. It’s easy.”

The group considers the art center a treasure of the community and hopes many people stop by to view the members’ show.

“We are so fortunate to have the art center and we do know what a blessing it is,” Carter said. “But there are so many people that will say, ‘Where is this art center? I’ve never been there.’”

The center is owned by Seymour native John Mellencamp and houses the only permanent collection of his paintings. SICA is also home to the Don Hill Crafts Barn and Amphitheater and the Conner Museum of Antique Printing.

Information

For information about the Southern Indiana Center for the Arts Members’ Show, the Wednesday Painting Group or the art center, contact Dick Parman, executive director, at 522-2278 or by e-mail at sicaadmin@verizon.net.