The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts

Mentors Access Youth Mindset: Mentor Exhibition at RNG

WHAT: The Kent Bellows Studio Mentor Exhibition Opening Reception

WHEN: Saturday, March 12th, 2011, 7pm – 10pm

Exhibition continues through March 27th, gallery hours are Tuesday-Friday 11am-2pm, 5pm-9pm, Saturday-Sunday 9am-2pm

WHO: Mentors of The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts

WHERE: RNG Gallery, 1915 Leavenworth St., Omaha (Dixie Quicks Entrance)

At The Kent Bellows Studio & Center for Visual Arts, area teenage artists are matched with established artists in the community. The students reap the benefit of working with area professionals, learning new skills and means of artistic expression. Often, however, the artist mentors receive inspiration from their students as well.

“The mentoring context often inspires more experienced artists to access more youthful mindsets, not only to help engage students but to discover perhaps unexplored areas and methods of creativity, said Weston Thomson, Education Manager. “This type of stimulation can lead to new ways of seeing old patterns in current work and subsequently influence creative decisions.”

A mentor exhibition opens at RNG Gallery, 1915 Leavenworth St., with a reception on Saturday, March 12th, 2011, 7-10pm. Some of the mentor art featured has been developed within The Kent Bellows Studio allowing the student to participate in the process of critique and feedback. This sense of context and history enriches the experience of each mentor art exhibition and makes each one unique.

The show continues through March 27th, gallery hours are Tuesday through Friday, 11am-2pm and 5pm-9pm, Saturday and Sunday, 9am-2pm.

This exhibition is curated by the Gallery Internship Program mentored by Christina Narwicz and will showcase the work of the following mentors: Jeremy Caniglia, Sara Fettin, Tim Guthrie, Amy Haney, Matt Jones, Alex Myers, Narwicz, Gerard Pefung, Dan Richters, Weston Thomson and Steve Walsh. The artwork featured represents an array of traditional methods and mediums such as oil painting, drawing and mixed media, but also pushes the gamut with some kinetic, digital and fashion influences. The student curators are: Nicole Henderson, Anita Hodge, Anthony Marx and April Smith.

“This exhibition features a rare, intense collection of creative minds, whose work both reflects one another and meets the demands of independent expression,” Thomson said.

We thank the following partners who make our programming and operation possible: Cathy Solarana Design, the Nebraska Arts Council, Redstone Communications, Secret Penguin, Redstone Communications, Therman Statom and Urban Village. Special thanks to Rob Gilmer, RNG Gallery and Dixie Quicks for their support.

Kent Bellows Exhibition Opens at Joslyn

Last Wednesday, there was a private preview of the “Beyond Realism: The Works of Kent Bellows 1970-2005″ hosted by Joslyn’s Contemporary Art Society. Exhibition Curator Molly Hutton, PhD., started off the evening with a short lecture on the exhibition and then let the works speak for themselves. Mike Whye, a great friend of the organization, took some photographs of the event, so I thought I would share below.

This exhibition is a huge milestone for Kent and his work (and our mission to support Kent’s legacy). I will want to talk about that more later. I am still processing the events and the culmination of 3 years of the organization’s hard work and 5 years of hard work by Kent’s family and friends, plus there is so many people that we will need to thank.  This has been such a long process, I wouldn’t be surprised if I ask some of them to blog on their experience soon.

–Until then, wishing you days with a splash of color and a spark of creativity.—Anne

Some recent press…

“Beyond Realism:  The Works of Kent Bellows 1970-2005″ opens at Joslyn Art Museum on September 25th (that’s this Saturday) and runs through January 16th, 2011.

Check out some of the recent press about the exhibition:

“Joslyn showcases meticulous detail of Nebraskan Kent Bellows” (Omaha World Herald, September 23, 2010)

“Joslyn to feature works of noted Blair native” (Blair Pilot-Tribune, September 21, 2010)

“BRAVO! Kent Bellows: Soul in Motion” (metroMAGAZINE, September 2010)

Some construction progress…

So, I recently realized that we are coming to the last few weeks of our renovation on the second floor and have not posted any photos of the process.  Some have been taken and I will gladly post the progress when I can.  In the meantime here are some pictures taken today of the Leavenworth studio building.

The structure surrounding the back door was in bad shape.  Years of rain eroded the seals to the building, causing moisture to collect.  All of the insulation had to be removed and the siding and structure revamped.  This can be seen in the first picture.  But, below is a picture of the structure from the inside of the building.

The whole process is very “family oriented.”  Kent’s brother-in-law and our Board Treasurer Jim Griess has been managing the project since this spring.  Kent’s sister and our Board Secretary Robin has an interior design background and has been handling all of the important aesthetic decisions.  We are touched that she includes us in the process, but I am very thankful that many of those decisions don’t fall completely on my shoulders.  I can bake a mean cake and work on organizational infrastructure needs, but finding the appropriate lighting fixtures is just not my forte.  Kent’s other brother-in-law Doug, or Otis XII as many Omahans know him, was busy in the back garden last week trying to get our weeds under control.  Kent’s other sister and our Board President Deb has been working with Robin to get everything organized and ready for our move-in at the end of the month.

And continuing with the “family” involvement, I am very thankful for mine in this whole process.  My dad works full-time with Hiller Electric and has been particularly helpful for all of my construction-related questions.  He also took some of his free time to install security cameras on the interior and exterior of the studio building.  Many thanks to the Neighborhood Center and Miller Electric for donating the cameras and to my dad for donating his time.

Well, that is all for now!  Can’t wait to show you more in the future.

Until then, wishing you days consisting of many creative sparks!

–Anne