The excitement and enthusiasm was electric, as people filled the first floor of Loft 112. Everyone had something to say about this venue, the artworks that filled it, and the artists who produced them. One had to speak loudly to be heard. Layers of continual conversation drove the sound to the ceiling, where it circulated for hours. Wine, hors d’oeurves, and dainty cupcakes added to the ambience. A Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting and Open House on Friday afternoon, January 19, 2018, brought to fruition a combined vision, for an upscale art gallery at 112 E. Main Street, in Morrison, IL.
State Senator Neil Anderson and Duane “Barney” Habben chatted about raising cattle in their pasts, and Anderson told Habben he liked the nearby painting, of Hereford cattle behind a fence. Habben stated he had painted it! At age 57, Habben remembered the cold, January, Sunday, when his neighbor, artist Margaret Sauer, called to invite him over. He thought she had a repair or chore that needed tending. Instead, she said, “Pick a subject. We’re going to paint something!” Habben became her student for the next decade, until she passed. Senator Anderson, Habben, and Representative Tony McCombie stand before an installation of Habben’s paintings.
Morrison Area Development Corporation (MADC) Executive Director Kim Ewoldsen shared a brief overview of how Loft 112 went from concept to Main Street business in nine months. “CAPA, the Children’s Art Preservation Association, paved the way 20+ years ago and started Paint the Town.” A Steering Committee met in spring 2017, to determine interest and possibilities. In June, Ewoldsen approached the City Council and requested they authorize an “Art, Cultural, and Entertainment District;” Aldermen did so. Now, she continued, “The Whiteside County Economic Development Office is interested in spreading this to other towns,” and they want her help.
She thanked the MADC board, who approved Loft 112 and is in charge of overseeing its operation for one year. After that, it will become a not-for-profit corporation of its own. Josh and Kelly West, building owners, agreed to its use. Diane Bausman of Blackhawk Waterways Convention & Visitors Bureau, will promote Loft 112 in four counties, as a tourism partner. Woodlawn Arts Academy is helping in a management/advisory role and will teach classes at Loft 112 in the spring.
“Donations came from Morrison Area Community Foundation and Walmart Distribution Center #7024. Thank you to the Steering Committee, my Curators Ned Nesti and Anne Frame, and anyone else who helped this endeavor.”
The space was open Saturday, December 2, during the Chamber Christmas Walk for. A “soft opening” took place on Friday, December 15. The formal Open House was five weeks later.
Curators Ned Nesti, Jr., holding the end of the ribbon, and Anne Frame, who cut it, formally opened Lot 112 to the public. Hours are Thursday, 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Bring a friend on Thursdays for coffee and muffins.
Those who enter will feel the energy and the power of possibility within.
Vernon Schaver, Fulton, IL, stood quietly beside his installation of nine watercolors along the front, east wall. He came late to art production, beginning in college with one painting and one wood carving course at Augustana College, Rock Island, IL. He found his passion and switched his major. At Augie he took an acrylic class with a visiting University of Iowa instructor, then switched to watercolors.
“I like the way it [the paint] flows.”
“I usually keep a camera in the car” to capture scenes to paint. “The white irises were in my wife’s garden. I like ‘old stuff,’ like the oil drums and rusted car body.” To create texture, he sprinkled salt on wet paint of the barrels. He uses a toothbrush to spatter tiny drops of paint or dabs it with tissue paper or plastic wrap.
A “friend has over 30 of [my] paintings. She gives them as gifts when she visits people.”
“The small ones around the Midwest sell better than big ones,” he noted.
Schaver taught art for 14 years at Riverbend School District (Fulton, Garden Plain, and Albany, IL); he retired from teaching in 1994 and then worked 20 years as a carpenter. “I do everything by hand; I don’t use power tools.”
He creates wood carvings, too, like the Bluejay. The front, east window contains a small dog with a big bone. The third piece, showing several baby raccoons peeking from a hole in a tree, has been sold. It was a gift for Volunteer Coordinator Sandra Crouse.
He recycles picture frames for his paintings and built the large one that binds his train scene on the floor. Schaver also makes the double mats for his works.
“It keeps [me] occupied, and [I’m] always looking for something,” he explained. The former art teacher is still an art student. “I read a lot and try something someone did or a color combination.”
