There was ado and excitement at the new Loft 112 art center, 112 E. Main Street, Morrison, IL, during the soft opening on Friday, December 15, 2017. The building was open from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Hours through December will be the same on these dates: 17, 21, 22, 28, and 29. Read more in the brochure.
Volunteer Coordinator Sandi Crouse stated, “This is the most exciting thing that’s happened in Morrison. [It took only] 270 days–it’s like having a baby in nine months. I never saw something so exciting happen so fast!”
Left-to-right are Joan Vander Bleek, Anne Frame, André Joseph Sky of Rock Falls, IL, and Ned Nesti, Jr. in the back room, after 11:00. Frame said, “It has been so fun finding the artists and meeting them. People have come out of the woodwork! A Morrison man, Al[bert] Drews, is a chemist and wants to sell. Former students have been so honored [to be asked to exhibit].”
Currently, the gallery is controlled by Morrison Area Development corporation (MADC). It is being managed by volunteers. Interested volunteers can sign up for a shift; the training date is Saturday, January 13, 2018, at 10:00 a.m.
“This will be a first-rate, high-quality facility,” stated MADC Executive Director Kim Ewoldsen, “You will see a higher level of art products, not arts and crafts. We are working with four County tourism groups, reaching out to artists all over the area.”
Beginning Thursday, January 4, from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., Loft 112 will sell mini muffins from Baked By Liz, while the bakeshop closes mid-week. Loft (non-Liz) coffee will be available. On Friday, January 19, 2018, hours will change and a Grand Opening will take place.
On the back wall behind Sky are five framed prints of original paintings by Theresa Brandon, of Morrison and Huntley, IL. She digitally painted them using pixels; they have an ethereal, soft-focus look. The local subject matter includes the Farmers Elevator & Supply Company; Whiteside County Fairgrounds Round Barn; Eri-Lyn Drive-In; landscape of a corn field; Kate Shelley 400 passenger train line engine, that used to pass through town. Her artworks were professionally matted and framed at Morrison True Value Hardware, 104 S. Genesee Street. Prices range from $130 to $155. In Loft 112, Brandon has unframed prints of these subjects and others, available in various sizes. Contact her at thebrandon@aol.com.
The first sale was made at 10:00 to Bob Smith. He purchased a wooden cross fabricated by Morrison Mayor Everett Pannier. Ten remaining items in Pannier’s display space include a chess set, votive candelabra, hinged box, cross; two bowls with lids; four vases. These are made from cherry, maple, oak, walnut, and the exotic, imported zebrawood.
“I have a couple other things,” that are finished, Pannier stated. “I’ll make up other things, just to keep it fresh.” he added. To see what objects are available, contact Pannier at epannier@frontier.net or call 815-772-2528.
Dana McCoy of Morrison has a retail space devoted to glass Fusion Jewelry. A scarlet, glass-topped wine stopper would make a welcome Christmas gift. She stated, “I began working with dichroic glass and making fused glass art pieces over ten years ago. I was always fascinated by the colors and the abstract and unique designs that happened in the glass kiln. Dichroic glass is a specialty glass. It has micro-thin layers of precious metals sprayed on; the layers are melted together.”
“It was a long learning process; I took many classes. I am still learning and love to talk to other glass designers and try new techniques. I have many tools ranging from a diamond-bit ring saw, dremmel, grinder and drill press, to finished files, kiln molds, and tools. I use four main firing settings using the same glass, but each temperature setting produces different looks, colors, and effects. The hotter and longer the kiln burns, the darker and smoother the glass forms, creating a multitude of finished effects.”
“I mostly attend a few festivals and juried art shows a year around the Chicagoland area, and some locally. People contact me year-round if they would like to see anything.” Contact McCoy at danamccoy15@gmail for other options.
At age 57, Duane “Barney” 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. Anne Frame remembered Sauer made one of her last solo trips to Europe, to photograph subject matter. She went to the Tuscany region of Italy–when she was 80–to photograph enchanting hill towns, for herself and her students. “[Sauer] wore her heels and false eyelashes” on the trip, said Frame.
Sky paused while hanging seven of Habben’s oil paintings during the opening morning. These are “for display only,” Habben stated.
Valerie Butcher, Rock Falls, IL, works with glass, usually in vibrant colors and patterns that embody movement. Each piece “is many processes.” Because of a vision problem, Butcher is assisted by her husband, Clarence.
She sells giftable glass business card holders for $17. Two pieces have embedded clock mechanisms. The yellow “flower” plate was made from “folded glass blocks that are fused together. The Bluejay yard art can go outside or inside.” A wavy, cobalt blue, wine rack on the bottom shelf is made of fused, fractured glass pieces. It holds six, stacked bottles; there is a companion wine stopper.
“We try to keep our prices reasonable. It is important that people can have something unique and [affordable].”
A slideshow video “shows all of the artwork that we do.” She has “143 designs as of December 15. I will start spring items [soon], and make them until the middle of April.” See Butcher’s Facebook page for a schedule of her art shows, dog and cat art, more clocks, and yard art: https://www.facebook.com/valsglassware. Contact Val Butcher at 815-626-1423 or vabutcher@comcast.net.
