Pictured: Untitled ink and graphite work by Maude I. Kerns

from “In the Realm of the Spirit”

In this Newsletter

There is still time to get creative this winter!

Although most classes have started (and are full!), check out our upcoming weekend workshop in “Linoleum Block Printing,” our Family Art Workshop “Circles and Squares Oh My,” inspired by the art of Maude I. Kerns, and our quarterly Community Art Share.

Mark your calendars and join us for the opening reception of “The Art of Bricolage” exhibit on Friday, February 23, from 5 – 7 pm. The exhibit features nine Oregon artists creating artwork with recycled materials in an exhibit that encourages the concepts of Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Reimagine. Thank you to the exhibit Title Sponsors Nancy Pobanz and David Wade.

I would also like to say a special thank you to everyone who contributed to the Art Center’s year-end Winter Fundraiser and helped us raise $39,300. Your generous support ensures that the Art Center can continue our ongoing operations and programs and allows us to fulfill our commitment to providing art for the community and to supporting our artists and students.

Thank you for your membership!

All my best,

Michael Fisher

Executive Director

Our very successful Winter Fundraiser received support from 105 donors, including 34 new donors. Thank You!

Many thanks also go to this year’s Winter Fundraiser Steering Committee members Louise Bishop, Ann Bumb Hamilton, Michael Fisher, Hannah Goldrich, Caroline Passerotti, Alice Strong, Marsha Wells Shankman, Cathy Simard, Gary Tepfer, and committee chair, Fred Tepfer.

At the Annual Membership Meeting & Celebration on Saturday, January 27, the Art Center announced our three 2023 honorees. Congratulations to the following: 

Volunteer of the Year: Wendy Strong

For a nonprofit, it is always a gift when you have a volunteer who is willing to jump in and help wherever needed. In 2023, volunteer Wendy Strong did a lot of jumping in. Wendy served as a gallery greeter, helped with mailings, was a youth summer camp classroom assistant, and assisted Art Education Director Cece Anders and Program Assistant Grace Hannich with prepping education materials and organizing classroom and studio spaces. Wendy is willing to do it all and we are so appreciative and lucky to have her.

Pictured: Wendy Strong in the Printmaking Studio

Instructor of the Year: Sara Spahn

For the past four years, Sara’s innovative ideas for classes have infused our youth camps and afterschool programs, introducing contemporary artists and cultural arts from around the world into the curriculum. In 2022, Sara began offering family weekend workshops where both kids and adults have the opportunity to get artistic together. This Winter term, Sara began collaborating on our new High School Art Horizons program. Art Education Director Cece Anders says: “In the classroom, Sara has an uncanny ability to create an environment that is calm and welcoming; while also helping students to practice skills and methods that are foundational to an arts practice. She encourages her students to develop the tenacity to stay with something new and challenging.”

Pictured: Sara Spahn instructs a Family Workshop

Community Partner of the Year:

Lane County History Museum

In 2023 the Art Center was thrilled to collaborate with the Lane County History Museum (LCHM) on our current exhibition, “In the Realm of the Spirit.” The Museum generously loaned original work from the archives and granted permission for reproduction of pages from Kerns’s correspondence. LCHM also was inspired to mount their own companion exhibit, titled “Blue Vesper: Maude Irvine Kerns,” featuring more archival paintings on paper, correspondence, and personal objects. Special thanks go to Interim Director Marin Aurand and Curator of Collections Robin Myers. For this rich collaboration and their enthusiasm to share Kerns’s art with the community, the Art Center has selected the Lane County History Museum as our Community Partner of the Year.

Maude Kerns Art Center and Whiteaker Printmakers (WhitPrint) are excited to announce the Art Center’s upcoming acquisition of the nonprofit printmaking studio. The organizations will be partnering to ensure a smooth transition of studio management and operations to the Art Center’s Education Program.

Whiteaker Printmakers is a member-supported community printmaking studio in the historic Cox Cannery in Eugene’s Whiteaker neighborhood. Started in 2015 by Heather and Paul Halpern, WhitPrint has become one of the leading printmaking collectives in Oregon and the region. It offers local artists access to studio space and equipment, opportunities in education and exhibitions, and participation in events such as the Emerald Print Exchange and Big Ink. “Maude Kerns Art Center is exactly the kind of organization we'd hoped would step up to assure WhitPrint's continuity,” says Heather. “We are thrilled to be allied with them.”

“It is an incredible opportunity for the Art Center,” says the Art Center’s Executive Director Michael Fisher. He adds, “We are so honored and thrilled to continue and expand on the amazing work and legacy Whiteaker Printmakers has created.” Founded in 1950, The Maude Kerns Art Center is a nonprofit community center dedicated to the visual arts. Its mission is to promote and advocate for the creation and appreciation of the visual arts by offering a wide variety of education and exhibition programs for all ages, studio space for artists, and support for community artists.

In 2024, WhitPrint will continue to run the studio space and programs, working with the Art Center to train and familiarize staff with the facility and operations in order to “pass the baton” at the start of 2025.

WLS Spencer Foundation: Maude Kerns Art Center has been awarded a 2-year (2024-2025) Capacity Building Grant from the WLS Spencer Foundation in the amount of $60,000 ($30,000 per year) to assist the Art Center to acquire Whiteaker Printmakers Studio.

Ruth Foundation for the Arts: Maude Kerns Art Center has been selected for a 2023 Core Grant Award from the Ruth Foundation for the Arts in the amount of $50,000 for unrestricted operations support.

MKAC Neighborhood Studio Tour: Mark your calendars for Maude Kerns Art Center’s annual Studio Tour, which takes place on Saturday, April 13. A fundraiser for the Art Center, the tour features four host studios – those of Tim Boyden, Ann Bumb Hamilton, Rogene Mañas, and Tylar Merrill – and includes work from contributing artists Kathy Frazer, Shelly Fredenberg, Annie Heron, Dave Imus, Demetra Kalams, Rebecca Mannheimer, Patrice Peterson, Holly Phillips, Bea Roberts, and Michael Whitenack. Watch for more details in upcoming newsletters.

Don’t Miss: “In the Realm of the Spirit:

Work by Maude I. Kerns”

The 2024 season opener features non-objective artwork by Maude Kerns, including work from the Center’s own collection as well as private collections, and artwork that has never been exhibited before on loan from the Lane County History Museum archives. “In the Realm of the Spirit” highlights the correspondence between Kerns and Rolph Scarlett, a well-known non-objective New York painter, who along with Kerns, exhibited at the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, the precursor of the Guggenheim Museum.

KLCC’s Viz City arts reviewer Sandy Brown Jensen describes the exhibit in this way: “Imagine stepping into a world where colors dance like musical secrets, and forms swirl like cosmic melodies. This is Maude Kerns: world-class painter, University of Oregon instructor, and now, the star of her own show. This is a glimpse into her soul in an intimate exhibition called ‘In the Realm of the Spirit.’” “In the Realm of the Spirit” is on view through Friday, February 9.

On Saturday, February 3, from 1 – 2 pm, the Art Center's features a documentary which includes details about the founding of the Guggenheim Museum, titled Betrayal: The Life and Art of Rudolf Bauer. Bauer, who was an influential protégé of Hilla Rebay, the first director of the Museum of Non-Objective Painting, was introduced to Maude Kerns’s work through Rolph Scarlett.

Pictured: Untitled painting on paper by Maude I. Kerns

In collaboration with the Art Center, the Lane County History Museum displays Maude Kerns paintings on paper, correspondence, and personal objects from its extensive archival collection in an exhibit titled “Blue Vesper: Maude Irvine Kerns.”

Upcoming

“The Art of Bricolage,” February 23 – March 22: Nine artists create artwork with recycled materials in an exhibit that encourages the concepts of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Reimagine.” Included in “The Art of Bricolage” are Anna Bjornsdotter, Stephanie Brockway, Esther Finch, Mavis Leahy, Rogene Mañas, Dan Pillers, Emily Pratt, Marjorie Taylor, and Michael Whitenack. The exhibit features work in a wide variety of unusual mediums, including salvaged wood, grocery bags, tissue paper, magazines, papier mâché, tin, nails, vintage textiles, and recycled needlepoint. The Opening Reception for “The Art of Bricolage” takes place on Friday, February 23, from 5 – 7 pm.

Pictured: Polly by Esther Finch in “The Art of Bricolage”

Jello Art Show 2024

“The Good, the Bad, and the Jello”

Join us for the 2024 Jello Art Show, “The Good, the Bad, and the Jello,” on Saturday, March 23, from 5 – 8 pm. Our marvelous food show features artworks made of jello and a performance by Eugene’s inimitable Radar Angels at 7 pm. The suggested donation for the Jello Art Show, which is a fundraiser for the Art Center, is $3 per person and $5 for families.

Pictured: The Radar Angels perform at the 2023 Jello Art Show

Members Gallery and Gift Shop

Work by Art Center members and Club Mud ceramicists is exhibited in the Members Art Gallery on a quarterly basis. The Winter Members Art Gallery is on display through March 22.

Pictured: Citrus Medley, oil on canvas by Janie Snyder

Online Members Gallery

Maude Kerns Art Center member artists are invited to participate in our Online Members Gallery. This online venue is an excellent way to continue to share your work with the community. Members can show up to five pieces of their two- or three-dimensional work online in our Online Members Gallery. Interested parties can shop for pieces and purchase them online. Submissions are ongoing.

If your work is currently being exhibited in the Online Members Gallery, please review and update it. All current submissions will be archived starting this month if the Exhibits Coordinator is not notified as to their availability. Please email the Exhibits Coordinator Liberty at [email protected] for more information about how to be involved or to update your submissions. 

Featured Artist of the Month

For February, the featured artist exhibiting in the Online Members Gallery is mixed media artist Rogene Mañas, a regular exhibitor at the Art Center, whose work is held in collections across the US, Canada, and Mexico. To see a video created about Mañas and her work, Click Here!



Pictured: The Guardian of Democracy, mixed media by Rogene Mañas, from the Everyday Saints Series

At Home in Oregon; at The Gallery at the Airport, April 11 – July 9, 2024: The Art Center is extending a call to artists to submit artwork for the upcoming “At Home in Oregon” show to be displayed at The Gallery at the Airport in Eugene. This call is open to any current member of the Maude Kerns Art Center and there is no fee to apply. If you're not a member, visit here to become a member. Subject matter that is realistic, imagined, or abstract is welcome. The submission deadline is Friday, March 8, 2024. For the complete prospectus or to apply, visit www.mkartcenter.org.

Maude Kerns Art Center is currently accepting submissions for its 2025 – 2026 Exhibits Season. Local, regional, and national artists (individuals and groups) working in 2- and 3-dimensional mediums, as well as installation art, are invited to submit their work for consideration. Solo, group, and/or themed shows will be curated based on the content, quality, and number of submissions. There is a $35 application fee. Submission deadline: Monday, April 15, 11:59 pm (MST). For the complete prospectus or to apply, visit www.mkartcenter.org.

The month of February offers weekend workshops for adults and families and our first High School Open Studio. Our new High School Art Horizons program begins for teens, ages 15-18 years. Don’t miss your chance to take advantage of one of these creative opportunities! Scholarships are available.

High School Open Studios

Calling all high school students! The second Saturday of February, the 10th, we will be hosting our first of many High School Open Studios! We are here for you as a community arts studio providing you the space and time to get creative, finish personal art projects, and be in the company of other creative high school artists. Check out the program below. 

In The Style Of...

Tuesdays, 6:00 – 8:30 pm

February 6 – 27

Register Today!

This four-week workshop combines a fascinating look at established artists with hands-on creative exercises. The first portion of each class will focus on an artist, their techniques, approaches, or methods they use in artmaking. After a brief look at the artist's work, the instructor will guide you through an activity using those techniques or concepts during the second half of class. Exercises may include elements of sculpture, collage, drawing, and printmaking depending on the highlighted artist. A welcoming and encouraging atmosphere for any level of experience!

Pictured: Pangolin, paper sculpture by Lisa Lloyd

Circles and Squares Oh My!

1:00 – 3:30 pm

Saturday, February 3

Register Today!

Experiment with a sense of freedom and fun as we transform circles and squares to create new shapes and worlds! Just like Maude Kerns herself, who painted non-objective art, you and your family will create works of art using circles, squares, and lines. A wide variety of materials will be provided. To inspire your experimentation in the studio, instructor Sara Spahn will take you through the current exhibit of Maude Kerns's artwork! Identify elements and principles of art such as geometric shape, line, form, and space. Investigate ways to make new shapes and realities. This is an experimental class and fun for all ages! No experience is necessary.

Pictured: Ascension, 1942, oil on canvas, by Maude I. Kerns, Collection of the Seattle Art Museum

Our workshops offer insights into creative approaches or methods that expand your artistic practice. We are fortunate to have Pete Railand joining the Art Center as a teaching artist! Bring a friend and learn about linoleum block printing.

Linoleum Block Printing New!

Two Saturdays, 12:00 – 5:00 pm

February 24 & March 2

Register Today!

Join instructor Pete Railand and learn about linoleum block printing. This two-Saturday workshop will introduce you to this versatile and fun printmaking method, from the beginning concept, to drawing out your design, to the final print. Along the way, you will learn the approaches and methods of well-known printmakers, including Leopoldo Mendez, Käthe Kollwitz, and Antonio Frasconi. Some familiarity with drawing is helpful, but not necessary. No printmaking experience is required. All materials will be provided.

Art Horizons is an art program for high school students, ages 15 –18. It is built around Maude Kerns Art Center’s project-based curriculum that supports the creative endeavors of teens. We create space for high school students to reflect on their work and the larger world of artists, envision an idea, take risks, and explore a concept, method or medium they haven’t yet tried. Projects can be ongoing or near completion. Guided by a teaching artist and surrounded by like-minded teen artists, teens are invited to become a part of this community.

High School Open Studio New!

2nd Saturday of every month, 12:00 – 4:00 pm

February 10, March 9, & April 13

Register here:

Sign Up for Feb 10th Session

Sign Up for March 9th Session

Sign Up for April 13th Session

High school students, ages 15 – 18, are invited to work alongside a teaching artist to hone their creative ideas and investigate new methods and concepts.

In this studio class, you will have access to painting, drawing, and mixed media materials. Each week we will look at the work of contemporary artists, investigate their approaches and methods, and gain inspiration for our creative processes.

Ride the Bus to join us!

Check out Lane Transit District’s K-12 Ride for Free program.

Maude Kerns Art Center is two blocks away from the EMX line (located on Franklin Blvd).

If your youth or young adult is looking for a creative outlet over the week of Spring Break, March 25 – 29, our Imaginary Worlds Camp for ages 6 – 11 and the Copic Marker Lab for young adults, ages 11 – 16, offer great opportunities for artistic exploration.

Register today!

Imaginary Worlds

March 25 – 29

8:30 am – 5:00 pm

Register Today!

Jump into a week of building fantastic worlds where wonderful characters and mythical animals come alive! Learn about scale and perspective as we design dioramas with foreground, middle ground, and backgrounds. Get inspired by artists like imaginative Italian portrait painter Guiseppe Archimboldo and learn to build characters in three-dimensional form using paper, clay, and bright colors of paint! Join us for this special week of creative fun!

Copic Marker Lab

March 25 – 29

9:00 am – 12:00 pm

Register Today!

Spend the week immersed in drawing with Copic markers. These versatile and boldly colored markers are great for learning how to blend colors, understand shading, and highlight to create dimension in your drawings. Discover how to make dynamic blending groups, work with a limited color palette, add details with fine line and brush pens, and experiment with different kinds of paper.

Spring Class Registration

Our Spring term online class registration will begin March 8th. Please see our full schedule of classes and workshops on our at website www.mkartcenter.org.

The Art Center currently offers scholarships for 50% of the cost of tuition for classes and camps. Scholarships are available for all age groups through the Susi Larsen & Cameron Serbu Memorial Scholarship Fund and the Madeleine Christenson Scholarship Fund. You can apply today on our website! 

In the event of bad weather, the Art Center will close if the 4-J School District is closed. Classes for that day will be cancelled and a make-up session will be held at a later date. If the 4-J School District is delayed, all Art Center classes before 12pm will be cancelled. Call 541-345-1571 after 12pm on the day in question to check for afternoon and evening classes.

Club Mud Ceramics Annual Spring Sale will be on Sunday, March 3, from 10 am – 4 pm. This is a chance for the clay artists of Club Mud to open to the community and offer their wares for sale.

Many of the offerings are at bargain prices. The potters view this sale as a chance to offer up seconds, leftovers from the holiday season, and other lonely pots (the last remainders of a discontinued series). Members offer some of their exemplary work at the usual prices as well. 

We have partnered with Market of Choice to provide you an easy way to support the Art Center! It will only take a moment of your time to register and will help every time that you shop to support our programs and facility.

Here’s how:

Register your credit card. Each time that you use your card at any Market of Choice, Maude Kerns Art Center will receive 4% of your purchase price! Simply sign up at: eScrip Market of Choice and you will be prompted on how to enroll.

Thanks for all that you do to support the Maude Kerns Art Center. It makes a difference!

A special Thank You to the many volunteers, Board members, Staff, Art Center friends, and patrons who have generously donated their time, talents, and treasure for the benefit of Maude Kerns Art Center during the Fall of 2023:

Budget & Finance Committee: Michael Fisher, Caroline Passerotti, and Fred Tepfer

Facilities Committee: Ann Bumb Hamilton, Michael Fisher, Cathy Simard, Alice Strong, and Fred Tepfer

Sponsorship Committee: Louise Bishop, Susan Castillo, Michael Fisher, and Caroline Passerotti

Art and the Vineyard Committee: Louise Bishop, Ann Bumb Hamilton, Susan Castillo, Michael Fisher, Hannah Goldrich, Jeanne Maasch, Caroline Passerotti, Alice Strong, and Fred Tepfer

Art Rescue Fundraiser Committee: Ann Bumb Hamilton, Hannah Goldrich, Rogene Mañas, Jeanne Maasch, Cathy Simard (Chair), Alice Strong, and Linda Wheatley with help from Louise Bishop

Art Studio Tour Committee: Louise Bishop (Chair), Ann Bumb Hamilton, Michael Fisher, Rogene Mañas, Caroline Passerotti, and Bea Roberts

Art Rescue Sale Volunteers: Joan Chamberlain, Sarah Ciampa, Robin Cochran, Sabine De Martin, Delia Fisher, David Goodman, Mary Hindman, Susan Hodges, Dan Moret, Satoko Motouji, Lisa Schaup, Nancy Silvers, Paula Staight, and Fred Tepfer.

Día de los Muertos Fiesta Performers: Colibrí Ballet Folklórico and El Taller de Son Jarocho

Día de los Muertos Exhibit Bilingual Translation: Anuncia Escala and Ariana Sanchez

Day of the Dead Family Day: Roberta Lippert, Jeanne Maasch, Saira Radillo, Diana Ramirez, Anne Riggs, Angela Sequen, Tracey Somervell, and Jessica Zapata

Movies @ Maude’s Host: Jalen Thompson

Gallery Greeters: Sarah McArthur, Joan Chamberlain, Pamela Demers, Jim Emert, Sarah Finney, Sharon Friedland, Sue Gottschalk, Judith Bell Mangold, Renee Nelson, Tracy Somervell, and Wendy Strong

Exhibit Receptions Volunteers: Louise Bishop, Ann Bumb Hamilton, Dana Burall, Susan Castillo, Joan Chamberlain, Sarah Finney, Drew Harrington, Margaret Leutzinger, Jeanne Maasch, Rogene Mañas, Mireille Machu, Lisa Schaup, Cathy Simard, Alice Strong, and Wendy Strong

Office Assistants and Mail Team: Joan Chamberlain, Pamela Demers, Jim Emert, Sarah McArthur, and Wendy Strong

Open Studio Facilitator: Marsha Wells Shankman

Fall Youth Classroom Assistants: Daniela Cortes-Montesinos, Aiva Landweber, and Virginia Watkins

Newsletter Design: Kris Gruber of Crystal Impressions Graphic Design

In-Kind Donations:

Louise Bishop – event coffee maker

Cathy Lindsley – collage art supplies

Patti Lomont – glass display case

Mangold Estate – case of wine for opening reception

A special thank you to all who donated artwork to the “Marvelous Maude’s Art Rescue Sale & Fundraiser”

MISSION STATEMENT

To nurture artistic expression and creativity in the individual and

to cultivate an appreciation and understanding of art and culture

in our community.