Fletcher Hayes, indeed.: April 2012

There is an excellent juried art exhibition going on now through April 29, 2012 at the Old Court House Arts Center in Woodstock, Illinois. It is the 25th Annual Women's Works Exhibition, presented by the Northwest Area Arts Council to celebrate a quarter century of the efforts of a group of women who dreamed of a place where women could showcase their talent.

Installation view, Women's Work 2012

I spoke with one of the show's jurors, Lou Ann Burkhardt who was present at the opening reception. She told me that out of close to 1,000 entries, only 110 artists' work were selected for inclusion in the exhibition. Ms. Burkhardt added that she and the other four jurors viewed several images from each of the artists and read all of the artist's statements. Let's hope they were not too verbose!

I was happy for my partner Kim Laurel, whose mixed-media piece "Heavy Water" was chosen for the exhibition. It's an image of a Koi fish, swimming dangerously close to the symbol for biohazard — these are precarious times for life on planet Earth!

Kim Laurel with her mixed media piece, "Heavy Water" (top) Also pictured: "Fish Out of Water" by Michelle Steen

The wall tags indicate that the art was selected from artists spread out across the nation. One city in particular jumped out at me — my hometown of Tuscaloosa, Alabama. I don't know the artist, named Kelly Shannon, but I was very impressed with her sculpture, "Ploceidae" which consists of six large, flaming-orange baskets constructed of nylon weed trimmer line. What a clever use of available materials!

Kelly Shannon's sculpture "Ploceidae" and Judith Nahill's painting "Evening Sky"

The cluster of orbs seems to float in the air, suspended in front of one entire wall. On the evening during the opening reception, Ploceidae commanded a bright presence, and a gallery representative told me that in the daytime, with the sunlight streaming through the windows, the sculpture screams of color.

String quartet in the foyer, Old Court House Arts Center

Speaking of contrast, after we enjoyed listening to a string quartet in the foyer of the gallery, we stepped outside and were immediately delighted by the sounds of an electric guitar playing Jimi Hendrix favorites in the courtyard square. It drew Kim and me to the stage in the town square's gazebo, where the talented musician Lane Barrett was practicing his licks. Here's a little impromptu video of the moment.

More on the exhibition:

Old Court House Arts Center
101 North Johnson Street, Woodstock, Illinois 60098
(815) 338-4525

March 8 through April 29
Northwest Area Arts Council presents the
25th Annual Women's Works Exhibition
A national juried show of all media.

The show runs from March 8, 2012 – April 29, 2012

The 25th anniversary of Women’s Works is an occasion to reflect on the past, celebrate the work of today’s women artists and look forward to the future of the exhibit.

Gallery Hours: Thursday through Saturday 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday 1 p.m. to 5 p.m.