Monday, November 16, 2015

New Programs: When It All Comes Together




Last Thursday and Friday, the Spurlock Museum piloted a new program for first graders in the Champaign School District. The program complements the district's "Celebrations around the World" unit and introduces the students to celebrations not covered in the classroom. 

The program covers 3 areas of the world.  In the American Indian Cultures Gallery, the students are introduced to the powwow. They watch videos of the grass dance and jingle dress dance, discuss the regalia worn by the dancers, and learn about the drum--the heartbeat of the dances. They also do a regalia seek-and-find game. In the European Cultures Gallery, the students celebrate a birthday in England. They each get a piece of pretend cake that has the picture of a charm on it.  The charms are used to predict the child's future (e.g., a ring means the person will be happily married). After the cake, the students play a game called "Tray," where they get a short look at a tray covered in various small objects, then the tray is hidden and the children try to remember everything they saw.  In the Asian Cultures Gallery, the children are greeted by a hina matsuri, a set of dolls and furniture representing the upper class of Japanese Heian culture (794–1185 CE). This set is brought out in honor of Girl's Day each year.  The boys are not forgotten, though, as the program includes bringing out the carp kites (windsocks) that are flown outside of the house on Children's Day (originally Boy's Day).

Putting the program together started with a meeting with Kristen Morris, Teaching and Learning Coordinator for the Unit 4 Schools. She brought us all the lesson plans and supplementary materials used in the classroom unit, so that we would know what was already covered, and she served as a coordinator with the first grade teachers once the program features and available dates were set. Working with district staff is incredibly helpful and appreciated. Things go so much more smoothly. 

Three members of the Education staff each took charge of creating the activities for one of the galleries, and together the staff worked out the logistics of group flow around the building and timing for each of the parts. As our Education staff is short one person this fall, we have fewer people to lead tours, so we talked to Kristen about trying something we had never done before: having a guided program where the classroom teacher guided one of the parts. For the Celebrations tour, the teachers were sent detailed instructions for leading the birthday party activities.  They all seemed to have a wonderful time "predicting" their students' future and playing the "Tray" game.  Some of them even found a way to link the game to activities they were doing in math. 

At the end of each day, everyone was smiling--celebrating the success of the pilot tours. Even when a problem appeared (for example, one of the trays was knocked off the table and broken), things were taken care of in stride. Being flexible and thinking on the fly is just part of the job.  We are eager to get back the evaluations that were sent to the teachers so we can find ways to make the experience even better.


Tuesday, November 3, 2015



"Coffee and Tea: Cups and Dessert"
Benefit for Giertz Gallery at Parkland College
Take home a handcrafted cup, enjoy delicious food and beverages, traditional Irish music, and silent auction!


Select from among a stunning array of handcrafted ceramic cups and enjoy music and bakery-fresh desserts during “Coffee and Tea: Cups and Dessert,” Giertz Gallery’s biennial fundraiser scheduled for Thursday, Dec. 3 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the gallery lounge at Parkland College.

Ticket includes selecting a beautiful handmade ceramic cup generously donated by Parkland College Ceramics program faculty and students. The benefit features delicious desserts baked fresh by the Parkland College Hospitality program, hot tea and freshly brewed coffee provided by Columbia Street Roastery, and traditional Irish music by Fair Play.


Perfect for holiday gifts (or for yourself), a silent auction rounds out the event’s festivities. Guests may place bids on various artworks donated by students and teachers of the Art and Design program. These works of art include vases, bowls, teapots, handmade jewelry, and a photograph donated by Craig McMonigal.

Tickets to the gallery benefit are $30 or two for $50, with advanced purchase recommended; cups will be chosen on a first come, first serve basis. To purchase tickets, please contact the Giertz Gallery office at 217/351-2485, visit our website at www.parkland.edu/gallery or stop by the Giertz Gallery. Many of the silent auction pieces may be viewed ahead of time on the Giertz Gallery website. All proceeds will support the Giertz Gallery.

Tuesday, October 27, 2015





2015 State of the Art: Ceramics Invitational curated by Chris Berti
Exhibit: Monday, November 16, 2015– Saturday, February 6, 2016
Reception: Thursday, November 19, 5–7 p.m.
Gallery Talk by Chris Berti at 6:30 p.m.
Music by Parkland Guitar Ensemble


Pre-exhibit artist lecture: Doug Jeppesen, Thursday, November 12 at 9am in room C-191
Additional artist lecture: Randy Carlson, Wednesday, January 27 at 1pm in room C-191
image: Beth Lo, Swimmers Cups, porcelain, 4" x 4" x4", 2015



CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Giertz Gallery at Parkland College will host works by ceramic artists from across the U.S. during its "2015 State of the Art: Ceramics Invitational" opening Monday, Nov. 16. Curated by Parkland Art and Design Professor Chris Berti, the exhibit will run through Saturday, Feb. 6, 2016. A reception will be held Thursday, Nov. 19, 5-7 p.m. in the gallery lounge that features a curatorial talk by Chris Berti at 6:30 p.m., music by the Parkland Guitar Ensemble, and refreshments. Both the ceramics exhibit and reception are free and open to the public.

Giertz Gallery at Parkland College presents Four by One, a group ceramic exhibition with each artist contributing four works, focused on how ceramic artists often create works that reinforce each other so that the whole is stronger than the sum of the parts. These four works may be either two pairs or one set of four or even four bodies of work.  The works may be utilitarian, sculptural, or both. This exhibition allows contemporary ceramic artists to investigate form, surface, and other processes while utilizing techniques they’ve mastered. The artists include Randy Carlson, Sunshine Cobb, Michael Corney, Paul Eshelman, Meredith Host, Doug Jeppesen, Jan McKeachie Johnston, Randy Johnston, Beth Lo, Joe Pintz, and Luba Sharipan.
“This is a terrific group of artists.”  Chris Berti said, speaking about the show. “ I think the work in this exhibition begins to represent some of the exciting things happening in ceramics today.”

The exhibition will include two visiting artists from Illinois including Doug Jeppesen and Randy Carlson. Jeppesen’s visit includes a  pre-exhibit lecture and demonstration in the ceramics studio (room C-191) on Thursday, November 12 with a lecture at 9am followed by a demonstration. Doug is an Associate Professor of Art/Ceramics at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove, Illinois where he has taught full time since 1998.  He specializes in wood firing and has built a number of different styled wood fired kilns at the college including an anagama kiln. Doug has presented workshops at area colleges and universities, he was a panel member during the International Wood Firing Conference at Northern Arizona University and most recently he was a presenter at the 2nd European Wood Fire Conference hosted by Guladagergaard International Ceramic Research Center in Skaelskor Denmark.

Randy Carlson will also give a lecture and demonstration on Wednesday, January 27 at 1pm in the ceramics studio (room C-191). Carlson worked as a production potter in Minnesota, Maine and Wisconsin before joining the faculty of Bradley University ‘s Department of Art, Peoria, Illinois in 1993. He has recently had work published in Ceramic Monthly magazine and Lark Books 500 Pitchers and 500 Teapots.

In addition, please save the date for "Coffee and Tea: Cups and Dessert," the biennial benefit for the Parkland Art Gallery set for Dec. 3 from 4 to 7 p.m. in the gallery lounge. Tickets will include selecting a beautiful handmade cups donated by Parkland faculty and students, live music by Fair Play featuring traditional Irish music, tasty desserts provided by Parkland College Hospitality Program, and coffee and tea. A silent auction of ceramic works—perfect for holiday gifts (or for yourself)—will round out the evening’s festivities. Tickets are $30 (2 for $50) and may be purchased at the Giertz Gallery, or through the art gallery office by calling 217/351-2485 or emailing giertzgallery@parkland.edu. Tickets will also be on sale Nov. 19 during the reception.

Giertz Gallery at Parkland College hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday. The gallery will be closed November 25 (5pm) – 30; December 14 – January 11, and January 18.

To find the gallery when classes are in session, we suggest using the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through door X-7, turn left, and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area.

Programs at the gallery are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. All events in the handicapped-accessible gallery are free and open to the public. Parkland College is a section 504/ADA-compliant institution. For accommodation, call 217/353-2802 or email crobinson@parkland.edu.


For more information on the exhibit, please call the gallery office at 217/351-2485 or visit www.parkland.edu/gallery.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

Ornithology: Works by Barbara Kendrick and Monique Luchetti
Exhibit: Monday, September 28– Saturday, November 7
Reception: Thursday, October 1, 5–7 p.m.
Gallery Talk by Kendrick and Luchetti at 6:30 p.m.
Music by the Parkland Guitar Ensemble
Additional lectures:
Barbara Kendrick, Wednesday, September 30, 1:15 p.m.
Monique Luchetti, Thursday, October 1, 1:15 p.m.

Additional programming related to the exhibition:
Parkland College Sustainability Program activities
Nature visit from the Anita Purvis Nature Center


Giertz Gallery at Parkland College presents a two-person art exhibition exploring ideas about humans’ daily interaction with wildlife and our impact on nature.

“Ornithology: Works by Barbara Kendrick and Monique Luchetti” opens Monday, September 28 and runs through Saturday, November 7, 2015. In conjunction with the exhibit, a reception honoring the artists is scheduled for Thursday, October 1 from 5 to 7 p.m., featuring a gallery talk by Kendrick and Luchetti at 6:30 p.m.

Additional exhibit lectures in the gallery include a presentation by Kendrick on September 30 and one by Luchetti on October 1, both at 1:15 p.m. The exhibit, reception and lectures are free and open to the public.

Kendrick and Luchetti have a fascination and sympathy with birds, but their work is divergent in concepts, material, and process. Although the artists take different approaches in their body of work, they both use images of birds to speak to the ways our lives are inextricably tied together, interdependent and bound to the earth for survival.

“We are alive in a world where the distinction between what we know to be human and what we believe to be animal is shrinking,” the artists said about their exhibit.

Kendrick, a retired professor from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, admires birds’ ability to survive and adapt to new, sometimes hostile environments. The way they build nests in the alphabet of signs on storefronts, or gather cigarette butts to line their nests, informs her collages. As she makes her work, she tries to match her own sense of improvisation with that of the birds. Each collage opens up new questions about our connection to the way the birds live in our world.

Luchetti, a Brooklyn-based studio artist, sifts through museums’ ornithology collections as if they were cemeteries, gleaning the identities of the birds for her drawings, preserved and tagged by humans for further study. Her drawings are a meditation of loss and remembering and on the contradiction inherent in humans: racing to collect, classify, and catalog species while continuing to haplessly destroy the same species through climate change and the devastation of the planet’s forests and oceans.

In addition to the artist lectures, and in tandem with Parkland College’s Sustainable Campus Committee, Giertz Gallery will host a program titled “Owls and Avian Adaptations” on Tuesday, October 20 from 1:15 to 2:15 p.m. in the gallery lounge. Savannah Donovan from the Urbana Park District’s Anita Purves Nature Center will introduce audiences to Quasi, the Eastern screech owl. Donovan will reveal the amazing adaptations that allow owls to thrive in darkness. Other avian specimens will be on hand for comparison.

(October is Campus Sustainability Month, and Parkland’s Sustainable Campus Committee will be hosting several other activities and events throughout the month at Parkland. Please visit the Parkland College website for more information.)

Giertz Gallery at Parkland College hours are 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Thursday and noon to 2 p.m. Saturday.

To find the gallery when classes are in session, we suggest using the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through door X-7, turn left, and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area.

Programs at the gallery are partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency. Parkland College is a section 504/ADA-compliant institution; for accommodation, call 217/351-2505.

For more information on the exhibit, please call the gallery office at 217/351-2485 or visit www.parkland.edu/gallery.


Thursday, July 9, 2015

2015 Parkland Art and Design Faculty Exhibition


2015 Parkland Art and Design Faculty Exhibition  
Monday, August 24 – Saturday, September 19, 2015
Reception: Thursday, September 3, 5-7 p.m.
Talk by Craig McMonigal at 6:30 p.m.  
Music by Matthew Watt & Matthew Hurt

Participating artists:
Louis Ballard
Chris Berti
Lisa Costello
Melinda McIntosh
Craig McMonigal
Laura O’Donnell
Kristina Reese                                    
Denise Seif
Peggy Shaw
Joan Stolz
Matthew Watt
Kelly White
Paul Young


Contemporary works in a variety of media including painting, printmaking, ceramics, graphic design, sculpture, photography, metalsmithing, and drawing will be shown —from both new and returning faculty. This highly anticipated exhibition not only allows Parkland students to see the work of faculty in the Art and Design and Graphic Design departments, but also provides the college an opportunity to share with the community the work of some of the talented faculty. The public is invited for refreshments during an exhibit reception on Thursday, September 3rd from 5 to 7 pm with music by Matthew Watt and Matthew Hurt. At the artists’ reception, mingle with the art faculty and learn what has inspired their work.

Craig McMonigal, who will be retiring in January, will be giving a gallery talk about his work in the exhibition during the reception at 6:30 pm. Craig McMonigal, a Parkland instructor in photography, won the 2015 Illinois Community College Trustees Association Award for Outstanding Part-time Faculty Member. McMonigal is a 21-year faculty member who has been praised by colleagues for his commitment to the college, the program, and the students. One Art and Design colleague says McMonigal is “eager to accept new responsibilities, helping the Art and Design program, and the photography degree within the Communication program, to grow by actively supporting assessment and the development of new curriculum.” Described as an integral part of Parkland’s Art and Design program, McMonigal developed new courses in photography, implemented innovative techniques, and worked to help create the Associate in Applied Science in Photography program. McMonigal is an active member of the Society for Photographic Education and has served as the Parkland representative on the Illinois Higher Education Art Association.

Image Info: Craig McMonigal, Untitled/Viewer/Voyeur Series, 2014, 20x15, Digital Print

Giertz Gallery
Parkland College
2400 West Bradley Avenue
Champaign, Illinois 61821-1899
Gallery Office 217/ 351-2485
www.parkland.edu/gallery

Fall Gallery Hours:
Monday–Thursday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
Saturday, noon-2 p.m.
Closed September 7 for Labor Day

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

To find the gallery, we suggest using the M6 parking lot on the north corner of the campus. Enter through any door and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point of the first floor, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area.

Parkland is a section 504/ADA-compliant institution. For accommodation, call 217/351-2505.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Around the Block: Artists from Our Neighborhood

AROUND THE BLOCK: ARTISTS FROM OUR NEIGHBORHOOD
June 15 to August 6, 2015
Giertz Gallery at Parkland College
Reception: Thursday, June 18, 6–8 p.m., gallery lounge, Gallery Talk by Aron Packer at 7 p.m.
Live Jazz Music by Sam Peters


                           Suzanne Keith Loechl, Residential II, 24" x 36", oil on panel, 2014


CHAMPAIGN, Ill. —Art work by local artists featured in an exhibition at Giertz Gallery at Parkland College in collaboration with 40 North: Champaign County Arts Council, will be held June 15 through August 6 at the Giertz Gallery. This juried art exhibition features works selected by Aron Packer from Packer –Schopf Gallery.

Giertz Gallery at Parkland College, in collaboration with 40 North: Champaign County Arts Council, presents Around the Block: Artists from Our Neighborhood, an exciting and ambitious contemporary exhibition of regional artists. Aron Packer served as juror for this exhibition. He has been living and working with contemporary and folk art in Chicago for more than 25 years. He is the director of Packer Schopf Gallery located in the thriving West Loop gallery district in Chicago. Over the years, his curatorial focus has shifted from folk art to contemporary art; as a result, he curates shows of what he considers to be compelling, with a wide range of material and content. This exhibit is comprised of works of art submitted by artists from our community and reflects the caliber of creative flourish that is present in mid- central Illinois. After selecting the work, he was impressed by the broad range of work submitted. He reflected, “Being judgmental is tough...yet at the same time... it's a joy to dissect and choose work for a show.  I still love doing it after many years of being a curator and gallerist.  In this situation, I don't have control over who enters, so it's always a mystery and pleasure to scroll through the entries to see what is next!”

Participating Artists include Anna Barnes, Sandra Batzli, Gary Beaumont, Roberta Bennett, Jess Beyler, Harry Breen, Cynthia Carlson, Nicholas Cragoe, Beth Darling, Glen Davies, Heather Dent, Carmen Egolf, Pamela Ek, Barbara England, Lisa Marye Evans, Deborah Fell, Hannah Fiske, Tina Giamberdino, Richard Gouinlock, Sara Jahn, Doug Johnson, Judy Jones, Jan Kappes, Jeanette Kavanaugh, Rick Larimore, Taekyeom Lee, Suzanne Keith Loechl, Casey Lowry, Paula McCarty, Stacy McDade, Barbara McDonnell, Sophie McMahan, Melissa Mitchell, Pat Monigold, Melonie Mulkey, David Nolan, Sally Nolan, Anjali Palekar, Jason Patterson, Shannon Batman Percoco, Ellie Pinzarrone, Dot Replinger, Shane Rodems, Michael Schwegmann, Andrea Shields, David Smith, Lynn Hawkinson Smith, Billie Theide, Michael Thomas, Rimas VisGirda, Bryan Warsaw, Rosalind Weinberg, Nathan Westerman, Catherine Wiesener, Charles Wisseman, and Sarah Wisseman.

Lisa Costello, Director of Giertz Gallery at Parkland College remarked, “It was a strong turn out of artists who submitted their work for the exhibit. I think it is going to be a terrific survey of artists who live in the area. I was very pleased that Aron Packer agreed to be our juror. He took the responsibility very seriously and gave a lot of thought to his selection.” She said, “Working with 40 North, Champaign County’s Art Council really help us to get the word out and they have been a valuable resource to our community.”

All events in the handicapped-accessible gallery are free and open to the public. Summer gallery hours are Monday–Thursday from 10 a.m.–7 p.m.

Giertz Gallery is located at 2400 West Bradley Avenue in Champaign, IL on the Parkland College campus. To find the gallery when classes are in session, we suggest using the M parking lots. Enter through any door and follow the ramps uphill to the highest point, where the gallery is located. The gallery windows overlook the outdoor fountain area. This exhibit is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, A state agency. For more information, call Lisa Costello, gallery director, at 217/351-2485 or visit the gallery website at www.parkland.edu/gallery.