Expressions in Fiber Yesterday & Today
The Contemporary Quilts of Diana Bennett & Lina Zerkle
The exhibition of contemporary quilts continues through February 24, 2008 . In December, the two artists discussed their work during the weekly gallery talks. They will return for two more talks in January (see Noon-Time-Talks). A Special reception to meet the Artists will be held on Sunday, January 20 from 1-4 pm. Take the time this winter to visit and browse the museum at your leisure, take in the quilt exhibit and listen to a gallery talk about American Art.
The exhibition, Expressions in Fiber Yesterday & Today , is sponsored by the Elkhart County Conventions & Visitors Bureau as a part of their Amish Country Quilt Garden Tourprogram which will feature a glorious rainbow of 55,000 annuals planted in artfully precise combinations to form colorful patchwork gardens throughout Elkhart County. The Quilt Gardens tour begins on Memorial Day and continues through October 1, 2008. For more information contact the ECVB at (574)262-8161 or visit them at AmishCountry.org .
Museum Docents in the Schools
The Docent Program will expand into the Elkhart Community Schools in 2008. The Museum Docent in the Schools: Your American Heritage program is under development as the New Year ges off to a flying start. Discussions with Bradley Sheppard, Supervisor of Curriculum & Instruction, has resulted in a commitment for MMAA Docents to enter 5th Grade classes. Each Docent has selected a topic area and will present a discussion about American Art from the museum’s permanent collection while introducing ideas about America’s visual heritage and how it may relate to the student.
A new Dell laptop computer and digital projector have been purchased and special powerpoint CD is being developed that will aid Docents in delivering talks about the museum’s collection.Special Thanks goes to Kenneth Brady of Elkhart who graciously donated the funds which enabled the museum to purchase the AV equipment.
The pilot program will be a free service and will be made available to all school corporations in Elkhart County on a select basis. Docents involved with this new program include Jan Atwood, Judy Bechtold, Verna Brinson, Patsy Bucklen, Joyce Cleaveland, Sheila Cook, Sandy Duwe, Norma Hoist, Vicki Magee, Ann Method, Maria Solow, Mike Wilson and Kathy Zienty.
The Midwest Museum is renovating the R. Douglas & Barbara Grant Family Gallery beginning in January. The renovation will include expanding the gallery’s size, the creation of new exhibiton cases, new lighting and wall covering. This renovation anticipates the expansion of the Overbeck Collection to double its current size and the addition of important ceramic works by other Indiana artists to include Brown County pottery and works by Karl Martz.
The museum is pleased to welcome new Staff member, Stacy Jordan into its ranks. Stacy will be taking over the Administrative Assistant position as Joan Grimes retires. Joan will stay on as a volunteer in the Docent Program helping with special functions. Stacy Jordan is a recent graduate in Fine Arts from Indiana University at South Bend in addition to having completed a successful Internship at MMAA in 2006.
BUS TRIP to Chicago in March
Edward Hopper Retrospective
Winslow Homer Watercolors
The first excursion of the New Year will take us to the Art Institute of Chicago to see the retrospective exhibition of American artist, Edward Hopper (1882-1968). A second exhibit of the watercolors of 19th century American painter, Winslow Homer will also be on display. Edward Hopper, creator of pictures that novelist John Updike has called “calm, silent, stoic, luminous, classic,” is one of the most enduring popular American artists of the 20th century. This exhibit is billed as the most extensive to date surpassing the 1981 show of Hopper’s works. Call after February 1st for times and fees. 293-6660
A Special Thank You to our Corporate Supporters
CORPORATE
Barnes & Thornburg, Elkhart Brass Mfg. Co., Onc., Elkhart County Covention and Visitors Bureau, Heart City Kiwanis, Inova Federal Credit Union, Kappa Kappa Kappa-Alpha Rho, Key Bank, Lake City Bank, Meridian Title, Merrill Lynch, Old National Bank, Rollie Williams Paint Spot, Wagner Real Estate Corp., Whisler & Lavery
FOUNDATIONS
Corson Family Foundation, Inc., Elkhart County Community Foundation, Genesis
American Southwest Tour
June 12 – 21, 2008
Join the Midwest Museum of American Art for a memorable 10-day journey through the unparalleled scenic grandeur of the American Southwest on a tour that highlights the ancient Anasazi and the modern Pueblo Indians. From a traditional Corn Dance at a modern Pueblo to the mute ruins of the Anasazi at Mesa Verde, you will experience a land of remarkable and awesome spiritual beauty and the saga of the Native American people who settled it centuries ago.
Trip includes: Admission to museums of New Mexico; Visit & tour Shidoni Bronze Foundry; Visit to Sandia Pueblo Feast Day ceremonials; Taos Pueblo tour; Museums of Taos, Harwood Blumenschein, Martinez Hacienda, & Millicent Rogers Museum; Admission to Mesa Verde National Monument; Durango Silverton Narrown Gage Railroad ride; Aztec Dancers by Sunny Dooley Presentations; Indian Pueblo Cultural Center Museum; Ghost Tour of Old Town; Acoma Pueblo tour; El Morro National Monument; Jeep tour of Canyon de Chelly; Four Corners Monument; Santa Fe walking tour & admission to Loretto Chapel & San Miguel Mission; roundtrip airfare; Baggage handling for one piece of luggage per person; nine nights hotel accommodation; nine breakfasts; four lunches; five dinners; water & snacks on deluxe motor coach transportation; with Professional Tour Guide.
FEE: $3,600. Call 293-6660 to register.
The Midwest Museum of American Art gratefully acknowledges gifts in honor or in memory of special friends. Notes of acknowledgement are sent by the Museum to those honored or to the families of those memorialized. Recent memorials and donations to specific funds include:
In Memory Of
DONALD BALL (*by Mr. & Mrs. George A. White)
MILLIE BETTCHER (*by Dr. & Mrs. William Luther, Carolyn J. Shelly)
ROBERT BOYER (*by Mr. & Mrs. Kenneth Zienty)
RALPH HAFFNER (*by Jane Burns, Mr. & Mrs. Tom Corson, Mr. & Mrs. Richard Treckelo)
MARTHA KREIGHBAUM (*by Jane Burns, Mr. & Mrs. Don Hershberger, Kay E. Klein, Catherine Koziatek, Mr. & Mrs. James Meeker, Maria Sanchez, Mr. & Mrs. Paul Thomas, Joe & Becky Weaver)
LEE MARKEL (*by Jane Burns, Dr. & Mrs. William Luther, Mr. & Mrs. Paul Thomas)
MARY NUSBAUM (*by Allen Norris & Betty Plunkett, Mr. & Mrs. Paul Thomas)
ANN STOLTZ (*by Nancy & Ray Stutsman)
MILDRED RAYNOLDS TRIVERS (*by Darlene Mathias Eddy)
IN HONOR OF JANE BURN’S BIRTHDAY (*by Dorothy Hemphill)
IN HONOR OF BILL DEAN’S 90th BIRTHDAY (*by Jane Burns)
(D.R.)