Just as the flowers are curling into bloom, new work by skilled woodworkers, Craig and Teresa Miller, has twisted its way into the Chait Galleries Downtown.

The twisted limbs and irregularly shaped slices of tree trunk combine to create unique furniture that is flawlessly elegant. Each piece is meticulously handcrafted, 100% natural and finished without petroleum products, metallic drying agents or harmful lacquers. Salvaged from the fallen pinion and juniper pine trees native to their Southern Colorado home, the husband and wife team expertly apply linseed, tung, beeswax, pine rosin, and citrus solvent to finish their work. The end tables, plant stands, candleholders, and lamps are perfect as a centerpiece or an accent in any living space.

In beginning their wood designs, Craig explains, “We started looking around and saw these unique trees that could be formed into furniture. We made some for ourselves and then started making some for others. Now, each piece is selected for a particular creation.”

See the twisted, yet functional wood creations for yourself at the Chait Galleries Downtown.

The Chait Galleries Downtown: Monday- Friday 11-6, Saturday 10-5, and Sunday 12-4.
 

Who doesn’t need a new pair of earrings? Learn to make earrings for yourself or as gifts. Two wirework skills will be practiced and used to make three pairs of earrings. The first skill is making a closed wrapped loop that allows you to make earrings and pendants. The second skill is making a closed wrapped loop inside of a closed loop, allowing you to attach dangles to chains. You will make earrings from glass, stone, pearls, and Swarovski crystals.

Solid instruction on the use of jewelry tools will assist you in making three pairs of earrings. You will receive encouragement in discovering simple yet elegant earring designs.
Instructor: Mallory Zapf

Registration is $55 and includes all instruction and materials.

Note this Bargain: If you also sign up for Basic Stringing on May 19, take both classes for $100.

Register in person, over the phone, or on-line. at www.beadologyiowa.com.  To get the discount for taking both classes, you cannot register on line.

Learn herringbone, or Ndeble stitch, a fundamental stitch used in many contemporary bead books and magazine projects. Participants will learn to increase to make their piece wider in the middle and how to decrease to bring the end of their cuff down to the original width near the clasp. The end result is a fun and fast beaded cuff bracelet. No experience necessary. Instructor: Karen Kubby

Registration is $55 and includes all materials and instruction. Register in person, via phone, or on-line at www.beadologyiowa.com.

Iowa Artisans Gallery hosts the exhibit, Peter Pestalozzi: Wood Furniture & Accessories, June 1 – July 15, 2012. The show will open during the Downtown Iowa City Gallery Walk, scheduled for 5-8pm on June 1. This self-guided event takes place at 16 downtown locations and is free, family-friendly and open to the public. The artist will be in attendance. Examples of work on display include tables of various kinds, chairs, a buffet or “Kayak cabinet,” trays, mirrors, and smaller pieces.

In addition, in a booth during Iowa Arts Festival, the Gallery will sponsor artist demonstrations by wood turners Steve Sinner & Joe Meirhaghe on June 2 (10-4pm) and on June 3, Fabric painting by Astrid Bennett (10-11:30 ), Plein-Air Painting by Beppie Weiss (12-1:30) and Abstract Pastel Painting by Debora Stewart (2-3:30).

Woodworker Peter Pestalozzi has been building with wood for over thirty years and brings this experience to each piece he builds. Influences are varied, including Shaker, Arts and Crafts, Danish modern, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Interests in the outdoor environment, especially explored using canoe and kayak, are also strong influences. His use of mostly traditional methods includes an attention to detail and uncompromising joinery. Peter and his wife, canoe builder Jeanne Bourquin, share their shop in Ely, Minnesota.

Iowa Artisans Gallery was established by artists in 1984. The gallery features work by American artists and specializes in Midwestern artists. Daily hours are Monday-Wednesday 10-6pm; Thursday’s Downtown Shopping Night: 10-7pm; Friday 10-6pm; Saturday 10-5:30 and Sunday 12-4. For more information, please contact the Gallery at 319-351-8686.

The Iowa City Gallery Walk opens the Iowa Arts Festival on Friday, June 1 from 5-8pm. The Walk takes place at 16 venues and is the largest Gallery Walk of the year. Gallery Walks are scheduled for March, June and October and are self-guided, free, family-friendly and open to the public. Maps are available at each location.

Gallery Walk venues include AKAR, Arts Iowa City, Bella Joli, the Chait Galleries, the Englert Theatre, Glassando, Home Ec Workshop, Iowa Artisans Gallery/D.J.Rinner Goldsmith, MidWestOne Bank, MC Ginsberg, r.s.v.p., the Senior Center’s Old Post Office Gallery, Textiles, United Action for Youth (UAY), US Bank and Yotopia.

Also on display during Gallery Walk and the Iowa Arts Festival is Pew Quilt Show, Old Capitol Quilt Guild's 2012 QUILT FEST. During this event, hundreds of quilts are displayed on church pews at the First United Methodist Church ($5 admission), 214 E. Jefferson St. Hours are: June 1st:  noon -8pm;  & June 2nd:  10am -5pm.

r.s.v.p. hosts the exhibit Iowa City is Writing a Poem (& r.s.v.p. is learning a lot about community). In celebration of Poetry Month, and with the help of undergraduate poet Ingrid Freaney, r.s.v.p. engaged the creative spirits of 30 community members, poets and non-poets alike to write a public poem one line per day. Each day of April a magnetic-poetry style line was created by a different poet in our storefront window. The UI Center for the Book will print 100 letterpress broadsides of the final poem – thirty to give our poets in appreciation, and seventy to raise money for the Iowa Writing Youth Project. Photographer Nancy Hauserman has documented our project in a photo essay. Gallery Walk will be the unveiling of the complete poem, the complete photo essay, and a celebration of the community that created it. r.s.v.p. is located at 140 North Linn St, next to the Motley Cow. (Ends June 30)

Home Ec Workshop features Industrial Glitter: Inspiration Family Tree. Industrial Glitter is a local art duo who will create a mixed media window installation exploring the branches of their "Inspiration Family Tree” including “muppets, rainbows and everything craftastic”. Home Ec Workshop is located at 207 N. Linn St., in the near Northside Neighborhood. (Ends June 30)

The State Historical Society of Iowa features two exhibits: MeeWha Lee: Faces, and
John Zeller: The State Capitol in Photography. An MFA Design graduate of UI, MeeWha taught graphic communications and then worked in design management for 16 years for large global consumer packaged goods companies, then returned to her first love of drawing. She is now a resident of Madison, WI. Des Moines native, John Zeller shot pictures for Rosa Snyder’s booklet, Glimpses of Iowa’s Capitol. He comments, “since then, every day seems to offer a new photo opportunity at the Statehouse that I shouldn’t miss. Funding for this show did not come from a grant, but from my serving food at Sam & Gabe’s Italian Bistro.” The State Historical Society of Iowa is located at 402 Iowa Avenue. (Ends July 7)

Chait Galleries features From Near and Far - Paintings by John Klopp & Abdala Faye. Local Iowa artist John Stephen Klopp and Senegal-born, Iowa City resident Abdala Faye both exhibit new works, from calm and serene landscapes to visceral texture that begs to be touched. Distinctive in style, these seemingly opposite artists have the unique ability to draw in the viewer. Klopp, who paints primarily with watercolor, acknowledges that he “tries to find the calm and quiet of the countryside…I like to think my paintings remind us of a slower time – that capture and preserve fleeting memories.” Faye, a multi-media painter states that his art “transforms with time as I do my work.  It displays, therefore, where I've been, who I am.” Chait Galleries is located at 218 E Washington St. (Ends July 13) 

The Old Post Office Gallery (Senior Center) shows two exhibits. In Paintings by Griffin Buhman, the artist incorporates a strong sense of narrative as well as a visual sense of atmosphere, spatial texture, and sensation. His work plays with the boundary between fine art and pop art or illustration, and uses resin (among other devices) to emphasize layering and separation between layers while maintaining a strong link to traditional painting and drawing. Jim Hawtrey: Illustration, Mixed media & Sculpture in on display in the Top Floor Gallery. After retiring as a long-time art teacher with the Iowa City Community Schools, Hawtrey took many semesters of foil printing at UI with Virginia Myers. Since 1987 the bulk of his work has been illustrations for Trinity Episcopal Church’s Sunday bulletins. Hawtrey had been a sculptor of bronzes until 1995. His studio, which had been the place where he cast his bronzes, is now a studio for foil and intaglio printmaking. With his art he tells stories. Some works are surreal, others are realistic or Cubist.  Always trying to express his joy for life, Hawtrey’s ideas begin in his head rather than with the use of models. This exhibit showcases many years of his art. The Old Post Office Gallery is located at 28 S. Linn St. (ends August 17)

Iowa Artisans Gallery/D.J. Rinner Goldsmith presents two exhibits. Peter Pestalozzi: Wood Furniture & Accessories showcases the work of Ely, Minnesota artist Peter Pestalozzi, who has been building with wood for over thirty years and brings this experience to each piece he builds. Influences are varied, including Shaker, Arts and Crafts, Danish modern, Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Interests in the outdoor environment, especially from explorations using canoe and kayak, are also strong influences. His use of mostly traditional methods includes an attention to detail and uncompromising joinery. Also on display: woodturning by Steven Sinner & Joe Meirhaghe, who will be featured artists in the Gallery’s Artist Demo Tents during Iowa Arts Festival, 10-4pm on June 2. Pearl-fection! showcases June’s Birthstone in a wide variety of designs created in-house by the staff of DJRinner Goldsmith. Included in the show are one of a kind and limited edition designs as well as collaborations and classic favorites by Bethany Young, Louise Rauh and Brittany McConnell. Iowa Artisans Gallery/DJ Rinner Goldsmith is located at 207 E Washington St. (Ends July 15)

Located at 109 S. Dubuque St., Textiles shows Mixed Media Paintings by Nora Cross.
The artist comments, “I classify my work as bold and bright, using abstract shapes, which I find energizing and motivating. I find city skylines fascinating with their alternating buildings of various heights, shapes and sizes. Especially at night, as buildings are lit up, the geometric shapes become more abundant as hundreds of windows take on a golden glow.” (Ends September 28)

Glassando hosts Handcrafted gemstone jewelry by Yvette Craddock. Local Iowa City artist Yvette Craddock has been designing since 2008. “I tend to design as I am inspired. I love working with gemstones. These natural gems reconnect me to the earth, and that collective creativity and consciousness… and dictate the story behind each piece of jewelry.  From there, I pull inspiration from colors, nature, films, magazines, photos, art and the list continues.” When she is not making jewelry, Craddock hosts the PATV Channel 18 show Frame, dedicated to art and culture. Glassando is located in the Old Capitol Mall. (contact Abby Restko, 341-7887, service@glassando.com) (Ends June 30)

Bella Joli features Isaac Grimes: Paintings in chalk pastel, acrylics & oils. A native of Iowa City, Grimes studied art at UI. His paintings range from realistic portraits and landscapes to abstracted realism and fanciful imagery. Bella Joli is located at 125 S. Dubuque St. (show ends September 30)

MC Ginsberg Jewelers hosts Ryan Blume: “What‘s the difference” …a show of reality or is it perception? Blume comments, “my artwork is driven by the relationship between abstraction and representation within the biological realm. I have found that abstraction can be found in representation and representation in abstraction. I’ve chosen to explore this correlation in two different ways. First, with the use of diptych, in which one canvas is representational of wildlife and the other canvas an abstraction of that creature’s anatomical structure.” MC Ginsberg Jewelers is located at 110 E. Washington St. (Ends June 30)

UAY (United Action for Youth) shows Intergenerational Self Portraits. Students from Grant Wood Elementary School's UAY Art Club participated in a series of intergenerational art workshops at the Senior Center led by local high school students as part of the Community Youth Leadership Program.  This show will feature self portraits completed by both 6th graders and senior citizens. The UAY Youth Center is located at 355 Iowa Avenue. (ends June 4)

Arts Iowa City hosts Vitreous: Ceramics, with work by University of Iowa students including Amy Nichols, Kimberly Henschied, Kirsten Weismantle, Linda Ge, Marni Gable, Mitchell Spain, Renee Bovinette. Arts Iowa City is located in the lower level of the Wells Fargo Bank Building, 114 S Dubuque St. (ends June 8)

Amber O’Harrow: Propagation by Layering is on display at US Bank. The exhibit shows recent work that integrates a wide range of methods to make direct and intuitive expression. Amber O’Harrow moved to Iowa after working as an artist in the UK and France for almost two decades.  She received her BFA in Textile Design and Fiber Art from the Rhode Island School of Design in 1991, where she began her exploration into natural forms and new weaving techniques.  In 2010, she received her MA and MFA from the University of Iowa in Metal Arts, 3-D Design, and Sculpture, where she developed new ways of integrating materials and processes to form her art. US Bank is located at 204 E Washington St.

Yotopia Frozen Yogurt, Gallery Walk’s newest participant, hosts Photographic Interpretations of Spring. Yotopia is located at 132 S. Clinton St.

The Englert Theatre features Dustin Blank: Field Theory, Mixed Media. The artist will perform during Gallery Walk. The exhibit is located on the second floor in The Douglas & Linda Paul Gallery of the Englert, 221 E Washington St. (Ends June 5)

MidWestOne Bank features Once Upon a Time, work by Emily J. G. Vermillion
& Alexander R. Vermillion. MidWestOne Bank is located at 102 S. Clinton St. (Ends August 31)

AKAR presents New Ceramic Works by Matt Kelleher & Shoko Teruyama. Kelleher, an Iowa native, and Teruyama are currently residents of Penland, NC. AKAR is located at 257 E. Iowa Avenue. (ends June 4)

For more information on Gallery Walk, call Iowa Artisans Gallery (319)351-8686 or Chait Galleries, (319)338-4442.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON GALLERY WALK: The downtown Gallery Walk was started in the early 1990’s as a way of showcasing MC Ginsberg’s exhibit of work to be auctioned at the Domestic Violence Intervention Program’s Fine Art and Fun Fundraiser. At that time, participants numbered five: MC Ginsberg, Iowa State Bank & Trust, Iowa Artisans Gallery/DJ Rinner Goldsmith, Arts Iowa City and the Barn Collections (no longer downtown.) For several years, the DVIP fundraiser continued to be the centerpiece of the March Gallery Walk, but other Walks were added in June, during the Iowa Arts Festival and in October. Gallery Walk is administered by volunteers. Several of the exhibition venues are devoted to businesses other than art but demonstrate the vibrant cultural scene in Iowa City. Anyone wishing to exhibit work in one of the exhibition venues should contact Terri Miller Chait, (319)338-4442, terri@thegalleriesdowntown.com, or Astrid Bennett, iowaartisansgallery@gmail.com