Perfect for participants with no artistic background or experience, this workshop is also loved by quilters, weavers, crafters, and artists.

Explore the rich possibilities and creative expression within this ancient art form. You’ll learn traditional dyeing techniques on muslin fabric using professional dyes, fixatives, tjanting tools, and molten wax. Step by step, you’ll complete several two-color batik paintings while mastering the process.

Kristine’s background in illustration and composition lends a distinctive style, refined sensitivity, and exceptional craftsmanship to her batik art. Her work has earned numerous awards and has been exhibited widely. In April 2016, she was featured in Art and Architecture Magazine as an emerging artist to watch. Her pieces have been acquired for Hollywood film sets, corporate spaces, hospitals, and private collections across the globe—including in Canada and Sri Lanka.

Workshop Registration

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The Unchosen Ones video links

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In Gallery 3 – Bone Creek viewers will be able to explore the whimsical imagination of Lincoln, Nebr. artist John C. Spence. He has been on a journey for a number of years now away from photography and into the creation of small sculpture and assemblages that explore common stereotypes of the Wild West.

He writes, “This exploration may include glorification or celebration on either side of a conflict situation. Who is telling the story and from what point of view? Please bear in mind that humor and playfulness are meaningful ingredients in any serious inquiry. Amplifying and enjoying differences can be visually and intellectually rewarding.”

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Internationally recognized batik artist from Hastings is preparing a special large scale agrarian exhibition for Bone Creek viewers around the theme of cultivation. Early in her contemplation of the theme, she wrote, “It’s amazing how we move from moment to moment and are always changing. How quickly time moves and we can only really see the change as we move into new seasons. The abundance we enjoy was cultivated in the past and all the rewards we find in the future are cultivated today. We find this wisdom in the signs prevalent in nature, in ancient texts and even within time and space.”

“When I’m invited to prepare a solo exhibition, the aspect I enjoy the most is the contemplation and preparation.  My artists friend will tell you that preparing the story or theme for an exhibition is half the journey.  Once that is sorted through, the rest is simply creating the images that represent the purpose of the exhibition.”

She is busy preparing this work as well as working with museum staff to hosting a workshop in 2026.

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I often return to the idea of sense of place—how it roots us in our past and shapes our present. In many exhibitions, I explore ways to invite viewers to reflect on their own sense of place, using it as a lens through which to experience the art.

Our latest exhibition in the Contemporary Gallery revisits this familiar theme, sparked by a recent and significant addition to our collection: a portrait of an unknown Native American chief by Clarence Ellsworth (1885–1961). This evocative work becomes a focal point in a broader selection of pieces from our permanent collection, including artworks that reflect on Indigenous presence, pioneer expansion, and the evolving narratives of the American West.

Together, these works reflect the complex and often conflicting narratives of westward expansion—a period that profoundly reshaped the nation’s identity. During this era of transformation, Native peoples endured the dislocation of traditions and land, while settlers stepped into unfamiliar territories in search of opportunity—each confronting an uncertain future.

Little more than a century after Lewis and Clark’s expedition, settlers and explorers were forging into lands already deeply inhabited and culturally rich—lands too often seen as empty or available. This exhibition invites viewers to reflect on the consequences of that expansion, and to consider home, belonging, and displacement as lived experiences—not only of the past, but also through the imaginative power of art.

We are grateful to the Museum of Nebraska Art for the opportunity to exhibit additional works by Clarence Ellsworth, and remain committed to strengthening the educational context around our permanent collection.

By Amanda Guenther, Curator

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Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art of David City, Nebraska, was closed for only four short months to move from its original location to a newly renovated historic building at 312 North 5^th Street. The grand reopening on Saturday, April 12, boasted a standing-room-only crowd in attendance gathered in the front multi-purpose room, which originally served as the vehicle showroom of the Ford Motor Co. assembly plant. There were 450 people present throughout the day’s festivities, which included a ribbon cutting by the Nebraska Department of Economic Development director, remarks by state senators, gallery tours, hands-on crafts, and a live painting demonstration by Texas artist V….Vaughan.

The morning’s program opened with brief remarks by the museum’s board president, Ruth Thoendel, who was also an integral part of the capital campaign leadership team. “We are so thankful to everyone who has helped make this possible,” she said. “Even with the success of our campaign, there are projects that we weren’t able to finance and we still need public support.” Architect Ryan Cameron of CMBA Architects of Des Moines commented that this project has been especially close of his heart because he is a native of David City and recognized many faces in the crowd.

Nebraska’s DED director, K.C. Belitz shared some celebratory remarks before cutting the ribbon. He said, Nebraskans so often have their heads down, working hard to accomplish their goals. When those goals are met, it’s important to pause and celebrate. Tomorrow we can get back to work, but today we celebrate, he said. Many museum patrons from out-of-state joined the local supporters to get a first glimpse at the new building and celebrate its completion. 

Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art opened in 2008 with a specialized focus on art of the land. It is the only Agrarian Art museum in the nation. Remarks by guest speakers boasted the local pride of having the attraction as an asset to increase tourism. The museum serves as the cornerstone of Destination David, a creative district designated by the Nebraska Arts Council.

Expansion of the museum was a concept for 10 years, an active fundraising campaign for four years, and a construction project for less than 24 months. The project’s contractors received top awards from the Associated Builders and Contractors of Nebraska/South Dakota just this month in the Historical Renovation/Restoration category for projects under $25 million. Cheever’s renovation of the 1917 historic Ford Building was well under the competition’s category limit, at approx. $5 million. The team received two other awards for the execution and coordination of the HVAC system and the advanced lighting system.

The museum’s board of directors intentionally preserved some of this building’s interesting history. Grandfather of Joyce C. Hall (founder of Hallmark cards) owned the David City lots as a livery stable before selling to build the Ford dealership. The large brick building was an assembly plant and showroom for Model- T Ford automobiles. But like so many buildings in small towns, it had become vacant in recent decades and fallen into disrepair. Preserving a history of place is in keeping with the mission of the organization’s local founders. CMBA architects retained the historic design of the front lobby with the original tile floors, solid woodwork and period light fixtures. There is also a Ford automobile on permanent display in tribute to the building’s history. This particular 1923 Model-T was believed to have been the very first four-door model T sedan to have been assembled onsite and sold from the showroom.

Now the 1917 structure has been remodeled as a world-class art museum, preserving the character and charm that has grounded this corner of town, just off the city square, for more than 100 years. Some of the features of the new building include five galleries, two classrooms, and a small theatre. “There is no underestimating the impact of this building on the activities of the museum. We now have dedicated spaces for artist talks and receptions, proper spaces for receiving and storing the growing collection, and room to host in-house art workshops,” said collections manager Gabrielle Comte.

Bone Creek Museum of Agrarian Art’s mission is to connect people to the land through art. With each exhibition, Bone Creek Museum consistently captures a theme that is very challenging and compelling to the contemporary arts conversation. They have joined the conversation about farming, past, present and future, with creative expression that culminates in an emotional response from the viewer. The art becomes a tool for discussion and simultaneously a means to its own end. They are paving their own way forward to tell the timeless but unique stories of agriculture and Agrarian Art in America and across the world.

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Gallery 2

Prior to making beautiful black and white photographs on traditional large format 8×10 plates, Charles was Dr. Charles Guildner, M.D., anesthesiologist and UNMC alumnus. He retired from the medical profession in 1987 and took up a new career creating portraits which document Americans steeped in very traditional practices of living off the land.

“Many of these lifestyles are shrinking in numbers. So it is interesting to find people whose lives seem grounded in tradition, who find their vitality in long standing ways of living,” he said in a 2007 article for UNMC Today.

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Gallery 1

Butler County, Nebraska has a robust artist heritage. Some of the most prominent area artists are featured in this exhibition. “Upholding Traditions” honors the creative characters who have gone before. “Blazing New Trails” explores the talent that is alive and well in the community.

Upholding Traditions Artists: Terence Duren, Dale Nichols, Floyd Nichols, Ruth Nichols

Blazing New Trails Artists: Joan Cech, Emily Heermann, Mark Moseman, Aaron Rerucha, Amy Tomasevicz

The Nichols Family has a fair claim to being the most accomplished in the area. Four of the 12 artists represented here are from one family. Dale and his older brother, Floyd, were equally talented artists, though they chose very different paths. Ruth, daughter to Floyd, followed in her father’s footsteps with her focus on sculpture but also dedicated her life to arts education for youth. Aaron is a great- grandson to Floyd and shows the same ingenuity of his ancestry, to turn practical furnishings into works of art.

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Watch 10/11 Pure Nebraska to learn more about the museum’s expansion.

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Bone Creek Museum is so pleased to announce an exhibition by a Minnesota-based artist who has blended multiple talents and keeps coming back to nature for nourishment of the soul. Lark Gilmer has made a successful career as a high-end commercial photographer and videographer. She also has spent years learning the Basque tradition of shepherding in France and translating those skills in her own Montana flock for a time. This exhibition displays a melding of these two passions.

The exhibition’s title “La Bergère- Shepherdess” is a simple and direct tribute to her French connections. La Bergère means shepherd in French. The Basque word, art-zain, (as the culture has its own traditional language) interestingly begins with ‘art’ deriving from the Basque name for sheep ‘Ardi’ and ‘zain’ meaning guardian. In many ways Lark embodies the meaning of these words as she has been a protector of her flock as well as a guardian of art and the land.

Her ideas about the agrarian lifestyle so keenly match that of the museum’s mission for she writes, “People need to connect to the land. I have witnessed and been amazed at how individuals approach agrarian work, the series of emotions invoked as they step nearer into view. Sometimes, it looks as if they are awash with gratitude followed by awe while their hand reaches out to hopefully touch it. I have witnessed an image (projected on screen) pull people out of their chairs because they are hungry for it. And, for many, for the first time…sit and be present in its presence. It is a yearning that people don’t realize they need until they are with it to know they’ve missed it. In those moments, I realized how rare a real connection is.”

In the first galleries of the new museum visitors will experience a variety of ways that the artist has found to communicate ideas and experiences that have been so meaningful to her. Life-size photography has melded to painting, which has given way to sculpture and manipulation of natural materials, grasses, etc. all weaving together to portray a personal connection with the land.

She writes, “I have often felt the pull to connect, and reconnect with the land, torn between duty and calling. My authentic life is born from the land, working with it in my every day and I am refreshed every time I return. My work attempts to capture a land-based practice, life-sized so that the viewer can experience a moment as I do. When I am able, I use the camera and when I cannot, I use a brush. They are all lived experiences on the land.”

All artwork samples by Lark Gilmer.

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