TSCPL | Alice C. Sabatini Gallery

Learn, Explore, Discuss in an Exhibit Tour

2009-11-02T16:25:21+00:00

Enhance your viewing experience with a guided gallery exhibit tour. Whether guided or self-guided, exhibition tours can offer an incredible learning experience for all ages. Our tours can be tailored to meet your group's needs. Please call the gallery at 580-4515 at least two weeks in advance to schedule a tour for groups of 10 or more .

Two Passions, One List: KU Art Librarian Susan Craig Shares Her KS Artist Dictionary

2009-10-28T17:24:24+00:00

In true DIY fashion, Susan Craig wrote her own dictionary when the one she needed didn't exist.

The Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists (Active before 1945) didn't exist in 1981 when University of Kansas Art Librarian, Susan Craig, got a reference question about Kansas artist John Noble, a name she didn't immediately recognize.

“I had studied art history, I was an art librarian, but I couldn’t find much — if any — information on Kansas artists,” said Craig, who joined KU Libraries in 1970 and is the head of the Murphy Art and Architecture Library. ¹

Her desire to learn more doubled nicely as a faculty research project, and 25 years later with more than 1,750 names, Craig's work has received international acclaim. The Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists (Active before 1945) is available online as a published book through KU ScholarWorks where today's Susan Craigs can easily locate artists by name, town or subject.

Meet Susan Craig and learn more about this project tomorrow night, October 29th, from 6:30 - 8:30 PM at the Topeka Performing Arts Center. Craig gives the keynote address at a public event presented by KU Dean of Libraries, Lorraine Haricombe.

¹ KU News: KU Libraries to host Topeka-area event about Kansas artists

Photo ©Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLISNA)

Recent Acquisitions: Volunteer Picks week 6

2009-10-12T14:00:22+00:00

This is the last week to come and see Recent Acquisitions at the Alice C. Sabatini Art Gallery!

Each week we have featured some of our Gallery volunteer's art picks and here are the last three!

We invite you to read and weigh in on what your "friends and neighbors" think about various pieces in your collection-the oldest public art collection in Topeka! Or come see for yourself...

Robert Sudlow
Untitled (Hulbert's Garden), 1993-1995
Oil on Cadillac paper

This picture is hazy impressionistic with bright touches and vivid colors blended with hazy pastels. It is beautiful with much movement and energy. - Beth Sparling

Ed M. Sullivan
Tennyson, 1971
Etching
My background is in Caricature. The artist captures feeling of the person in this print. - Jess Taylor

Gary K. Clarke
Prairie Dawn, Late 20th c
Color photograph

I love sunsets and the wide open spaces that open the vast sky up to viewing. - Steve Tempero

Topeka Competition 29 e-Postcard / v1 n1

2009-10-09T21:30:01+00:00

Click image to see full-size PDF.

What is the Topeka Competition?
Fun, whimsical and highly-crafted.

Over thirty years ago, Larry Peters, former Sabatini Art Gallery Director, created The Topeka Competition—TC for short—to give local ceramists, woodworkers, fiber artists, jewelry-makers and other crafts artists an opportunity to show their work at a time when most galleries weren’t yet interested in craft media. This event has grown into a national, biennial, juried competition featuring some of the newest and most innovative 3-dimensional work being made in America today. Sponsored by the Friends of the Library. Check out Larry’s 1978 exhibit proposal for the first Topeka Competition here.

Gallery & Arts-related Library Programs

First Fridays Artwalk
Opening Reception | Nov 6 | 5:30 PM | Honors & Awards announcement 6:30 PM

First Fridays Artwalk
Twice as nice the second time around | Dec 4 | 5:30 PM

Juror’s Talk
Dec 5 | Marvin 101C | Meet Joyce Jablonsky, TC29’s Juror, and hear her thoughts on this year’s competition

Kids’ Quilt Craft Project
Midland Hospice’s Gwen McClain teaches kids to express grief by through quilting.

Porubski’s—Transcendent Deli
New film about this Topeka institution to be screened at the Library.

Calligraphy Part 2
Flourishes! Swash capitals! All ages.

Related Websites & Articles

Craft:
Site dedicated to the renaissance occurring in the world of crafts

Make:
Site that brings the “do-it-yourself” mindset to all the technology in your life

Imagination Factory
Site for kids about making art using materials most people throw away

Craft in America
Non-profit organization dedicated to the exploration, preservation, celebration of craft and its impact on our nation's cultural heritage.

Museum of Contemporary Craft
A vibrant center for investigation and dialogue, expanding the definition of craft and the ways audiences experience it.

What Are They Teaching Art Students These Days?
Emerging forms, theory, new technology and marketing (ARTnews)

Baffled, Bewildered & Smitten
How to learn to stop worrying and love the art you don’t understand (ARTnews)

Collection Connection—stuff to check out from the Library

Art On the Edge and Over by Linda Weintraub
Searching for art’s meaning in contemporary society

Craft in America PBS television series
Reserve a copy here of this award-winning 5-hour series, now in its second season.

Stitch ‘n Bitch series by Debbie Stoller
Knitting for a new generation

Super Crafty by Susan Beal
Ultimate guide to making cool stuff at all skill levels and 75 amazing how-to projects

Jewelry: Fundamentals of Metalsmithing by Tim McCreight
Professional metalsmith talks technique and process

Ceramics: Throwing Functional Forms
How to make a mug, a vase, pitcher and plate (DVD)

Sculpture As Experience by Judith Peck
Working with clay, wire, wax, plaster and found objects

Fiberarts Book of Wearable Art by Katherine Duncan-Aimone
Current trends and 39 prominent fiber artists

Our Community

ARTSconnect Topeka
Your link to almost everything arty in T-town

Kansas Artist Craftsmen Association
Resource group for communication, support, workshops, exhibitions and networking for Kansas artists working in 3D media

The Harveyville Project
Rural schoolhouse, creative residence, workshop and retreat, Felt & Yarn School, Art Club

Mulvane Art Museum at Washburn University
Sculpture, found objects and mixed media through January 2010

Hand & Wheel Ceramics
Washburn University Continuing Education class 11/7–12/12

Judith Lennox Sabatini Art Lab
Mulvane Art Museum’s hands-on art experience center for people of all ages

Until next time…

Art that looks back at you: sounds become shapes, bodies create paintings and a curious eye looks back at a curious viewer. Artist Golan Levin’s TED 2009 conference presentation is both inspiring and funny. CLICK HERE to watch Levin's short TED presentation.

Alice C Sabatini Art Gallery | View our exhibits online | Facebook | www.tscpl.org
Sign up for our e-postcard here: www.tscpl.org/gallery

Recent Acquisitions: Volunteer Picks week 5

2009-10-05T14:00:36+00:00

There are only two more weeks to come and see Recent Acquisitions at the Alice C. Sabatini Art Gallery!

Each week of this exhibit we have feature two of our Gallery volunteer's art picks. With more than 1,500 new and wonderful works of art to pick from you can only imagine the difficulty they had in choosing just one!

We invite you to read and weigh in on what your "friends and neighbors" think about various pieces in your collection-the oldest public art collection in Topeka! Or come see for yourself...

Jim Richardson
Patterns of the Spring Burn, 2006
Color photograph

This picture could be mistaken for volcanic lava. The burn follows the land contour in an interesting manner. The picture evokes an eerie feeling. - Carol Schmidt

Dorthea Bilder
untitled, ca. 1964
Oil on canvas

The use of color and shape are so engaging. I'm compelled to look deep into this work and study what might be happening. - Jurahee Shriver

Volunteering Time and Sharing Knowledge

2009-10-05T01:00:41+00:00

We are extremely grateful everyday to have a committed volunteer team at the gallery. Our volunteers commit about 167 hours collectively every month. Continuing education opportunities are planned through museum / gallery and studio visits. Some past trips include visiting the Kansas State capitol in Topeka, the Spencer Museum, and artist Philip Hershberger's studio. There is also the opportunity to learn about the TSCPL permanent art collection by way of classes, hands-on exercises, and exhibit behind-the-scenes meetings. Volunteers also assist gallery staff with projects and interact with our visitors. Our volunteers are the ambassadors for the Sabatini Gallery connecting each visitor that walks through our doors with a visual experience.

A few words from our volunteers:

"I'm glad to see the continued variety of different exhibits that show the who, what, when, where, how, and why. Art is so important to our happiness and well being."

"I love working here."

"Interacting with patrons and welcoming them to the art gallery"

Stayed tuned for volunteer project updates.

Altered Books project 2009

2009-10-02T17:48:18+00:00

September 15 - November 9, 2009
Library atrium (open space between youth and adult areas)
View photos of this year's entries.

Now in its 3rd year, the altered books project at TSCPL invited participants to express their creativity and recycle at the same time. Staff members Brea Black and Zan Popp taught a workshop in August that introduced techniques and materials that could be used to turn a discarded book into a work of art. At the end of the workshop, participants selected a book and were given a month to complete their altered book.

The books used for this project were library discards that were destined to be recycled. No circulating books and no books that could be sold at the Friends book sale or in the Booktique were used for this project.

To learn more about altered books, visit the website for the International Society of Altered Book Artists at: http://www.alteredbookartists.com/

For more information on altered books, check out these resources:

What’s a Gallery Talk?

2009-09-30T19:38:59+00:00

It's an informal tour of the art exhibit, led by someone who put the exhibit together.

Tonight, from 7 - 8:30 pm, I will lead a tour of "Recent Acquisitions." This exhibit features some of the art that we've added to the library's art collection in the past five years. I'll share some of our history, why we chose the pieces we did, how we organized the exhibit, and what we think about as we build our public art collection. Then I'll open up the talk for questions. Got something you'd like to know more about? Want to hear the story of how a piece came into our collection? Wonder what misfiring synapse made an artist do that?

I may not know that answer to the last question, but I'll give it a good guess. For me, that's the magic part of art: it's a form of communication, and different people will see different things in every piece. For istance, the Ken Price ceramic piece, Ming, made a physicist want to bring in his students to talk about the way the black interior works to look like a void.

Art is a process of discovery. I love that.

Open call for BEST NEW ART

2009-09-30T16:40:56+00:00

The Fall Solo Show is an international open call for dynamic, inventive and provocative work of all mediums: sculpture, photography, painting, printmaking, illustration, installation, graphic design, video, and more!

Judges: Priska Juschka/Founder of Priska C. Juschka Art and CK Swett of Christie's. All submissions must be recieved by October 22, 2009 at 11:59 PM/EST.

The selected artist will receive:

$1,000 cash grant
A solo exhibition in 3rd Ward’s gallery, complete with a massive opening reception
A 2-page spread in 3rd Ward’s quarterly publication
1-month residency at 3rd Ward with FULL facility access
NYC wide exposure – post cards, flyers, press!

Who is 3RD WARD?

Recent Acquisitions: Volunteer Picks week 4

2009-09-28T14:00:15+00:00

Over the last five years the Alice C. Sabatini Art Gallery has acquired more than 1,500 new and wonderful works of art. Imagine the difficulty in choosing which works to showcase and which to leave out!

Each week on our blog, we feature two Gallery volunteer picks. We invite you to read and weigh in on what your "friends and neighbors" think about various pieces in your collection-the oldest public art collection in Topeka! Or come see for yourself...

John D. Gorbutt
Maple Hill Church, mid 1900s
Silkscreen

I like the use of color and the Van Gogh like technique but it is also disturbing. The colors seem to be competing with each other and there appears to be no life inside the church as the windows are all black. The subject matter suggests a serene-tranquil scene. - Dixie Norman

Nicolas Homosky
From a Drawing II, ca. 2000s
Porcelain with inlaid black slip

This is a stunning, clean white ceramic bowl with a beautiful, clean shape and wonderful black accent lines. - Jerry Reed