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It's a busy weekend for the arts in Topeka! The computer that housed our great artwalk map CRASHED, so thanks to friend Karl and his Google map of First Fridays! You can access this map here

Most Galleries are open from 5:30-8:30

Alice C. Sabatini Gallery, at the Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 S.W. 10th,The Alice C. Sabatini Art Gallery takes you on a sensuous journey in its next exhibit, Waxing Poetic, by Topeka Artist Philip Hershberger.
Visitors to the exhibitwill see 18 wax encaustic paintings depicting an abstract reality of a space or an object over time. “In my paintings, there is some history. They were not conceived and done in a direct sequence, but rather done and revised often over a period of months and sometimes years,” Hershberger said. Seeing is only part of the experience, however. Visitors can also smell the beeswax fragrance in his paintings. Philip Hersberger in front of one of his works of art. “This is an opportunity to see a real master doing this fairly rare technique,” Gallery Director Sherry Best said. “It’s a difficult medium. He heats the wax, mixes it with pigment and brushes it on wood panels, creating a depth of layers and color that is unique to this medium.”

Art Guild Gallery of Topeka, in Fairlawn Plaza, 5331 S.W. 22nd Place. "Artist Choice" is the theme for August. Featured artist is Cynthia Stotlar, who will show a collection of her oils, acrylic, metal leaf, and photographs.

Artist Collection & Custom Framing, 4039 S.W. 10th. The Artist Collection will show works of Kansas Landscapes by several local photographers.

BA Designs/Stan Herd, 4119 SW Southgate Drive  BA designs hosts internationally know crop and commissioned artist Stan Herd. Presentation "From Concept to Creation" at 7 pm.

Beauchamp's Frame Shop & Gallery, in Westboro Mart, 3113 S.W. Huntoon. Featuring Rodney Troth's "Prairie Experience", abstract landscape paintings. Rodney Troth’s current collection of abstracted landscape paintings connect with viewers in this kind of deep emotional way. For the viewer who is open to experiencing Troth’s paintings, it is like the experiencing the feelings you would have during a day on the prairie. But Troth’s paintings are not pure abstract expressionism in that they also have an obvious visual connection with the land and sky. There are clouds and grass and horizon lines. Even physical sensations like the heat of the day and the sound of the wind are depicted. And unlike traditional paintings that capture a specific moment in time, Troth’s paintings seem to capture the prairie over an extended period of time. One owner of a Troth painting, described it as “bringing the whole experience of the prairie into my home”.

Brown vs. Board of Education, 1515 SE Monroe. "Paint the Parks & Music of the Parks". The “Paint the Parks100 Mini50” traveling exhibition features works by many of the country’s best known contemporary artists. The exhibit is organized by PaintAmerica, a Topeka-based, non-profit organization that supports and promotes the visual arts. The Paint the Parks exhibit will be displayed at Brown v. Board of Education National Historic Site free of charge from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm daily from July 18 through August 31. This showing is the final stop on the 2008 national tour. To complement the exhibit, the historic site will feature live acoustic music performed by Ron Parker, Ken Ruhnke, and Willie Faye Smith, employees of Chickasaw National Recreation Area in Sulphur, Oklahoma. Chief of Interpretation Ron Parker and Landscape Architect Ken Ruhnke, a guitar-fiddle musical duo Willie Faye Smith is a gifted singer whose rich voice fills the room during her renditions of folk, gospel, and blues songs.

Bosco's Downtown, 435 S. Kansas Ave., T & A, Sketches & drawings by Ashley Laird.

The Break Room & Tinkham Veale Upstairs Downtown Gallery, 911 S. Kansas Ave., The TV Up Down's theme for August is "Upstairs Downtown." Artists will display works related to this theme in the lobby of the gallery, along with other works in the individual rooms. This month's artists, include:

- Ashley Bunyar, Photographer
- Ted Carter of Ted Carter Photography
- Erica Hildebrand, Photographer
- Jay Hurst, Photographer/Artist
- Renee Johnson, Stainless Steel Design Concepts
- Maci Loughrea, Photographer
- Shaun Marcotte of S-Lab Imaging
- Sara Myer, Multi-Medium Expressionist
- Don Shea, Digital Painter
- J.D. Stottlemire, Painter

Downstairs in The Break Room, enjoy music by Austen Bunyar and Secily Rees.

Collective Art Gallery, in Westboro Mart, 3121 S.W. Huntoon. The Collective Art Gallery is holding a unique event beginning this First Friday, August 7 at 5:30 PM! Patrons and guests will have an opportunity to bid on members' selected works, many of which are brand new. The bidding will go on during regular business hour until Thursday evening, August 26th at 6:30PM.
Although bidders do not have to be present to win the bid, they may want to see if they did!
Bidding will begin at 40% of retail value. Don't Miss the Sunflower Silkers Gallery Downstairs!

Downstairs at the Collective: Sunflower Silkers. Be sure to visit the world's only gallery devoted to silk painting! New pieces, both for wall decor and garments, are added periodically!

DeShazer Studios Photography, 909 1/2 Kansas Ave. Work by Brent DeShazer and paintings by one of his senior students.

Glass Expressions, 1250 S Oakley. Welcome to the whimsical world of Kliszeski Glass, where color and texture combine to enhance your surroundings. On display are the BOBtanicals in shimmering colors, and fun textured stoppers, and contrasting ruffles. Bob and Laurie are considered to be colorists, which explains the fantastic color assortment.

The Haute Shop, 3119 SW Huntoon. Art studio & gallery featuring new contemporary paintings by Dolores, an artist from Holland. A local band, The Hold Up, will be playing bluegrass music outside the Haute Shop August First Friday. The Haute Shop resident glass blower, Daniel Kettle, plays mandolin for the band.

NEW! Laser Art Creations, 729 1/2 S Kansas Ave Featuring Terry & Kent McPherson's work with granite, marble, acrylic, wood, leather and onyx. The store has a small gem, mineral and fossil rock shop. For the artwalk, enjoy pottery demonstrations by local artist Steve Ashley, whose work will also be on display.

Legacy Community Art Center, 10th & Lane will feature work by staff and students.

NEW! Lola's Cafe Espresso, 4025 SW 10th Ave, Fleming Place. A collection of oil paintings by local Topeka artist Stephanie L. Woodman. Her pieces range from still lives to surrealism to landscapes. The paintings are colorful and experimental in brush technique. Stephanie is currently studying fine arts at Washburn University and is in her senior year.

Mulvane Art Museum, Washburn University “The Art of Marc Brown: A Retrospective,” exhibition of original illustrations by children’s author and illustrator, Marc Brown, will be on display June 20 to Sept. 13 at the Mulvane. He is the creator of the popular children’s books, the Arthur Adventure series, which developed into the PBS series “Arthur.” The exhibit showcases many of his delightful pencil, pen and ink, and watercolor illustrations featuring the ever-popular characters and stories he has created. Drawn from Marc Brown’s private collection of his art work, the exhibition includes storyboards, drawings with rubylith overlays, pen and ink and watercolor drawings and a layout dummy. One of the earliest works highlighted in the exhibition is “Arthur’s Nose” from 1976, Brown’s first solo endeavor as author and illustrator which featured Arthur the aardvark. “Arthur” revolves around the lives of Arthur Timothy Read, an aardvark, his friends and family. Arthur goes through experiences that are very relevant to children’s lives, as they witness Arthur grappling with issues that confront most of us in our youth, such as making friends, caring for family members, learning responsibility, and overcoming fears of public speaking.

Art Lab: BRING THE KIDS to the Mulvane! Spend your "First Friday" in the Mulvane Art Museum's ArtLab while your adults enjoy the First Friday Art Walk! Children 5 and older are invited to spend the evening with us and enjoy hands-on art activities. Each child must be registered and must be signed-in and signed-out by a responsible adult. Kids under 5 must be accompanied in the ArtLab by an adult. For advance registration, please call Kandis Barker 670-2420. Or, you may register at the door.

Don't miss the Outdoor Mural at the Art Lab! Created by instructor Josh Davis and students Dmitri Dolan, Caroline France, Emmy Pope, Adam Rankin and Darayu Wilson. "Heritage" is the theme for the mural. This mural is the second in a series of murals being added to the walls of the ArtLab courtyard. The first mural, “Underwater,” was completed last summer, also under the instruction of Josh Davis.

Soho Interiors, Westboro Mart, artwork in mixed media collage by 2009 National Addy award recipient Dan Billen, Topeka; watercolor by Mike Henry, Topeka; mixed media by Mack Schroer, Topeka; hand thrown ceramics by Lisa Schneider, Topeka; photography by Lois Kruse, Steamboat Springs, Co., Sarah Hamlin and Jake Varney, Topeka. In addition two hyperrealism paintings, acrylic on canvas by local artist Robert Swain.

SouthWind Gallery, 3074 SW 29th, Topeka, "4 Part Harmony" new works by Jerry Gaddis, Topeka (Acrylic Landscapes), Michael Walsh, (Olathe) Oils, Jean Terry, (Lenexa) Pastel Landscapes, and Elaine Lierly-Jones, (Gardner Ks) Pastels. As a special treat, members of the cast of TCTA's "Honk Jr." will stop by about 6:30.

NEW! TARC, 2701 SW Randolph Ave. TARC Day/Senior Services is proud to host the 3rd Annual Art Show to allow individuals to share their works of art with the entire community. The artworks, featuring a wide range of subjects, have been created using a variety of mediums including: photography, pencil, charcoal, crayon, pastels, tempera and mixed media on a variety of papers and canvas. These highly creative pieces will be available for sale, with proceeds directly benefiting the TARC artist. Those attending will also have an opportunity to visit with the artists and to nominate their own selections for “People’s Choice” favorite artworks. People’s Choice selections will become featured pieces in future special displays exhibited at TARC.

Upstage at the Jayhawk, 720 S Jackson will open "Photographic Naturescapes: Photography by Patricia Kovalchuk" and "Upstage Community Exhibit," an exhibit of works by local artists, as well offer music by Howard Callihan.

Warehouse 414, 414 SE 2nd Street. Warehouse 414 presents two shows, "Classmates of '68" and "Works of Heart". "Classmates of '68" features work by Jerry Gaddis and Beverly Dodge-Radefeld. "Works of Heart" features Family Service & Guidance Center's collection of client and professional work that will be available at their event by the same name on August 21.

Westboro Fine Arts, 3125 SW Huntoon Westboro Fine Arts Gallery will will be displaying the 2008 PaintAmerica Top100 traveling exhibition. This is an entirely new show, featuring the works of some of the nation's top representative artists, as well as a few international artists. Overland Park artist Johne Richardson was the Grand Prize winner of this nationally juried show - be sure to see his award winning watercolor painting. The PaintAmerica Top100 will run from Friday, June 5th through Friday, August 7th, with 150 pieces rotating throughout the exhibition period.

Next First Fridays Art Walk: Friday, September 4, 2009

Topeka. A Great Arts Town!

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