The idea of art in public spaces has been with us for a very long time. No restaurant worth its seasonings will allow bare walls to be the only decoration. Environment certainly plays a role in our enjoyment of eating. Let our eyes be awash with color and our minds stimulated while those taste buds dance.There are actually quite a few places where artists can display their work in the Twin Ports, from Beaners in the West to Jitters, Zinema and the Zeitgeist Cafe downtown. Going east on London Road there are several additional small businesses like Dunn Bros. Coffee and Lisa Casperson's Art for Hair which has art on the wall, too. And let's not forget all the places and spaces across the bridge... Red Mug and the Phantom Galleries Superior to name a few.
Thursday November 3 from 6:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. there is an art opening at Pizza Luce for Tonya Borgeson and Emily Herb's Surfacing exhibit.
Borgeson, who is owner of a ceramic studio on Grand Avenue near the zoo call The Snoodle, studied ceramics and sculpture at Indiana State University and is an art instructor at Lake Superior College. I've not only been impressed by her work but by the way she inspires others to press on and explore new directions in their work. Her annual Love at the Snoodle art shows are a mainstay for many local artists.
Emily Herb, whom I keep wanting to call Emily Rose for some reason, is originally from North Dakota. Her love of three-dimensional creative expression no doubt made for a good match with Borgeson's exploration.
Here's Emily's invitation: Come down and see Tonya and my newest creations. Free Food, Free Music, Free Snooty Intellectual Conversation, Free opportunity to throw tomatoes. This exhibit will be up the entire month of November so if you can't make it to the opening reception, be sure to check it out sometime this month!
I ran into the two of them last weekend at an Ochre Ghost opening and learned that Emily is opening another gallery here downtown, which is a pretty exciting step for her and for the evolving art scene here. Tonya would not let me take her photo as she had been working in her studio all day and her clothes were a bit splattered.
Here's a nice little video clip so you can see what Surfacing is really all about. This coming Thursday... check it out.
eNote: Image at top right is my own, titled With Feathers... click expand. Be sure to check out the video.