A Garden Party! by Ann Quinn

The Best


This spring Kathy Berls asked if I’d like to help with a garden party get- together involving lunch and crafts at the gallery. Always up for pretending I’m back in kindergarten, I said sure! What fun we had today! A small group of eight had a wonderful lunch, thanks to Kathy (salad, sandwiches, fruit tart, and her famous chocolate pie for dessert)...and a little wine, too (I never had that in kindergarten!) We each had a clay pot to decorate and a garden hat to embellish, using a huge table of every add-on imaginable: feathers, paint, bees, bugs, nests, birds, butterflies, ribbon, raffia, glue, fabric, chalkboard paint…well, you get the idea…With lots of talking we all set to work ...what fun! You can see the results: creative pots, (there was a take-home plant to put in each pot), and a best hat contest, which we narrowed down to three winners…they were all too original! To accentuate the hats, we all painted our fingernails to match! Even Kathy got over her “I don’t do crafts” and made a pot and a hat worthy of prizes! And Barb Tobiska created a hat to match her summer green outfit! We all agreed that we should have a garden party again…perhaps embellishing birdhouses? Look for details later…

Posing Pretty!


Going to Pot(s)!

Hats! The Whole Gang

Aurora Artists Guild Exhibit

For the month of July, we are pleased to welcome the members of the Aurora Artists Guild to our Art Center for their annual member's exhibit. The show is colorful and diverse, showing the wide range offered by this group of approximately 75 members. The opening reception, held on July 10 was fun and well attended. You could tell this group enjoys each other and is very supportive of everyone's work. Under the good organizational direction of chairman Andi Sahlen, the show was installed with ease and the reception was a fun event. Andi often exhibits her beautiful digital photos in other LAC Exhibits. Her husband, Dan Fyles is the featured artist during the show, exhibiting a collection of his fanciful mixed media paintings on the community wall downstairs. Be sure to stop by to see the exhibit before it closes on August 5.

July Member's Breakfast - A Fun Party!

Well, no-one's ever said that the members of the Lakewood Arts Council don't know how to have fun! The recent member's breakfast was no exception as members and their guests gathered for a delicious breakfast provided by the LAC Board. People were greeted at the door by LAC Vice President June Davis and Board Member Warner Reeser. Their warm welcome set the tone for a fun and friendly morning of lively conversation, event updates and the always popular games. One game tested everyone's powers of observation - Leslie Bitgood proved the best at solving such challenging questions as "Name as many things as you can find in the classroom that are green" (everything from a green sponge to a green roofed birdhouse) and "How many things can you find that start with the letter B" (this included everything from Barbara to boobs!). New friends were made and old ones renewed. We're looking forward to our next gathering on Saturday, July 23 - a garden themed party and luncheon. We plan to decorate garden hats, paint colorful pots...and even paint our fingernails an assortment of wild colors. Plan to join us!

And the Winners Are......

The names of the winners for our Lucky Winner contest have been announced! This turned out to be a great fund-raiser for the Lakewood Arts Council - we owe a big THANK YOU to all of you who gave a $5 donation to try your luck at winning the painting of your choice. Our thanks also to all the artists who donated an outstanding collection of works for the contest. The competition was really high for each painting - several got many tickets in the hope they would be the winner.

SO....here are the lucky people:
Shizuko Barbara Hanson's acrylic piece, "Endangered Species" went to Jane Dorsey
Gene Smith's pastel, "Fresh Baked" went to Mary Lou Akers
Kathy Berls' oil, "Sunflowers" went to Joan Olsen
Barbara Mantei's watercolor, "Day Lilies" went to Randy Kee
Lynnette Kupferer's colored pencil, "Budding" went to Jan Casper
Cindy Haase's pastel, "Red Rocks" went to Sharon Holben
Arlene Krogstad's watercolor, "Sangimini, Italy" went to Sharon Greier
Loraine Miller's watercolor, "Garden Buddies" went to Karen Hoff