First Friday Art Walk
February, 2 2018 | 5:00 pm - 9:00 pm
The first Friday of each month brings hundreds of people to historic downtown Springfield for First Friday Art Walk, a Springfield cultural happening. Art lovers “Walk the Walk” throughout the Downtown Arts District, enjoying original art, music, demonstrations and performances in 28 gallery venues.
First Friday Art Walk is a grassroots event inspired by the Springfield Regional Arts Council and established by downtown’s art galleries, art venues, sponsoring businesses and the arts community. The first Art Walks took place in the late ’90s, and the Walk became a monthly event beginning in 2001. A program of the Springfield Regional Arts Council, First Friday Art Walk is dedicated to promoting fine art and economic sustainability in the Downtown Arts District
The art, entertainment and shopping continue Second Saturday, noon-5 Feb.10 featuring Fresh Gallery’s Pour Amour. Second Saturday is Art Walk’s laid-back, Saturday afternoon stroll version of the Walk for all ages. Look for details on Facebook, ffaw.org and itsalldowntown.com the week after the Walk!
Get hands on with crafts at Beyond Studio, Park Central Library
Beyond Studio welcomes Brushstrokes & Bouquets, a floral art exhibit by Alex McQueary and Stephanie Hornickel of Queen City Blooms, Featured Artists Deborah Cox and Ashley Phinney and an opportunity to create Valentine’s Day Cards for local foster kids!
Meanwhile, at Park Central Branch Library enjoy Photos of Denali National Park by Shelley Scanlon, plus, join library staffer Peggy Hanes for a craft session on making Wire-and-Bead Bookmarks. All materials provided.
University galleries return after winter semester break
Drury Pool Art Center Gallery presents Featured Artist J.D. McGuire: The Sun Will Rise and the Sun Will Set Forever with an Opening Reception 5-8 p.m. and an Artist Talk at 5:30.
MSU Brick City Gallery presents Keaton Wynn: Power Play, a collection of ceramic sculpture, and Dick Lehman: Celebrating Mystery in the Microcosm, featuring ceramic vessels and micro-photography for First Friday and Second Saturday.
MSU Student Exhibition Center welcomes the MSU Art +Design Student Foundation Exhibition for First Friday and Second Saturday.
MSU Center of International Programs celebrates the Lunar New Year early welcoming the Year of the Dog.
Hearts for the Arts auction ends with LIVE bidding Feb. 2
The Creamery Arts Center presents the annual Hearts for the Arts Exhibition and Silent Auction. This year’s event, Hearts for the Arts: Beaus & Eros, will close with a festive Valentine-themed party 5-8 p.m. during Art Walk with complimentary beverages, small bites, live entertainment, and the exclusive opportunity to outbid online donors. Online and in-person bidding are open!
February 2018 Gallery Guide
Art Inspired, 230 S. Market, presents Featured Artist Holly Goodwin with her collection Molecular Internal Expanse.
About the Artist: Born into a creative family in St. Louis in 1979, Holly Hendrix Goodwin had no choice but to be an artist. Her mother, a fashion designer and merchandiser by trade, also had her own cooking show, is a musician and passed her talent on to her daughter. Holly’s brother, an artist since birth, is now a professional illustrator and professor at Washington University in St. Louis.
Holly’s artwork focuses on the molecular structure of her own skeletal muscle because she was diagnosed in October of 2012 with a rare genetic muscle condition called McArdle’s Disease. Her artwork is now a vehicle for her to explore her own disease, do research, and educate others about rare illnesses like McArdle’s.
An artist’s journey is not a destination, but the experiences collected along the road. (417) 868-8084 Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. M-Sat
Beyond Studio, 400 South Ave., Stes. 230-250, presents Brushstrokes & Bouquets, a floral art exhibit by Alex McQueary and Stephanie Hornickel of Queen City Blooms. Enjoy sculptural arrangements, floral paintings, and a bouquet pop-up shop from 6 to 9 p.m. on Feb. 2. Featured Artists Deborah Cox and Ashley Phinney return for February. Get hands-on and to Create Valentine’s Day Cards for local foster kids! (417) 414-0487 Open 8 a.m.-8 p.m. M-F
BookMarx, 325 E. Walnut St., Ste. 101, presents It’s Not Natural by Lil Olive and Tommi Clark. Former “Good Girls” Lil Olive and Tommi Clark join forces in February for their showIt’s Not Natural: A combination of paintings and assemblages by both artists that infer commentary on gun violence, war, the environment and other “un-natural” disasters.” www.facebook.com/bookmarxbooks
The Creamery Arts Center, 411 N. Sherman Parkway, home of Springfield Regional Arts Council, presents the annual Hearts for the Arts Exhibition and Silent Auction. This year’s event, Hearts for the Arts: Beaus & Eros, will close with a festive Valentine-themed party 5-8 p.m. during Art Walk with complimentary beverages, small bites, live entertainment, and the exclusive opportunity to outbid online donors. The Hearts for the Arts auction began online Jan. 15 and ends Art Walk night. (417) 862-ARTS (2787). Open 9 a.m.-5 p.m. M-F; closed major holidays Note: The Creamery is an Early Bird Art Walk location: its reception runs 5-8 p.m.
Drury Pool Art Center Gallery, 940 N. Clay St., presents Featured Artist J.D. McGuire: The Sun Will Rise and the Sun Will Set Forever with an Opening Reception 5-8 p.m. during the Feb. 2 Art Walk, and don’t miss the Artist’s Talk at 5:30! Note: Drury Pool Art Center Gallery is an Early Bird Art Walk location: its reception runs 5-8 p.m.
Equality Healthcare, 420 W. College, Ste. 100, Will Not Participate in the Feb. 2 First Friday Art Walk. (417) 633-7020 www.equality.
European Café by Sweet Couture, 207 Park Central East, a proud Art Walk sponsor, invites you to enjoy local art and wildly creative edibles.
www.417EuropeanCafe.com (417) 942-5055 Open 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m. M-Th, 9 a.m.-11 p.m. F & Sat Note: European Café is a Night Owl Art Walk location: open until 11 p.m.
www.417EuropeanCafe.com (417) 942-5055 Open 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m. M-Th, 9 a.m.-11 p.m. F & Sat Note: European Café is a Night Owl Art Walk location: open until 11 p.m.
Fresh Gallery, 400 W. Walnut, presents Visiting Artist Larry DeGraff for First Friday in February, plus don’t miss Fresh’s annual Pour Amour, featuring hand-painted wine glasses and a pour of your favorite beverage, on Second Saturday Feb. 10.
It’s not unusual to find Larry DeGraff at the end of a dirt road, brush in hand, trying to capture the light unique to that place and time. His goal: to share the beauty all around that we are too busy to see.
Larry showed impressive artistic talent at a young age and developed his skills toward a career in illustration. He eventually built a client list that included Warner Brothers and the Walt Disney Company. In the midst of tight deadlines and constant revisions, Larry missed the joy of creating that he remembered from childhood and began to paint for himself. He found inspiration in the Impressionists and the Hudson River School. In 2011, Larry left his job as a Hallmark Cards artist to pursue painting fine art full time. He has since won many awards in juried national exhibitions and competed in over 40 plein air events. He is represented by galleries in Colorado, Missouri and Kansas. His work has been featured in Southwest Art magazine. Larry and his wife Gina live in Ozark. (417) 862-9300 Open 11 a.m.-6 p.m. T-Sat, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. during Art Walk
The History Museum on the Square at the Fox Theatre, 157 Park Central Square, is circling the wagons in February. Enjoy Memories of the Mother Road – Birthplace of Route 66with the addition of two amazing pieces from the museum’s transportation collection: an original Springfield Wagon, and an original local Rural Mail Wagon, both from the early 1900s. Free Museum Night during Art Walk. Regular admission applies for Second Saturday. (417) 831-1976 www.historymuseumonthesquare.
Hotel Vandivort, 305 E. Walnut St., a proud Art Walk sponsor, invites you to experience its unique atmosphere, original artworks and upscale dining at The Order. Open for First Fridayand Second Saturday in February. (417) 832-1515 www.hotelvandivort.com Note: Hotel Vandivort is an Early Bird and a Night Owl Art Walk location: Open 24-7-365
IdeaXFactory, 351 N. Boonville, Will Not Participate in the Feb. 2 Art Walk, but don’t miss a very special event Feb. 16 with Open Studios Night, Friday from 6 to 10 p.m. Featuring the workspaces and work in progress of Sarah Jones, Mikey Yates, and other artists. Visit flex studio spaces inside the ideaXfactory, talk to artists about their work and get involved with future ideaXfactory projects and exhibitions! http://ideaxfactory.com
Millet and Hammer, 405-407 N. Boonville Ave., a collaborative studio and purveyor of locally made furniture and home décor, invites you to experience the new work its members have created for the month and the exciting projects in which they are involved. (417) 413-3817 www.milletandhammer.
MSU Brick City Gallery, 215 W. Mill, presents pair of shows in February: Keaton Wynn: Power Play, a collection of ceramic sculpture, and Dick Lehman: Celebrating Mystery in the Microcosm, featuring ceramic vessels and micro-photography for First Friday and Second Saturday in February. (417) 836-6794 http://art.missouristate.edu/
MSU Center of International Programs, 301 S. Jefferson, invites you to begin your celebration of the Lunar New Year early. Explore the legend of the Chinese zodiac and what to expect in the Year of the Dog. http://international.
MSU Student Exhibition Center, 838 E. Walnut St., presents the MSU Art +Design Student Foundation Exhibition for First Friday and Second Saturday in February. The MSU Art Foundations exhibition showcases students’ understanding of various artistic concepts in two- and three-dimensional design and drawing, and the development of artistic skills through classroom instruction. This show is free and open to the public. (417) 836-6999 www.sec.misssouristate.edu
Obelisk Home at the Inspired Commerce Building, 214 W. Phelps, presents The Art of Shannon Bacon, Iron and Gold: Pathways to Oneself
Show Statement: Iron and Gold: Pathways To Oneself is a rich, complex reflection on what it means to be a strong, yet vulnerable person in today’s often gritty yet fabulously amazing world. Hence the creation of “Iron and Gold,” two very contrasting elements. Bacon uses iron as a metaphor for strength, and gold as a metaphor for vulnerability. Iron is a brittle, hard substance that is a crucial building block of steel that nourishes plants and helps carry oxygen in our blood—iron is always busy helping sustain life on earth. Gold is a soft metal with the highest malleability and ductility of any element; bright and typically slightly reddish yellow. It is fragile yet resilient in its own right.
Bacon’s paintings take an emotional, intricate and deep look at what it takes to live in the present, to be brave enough to listen to one’s sixth sense and to fully live free—even when tough decisions have to be made. “To ask for what we need and want out of life doesn’t mean we have to be hard, bossy or insensitive. We can do it by using the unique emotional intelligence chip we were all born with. We can be brave and listen to what that little voice inside of us says, and do what we think is good and right in order to live out our full potential as a human.
“We can be strong (iron) yet vulnerable and soft, (gold),” says Bacon. “It means doing you, loving you and being you, no matter the cost as long as you can love big along the way.” —Shannon Bacon (417) 616-6488 www.obeliskhome.com
Park Central Branch Library, 128 Park Central Square, present a new display, Photos of Denali National Park by Shelley Scanlon, plus, join library staff member Peggy Hanes for a craft session on making Wire-and-Bead Bookmarks. All materials provided. Art Walk reception ends at 9. (417) 831-1342 http://facebook.com/
Springfield Hot Glass Studio, 314 S. Campbell Ave., a working artist studio, celebrates the Valentine Season crafting Hearts, Flowers, Vases and All Things Red for First Friday Feb. 2 and Second Saturday Feb. 10. (417) 868-8181 www.springfieldhotglass.com Open 10 a.m.-6 p.m. T-Sat
Springfield Pottery, 416 S. Campbell Ave., is a fine craft gallery and community clay center that not only produces a range of amazing ceramics, but also features examples of Fine Craft by over 45 Local, Regional and National Artists. Springfield Pottery welcomes you to First Friday and Second Saturday in February. (417) 864-4677 www.
Transformation Gallery & Tattoo, 330 E. Walnut, displays works by Kit King, Casey Baugh and Nick Baxter in its permanent collection, plus, for a limited engagement, works by local oil painter Michael Buesking and local metal sculptor James Dale. Don’t miss Transformation’s selection of artist prints, as well (417) 869-2338 www.transformationgallery.com
U.school, 425 W. McDaniel, Ste. 160, the downtown Springfield democratic micro school invites you to enjoy its February Art Walk Theme: Delivery. Join u.schoolers on McDaniel, just west of The Moxie, for an Art Walk reception showcasing original paintings, drawings, and artwork on the Delivery theme 6-9 p.m. Feb. 2. www.u.school
