Vol. I No. 3 • February 28, 2012 What:“Indiana on My Mind” Exhibit Open House When: Friday, 6:30– 8:30 p.m. Where: The Birdie Gallery, 195 S. Fifth St., Noblesville Info: Visit www.hcaa-in.org or call 776-2278
The historic First Baptist Church in Noblesville became The Birdie Gallery in 2006. (Photos by Jordan Fischer)
Indiana on my mind
The Hamilton County Artists’ Association launches new exhibit By Christian Sorrell • christian@youarecurrent.com
Since 1950, the Hamilton County Artists’ Associationhasdisplayedart exhibits across the nation.The association’s first exhibit of 2012 launches this Friday at The Birdie Gallery in Noblesville. Focusing on Hoosier life and Indiana landscapes, “Indiana on My Mind” looks to portray the beauty in the most familiar and classic aspects of life across the state.
“We have 80 artists, but we never know until hanging day how many will be showing,” said Lori Johnson, publicity chairperson for the HCAA. With such a large number of Johnson artists, space is at a premium. Each artist is given a certain amount of wall space and allowed to fill it with a number of paintings, depending on their sizes.
In 2006, the City of Noblesville granted the HCAA use of the historic First Baptist Church. Named after Roberta “Birdie” Bloomhorst, The Birdie Gallery became the HCAA’s first ever permanent space since its creationmore than 50 years prior. Through a number of generous grants, the HCAA was able to renovate the aging building and create a proper art gallery and teaching space. “We all painted and fixed it up,” said Johnson. “We all pitch in, clean it and do the yard.” Additional lighting worth $6,000 was recently added to the gallery in order to offer higher-quality art classes and a better overall art viewing experience. Even after five years in its new gallery, the HCAA is looking to raise awareness of its existence throughout the county. “Our biggest problem is we are in a residential area, and not downtown Noblesville. The gallery is beautiful, but we can’t afford to advertise to let people know where we are,” said Johnson. “With the economy the way it is, it has been a bad two years. But this last November at our (Hamilton East Public) Library show, we sold a lot of paintings, so it’s given me hope again,”said Johnson. The HCAA holds new exhibits every two months, in addition to several art classes, outof-gallery exhibits and scholarship contests throughout the year. For more information, please visit www.hcaa-in.org.
“Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax” (Friday) – Featuring the voices of Zac Efron, Taylor Swift and Danny DeVito, Dr. Seuss’ classic tale is brought to life through modern computer animation. A 12-year-old boy searches for the one thing that will secure him the girl of his dreams. He finds the Lorax. SSX (Tuesday) – The hallmark snowboarding franchise returns in the first installment in nearly five years. Featuring all real mountainsides and locales, SSX features trick competitions, races and an all-new survival mode. Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, $60. Murat Shrine Circus (Friday) – The Shrine Circus, a troupe more than 100 years old, performs at the Pepsi Coliseum (1202 E. 38th St., Indianapolis) at 7 p.m. Friday night. Tickets are $10 - $20. For more information, call 239-5151. “Roses” by The Cranberries (Tuesday) – The sixth album and first studio release in more than ten years, The Cranberries return with an album dealing with relationships and love in all their forms. For more information and other local events, see the Event Calendar on page 3.
“Teresa’s Tractor,” an original acrylic painting by Lori Johnson
“Trio,” an original oil painting by local artist Ann Simons
The perfecT prelude To ST. paddy’S day! tickets on sale now! TheCenterForThePerformingArts.org or call the Box Office at 317.843.3800.
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the chieftains mArCh 6, 7:30 Pm AT The PAllAdium
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