Art collective to unite local artists this weekend

Uptown Jackson will be transformed into an open-air art gallery Saturday evening. Centered at the Cape Girardeau County History Center at 102 S. High St., exhibits and events will span the distance from West Adams Street to Court Street.

The history-center will host a reception from 3 to 8 p.m., history center director Carla Jordan said.

"The history center is the hub," she said. "We are one of the sponsors, but this is an Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization event." She said she was grateful for UJRO's interest in having an event like this uptown and pleased to be part of it.

"What's exciting is the whole uptown becomes an art gallery," she said. "Many of the businesses participate. Even the ones that are closed, many of them will have art in their windows, lighted. Last year, people just walked up and down the streets. And the weather forecast this year is nice!"

Jordan said Jones Pharmacy on Court Street will have a display, and several other businesses will have either events or art displays lighted in their front windows.

LEFT: An oil painting of Bill Emerson by Cleda Curtis-Neal hangs on a wall inside the Cape Girardeau County History Center on Wednesday. RIGHT: A graphite drawing of Tom Runnels by Jeanie Eddleman is seen Wednesday.Laura Simon

"Goes all the way to Stitched & Stamped and the Ground-A-Bout over on Adams," she said.

In addition to the art collective and reception at the history center, Cobblestone Corner will hold a wine and cheese tasting with Crown Valley Winery onsite, and High Street Station will host a wine tasting by River Ridge Winery. Lighted window displays of the featured artists' work will be at Jones Drug Store, Siemers Best Brands Plus, The Print Zone, Sweetheart Floral, Stitched & Stamped, The Ground-A-Bout coffee shop and Barrel 131, according to a news release from Uptown Jackson Revitalization Organization. Admission is free and open to the public.

The history center will have temporary gallery walls installed, and the showing will feature six artists: Nancy Collier, Cleda Curtis-Neal, Jeanie Eddleman, Judy Litzelfelner, Craig Thomas and Chris Wubbena. Also included will be a memorial tribute to Jake Wells, an artist and art teacher from the region.

"He's world-renowned," Jordan said. "As far as I know, here, we'll be featuring some of his watercolor originals, but there may be others."

Jordan said there will be a variety of artworks on display, including miniatures, oil paintings and a sculpture.

A graphite drawing of Tom Runnels by Jeanie Eddleman is seen inside the Cape Girardeau County History Center on Wednesday, Feb. 15, 2017, in Jackson.Laura Simon

Light refreshments will be served at the history-center reception.

Jordan said the history center's children's play area will be open as well.

"We won't have alcoholic beverages here," she said, "so kids can hang out here while their parents stroll, if they want."

Added Jordan, "I think it's very encompassing when we do things like that."

Planning committee member Susan Hahs said this event will be somewhat like a First Friday celebration in Cape Girardeau.

"You don't have to be an art connoisseur" to enjoy the evening, she said, adding the atmosphere is informal and welcoming.

Committee member and Jackson Alderwoman Wanda Young agreed, "We want the event to stay anybody-friendly."

For featured artist Craig Thomas, being included in this event is a throwback in time.

"I had my first art showing at the bank across the street in 1979," he said via email, and his high-school art teacher was Young.

"It's an honor to show with this group of artists," he said. "Beautiful work. As well as diverse styles."

Thomas will be showing three paintings.

Portrait artist Cleda Curtis-Neal will have three paintings in the show as well, including a copy of a portrait she did many years ago of Bill Emerson.

"The portrait of Bill Emerson I painted years ago, it's in Library of Congress in Washington, [D.C.]," she said.

She has been painting and teaching in her art school, Cleda Curtis Art Productions in Oran, Missouri, for more than 30 years. In 1988, she had a book published, "Portrait Painting Simplified." She has taught art workshops across the country, and several of her students have gone on to careers in the art world. "I'm still at it," she said.

Sculptor Chris Wubbena has only one piece included in the exhibit, but it's a sculpture that stands 8 feet tall. Titled "Reality," it's made of welded steel and painted concrete.

"There's a feeling of them being rocklike," he said of the concrete pieces. The steel frame makes a sort of window, he said, and encourages the viewer to look inside.

Wubbena, an instructor at Southeast Missouri State University, said he lives in Jackson and supports the efforts to create a cultural hometown.

"There's lots of pride in this town, just as there is in Cape Girardeau," he said. "It's nice to see what these two cities are doing for their citizens."

He added he thinks this is another example of people working together to create a place everyone is proud of and in which everyone enjoys living.

"That's a good thing," he said.

Jeanie Eddleman is a graphite artist who has drawn historic buildings in Cape Girardeau and the surrounding area, as well as portraits and scenes from nature. She has been president of the Cat Ranch Art Guild in Marble Hill, Missouri, since 2001, and with photographer Joel Ray co-owns Westray Studio inside Bilderbach's Art Plaza at 5 N. Main St. in Cape Girardeau. Her work has been collected into three books, one of Bollinger County, another of Perry County and one of Cape Girardeau County. The Cape Girardeau County book will be available for sale at the art collective, Eddleman said, and several prints of her drawings will be on display.

"Carla [Jordan] and I have worked together on several projects," she said, adding she's excited to be included in the event.

"This is such a beautiful community effort," Jordan said. "It really is. Everybody has pitched in to make this event great. It was extraordinary last year, and I'm sure that it will be this year, too."

mniederkorn@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3630

Pertinent address:

102 S. High St., Jackson, Mo.

114 S Railroad St., Oran, Mo.

5 N. Main St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.