Just in time for the holidays, a variety of arts and not-for-profit groups have released new stocking-stuffers. KUNI public radio has just put out its fourth murder novel, Orchestrated Murder: An Iowa Mystery.
Akiko Koiso's ceramic sculptures have always exhibited fine craftsmanship and attention to detail, with a refinement, beauty, and a sense of proportion that attract me. Her works transcend their media, letting form, color, and beauty attract.
"Criticism comes easier than craftsmanship," said the ancient Greek painter Zeuxis, in his most famous quotation. With that admonition, this review is duly cautioned. Zeuxis is also a national group of professional painters who support the art of the still life.
Bruce Walters' Two Crosses reminds me of a walk in a New Orleans cemetery with the crypts above ground and the iron-grate doorways; it is a graphite painting that uses a dramatic portrayal of lights and darks to give the eerie feeling one would get while walking alone at night in a burial ground.
From the ashes of a previous incarnation of Shane Johnson's Blue Train has risen John Resch & The Detroit Blues. The Train's former frontman and bassist, John Resch, has re-teamed with that band's harmonica player, "Detroit" Larry Davison, and original drummer Tony "T.
Mark Twain was part of a worldwide movement against the use of slave labor to harvest wild rubber in the Belgian Congo. He was protesting King Leopold of Belgium's treatment of the native peoples of Africa that accounted for an estimated five million to eight million deaths.
Give an artist tremendous talent in draftsmanship, shading, and painting but omit the passion, purpose, and message, and you have Joyce Treiman. A critic for the Los Angeles Times once described her as "an artist's artist," and that's how I feel about the show of Treiman's work at the Augustana College Centennial Hall Art Gallery.
If your parents know who Big Brother & The Holding Company, Jeff Beck Group, Sly & The Family Stone, Steppenwolf, and Jefferson Airplane are, don't let them kid you: They probably did drugs, and they most likely inhaled, unless it was a pill.
The two artists whose work is currently on display at the MidCoast Fine Arts Gallery seem to be moving toward an expression that will be fully realized soon. Tom Lytle has three paintings and 15 three-dimensional works in this show, while Kristi DeMarr has contributed 17 paintings.
Two artists presently showing at Quad City Arts take familiar media and put their distinctive stamps on them. Lisa L. Mahar's Putting the "Fun" Back into Functional showcases 30 furniture sculptures, while Sara Toton's Found Objects features 36 photographic collages.

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