"In Praise of the Pencil"
an  exhibit honoring 250 years of the first pencil factory in Germany

Sunday, August 21  2:00 pm.

Grand opening of the exhibit and prize ceremony for winning entrants.

• Featuring: Local Pencil Art Show
• The Fantastic Pencil Sculptures of Jennifer Maestre
• Pencil History and Design Timeline
• Famous Pencil Fans
• Pencil Collections
• How Pencils are Made DVD and Illustrated Steps
• Pencil Trivia and more!

ENTRY DEADLINE FOR THE PENCIL ART COMPETITION:  JULY 18, 2011

The German American Heritage Center (GAHC) invites you to submit works of art for an exhibition entitled "In Praise of the Pencil."  The purpose of the exhibit is to enrich public understanding of the role of Germany and German-Americans in the development and manufacture of the pencil as an artistic medium, a common tool in many trades, and a useful everyday object.  The pencil celebrates its 250^th

anniversary of mass manufacture in Germany in the year 2011.

"In Praise of the Pencil" is a juried exhibition open to artists living within a 250 miles radius of the Quad Cities. Works may be submitted for showing in two media, pencil sketches or sculpture in which pencils or pencil pieces are the primary construction material.  It is not necessary to feature the pencil itself as subject of the work. Pencils used may be graphite or colored. Artists may submit in one or both media and may have work exhibited in one or both media. Prizes will be awarded in two age divisions - junior artists in grades 6-12 and adult.

Specifics:   Sketches and sculpture must be original, created in the last two years and not previously exhibited at GAHC.   All work must be framed or supplied with a base and otherwise be ready to display with the artist's name, age division and title of the work on the back or under the base. Signed reproductions are excluded. Sketches have no size restrictions; sculpture should not exceed 27" in height.   Only three cases can accommodate a 25"width; most have shelves 16" wide. GAHC can refuse works which do not meet these requirements or are found unsuitable for exhibit. Prices should reflect a 35% commission retained by GAHC in event of a sale.

Entry: Fill out the entry form and list the title, size, medium and year created for each entry.  Note if a detail image is included.   Repeat process for each additional entry.  Submit images on a CD as jpg files with a minimum of 300 dpi resolution. Each file must be less than 5 MB. Label each file with a number that corresponds to the number on your entry blank and the title. To maintain anonymity for the blind jury, your name must not be included in the file's name, but do write your name on your disc.

Entry fee: $10 per entry; unlimited.

Awards and Prizes: Best of Show, First Place, Second Place and Third Place in each age division.

Jurors:   Work will be juried by Quad City Arts Public and Visual art Committee, the German American Heritage Center and a professional art educator in the local community.

Questions?    Contact Janet Brown-Lowe at GAHC (563) 322-8844 or director@gahc.org.   Additional entry blanks are available at GAHC or may be downloaded from the QC Arts website atwww.quadcityarts.com.

Funding for this exhibit through October 30 provided by the 

Riverboat Development Authority and Wenger Truck Lines.

Items include cameo brooch worn in American Gothic

Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 - Now on view at the Figge Art Museum is a selection of treasured artifacts that once belonged to Grant Wood, the artist of one of America's most famous paintings American Gothic (1930). Included in the new display is the "Persephone" cameo broach, worn by his sister who posed for American Gothic, Wood's trademark glasses along with those belonging to his father, Francis Maryville Wood, a copper picture frame made by Grant Wood containing a photo of Wood in his WWI army uniform, the Wood family bible and Wood's paint brushes and palette, easel, and other artifacts from Wood's life.

In addition to the artifacts from the Grant Wood Archive, a recently re-discovered oil sketch by Wood of an Italian village can be viewed in the Regionalist gallery. The painting, on loan from a private collection, was a gift from Wood to John Naughton, then the WPA administrator for the State of Iowa who oversaw several of Wood's mural commissions.  Earlier this year, the Figge's Andrew Wallace received an inquiry from someone who believed that they might be in possession of a Grant Wood painting. After studying a photograph of Grant Wood's Cedar Rapids studio, it was confirmed that the painting was the same as one visible in the studio photograph.  The atypical oil sketch is thought to have been painted during Wood's visit to Italy in 1923-24 and may, in fact, depict a bordello.  This is the first time this painting has been on view to the public.

The Figge's Grant Wood Archives have been a source of study and research by several Grant Wood scholars including R. Tripp Evans, professor of art history at Wheaton College in Massachusetts, whose Grant Wood: A Life, was published last year and is now on sale in the Figge Art Museum store.

Associate Curator, Rima Girnius along with the Collections Department worked diligently to present these artifacts and the rediscovered painting to the public. The artifacts and the painting join several other Wood's paintings, including his only painted self-portrait on view in the Figge's American Regionalist Gallery.

Nan Wood Graham collected her brother's artwork, ephemera and memorabilia for 60 years. In 1964, the Davenport Museum of Art purchased Grant Wood's personal collection of paintings, drawings, artist materials, family photographs, and a complete set of all 19 of Wood's lithographs from Nan Wood Graham. The Figge is also home to 18 scrapbooks and what is believed to be Wood's last sketch, Iowa Landscape. The Grant Wood Collection and Archives are now comprised of 249 objects from her collection.

For more information, contact the Figge Art Museum at 563.326.7804.  The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in Downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, Sunday's noon to 5pm and Thursdays 10 am to 9pm.  To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 -The Figge Art museum will host River ARTS Live, a free walk-in art project at River Roots Live on Saturday, August 20 from noon to 6pm.  Event attendees are invited to stop by the Figge's art tent in the Junior Jam area to create sculptures out of plastic materials recovered from the Mississippi River during Living Lands and Waters' XStream Cleanup. This art activity is inspired by the work of artist Aurora Robson, whose intricate and colorful sculpture Up Drop is currently on display in the Figge lobby. Robson up-cycles everyday waste to create intricate and brilliantly colored hanging sculptures. The Figge's fall exhibition, Everything, All at Once, Forever, will feature additional original plastic debris sculptures by Robson.

The outreach program is sponsored by Iowa American Water, and is offered in partnership with Living Lands and Waters and the QC Chamber.

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in Downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 am to 5 pm, Tuesday through Saturday, Sundays noon to 5pm and Thursdays 10 am to 9pm.  To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

River Roots Live is a free event in Le Claire Park in Downtown Davenport and is presented by the Downtown Partnership, a division of Quad City Chamber.  

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Davenport, Iowa - August 2011 -The Figge Art Museum and the River Music Experience will host the family workshop "Art of Percussion" on Saturday, August 13 from 10am to 2pm.  Families will enjoy a fun, creative day at the Figge beginning with an entertaining performance of Native American music and stories presented by Larry Lockwood on the Figge plaza. Afterwards, participants will create cool and colorful rain sticks, drums, maracas and other shakers and noise makers out of recycled materials in the Figge Studios, and then play these percussion instruments in a musical procession to neighboring River Music Experience. Terry Hanson and fellow musician Ellis Kell will lead a mega drum circle, working out dynamic rhythms and beats.

Schedule:
10 am                       Registration 
10:15 - 10:45am       Native American stories and music on Figge plaza
10:45am-12pm        Instrument building in Figge Studios

12 - 12:30pm            Lunch break

12:30pm                   Musical procession to River Music Experience
12:45 - 2pm              Drum circle at River Music Experience

The fee for this workshop is $10 per family.  This workshop is appropriate for children of all ages; an adult must be present for each family.  Families can pre-register by contacting Heather at 563.326.7804 x 2045 or haaronson@figgeartmuseum.org; day of registration will be available in the Figge lobby at 10am. Families should pack a sack lunch. 

This workshop is in partnership with River Music Experience and supported with Quad City Arts Dollar$ funds, provided by the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency, the Doris and Victor Day  Foundation, the John Deere Foundation, the Mary Iva Gittens Knouse Charitable Trust, Quad City Arts Partners and Festival of Trees.

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