Celestially inspired artwork has filled the Arts for Lawrence Visual Arts Center gallery, from traditional oils and watercolors to fanciful fiber art and pieces that glow in the dark.
The “Total Eclipse Art Show” is on display through April 8 — the day of the total solar eclipse — at 8970 Otis Ave. The exhibit features about 45 pieces from 26 artists, said Lecia Floyd, program manager with Arts for Lawrence.
Floyd noted that the exhibit is part of the City of Lawrence’s overall eclipse celebration. The April 8 solar eclipse will reach totality in central Indiana at around 3 p.m. It’s the first time the region has experienced a total solar eclipse in about 800 years.
“Lawrence, along with, of course, a lot of other cities, is doing different events for the eclipse that’s coming up on April 8,” Floyd said. “Arts for Lawrence’s contribution was doing a gallery show. Obviously, we didn’t want to just do it for the day of (the eclipse), so we opened it on March 8.”
The juried exhibit has a solar eclipse theme, so special consideration was given to artists who submitted eclipse or space-inspired artwork. Floyd said they had more than 70 pieces submitted from artists throughout Indiana and a committee selected their favorites.
Floyd said it was exciting — and a little daunting — when artwork started to arrive at the gallery to be displayed.
“Of course, I’d seen pictures, but the pictures and the real pieces are completely different,” she said. “When they all started coming in, I thought, ‘Oh my gosh, how is this going to be a cohesive gallery show?’”
However, with help from a local artist to curate the show, she said they were able to make it work, despite the diversity of the pieces.
Floyd said trying to choose a favorite piece in the show would be like trying to pick a favorite child.
“There’s something that I really like about each of them,” she said, such as “Woodland Eclipse,” a watercolor by Jennifer Aiken. “I love the different blues and indigo colors. So, I do love that one just for the depth of colors.”
Floyd pointed out two pieces by Michele Burns — “White: Nightlight Art” and “Color Love: Nightlight Art” — both made with photo-luminescent strontium aluminate. That’s a fancy way of saying they glow in the dark.
Both are fun pieces in the light of day, as well. “White” is a collage with numerous small pieces and an accompanying sheet of paper inviting viewers to find items within the frame. “Color Love” is reminiscent of a quilt, with a series of brightly colored squares.
Two detailed fiber art pieces by Sofiya Inger hang from the ceiling. “Home” appears to represent the Earth and moon and has an interior light that glows through parts of the main globe.
“Every time I look at it, I see something different that I didn’t notice before,” Floyd said. “There’s little faces in the fabric, different types of fabric, too. It’s very textural.”
Most of the pieces in the exhibit are for sale, and a few already have been claimed.
The Arts for Lawrence “Total Eclipse Art Show” is open noon to 1 p.m. April 3, noon to 1:30 p.m. April 4 and 6-9 p.m. April 5. Floyd said they can open other times by appointment. Email [email protected] for more information or visit artsforlawrence.org.
Lawrence plans eclipse celebration
The City of Lawrence, Greater Lawrence Chamber of Commerce and others have joined forces to celebrate the April 8 total solar eclipse.
Arts for Lawrence’s art exhibit opened March 8 and runs through early April. Also in March, Lawrence-based Heartland Film screened space-themed movies for the public, and the city will host a special eclipse pickleball tournament starting at 1 p.m. April 7 at Lee Road Park, 6200 Lee Rd.
On April 8, the Lawrence eclipse festival starts at noon at Lawrence Community Park, 5301 N. Franklin Rd. There will be food trucks, a costume contest and entertainment, with headliners Queen Delphine and the Crown Jewels. The YMCA will sponsor a kid zone during the event.
The eclipse will start around 1:51 p.m. as a partial eclipse and the moon will slowly move across the sun until it blocks it, with totality at 3:06 p.m. The full eclipse will last a few minutes before the sun starts to appear again. The eclipse will completely end at 4:23 p.m.
For more about Lawrence’s eclipse celebration, visit visitlawrenceindiana.com/events/eclipse2024.
