Wood in all its manipulated forms
Oct. 31, 2014
Topeka and Shawnee County Public Library
1515 SW 10th Ave | Topeka, KS 66604
785-580-4486 | www.tscpl.org
Diana Friend, Communications and Marketing Director
Office: 785-580-4486 Cell: 785-554-5334
dfriend@tscpl.org
Leah Sewell, Communications Editor
785-580-4487
lsewell@tscpl.org
For Immediate Release
Against the Grain opens Nov. 7
(Topeka, Kan.) — The library’s Alice C. Sabatini Gallery is bringing the forest indoors. Against the Grain, an exhibit featuring the craft of woodturning, opens Fri. Nov. 7 with a First Friday reception from 5:30-8 p.m.
The artists exhibiting come from an arts and craft background, some being members of the woodworking group, Kansas Woodturners. The pieces are a variety of shapes and vessels both decorative and functional, by 17 total artists.
“Most of them don’t consider themselves artists,” said Zan Popp, curator of exhibits. “But there’s artistry in how the wood is turned, the grains in the wood and how it’s designed.”
The exhibit will feature three-dimensional pieces, including beautifully textured bowls, boxes, vases, dishes, kayaks, rocking horses and even an intricately crafted wooden train that took its creator an entire winter to finish.
The exhibit focuses on trees, identifying the tree by grain and color, and emphasizes that the aesthetics of pieces in Against the Grain are determined partly by nature – sculpted by environment and incidental intruders like insects and fungi. The artist chooses the wood and works it on a lathe according to its natural qualities. The process often requires intense technical knowledge as well as creativity.
Four educational programs will occur throughout the exhibit:
Woodturning Wed. Nov. 19 • 6:30-7:30 p.m.
Crafting Woodturned Bird Calls Wed. Dec. 3 • 6:30-8 p.m.
Turning Wood Pens Wed. Dec. 10 • 6:30-8 p.m.
Segmented Wood Turning Wed. Dec. 17 • 6:30-8 p.m.
Some of the woodturners showing in Against the Grain meet weekly over donuts and coffee to talk and read about their passion. In keeping with the atmosphere at weekly Kansas Woodturner meetings, the gallery will serve donuts and coffee at the First Friday reception in addition to hors d’oeuvres.
The exhibit runs through Jan. 4, 2015.
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Exhibit Hours: Monday – Friday, 9am–9pm, Saturday 9am–6pm, and Sunday 12pm–9pm
The gallery is located at the Topeka & Shawnee County Public Library, 1515 SW 10th Avenue. Call 785-580-4515 to arrange a guided tour or for more information, or visit our Digital Branch library at tscpl.org/gallery.