TWO NEW FEATURES AT FLYING LEAP FOR 2012:

FLYING LEAP ART CLUB

$10 a month

(or $50 for six month membership—one free month)

Join at any time throughout the month. Each month's membership is counted from whatever date you join.

Benefits:

• 20% discount on all classes

• packets of materials to inspire creativity and provide knowledge

• special lending library of books on art and many aspects of the creative life

• opportunities for collaborative projects

• group events and networking

• a bulletin board to exchange information and ideas

• lunch gatherings to meet and discuss art

• 50% discount on Saturday morning Creativity Sessions & input on projects

• the use of a room dedicated to the Art Club, with a work table, reading chair, café table and chairs, books, an ongoing Art Club journal, creativity & inspiration cards, and many other interesting materials

FLYING LEAP ART COLLECTIVE

$40 a month

Join at any time throughout the month. Each month's membership is counted from whatever date you join.

Benefits:

• membership fee includes any 4 classes during that month

• 30% discount on any additional classes

• special group projects

• automatic membership in the Art Club with all its benefits

• fee also includes a one hour private consultation (each month) with Donna Colby about your art process, creative direction, technical aspects of your work, or whatever you would find helpful

COME UP TO FLYING LEAP ANY TIME DURING OPEN HOURS TO FIND OUT MORE AND TO SIGN UP AND RECEIVE YOUR MEMBERSHIP CARD, MATERIALS, SCHEDULE OF EVENTS, ETC.

Hours: Tuesday - Friday 12:30 - 5:00

Saturday 10:30 - 5:00

Closed Sunday and Monday

The Colors of Happiness

Paintings by Nancy Swisher

November 4 - December 24

This show features the Matisse-like gouache and acrylic paintings of Nancy Swisher. She calls her work “Art That Elevates.” Using vibrant colors, Nancy captures the beauty and truth of narrative moments in a style that is heartfelt and honest. Nancy has a natural gift for color, and the palettes she uses in each painting create a wonderful dance across the paper or canvas. She has been in love with color since she was a toddler standing in her mother’s flower garden. 

Nancy’s intention with her art is to convey the energy of happiness, love, and peace. Her paintings are inviting, and the viewer enters into their open celebration of color, balance, spontaneity, and appreciation for life itself. All of Nancy’s paintings include aspects of nature, especially birds and animals, to honor the spirit that connects everything.

Those who have her work hanging in their homes all say the same thing: “I look at your paintings and I suddenly feel happy.” Everyone is invited to come up to Flying Leap and be elevated  by the delightful presence of Nancy’s work.

Some of Mikaila Maidment’s beautiful paintings will remain in the gallery as well, along with a few other new additions by other artists.

Mikaila Maidment’s Awesome Art

Show Opens October 7th at Art Walk

Be sure to come up to Flying Leap anytime during October to see works by the very talented Mikaila Maidment. She has a remarkably deft touch with a brush, and her paintings, whether narratives with figures or stunning landscapes, have a quality of luminous and rich life. Each piece reveals more and more with every viewing, offering a journey into their fascinating worlds. Mikaila has made them very affordable, so this is definitely a show not to miss, especially for those who know and love her work.

Donna Colby has also created some new pieces under two of her pseudonyms, Scooter Glithorthian and Leapin’ Lulu, who each have a unique and playful style. These will be shown in Flying Leap’s Fun and Games Room.

In addition, there is a great selection of ceramics by Mara Winningham and Kasie Clemmons. Mara’s polka dots, stripes, and tiny patterns are totally delightful, and Kasie’s plates are luscious with hand-painted flowers in wonderful colors.

 Steve Tiffany's popular computer art piece, Altered State Park, is now available on DVD as a gift shop item. This work displays more than 2,000 computer-generated collages in a three hour loop.

In Transition

September Show

The show title, In Transition, refers to a general shift in Flying Leap's gallery area, with more gathering places, work spaces, reading spots. Art Walk night will give you a taste of it, but the change will develop throughout the month.

The show features art pieces that represent transitions of some sort:

Sketches and studies, including a wonderful body of work by Mikaila Maidment

Experimental collaborative work by three local artists

A group of mixed media pieces by Kartika Damon—rich and mystical works representing transitions in her own life.

 A display of “tester strips,” the small papers that artists use to test colors, brushes, etc. They are little works of art in themselves, with their own spontaneous beauty.

An eclectic mix of art pieces from previous shows and old collections

Martyn Webber's ongoing installation, “Metamorphosis,” continues. 

Flying Leap’s Art regular hours are Wednesday through Sunday 12:30 to 5:00, closed Monday and Tuesday. 

Personal Worlds

July 1 - August 28

Luscious oil paintings and ceramic work by Kasie Clemmons.
The paintings, in Bonnard-like colors, draw the viewer into a story in progress. The people in Kasie's paintings become characters with an interior world that is partly glimpsed, partly secret. Her ceramics have attracted devoted fans for years. In this show, there is a wide selection of paintings, along with ceramic wall pieces and a splendid array of summery dishes, hand-painted in delicious colors.

A new group of magical mixed media pieces by Olaya Vera.  
Olaya's work shows a great skill with design, color, and multiple meanings. The works include tabletop creations, shadow boxes, and framed collages. Olaya grew up in the Dominican Republic and her rich cultural background pervades her work. 

Martyn Webber’s ongoing exhibit, Metamorphosis, with photos and other works, continues. 

                                                      

TIME TRAVEL  
June 3 - 26

This new show explores the mysterious nature of time and memory, the overlap of past, present and future, and the unpredictable elements of growth, aging, and renewal. Inspired by the milestone birthday (65th) of Flying Leap owner and director Donna Colby, the show includes:

 Donna's own mixed media pieces that playfully honor the matrix of images and influences that have made up her life so far and investigate the relationship between imagination, growth, and aging.

A marvelous 72-inch relief construction by Olaya Vera, in which she beautifully and intricately represents the parade of civilizations in the world, along with smaller works that also deal with the theme of time.

A series of sculpted faces cast in plaster by Dale Divoky called "The Ages of Man," showing the same face as it grows from infancy to old age.

A sculpture sequence in clay by Dain Daller in which an open rectangle delightfully morphs into a human head.

In the gallery, there will also be two interactive works that invite everyone’s collaboration.

Some of the art pieces from the previous show will be held over—Nick Johnson's highly original and entertaining assemblages, and some of the pieces in the tiny works room. Martyn Webber’s ongoing exhibit, Metamorphosis, also continues.

Mask, Meaning & Metamorphosis 

April 1 - May 29

This show features the work of two artists who received grants from the Iowa Arts Council:

Marcia Tiffany is showing ten mask assemblages made of intriguing natural materials. They have a mysterious and primal beauty and draw the viewer into a wonderful awe of natural forms.

Toni d'Orr’s exhibit, Tiny Books, displays her meticulous handmade books, sculptural little jewels of subtle beauty, some using dictionary pages. Her work explores, with delicacy and harmony, the themes of layering, movement, narrative and surprise. In the same room with Toni's work will be incredible, must-see tiny works of art by Dain Daller, Amanda Speer, John Stimson, Geoffrey Baker, and Mara Winningham.

The show also includes other members of the Tiffany family. Marcia’s husband Steve has a monitor displaying his computer art, using randomness to compose an endless series of images, evoking a magical, transforming world. There is also be a fiber art piece by Virginia Tiffany, Steve’s mother, made in the 1960s and inspired by Australian Aboriginal art. A digital photo montage by Jackson Tiffany, Steve’s father, expands the world of a Wisconsin jogger in a piece called “Space Warp on Bay Drive.”

Martyn Webber's installation called "Metamorphosis" continues. It’s a wonderfully absorbing mixed media creation that meanders and fills a whole room.

Mask, Meaning & Metamorphosis will run from April 1 to May 29. Flying Leap’s new regular hours are 12:30 to 5:00, Wednesday through Sunday.


April Class info: