George Hinds was a recreational sculptor for most of his life until a recent employment “speed bump” prompted him to turn his art into a full-time enterprise. He’s off to a promising start. Along the way to today, Hinds has been a technical illustrator at Fiat Allis, a construction worker, and a coal miner. This […]
Job Conger
Posted inArts & Culture
Master of illusion
When a guy from Stratford-upon-Avon, England, began writing plays in London, stages were little more than raised platforms with no “sets” of decorative art conveying a sense of time and place to stories performed by the actors. “Early theater engaged audiences in the willing suspension of disbelief,” explains Ed Smith, a 59-year-old multifaceted thespian. “Clues […]
Posted inArts & Culture
art seen
Native American artist Arloa Wheeler of Springfield works exclusively in pen and ink. “I like the contrast,” she says. “It’s total opposites: black ink on white paper. You take something that’s total opposites and you create a piece of art that looks harmonized, and, for me, that’s almost spiritual.” Born in Illinois and a resident […]
Posted inArts & Culture
art seen 6-23-05
If you’ve always thought that an artist waited deep inside you, eager to burst forth, now may be the time to tap that latent passion and make the most of it. It’s also the time to wrestle the Nintendo and TV away from the kids, introduce them to new friends, and discover talents you’ve suspected […]
Posted inArts & Culture
art seen 6-9-05
For 40 years, John T. Crisp Jr. has been known on the East Side for his art and for his work in youth education. In the past, when people west of 11th Street wanted to interact with artists of color, they came to him. Crisp, who grew up on the East Side (“Back then, if […]
Posted inNews
Star warrior’s adieu
In 1977, Dr. Robert M. Bowman, head of advanced space programs for the Department of Defense, authored a report describing a new missile-defense shield system called the “Star Wars Defense.” Six years later, President Ronald Reagan announced that his administration was pushing “Star Wars” — Reagan named it the Strategic Defense Initiative — but, by […]
Posted inArts & Culture
art seen 5-19-05
Almost every artist I’ve interviewed for this column has explained how he or she made a connection to the visual arts early in life. To better understand how an elementary-school art class might influence that early focus, I recently visited with Shirley Frankowiak, who has taught art going on 30 years. “Miss Frank,” as her […]
Posted inNews
excursions 5-19-05
Before and during the Civil War, the Underground Railroad in Illinois played a major role in guiding runaway slaves from the states where they were governed by the whip and gun to the states where they were governed by their free will. To share that story in detail, the Sangamon County Historical Society is sponsoring […]
Posted inMusic
music 5-12-05
The last time Marita Brake played Springfield was in 1967, and the location was the Something Else Coffeehouse, located in an old brownstone on the northeast corner of Fourth and Capitol. That time was a golden age for a generation of Beat-ish poets who trekked cross-country between Greenwich Village and Haight-Ashbury. Bob Dylan and Joan […]
Posted inNews
Taking it to the street
People from all over Springfield plan to meet this Saturday morning at Laurel United Methodist Church, at the corner of Walnut Street and South Grand Avenue. They won’t be there to pray; instead, after a breakfast of coffee, juice, and doughnuts, they’ll get their marching orders and spend the rest of the day hard at […]
Posted inNews
Green connections
Soon after Tim Davlin took office as mayor, his administration created a new organization, Springfield Green, to promote city beautification. The private-public partnership started as a coalition with Downtown Springfield Inc. but has since expanded its reach beyond to the corporate limits of Springfield and into neighboring Chatham and Leland Grove, says Davlin’s spokesman, Ernie […]
Posted inArts & Culture
art seen 5-5-05
Oh the Places I’ve Been, the newest exhibit at Prairie Art Alliance, features paintings by Springfield artists Tiffany Beane, Shirley Caldwell Smith, and Leonard Gaither. I visited with portraitist Beane recently as she moved one of her latest creations from its new home at Prairie Heart Institute to the PAA Gallery. Her portrait of cardiologist […]
