Beginning March 7, Oak Street Art printmaker Luca Cruzat has all-new work on display at the General John A. Logan Museum at 1613 Edith Street in Murphysboro, Illinois.

Cruzat's site-specific Birthplace installation will run through April 30, 2020. A number of visitors joined Cruzat for the reception at the museum on Saturday, March 14, from 3 to 6 p.m. See photos below, courtesy of George Mendez.

Cruzat offered the following statement about this unique exhibit: "The environment shapes my artistic practice. Since 2017, my current studio is located in the land of John A. Logan’s birthplace. The museum and the archaeological site are dedicated to research and to preserving the history of the Logan family, owners of the land. John A. Logan made history at a national level by his involvement in the civil war and politics. At this moment, efforts are being made by the museum to excavate the foundation of his home. All of this motivated me to work on the Birthplace installation at the General John A. Logan Museum."

For more about Cruzat and her work, see her Oak Street Art page here or her website here.

​Oak Street Art members brightened up a winter day with second-graders at the General John A. Logan Attendance Center in Murphysboro on January 22. Led by Oak Street Art stained glass artist Stephanie Dillard, students in six different classrooms learned about stained glass and used colorful tissue paper to make their own colorful window images.

Along with lesson assistant, Oak Street Art metalsmith Sue Gindlesparger, Dillard showed the children illustrations in the book Draw Me a Star by famed paper artist Eric Carle (author of The Very Hungry Caterpillar). Based on the story in the book, the artists asked the children, "Where does art come from? Where does it begin?". Students enthusiastically shared their thoughts about how making art begins with their own ideas and feelings.

Beginning with cardboard-framed waxed paper "windows," students used bits of torn tissue paper to create their own paper collages by using glue-water to attach the paper and also to glaze over the top of the paper bits. Using this technique, the collages, when held up to the light, look like stained glass. Some children chose to make representations of animals, landscapes, planets, people, and other objects, while others created abstract designs.

Dillard and Gindlesparger were also assisted in the classrooms by Oak Street Art members Cathy Schmidt (leather) and Ann Fischer (photography).

Please see photos of creative students below.

Led by leather artist Cathy Schmidt, Oak Street Art members worked with local 4-H club students to help them create their own stamped-leather key rings. See photos below.

The children and teens learned about the origins and characteristics of leather as a material, learned how to dampen the leather before stamping, got to select stamps for their own designs, and got to strike the stamps (hard!) with a mallet to emboss the leather. Finally, Cathy assisted them in attaching the final rivet and metal ring for their finished product. 

Thanks to Rebecca Needham, Jackson County 4-H Program Coordinator, for hosting us at the University of Illinois Extension office in Murphysboro. Cathy's assistants for the night were Oak Street Art members Sue Gindlesparger (metalsmith) and Ann R. Fischer (photographer).

​Happy holidays from Oak Street Art! 2019 has been a big year for us. In addition to holding our annual Oak Street Art Fair (with 30+ artists, 7 live musical acts, and children's art projects) in April, we also held two First Friday Art Walk open houses in September and October. Then in November was our Holiday Art Sale with our own members and a few friends. 

We also continued our work in the community by creating art lessons and working with second-grade children at the Gen. John A. Logan Attendance Center. Beyond that, we coordinated children's art projects for Father's Day gift making at the Murphysboro Youth and Recreation Center and a winter holiday ornament-making project as part of the Murphysboro Hometown Christmas celebration.

In a happy surprise, Oak Street Art was given a WSIU “Good Neighbor” award for June 2019! According to WSIU, this award “recognizes those who make a positive impact in the community.” We are grateful for second-grade teacher Tabitha Harris for nominating us.

Another big deal was officially moving our headquarters to the old Jones House (401 S. 16th St., Murphysboro, Illinois) in the Logan Historic Arts Neighborhood, thanks to generous space-sharing by the Gen. John A. Logan Museum and director Michael Jones. People-wise, we said goodbye to a few old member/friends moving on to other projects (thank you, Shirley Krienert and Rachel Malcolm Ensor) and welcomed a new one (welcome, Stephanie Dillard). 

Below is a photo of our December holiday get-together with the six current members. FRONT row, left to right: Darby Ortolano (ceramics), Sue Gindlesparger (metals, jewelry), Luca Cruzat (printmaking), Cathy Schmidt (leather), Stephanie Dillard (stained glass). BACK row, all alone: Ann R. Fischer (photography).

Oak Street Art members worked with over 100 children to help them create their own holiday ornaments as part of the Murphysboro Hometown Christmas 2019 celebration! Artists participating included Sue Gindlesparger (metalsmith), Luca Cruzat (printmaker), Cathy Schmidt (leather artist), Stephanie Dillard (stained glass artist), Rachel Malcolm Ensor (painter), and Ann R. Fischer (photographer).

Shown in the photos below by George Mendez, children delighted in exercising their creativity by choosing shapes, choosing colors, writing their names, and painting their ornaments to bring home.

Their work began inside the Murphysboro Youth and Recreation Center just after the tree lighting ceremony on Friday, December 6, in Town Center Park in Murphysboro. 

A week before the Thanksgiving holiday, second-graders at the General John A. Logan Attendance Center in Murphysboro learned about traditional Native American medicine bags and the art of symbols from Oak Street leather artist Cathy Schmidt.

"What makes you happy?" and "What makes you feel good and safe?" were among the questions Schmidt used to prompt students to design their own personal symbols. In response, one child said her kitten made her happy, so she thought of cat ears for her symbol.  Children then used markers to draw their own symbols onto rocks. In the photo below, Schmidt shows children a variety of traditional symbols and their meanings in various Native cultures.

After creating their rocks, children followed along as Schmidt taught them to make their own leather bags by weaving leather cord through holes in a leather disc to become a drawstring. When they finished their bags, their newly decorated rocks were ready to go inside as a starting piece of personal treasure that they could use to remember times they felt good. 

Schmidt was assisted by Oak Street Art members Stephanie Dillard (stained glass) and Ann Fischer (photography).

Thanks to everyone who came out for Murphysboro’s (first of 2019) First Friday Art Walk / Open Studios & Museum night! In the new Oak Street Art headquarters (photo below), we had a steady stream of visitors all evening. We love our great southern Illinois community and are proud to be a part of the Logan Historic Arts Neighborhood.

Visitors came just to look, talk, make new friends, enjoy munchies, and even to buy some local art by our members (jewelry from Sue Gindlesparger, ceramics from Darby Ortolano, weaving/textiles from Shirley Krienert, leather from Cathy Schmidt, and photography from Ann R. Fischer).

See map below for additional sites of September's First Friday, including the individual studios of Oak Street Art members Luca Cruzat and Rachel Malcolm Ensor, as well as the General John A. Logan Museum, Pat's Prairie Garden, and GeekBetty Vintage and More. 

Onward to next month! Hope to see you for the second First Friday on Friday, October 4, from 5 to 8 p.m.