OAK STREET ART
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    • Luca Cruzat (printmaking)
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    • Madeline Steimle (glass and illustration)
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Short Holiday Newsletter from Oak Street Art 2019!

12/19/2019

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​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).
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Oak Street Art Takes Selfie Station on the Road for Murphysboro Family Vacation Night, May 14, 2018

5/22/2018

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Have you heard about Oak Street Art's Selfie Station?
During the 2018 Fine Arts Fair, we had a blast setting up space (outside Oak Street Art member Rachel Malcolm Ensor's studio) where people could come pose for selfies with lots of costumes and props. 
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Oak Street Art member Darby Ortolano recently took the Selfie Station on the road for the Murphysboro Family Vacation Night. 
Lots of people stopped by to pose and laugh, including Mayor Will Stephens, shown below. Ride on, Mayor Stephens! 
See more photos from the Selfie Station below and on Instagram (#oakstreetartgroup). 
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Oak Street Art featured in Life & Style magazine ("Collective Souls," Summer 2018)

5/21/2018

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What is Oak Street Art all about? Check out the Summer 2018 edition of Life & Style magazine to find out! 
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A few weeks before the 2018 Oak Street Fine Arts Fair, we spent a fun morning talking with reporter Chanda Green as Byron Hetzler snapped photos. 
We loved the new feature story, Collective Souls: Oak Street Artists Nurture the Connections between Art and Community. Pick up a copy of the (beautiful, full-color, glossy) magazine where The Southern Illinoisan is sold, and see Chanda's story and Byron's photos online at the Life & Style website here. ​
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Life and Style Interview with Oak Street Art, Coming in April

3/13/2018

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Life and Style magazine reporter Chanda Green came to Oak Street Art headquarters in Murphysboro last week for some lively discussion and a group interview. 
We loved having her and her photographer here to talk about art in general and about each member's work.
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Be on the lookout for a feature (and some photos) in April. We'll let you know!
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Stay Tuned for WSIU Morning Conversation with Oak Street Art

3/5/2018

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Last Friday, Oak Street Art welcomed a special guest, WSIU radio news anchor Jennifer Fuller. Recording equipment in tow, Jennifer led a fun and spirited 30-minute dialogue with us at our headquarters at RME Studio (formerly the Murphysboro School of Art) in Murphysboro. 
Jennifer will edit things down to about 6 minutes for a spot (in April) on her Morning Conversation series. Stay tuned!
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Darby Ortolano of Oak St. Art Group, Is Artist of the Month in "I Like Illinois"

11/16/2017

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Ceramic artist and Oak Street Art Group member Darby Ortolano is featured in the November 15 issue of "I Like Illinois" as the Artist of the Month! 
In the profile article, Darby talks about her early days as an artist in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City and about the "three glorious years" she spent working on her Master of Fine Arts degree at Southern Illinois University. You can also hear Darby's thoughts on living and working in beautiful southern Illinois, as well as on where she draws inspiration for her art, which "speaks for itself."
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Read the full profile at www.ilikeillinois.com/living/arts-culture/624-artist-of-the-month-darby-ortolano. 
Brava, Darby!
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Oak Street Fine Arts Fair 2017 Featured in Carbondale Times

10/3/2017

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​Thanks to the Carbondale Times for publishing a piece about our recent fine arts fair, held September 23!
Two of the six founding members of the Oak St. Art Group (Rachel Malcolm Ensor and Sue Gindlesparger) were quoted as they spoke about their vision for the fair. ​Read the full story here: Oak Street Art Fair: Using Art to Revitalize the Community.
For us, one highlight of the article was the final paragraph: 
"A goal of the members of the Oak Street Art Group is to revitalize the area by building and supporting a strong artist community. Artists have begun housing their studios in the [historic Logan] neighborhood, which they hope to become an artist community in Murphysboro."
Photos 1 2, and 4 by Carbondale Community Arts. Photo 3 by Oak St. Art Group. Blog posted by Ann Fischer
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Radio Interview: Oak St. Art Group Members with Mayor Will Stephens

9/22/2017

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We had a blast during this morning's radio interview with Murphsyboro Mayor Will Stephens! Listen to Oak St. Art Group Members Rachel Malcolm Ensor, Sue Gindlesparger, and Ann Fischer talk about the Oak St. Fine Arts Fair, coming up Saturday, September 23.
  • INTERVIEW HERE via Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/radio-will/oak-street-art-fair-2017

Posted by Ann Fischer
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  • Home
  • Art Fair
  • Community
  • Events
  • About Us / Artists
    • Luca Cruzat (printmaking)
    • Stephanie Dillard (stained glass)
    • Sue Gindlesparger (metals, jewelry)
    • Darby Ortolano (ceramics)
    • Cathy Schmidt (leather)
    • Madeline Steimle (glass and illustration)
  • Blog
  • Mural