Celebrate your independence this fourth of July by going to Art Walk! (June 17, 2008) Bellwether Gallery of the Arts, Figment Gallery & Culture House and Randy Bacon Studio and Gallery are joining forces to present Art is a Blast, pairing outstanding art with free 4th of July fare, including hot dogs, chips, soda and even board games for the whole family during the July Art Walk.

First Friday Art Walk, a free, self-guided walking tour of downtown art galleries, will be held 6-10 p.m. July 4. The July event features arts demonstrations, live music, food and fun in 15 participating galleries. Among the July highlights: •Fabulous Fish bring brilliant color to Springfield Hot Glass Studio in July. Tropical fish in vibrant tones will be crafted using a variety of techniques including torch work and glass blowing.
•Photography by Kassidi Bremer at Fashioned by Jaye features arresting images of the Ozarks, including familiar scenes and those off the beaten path.
•The Sounds of Billy Goodman brings the original works of singer-songwriter Goodman, a Poplar Bluff native, to Global Fayre.
•Rountree Fifth Grade Photography Class displays its works at Randy Bacon Studio & Gallery, which also features 50 new images from Randy’s current portfolio and ongoing shows Italy & Tuscany: Acrylic Paintings & Photographs by Helen DePietro and Sweet Life: Portraits and Stories of Cancer Survivors by Randy Bacon.
•What a Country presents works by Branson performer and naturalized American Yakov Smirnoff and local watercolor artist John Fulton, best known for his collage paintings of Springfield.
•Deby Gilley is the featured artist at the Gillioz Theatre. An award-winning artist recently inducted into The Best of Missouri Hands, Gilley’s prints have appeared in galleries and museums across Missouri.
•Paintings by Stephen Horan of Bella Vista, Ark., and Photography by J. Hayes of Springfield are the focus at Keyes Gallery in July.
•Painter Abby Waters is the featured artist for July at Figment Art Gallery & Culture House.
•Fabric & Fibers take center stage at the Creamery Arts Center, with textile artist Janice Brueggemann’s Riches of Stitches series, Needlework by Reeds Spring resident Linda Crist, and national award-winning Rebel Quilter Susan Leslie Lumsden.
•Big Easy Jazz & Blues is the subject of painter Richard Lewis’ display at Nonna’s Italian American Café.
•Sculptor Nick Willett presents his new work at Studio 405.
•Teresa Dilsaver, best known for her scenes of the Ozarks, displays a variety of subjects showcasing the wider scope of her work at Fitzwilly’s Gifts & Antiques.

For more details on these First Friday events, please see the complete July Gallery Listing below.

For more information about First Friday Art Walk, contact Clarissa French, communications director, at (417) 849-8255 or sunoficarus@yahoo.com, or visit the First Friday Web site at www.ffaw.org.

First Friday Art Walk July Gallery Listing:

Bellwether Gallery of the Arts, 600 W. College St., presents What a Country, featuring works by Branson performer and naturalized American Yakov Smirnoff and local watercolor artist John Fulton. Smirnoff, who landed in this country with his parents in 1977, became a U.S. citizen on July 4, 1986, and continues to celebrate his love of America in his comedy and art. Fulton, best known for his collage paintings of Springfield, combines vignettes to tell stories through his work. His paintings have raised thousands of dollars for local charities including Ronald McDonald House, Springfield Public Schools Foundation and Ozarks Public Television. First Friday at Bellwether also includes the Art is a Blast 4th of July celebration in association with Randy Bacon Studio & Gallery and Figment Art Gallery & Culture House. (417) 831-1778 www.bellwetherarts.com.

Big Smile Photography, 207 Park Central East, continues its display of Staff Photography. (417) 527-2885 www.bigsmilestudios.com

The Creamery Arts Center, 411 Sherman Parkway, puts its focus on Fabric & Fibers in July. Textile artist Janice Brueggemann presents her Riches of Stitches series, featuring strong texture and bold, saturated colors in landscapes of plowed fields and earth. Needlework by Linda Crist displays the needlepoint and counted cross-stitch of Crist, a Reeds Spring resident and world traveler, who will also exhibit a feather-enhanced oil painting purchased from a vendor on the Great Wall of China and silk embroidery depicting a scene from Suzhou, China, which she acquired on a recent visit abroad. The art quilts of Rebel Quilter Susan Leslie Lumsden, recognized with no fewer than seven national awards in the last three years, feature the artist’s richly colored designs in large-scale works. (417) 862-2787 Springfield Arts.

DB Design Salon & Art Gallery, 326 S. Campbell, continues its show by Louisiana Artist Greg Chappell. Experimenting with different pigments, mixing mediums and painting surfaces, Chappell has evolved his own brand of realism using the indirect painting method – layering colors for specific effects in his romantic landscapes, wildlife pictures and portraits. (417) 864-4343.

Fashioned By Jaye, 212 S. Campbell, presents Photography by Kassidi Bremer. Kassidi’s southwest Missouri subjects range from landscapes to architecture to scenes and sites discovered by chance. Look for both scenes familiar and those off the beaten path. Fashioned By Jaye is a gallery and boutique featuring work by local artists and locally handmade jewelry, handbags, home decor, and gift items. (417) 862-4100 www.fashionedbyjaye.com.

Figment Art Gallery and Culture House, 600 W. College Street in the Monarch Art Factory, is focusing on featured artist-in-residence Abby Waters. “I make art because I do not know how to function without it,” Waters says. “To me, art is a release of tension, sharing of joy and an outlet of rage. I cannot go through live without having this outlet to stabilize the daily madness that comes from being a woman, a wife, a cubicle employee, a friend, and the list (like everyone else’s) goes on and on.” Working primarily in acrylics, Waters said her current works are “inspired by the life around me.” Figment artists-in-residence are Waters, potter Brian King; painters Kathlene Allie, Kelly Taylor and Emily Elmore; painter/portraitist Annette Broy; mixed-media artist Nikki Howell; and photographer Cory Bates. First Friday at Figment Art Gallery & Culture House also includes the Art is a Blast 4th of July celebration in association with Randy Bacon Studio & Gallery and Bellwether Gallery of the Arts. (417) 868-8179.

Fitzwilly’s Gifts & Antiques, 308 South Ave., will be displaying a Variety of Works by artist Teresa Dilsaver. Best known for her scenes of the Ozarks, Teresa displays her range with this collection of different subjects. Fitzwilly’s is a longtime downtown retailer featuring antiques, gift items and collectibles. Its monthly art exhibits emphasize unique sketches and paintings by talented local artists. (417) 866-3696.

Gillioz Theatre, 325 Park Central East, features Deby Gilley, an award-winning artist recently inducted into The Best of Missouri Hands. Gilley’s prints have appeared in galleries and museums across Missouri, and she has been recognized with first place awards from the Missouri Art Education Association Teacher’s Exhibit and the Greater St. Louis Art Association. (417) 863-7843 www.gillioz.org.

Global Fayre, 324 S. Campbell, features The Sounds of Billy Goodman. A native of Poplar Bluff, singer-songwriter Goodman has been performing before live audiences since high school. Most recently he’s been bringing his acoustic sound and songwriting talent to various small venues. His studio notes, “His gritty, heartfelt vocals and lyrics combine to portray emotions and an outlook that listeners can relate to.” (417) 873-7843 Global Fayre.

Good Girl Art Gallery, 215 W. Olive St., will be closed for the July 4 Art Walk. (417) 865-7055 www.goodgirlartgallery.com.

Hawthorn Galleries Inc., 214 E. Walnut St., will be closed for the July 4 Art Walk. (417) 866-6688 www.myspace.com/hawthorngallery.

Keyes Gallery, 229 S. Market Ave., presents Paintings by Stephen Horan of Belle Vista, Ark., and Photography by J.Hayes of Springfield. (417) 866-2722 www.keyesgallery.com.

Nonna’s Italian American Cafe, 306 South Ave., presents Big Easy Jazz & Blues, paintings by Richard Lewis. A native of Springfield, Lewis attended Central High School and graduated with a degree in art and art education from Missouri State University. He moved to New Orleans after leaving here in the late ‘70s, and returned after Hurricane Katrina. “The exhibit I’m showing here at Nonna’s is a New Orleans collection I’ve been working on of jazz and blues singers and themes. Locally, I’ve done paintings of Nonna’s Italian American Café, The Landers Theatre and the Gillioz Theatre, to name a few,” Lewis says. “I’m happy to see the downtown has grown and developed into a cosmopolitan area of diversity and interest,” he adds. “It’s good to be back home.” (417) 831-1222 www.nonnascafe.com.

Randy Bacon Studio & Gallery, 600 W. College in the Monarch Art Factory, features works by the Rountree Fifth Grade Photography Class, 50 new images from Randy’s current portfolio, and ongoing shows Italy & Tuscany: Acrylic Paintings & Photographs by Helen DePietro and new images from Sweet Life: Portraits and Stories of Cancer Survivors by Randy Bacon. First Friday at Bacon Studio & Gallery also includes the Art is a Blast 4th of July celebration in association with Figment Art Gallery & Culture House and Bellwether Gallery of the Arts. (417) 868-8179 www.randybacon.com.

Springfield Hot Glass Studio, 314 S. Campbell Ave., presents Fabulous Fish. Tropical fish in brilliant colors will be crafted using a variety of techniques including torch work and glass blowing. A working hot glass studio/gallery with facilities for furnace, torch and kiln work, Springfield Hot Glass Studio continually displays its current blown glass, beads and fused work, and offers live demonstrations on Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and First Fridays. (417) 868-8181 Springfield Hot Glass.

Springfield Pottery, a fine craft gallery and community clay center at 416 S. Campbell Ave., continues its show of New Work by potter and artist-in-residence Sherri Alexander. Springfield Pottery also represents the work of over 40 local, regional, and national artists in clay, wood, metal, glass, fibers, photography, printmaking and more. (417) 864-4677 www.springfieldpottery.com

Studio 405, 405 W. Walnut St., presents Sculptor Nick Willett displaying his new work. (417) 865-0450.

Please note: Drury Pool Art Center, MSU Art & Design Gallery, MSU Student Exhibition Center and OTC Fine Arts Gallery & Studio are closed for the months of June July and August in accordance with the academic calendar. All four galleries will reopen in September.

For more information about First Friday Art Walk, contact Clarissa French, communications director, at 417.849.8255 or Art Walk.