August at the Gallery
By Pat Kerns
Alliance Art Gallery at 121 N Main Street in downtown Hannibal welcomes guest artist Amanda Brown DeClue for the month of August. Also featured for the month is gallery ceramic artist Steve Ryan.
Originally from Kansas, Amanda’s family moved to Camdenton MO in the Lake of the Ozarks when she was four. Amanda’s high school art teacher had attended Culver Stockton College in Canton, MO. She took a group of her art students to the annual Culver Art Day for high schools. Later Amanda and her mother made the trip back to Canton for a portfolio review. During that trip Amanda was offered a scholarship and she made the decision to attend CSC.
Amanda worked at the Quincy Art Center for six years manning the front desk and carrying out all the duties that it entailed. After six years she made the decision to change jobs to have more time to concentrate on her own art. She currently works with a variety of materials that include permanent markers, watercolor and colored pencils.
Amanda and her work can be found at Quincy’s Farmers’ Market at the Quincy Town Center parking lot. Her offerings include originals and reproductions of landscapes, abstracts and mandalas.
Many gallery regulars will remember gallery artist Steve Ryan and his demonstration of the Obvara glazing process last summer outside outside of the gallery. In fact, he has tweeted his recipe for his finishes that gives his pieces even more variety and depth. Steve has branched out, taking his work to art fairs throughout the Midwest. Most recently he was in Des Moines, Iowa where he sold nearly every piece he had taken to the fair!
But no worry, Steve promises totally new work for August and suggests with the new glaze “recipe”, the colors and textures will be pleasingly different.
Steve realized recently that “he is living his dream”. After a lifetime of supporting his family, working a 9 to 5 job in industry, he is now “retired” and able to live the creative life he always wanted.
On August 8 the gallery will host a Second Saturday event from 4 to 7 pm, an opportunity to visit with the artists and enjoy free refreshments. There will be featured artists’ talks at 6:00 and drawing for a piece of one of Steve’s pots at 6:30. Visit the gallery throughout that day to sign up for the opportunity to win. This event coincides with the Downtown Hannibal Art Walk and is open to the public.
