Maude Kerns Art Center Uses Jell-O To Mold Awareness
artistic inspiration, culture, eugene's art, jello-o, karen marie pavelec, maude kerns, maude kerns art center,
Need a little artistic inspiration? Visit Eugene’s Maude Kerns Art Center, a nonprofit community center for the visual arts that offers art classes, workshops, exhibitions, lectures, ceramics cooperative and printmaking studios.
The center was founded in 1950 by a group of local artists, including its namesake and major donor, Maude Kerns.
“Our call to artists for the exhibition schedule attracts local, national and international artists,” says Karen Marie Pavelec, executive director of Maude Kerns Art Center. “We are the only nonprofit art gallery in the area that produces and attracts national and international calls to artists for exhibitions.”
Not all of Maude Kerns Art Center’s exhibits are reserved for professional artists. Its annual Jell-O Art Show involves the whole community and was voted Best Funky Food Show by Reader’s Digest magazine.
“The Jell-O Art Show is an infamous exhibit that is held on or around April Fool’s Day,” Pavelec says. “The public is invited to submit Jell-O creations using a special ‘jiggle’ formula.”
The 2008 Jell-O Art Show is slated for March 29.
The center’s biggest fundraiser, Art and the Vineyard, takes place in July and attracts more than 140 artists from seven states and as many as 25,000 visitors. Artists sell their creations at the Artists’ Marketplace.
“The festival is a great opportunity to buy art and sample locally produced food and beverages in a relaxed atmosphere on the banks of the Willamette River,” Pavelec says.
Art and the Vineyard has been held for 25 years.
Pavelec says she enjoys working at the Maude Kerns Art Center because it serves all demographics and is open to everyone.
“Everyone who comes to the art center is vested in the arts,” she says. “I believe the arts play a major role in the quality of life and the quality of our community.”
Visit www.mkartcenter.org for more information.
Story by Jessica Mozo
Photo by Brian McCord
