Meet the Artists: First Friday at the Stephen Smith Gallery

Meet the artists starting at 5:30pm April 3 to discuss their techniques and learn the heart behind their creations.

• Chris North – Ceramic Sculpture / “EARTH, WIND & SKY”

• Tom North – Platinum Prints and Steel Sculpture / “WINDOWS, INSIDE/OUTSIDE”

• Kymm Ledbetter – Mixed Media / “FRESH START”

Chris North (Lawrence, KS) depicts her sculpture as symbolic of a collective memory of what she feels about the experience of place, our environment and how it all overlaps and connects. The touchable quality of her work is achieved through carving and gouging the surface, hand burnishing terra sigillata on to unfired clay, and adding layers of pattern combined with stains, oxides, slips and multiple firings.

Tom North (Lawrence, KS) brings his love of the “old world” method of photographic printing using platinum/palladium hand coated platinotype coatings to create amazing, individualized images. This series moves natural forms and light into abstract compositions capturing the split-second that encapsulates an entire scene’s meaning. His career as a structural engineer led to the realization that exploiting welding methods opens possibilities for creating work inspired by the natural world, human form and modernist architecture.

Kymm Ledbetter (Topeka, KS) encountered some changes in her life that encouraged her moving from fused glass to exploration of other creative mediums. Her renewed sense of curiosity and experimentation led her to the love of combining materials in unexpected ways. The addition of watercolor taught her to let go of control and accept unpredictability – what happens, happens! Incorporating colored pencils, sewing, glass and paint markers to her watercolors yields texture, vivid colors and forces her to trust the process.

Come see these wonderful works for yourself, visit with the artists and enjoy a special evening out in Downtown Topeka!

PARKING: M-F 2 hours free on Kansas Avenue; Parking Garages free after 5pm / Sat-Sun free in Parking Garages and all downtown parking spaces including meters.