Waldron art sale brings holiday cheer

The John Waldron Arts Center, 122 S. Walnut St., celebrated the beginning of the holiday season last week with the opening of its Winterfest Holiday Art Sale, currently presented in the center's galleries. The event, featuring work from local artists, is a fundraiser for the Bloomington Area Arts Council, which runs the center. All of the featured artists are from southern Indiana, mostly coming from Monroe County and the surrounding area, said BAAC Gallery Director Mary Hambly. The art to be sold is displayed with holiday gift-giving in mind.\nVarious types of art, including ceramics, blown glass, photography, jewelry and quilting, are on display at the Waldron. Also for sale are handmade paper and woven textiles. The fundraiser includes work from some of the instructors who teach classes at the Waldron. Jan Arbogast, who teaches ceramics for children and adults at the center, is displaying some of her pieces, mostly functional ware, in the holiday art sale. She said she appreciates the holiday sale at the Waldron as a means of displaying her art for the community. \n"(The Waldron) has always been a very good venue for my work," she said. "It\'s a way to show my students what I make, too."\nThough the holiday fundraiser was once an annual event in the BAAC\'s exhibition schedule, it was left out last year. BAAC Executive Director Sally Gaskill said the sale was omitted from the schedule last year because the gallery had been without a director prior to Hambly\'s arrival last fall. It was in anticipation of the hiring of a new gallery director that the BAAC decided earlier this year to bring the holiday art sale back. \nThe fundraiser is beneficial both for the center and the artists, as it provides support for the BAAC while making community artists\' names better known locally. \n"It helps us develop new audiences," said Gaskill. "People who may not have seen the gallery before come in to look at the art, and we hope they\'ll come back."\nSo far, Hambly said, the Winterfest Holiday Art Sale is doing well. The opening of the sale coincided with the Canopy of Lights festival in downtown Bloomington, when the town\'s square and Christmas tree were lit in front of a crowd gathered to listen to the various musical performances commemorating the occasion. \nThe Waldron\'s galleries extended their hours during the sale's opening weekend to accommodate those congregated in the square for the event. The lighting of the square and tree attracted many people to the downtown area and, in turn, the Waldron. \nSunday, the Waldron will again be opening its doors during its usual off-hours. From noon to 4 p.m., the gallery will be open to the public. Gaskill said that the extended hours will coincide with the Commission on Downtown Bloomington's planned holiday events. The BAAC is hoping that this weekend's downtown events will again help to attract more people into the galleries. \nThe Winterfest Holiday Art Sale is currently on display in the Rosemary P. Miller gallery and the Small Gallery in the John Waldron Arts Center. It runs until December 22. Regular gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday.