Gallery walk features holiday art

Nine art galleries will celebrate the visual arts during the annual Holiday Downtown Art Gallery Walk this evening. The walk will showcase local and regional artwork from galleries within walking distance of each other. The gallery walk takes place four times each year, and this will be the last Downtown Gallery Art Walk for 2004. \nMiah Michaelson, the gallery director for the John Waldron Arts Center, one of the participating galleries, said the walk encourages people to come out and meet the artists. \n"We expect several hundred people," she said. \nThe John Waldron Arts Center will be showcasing hand-crafted gifts from more than 50 local and regional artists in the Rosemary P. Miller Gallery. All gifts will be on sale, including holiday ornaments, greeting cards, jewelry, ceramics, textiles, photography, blown glass, books and framed art. The sale at the John Waldron Arts Center began Nov. 19 and will run until Dec. 23. \nUpstairs in the Flashlight Gallery, photographs from native Hoosier H. Joseph Gore will be on display. The exhibit will features photographs from Gore's travels of the Native American rock art in the Southwest. As a part of the gallery walk event Gore will do a gallery talk and slide presentation at 5 p.m. in the large classroom of the John Waldron Arts Center. Gore will discuss his photography, the process involved, and the landscape and culture of the Southwest. The talk will include a question-and-answer session. \nThe By Hand Gallery -- a cooperative art gallery owned by eight local artists in the Fountain Square Mall -- will also be included on the gallery walk. Located at 109 Fountain Square Mall, 101 W. Kirkwood Ave., the gallery will be celebrating 25 years, and will feature local and national artists. The artwork at By Hand will include jewelry, pottery, weaving, woodwork, blown glass, watercolors and prints. The gallery will also feature works from "flashy painter" Rick Hohimer, Ted Stahly's wood creations, and framed and matted photos from Randall Shedd. \n"This is not a big sales event," said Richard Hatch, a sales representative at By Hand. "It is an artistic endeavor to help local artists become known."\nMusical artists are also included in the walk and can be seen at The Wandering Turtle Art Gallery at 224 N. College Ave. The Wandering Turtle will present a multimedia, multi-artist celebration of the Winter Solstice titled "The Longest Night & the Rebirth of Hope." Music for the celebration will be provided by The Great Inbetween. Along with live music, the gallery will hold a group show of 14 artists.\nAlong with painting and music, the downtown gallery walk will also have a holiday jewelry show. The jewelry will range from metal and titanium to pearls and bead work. The show presented by The Gallery North, located at 116 W. Sixth St., will display jewelry by local artists Arturo Rodriguez and Tanya Tegmeyer from Indianapolis. Rodriguez who was born in Lima, Peru, works with fine metals, gemstones and other metals and materials. Tegmeyer works with beads and has had work published in the book "500 Beaded Objects." Other jewelry makers will include Lona Northener, Sharon Major, Kristi Carson, Kathy Lum, Linda Drescher, Marsha Hilgeford, F.C. Drew Design, Andrea Jackson and Gonca Ruscitto. The display will run until Dec. 31. \nThe walk begins at 5 p.m. and runs until 7:30 p.m. The galleries will have snacks and beverages for visitors and is free to the public. For more information about the Downtown Gallery Art Walk, contact the Bloomington Area Arts Council at 334-3100.\n-- Contact staff writer Christine Lunde at clunde@indiana.edu.