Water Street Studios opens new exhibit 'Bits and Pieces-Combined'

The main gallery at Water Street Studios in Batavia brings the works of two established Chicago-area artists, Michele Thrane and Lynn Tsan, together in an exhibition titled "Bits and Pieces - Combined," opening Friday, Aug. 12.

Thrane's work starts with encaustic monotypes, which are created using encaustic paint to draw on a heated plate of anodized aluminum. Paper is then pressed onto the plate to make the print. Some of the resulting work is mounted on panels for display. Other work is cut in pieces, reconfigured, and then "stitched together" using staples.

Tsan's work is mostly comprised of squares. Each square can stand alone as a finished piece of art, but put 16, 25 or 81 together and everything changes. As the squares become tiles and cubes, she seeks to build walls, floors and furniture.

An opening reception will be held from 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Aug. 12, at the gallery, 160 S. Water St. in Batavia. It continues until Sept. 4.

Batavia artist Christopher Cudworth will be showing some of his most recent paintings at the Kane County Chronicle gallery on the second floor.

Artist Talk: At 3:30 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 21, Michele Thrane, Lynn Tsan and Christopher Cudworth will host a discussion of their work and their creative process. Michele Thrane also will be conducting a demonstration of her encaustic monotype process.

Gallery hours are 1 to 9 p.m. Fridays and noon to 4 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays.

Founded in 2009, Water Street Studios, a 501(c) 3 nonprofit, is committed to making the creative arts accessible to the Fox Valley community. Its mission is to be a vibrant organization dedicated to the creation and appreciation of the arts, and dedicated to supporting our core community of Water Street Studio artists, patrons and students. Visit www.waterstreetstudios.org.