Schingoethe Center displays artwork it inspired
It was Meg Bero's chancing upon a group of artists working diligently in Aurora University's Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures that resulted in the center's newest exhibit.
"Three women came to sketch in the museum," said Bero, museum curator and executive director of the center. "I asked if they'd be interested in exhibiting in the gallery."
The women were all members of the Great Lakes chapter of The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators, a nationwide group founded at the Smithsonian Institution in 1968.
As Bero watched them sketch museum artifacts, Bero said she had an "aha moment."
She suggested they and their fellow guild members work on pieces with a botanical theme for an upcoming exhibit.
"They could choose an artifact in the museum that had something to do with plants, (things) made of plants or had a plant motif on them," she said.
Among the choices the 10 participating artists opted for are sketches and paintings of plants considered sacred by Native Americans, including tobacco, cedar, sage and sweet grass, Bero said.
The result is "Field Sketches Inspired by the Schingoethe Center," a collection of 28 pieces.
The exhibit, which opened Wednesday, will remain on display through Jan. 4 in the center's downstairs Dunham Gallery.
Bero said the pieces are done in a variety of media, including acrylic and watercolor paintings, pastels and pencil drawings.
"The work is absolutely beautiful," she said.
All of the pieces are for sale at prices ranging from a $1.75 for greeting cards featuring prints of original pieces to about $900 for large, original wall hangings.
The exhibit is part of the university's observance of Native American Heritage Month during the month of November.
If you go
What: "Field Sketches Inspired by the Schingoethe Center" exhibit
Who: Works are by members of the Great Lakes chapter of The Guild of Natural Science Illustrators
Where: Dunham Gallery of Aurora University's Schingoethe Center for Native American Cultures, 1400 Marseillaise Place, Aurora
When: 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Fridays and 1 to 4 p.m. Sundays through Jan. 4
Cost: Free
Info: (630) 844-7843 or aurora.edu/artsandideas