'Rakow Arts: Works from the Family Room' exhibit at Gallery 200

Gallery 200 member artists Mandy and Christine Rakow, along with family members John and Jim, present “Rakow Arts: Works from the Family Room,” a diverse, mixed-media exhibit on display throughout the month of July at Gallery 200, 200 Main Street, West Chicago.

John and Mandy Rakow are married and live a short distance from his parents, Jim and Christine Rakow. The four artists work independently of each other in their various art forms and styles and draw inspiration from each other. They often discuss, and sometimes influence, each other's works yet their individual styles are as unique as the artists themselves:

John Rakow identifies himself as a social worker who is also an artist. Although he chose to pursue an art degree in college, his career choice became social work. His current position with the heath department sends him, along with other team members, to visit people that are living outside of the traditional social boundaries. He may help the homeless find a place to live, direct them to a local food pantry, find resources for clothing and medication or simply help them to cope with their circumstances.

John has a passion for people that is evidenced in his artwork, which is almost exclusively about people. Artwork and poetry have become his way of channeling the emotions that he experiences through his work, as well as validating the human nature of his clients. John said, “My clients are very compassionate and interesting, yet often they are not validated. They have emotions and feelings like we do.”

The diversity in his mixed-media artwork, which often includes words or poetry as well as found objects, stems from his connection to people with disabilities. John said, “My artwork involves human nature, justice or grief. There are often elements of humor. It is not meant to be disrespectful – it's just my way of coping.”

His interest in art began with a strong family connection in his youth. He worked with his mother, Christine, to create elementary school theater sets, and his aunt was a professional artist. His style continues to develop as he finds himself using more color, an influence he attributes to his wife, Mandy.

Mandy Rakow's art generally revolves around two themes – music and whimsy. She considers her life to be very organized and structured and attributes the whimsy in her art as a way to display playfulness. Mandy said, “As a person with many responsibilities, I might be described by some as a workaholic, but art allows me to break the rules and explore some of the absurd ideas lurking in my mind.” She currently works as a coordinator of international short-term mission trips.

A color design course taken in 2001 was her first experience with acrylic paints and she has enjoyed working in the medium ever since. Much of her work is bright and colorful and, more recently, includes mixed media and found objects – a result of her husband's background in sculpture and their influence on each other's artwork.

She and husband, John, both joined the local artists' co-op, Gallery 200 in West Chicago, when it opened 11 years ago. That is when she began working on art for public display. Mandy said, “Gallery 200 is a very supportive environment for local artists. Along with John's support, it gave me the confidence to go back and finish my art degree.”

Music became a part of Mandy's life at a young age as she grew up singing with her family in Wheaton. She has played cello since age 9 and learned to play guitar from her father. She began writing songs in junior high school and continues to write music; her husband, John, contributes the lyrics.

In April 2009, Mandy was appointed to the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission and her primary goal has been the development of Local Music Night, an evening devoted to live, local music. Mandy was amongst the original performers and the event was so well received that the free evening of music now takes place once a month, with local and regional musicians offering a variety of musical genres. Any musician interested in being a part of Local Music Night should contact Mandy Rakow at localmusicnight@gmail.com.

Christine Rakow's interest in art began as a child where she found herself always drawing. She notes that her grandfather was a specialty artist, painting and repairing scenery on fire curtains at theaters on the east coast, as well as painting miniature portraits. She began taking art classes in high school and was encouraged by her teachers to continue her art education in college.

Although she did attend college, she pursued a degree in education and took few art classes as it seemed like the right thing to do at the time. After years of self-reflection, Christine later realized that her sister's determination for becoming a professional artist may have kept her from pursuing her own art degree. She said, “I didn't want to take away from my sister's dream of becoming an artist.”

As her children advanced through elementary school, Christine became involved with the school's theater performances where her art talents were again brought to life through set production. As both she and her son John recall, there was one particularly special set where she painted Noah's Ark, including many of the animals. John fondly remembers his mother creating sets and other items such as 3-dimensional trees, including free-standing paper mache bases.

Christine has since become an award winning artist, which she credits to John's insistence that she enter West Chicago's Fine Arts Fiesta in 2008, held annually in conjunction with Railroad Days, where her painting, “Minnesota Sunset” won second place. She is a two-time winner in the juried Community Banner Project sponsored by the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission. A painting featuring baby owls was chosen in 2010 and this year's winner, currently on display in downtown West Chicago, features a photograph of a waterfall entitled “Strahl Overflow”.

She now considers herself a mixed-media artist and works primarily in watercolor combined with india ink and colored pencil. She continues to produce framed art and her preference is to paint scenery, flowers and nature subjects.

Jim Rakow is the patriarch of the family and enjoys photography as a hobby, which began as a child when his parents bought him a Kodak Baby Brownie film camera. He now uses a Canon A100is digital camera to photograph mostly people, nature and unusual things. He particularly enjoys photographing people at the Feast of the Hunter's Moon, a festival reenacting the annual fall gathering of the French and the Native Americans during the mid-18th century in Indiana.

Jim confesses that although he enjoys photography, he is not terribly serious about it. He displays his photographs as they were taken, without the aid of computer software. Jim said, “What you see is what you get. I want to remember things the way they are as opposed to how I want them to be.”

Gallery 200 is a cultural initiative supported by the City of West Chicago and the West Chicago Cultural Arts Commission, and is one more reason West Chicago was named an Illinois Arts Friendly Community in 2007. Gallery 200 is open Thursday and Friday from 12:00 - 8:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m. For more information, including a complete list of current art classes, call (630) 293-9550 or visit www.gallery200.org.