Program to celebrate veterans through art

The St. Charles Arts Council's Pop Up Arts program is popping up at 7 S. Second Ave. The gallery opens Saturday, Nov. 5, as a featured program of "Celebrating Veterans Through Art." It runs through Sunday, Nov. 27.

The gallery theme is "From Sea to Shining Sea - People, Places and Things in America."

The opening and artists reception will be from 7 to 9 p.m. Appetizers and drink will be provided. Attendees can meet many of the artists whose work is featured in the gallery.

This gallery features artwork created by local and regional visual artists, many of whom are veterans. The gallery also will include the work of local students - St. Charles East High School's Class of 2017's videotaped interviews of veterans (a Library of Congress program), as well as paintings designed by the high school students.

The gallery features the work of Guy J. Bellaver, Rick Brems, Jared Chimil, Al DaValle, Linda J. Evans, Claudia Frost, Marcia Gutierre, Ray Kobald, Karen Muehlfelt, Chris Pappas, James Patinka, Sherry Pritz, Linda Roxe, Nanette B. Stephen, Dennis Walz, and Fred H. Zinke.

In describing the gallery, Elizabeth Bellaver, the volunteer curator, said, "The theme of this gallery is 'From Sea to Shining Sea - People, Places and Things in America.' We wanted a theme that was in keeping with the concept of the Veterans Event, but defined more globally - all of those people, places, and things that are specific or iconic to America which are ultimately the reason our veterans served.

"We wanted a theme that was in keeping with the concept of the Veterans Event, but defined more globally - all of those people, places, and things that are specific or iconic to America which are ultimately the reason our veterans served. The gallery features the work of regional artists and includes photographs, paintings and sculptures, ranging from Bison to Wonder Bread to Harley Davidsons to Farms and Cities and Native American icons. The SCAC and the neXt gallery committee would like to extend a special thank you to Wendell Clancy, the building owner, for the use of the space, and Brian Henry with ReMax who facilitated our use."

Some images of the artwork and the gallery space can be found at stcharlesartscouncil.org/pop-up-art-galleries/.

For information on the Celebrating Veterans Through Art event, visit StCharlesArtsCouncil.org.