Celebrate art at Fox River Arts Ramble April 21

Lovers of art are invited to spend a day exploring galleries and studios throughout the Fox Valley at the Fox River Arts Ramble.

The Ramble is a one-day self-guided tour of art. There are more than 50 participants, and venues in Aurora, Batavia, Geneva, St. Charles, and Elgin.

A collaborative effort of the Fine Line Creative Arts Center, the St. Charles Arts Council, and Water Street Studios, the Ramble takes place from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, April 21, with some musical performances and gallery opening receptions in the evening.

Here is a sampling of some of the stops on the Ramble. For a complete list of locations and a map, visit www.foxriverartsramble.com.

Aurora

• Aurora Public Art Commission Third Floor Gallery will host the work of Rhonda Wheatley.

• Aurora Regional Fire Museum will host a pop-up shop filled with local artists and artisans, Aurora-area photography by Randy Benzie, and Chris Hodge's work, including the unveiling of a new poster he designed. The museum also features work from local artists with a fire theme in its gift shop. www.auroraregionalfiremuseum.org

• Aurora Artists Studios, with the work of Cheryl Holz and Anne Von Her - The Aurora Artists Studio overlooks the Fox River in downtown Aurora. Cheryl Holz's nature-inspired work will be on display, and if weather allows, her new mural /installation on back of the building. Anne Von Ehr will be offering some "starving artist" pieces only available at this event.

• At Aurora Fastprint, celebrate a dynamic piece of artwork created by Aurora artist Cheryl Holz and installed by the Aurora Fastprint team. The larger than life piece was handcrafted and transformed into a wrap that extends the entirety of the rear wall at 54 E. Galena Blvd., adjacent to the Fox River. The three-dimensional mural highlights natural elements along the Fox River and includes nods to Aurora's blues history, architecture, and arts scene. aurorafastprint.com/

• Gallery 1904: Located in the newly renovated, former Aurora Carnegie Library, the Gallery hosts artists from the Aurora area and beyond whose exhibitions explore a variety of themes in many mediums extending beyond paint and photography. gallery1904.com/

• If These Walls Could Talk: This custom frame shop/art gallery will be exhibiting the work of local fine artist Rupali Kumbhani, a talented, international award-winning artist. www.wallstalkframing.com

• SciTech Hands on Museum: The museum will feature Laura Lynne Art, Wheatley Design Prints and Short Bench Woodworks. Laura Lynne hand cuts papers of all types to create bold, colorful, whimsical mixed-media art. Short Bench Woodworks/Timothy Schlapp uses locally sourced wood for his pieces, which are cut from the tree, dried, shaped and become a finished product by hand. Wheatley Design Prints is a fun, quirky and sometimes inappropriate line of greeting cards, wall decor and more. www.lauralynnart.com; www.wheatleydesign.info; facebook.com/Tschlapp7261/.

• Santori Public Library: Dr. George Miller's photography and poetry will be on exhibit in the Dunham Atrium of the Richard and Gina Santori Public Library of Aurora. Miller is the department chair of philosophy at Lewis University as well as a poet and photographer. aurorapubliclibrary.org/

• Zen Loft Wellness Center: A wellness center in downtown Aurora, Zen Loft offers painting classes throughout the month, and also yoga, and dance, and other workshops. There is gallery space along one long wall and local artists display and sell their work at monthly festivals and Zen Loft events. zenloftwellnesscenter.com/

• Members of the Aurora Art League will be showing their work in the Batavia Public Library.

Batavia

• Batavia Arts Council will host a meet and greet at Buddha, Gandhi and Me.

• Felicia Raschke is opening her home studio. Raschke creates large scale abstracts, often using watercolors as background for collage-style compositions.

• Nancy Neill Designs loft-style studio, featuring her handmade jewelry, is inside the Challenge Windmill factory buildings near the Batavia Dam on North River Street. Nature-inspired pieces are a specialty.

• Water Street Studios (a headquarters locations) will feature an artist talk with exhibiting artists Jim Jenkins, Lindsay Olson, and Georgia Schwender; print demos by Fast Color Print, Open Sketch, art class demos, gallery tours, and an opportunity to meet 30 resident artists in their studios.

• Steve Sherrell, Studio 23 at Water Street Studios (and also in the WSS Artists Collective) is also participating in the Ramble. He is a career painter from the Chicago school of art.

• A Waterline Writers event takes place at 7 p.m.

Geneva

• Beech Tree Studio offers education in the fine art of colored pencil as well as an intensive curriculum in drawing. The new studio location on Third Street in Geneva will introduce visitors to their instructors and other Beech Tree Studio artists as they demo various colored pencil techniques throughout the day.

• Gallery 28 is located in downtown Geneva and features a mix of paintings, jewelry, sculpture, photography, pottery and unique works in wood and metal, as well as music.

Good Templar Park Cultural and Artists' Guild welcomes visitors to the park to see artists' diverse mediums including local landscape oil paintings, floral watercolor paintings, Norwegian rosemaling, Swedish dalamalning, fiber arts, marionettes, blown glass, functional and sculptural ceramics, and natural wood works created from wood grown in the park.

• Greater Geneva Art Guild will be showing members' work at the American Legion Post 75's building.

• Proud Fox Gallery invites visitors to a Meet & Greet with some of their artists and announces a sale on framing.

• Republic of Letters is a new literary center, bookstore, and publisher. They invite "Ramblers" to come by their store to peruse their curated selection of books, as well some art and poem pairings. They will also be offering seminars during the day.

• School of ART believes that everyone has something to gain from learning and practicing art. The school is designed to teach all ages a variety of mediums, everything from basic drawing and painting through full interactive animation and robotics.

• The Chilled Palette, "paint and sip entertainment," is located in the heart of historic downtown Geneva. They supply canvas, painting materials and artistic guidance.

Elgin

• Elgin Symphony Orchestra: The Elgin Symphony Orchestra (ESO) invites visitors to the ESO office for a gift, candy, and an exclusive half-price offer for their season finale concerts May 5 and 6. ElginSymphony.Org

• Side Street Studio Arts: Seven artists take over the Gallery at SSSA. Each has been assigned an area to create and exhibit within, from the basement to the AV closet, turning those spaces into theirs. Featuring Angie Gonzalez, Michelle Graves, Karl Jahnke, Rachel Elizabeth Maley, Tanner Melvin, Ken Simonsen, and Lindsey Wiseman.

• The Ramble is also supported by Art for All.