Former Buffalo Grove park board member displays artwork in gallery she helped create

The Buffalo Grove Park District is excited to host an art exhibit by former park board Commissioner Karen Meadows at the Hyman and Miriam Reiner Art Gallery in the Fitness Center at the Buffalo Grove Park District, 601 Deerfield Parkway, in Buffalo Grove.

Meadows was on the park board during the planning stages of the Fitness Center, and saw an opportunity to provide a space where local artists could share their work with the public; and, at the same time, create a visual space somewhat unique to a fitness center. Since its opening, the gallery has hosted Buffalo Grove and Stevenson High School art students, prominent local artists, and annually the drawing and painting students from the Buffalo Grove Park District classes taught by Enid Silverman.

Now, for the first time, Meadows is displaying her own work. When she retired from teaching art in 2010, she started working in stained glass, and fell in love with the medium. Through years of both teaching and making art, Meadows worked with a variety of materials, assuming she would pursue some area of the fiber arts, but found working with glass was the perfect medium - a merger of her experiences and skills to express her love of nature and whimsy.

Meadows has enjoyed workshops with artists from all over the world. In addition to larger stained glass windows displayed in the lobby, she works in glass mosaic, hot glass mosaics, fusing and mixed media - always incorporating some form of glass.

The public is welcome to view the exhibit during regular business hours at the Fitness Center through Aug. 30.

For information, contact Debbie Fandrei at (847) 850-2148 or dfandrei@bgparks.org.