Claudia McGehee’s scratchboard illustrations for children’s books, business logos, Java House cups and other freelance projects have garnered buzz. But the Iowa City artist’s ultimate goal is to reflect the beauty — and vulnerability — of the environment through her work. “I think it’s important that artists are also activists as well,” she said. “You […]
Little Village Studio Visit
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Watch: With pixels and paint, Stacia Rain Stonerook brings both the familiar and alien to colorful life
Stacia Rain Stonerook has painted a Ped Mall bench, manages graphics and marketing at FilmScene, designs a literary magazine and, in her free time, is transposing downtown Iowa City into a pixel art world, and inventing a universe of alien flora. “If I had to use three words to describe my work I’d probably say […]
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Watch: Dan Padley, perhaps Iowa City’s most versatile guitarist, has a passion for improv (and cooking eggs)
If you’ve seen an Iowa City band perform in the past few years, odds are you’ve heard Dan Padley on guitar. Trained in jazz at the University of Iowa, Padley’s specialty is improvisation — creating “mini sonic universes” of sound, whether he’s soloing at a rock concert or twanging it up at a country show. […]
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Watch: ‘Is a naked body hurting you?’ Artist Talya Miller brings body positivity, kindness to her digital works
“Kindness is a huge aspect of my work,” Talya Miller, a visual artist in Iowa City, who works in multiple media including book design, said. But not “that fluffy idea of ‘Iowa nice.’” Miller talked to Little Village about the difference between working with digital and traditional art tools, the connection between the written word […]
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Watch: Iowa City portrait artist Heith A. Banowetz seeks to capture the soul in old photographs
Soulful eyes, sensitive hands, old-fashioned facial hair, delicate lines and stippling. These and other, more subtle features make up the distinctive style of self-taught Iowa City artist Heith Banowetz, who crafts portraits using “humble” materials like pen, pencil and charcoal. “I feel like sometimes we have this tendency to feel rushed or pressured into speaking. […]
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Watch: Mark Vollenweider’s mighty pen
“I’ve spent a lot more time thinking about the world I’d like to live in, than the world that we do live in,” Mark Vollenweider told Little Village. During a studio visit, the Iowa City artist talked about discovering his artistic medium, the impact of COVID-19 and politics on his work and how anger can […]
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Watch: One trashy art show
Post Consumer Content, a series of art installations curated by artist Louise Fisher, featured the work of five area artists over the course of five weeks in July and August. Each week, one artist displayed work outside Public Space One that took used items most would discard, and showed how art can reveal the possibilities […]
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Watch: Kymbyrly Koesters tends to the artsiest garden in Iowa City
“Gardening is art and art is gardening,” Kymbyrly Koesters told Little Village. As artist/gardener in residence for Public Space One, Koesters has transformed the sod around the nonprofit’s new home into a space where nature, art and social issues meet. “I’ve always seen and understood how gardens reflect art and activism and change,” she said.
Posted inArts & Entertainment
Watch: Artist Hannah Givler ‘collaborates’ with her materials to create architectural sculptures
Iowa City artist Hannah Givler lets the materials around her — including scrap wood, metal and river stones — guide her artistic process. Her work takes on an array of forms and varies in scale from small sculptures to room-sized architectural creations capturing both the simplicity and complexity of her materials. Presented by Artifacts
Posted inCommunity/News
Studio Visit: Photographer David Van Allen
With a style that is as unique as the portraits he creates, photographer David Van Allen invites you inside his Cedar Rapids studio to discuss his process to portraiture. Van Allen has been taking pictures for decades and discusses the common misconception between the subject and the overall image in this Little Village Studio Visit.
