Iowa Wesleyan hosts second annual ‘Colors of Summer’ art show

More than 60 pieces of art created by 22 artists from Henry County are currently on display in the Iowa Wesleyan Art Gallery as part of the second annual 'Colors of Summer” art show.

Annie Guldberg, board member of Mt. Pleasant Arts Impact, said the number of artists and work has grown from last year, which was their inaugural year. At that time, artists were selected to participate based on timing of the event. This year participation was opened up to the community.

'This year we wanted to do it again but we had more time so we wanted to open it up as kind of a call for art and we wanted to open it up to all of Henry County,” she said.

Guldberg said she was excited to give people an opportunity to show their work because there are not many opportunities like this in the area. She said a problem people face with going to larger shows is that they need a certain amount of work. For people who have full-time jobs and do art on the side, this is perfect, she said. This opened doors for artists to be able to communicate with each other and ask questions other artists may have the answer to.

'I've had a lot of back-and-forth with several people and kind of helped them with some tricks of the trade as far as framing and how to price things, so that was really good,” she said. 'That's what the Mt. Pleasant Arts Impact wants to do: enhance the arts and culture in Mt. Pleasant.”

All art on display was 2D and 3D art and ranged from photography to oil painting to sculptures. She said having an art show in Mt. Pleasant that features local artists is important because the talent is there, they just need a place to show it off.

'There's a lot of people here that are doing amazing work and I've heard a lot of feedback from people that they didn't know we had this much talent right here in our community,” she said. 'I think art really enriches people's lives; both the people that make it and the people that come in and view it.”

Anne Klingensmith, a professor of art at Iowa Wesleyan University, both had art on display at the gallery and was there to support a students art as well. Heidi Tousignant, of Mt. Pleasant, recently graduated from Iowa Wesleyan with an art degree and was excited to be in her first show that was not for school.

She said being able to show off her art in a place that was just down the street from where she lives is a thrill because it offers an opportunity to share what she loves with the people she loves. Klingensmith agreed with her, saying because of all the talent in the Henry County area, having a local art show is a great way to unite people.

'It's a god way for the community to bring another community together,” she said.

The 'Colors of Summer” will be on display for the public to view in the Iowa Wesleyan Art Gallery Monday-Thursday from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Fridays from 8 a.m. until 12 p.m..