Work by Lori Illner Greene in the Pop-up January 3 – 21, 2025 followed by student work from her Draw What You See class for ages 10 and up

An artist’s refocus and drawing class work Pop-Up Gallery for January

The Pop-up Gallery at the FMAAA Art Center located at 825 Avenue G in Fort Madison provides local artists with opportunities to display shorter duration shows and collections of work. It is also the perfect display space to showcase work being developed during art center classes.  The month of January 2025 features a collection of work by area artist and former Executive Director of the FMAAA, Lori Illner Greene in the first half of the month, and a rotating display of student work from drawing classes for youth and adults that she will be instructing for the last half of the month. Illner Greene recently submitted her resignation desiring to return to her studio arts practice after almost four years of providing leadership for the Fort Madison Area Arts Association and their FMAAA Art Center. She will remain active as a member artist and instructor, assisting on volunteer committees that have been formed to fulfill some of her previous roles.

Currently on display now through Tuesday January 21, 2025, Illner Greene traces her work as a pastel artist through her more recent experiments with sculpture and encaustics (pigmented beeswax.) The encaustic pieces derive from pastel and/or oil painted imagery incorporated with both natural and pigmented beeswax. Some of these 2D surfaces feature sculptural elements or inclusions. Found materials and ideas reflecting both place and a repurposing of matter and energy make their way into the sculptural work of Illner Greene. A sculpture on display is of a large cracking woodchip, reminiscent of a bird’s wing, with sculptural materials both binding the cracks and metaphorically drawing attention to the unseen energy flowing away from the wood as it will continue to breakdown over time. This artist develops work with elements of realism fused with her conceptual ideas of repurposed energy and matter stating, “the same energy that powers the universe exists in and manifests all things and it repurposes endlessly.” Returning to her own arts practice includes making more time for studio instruction. A particular favorite is teaching people to draw what they see in our 3D world onto a 2D surface. Illner Greene says, “I really get a kick when participants confront that challenge of translating what they see down through their fingers onto a flat surface, developing a composition that is actually believable.” She uses time honored materials she learned with like vine charcoal and newsprint to begin the lessons, advancing to compressed charcoal and quality paper for more finished drawings later. Illner Greene continues, “Translating a still life set up into a finished drawing can be hard, and this can be a bit frustrating to work through. But then something clicks and the angles, spacing and shadows begin to look realistic.” Illner Greene is offering drawing classes for youth and adults in January and again in March at the FMAAA Art Center. These progressive classes are for beginners and intermediate skill levels for youth (age 10 and above) and adults seeking drawing fundamentals. The goal is to build skills and confidence that participants can take with them and continue to develop