“Flat Rib Vessel,” clay
Esther Maher

“Clay Pendant”
Esther Maher

“Mourning,” watercolor
Barbara Unrein

“Snowbound,” watercolor
Barbara Unrein

“Tlinglit Crow Pattern Button Blanket”
Robert E. Button

“Hawkface Dance Mask,”
wood carving
Robert E. Button

“Waiting Dockside,” acrylic
Barbara Unrein

July 11, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Story by: Linda Jerke
                                                                                                        
Shafer Gallery Exhibit Showcases Advisory Committee, Part II

Local artists and art educators who share their expertise on an advisory committee for Barton Community College’s Shafer Gallery have been exhibiting their work in the gallery this summer. Part II of the Shafer Gallery Advisory Committee Exhibit opened July 7, featuring the works of Great Bend artists Robert E. Button, Barbara Unrein and Esther Maher.

The artists will be honored with a reception from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday, July 13. They will be available at the reception to visit with gallery visitors about their work. Part II of the advisory committee exhibit will continue through Aug. 17.

Known for his knowledge of American Indians and his wood carvings reflecting their culture, Button is exhibiting works showing two major themes, American Indian traditions and birds. The exhibit includes seven kachinas, several other small sculptures representing various tribes, and his recreations of objects used by the Tlingit people of the Pacific Northwest. A retired farmer, Button has been a wood carver since the 1970s, and for many years, his carvings have reflected his interests in archaeology and the American Indian.

Unrein’s exhibit includes four acrylic seascapes, five watercolor landscapes, and several still life pieces. Her seascapes are reminiscent of a family trip she took to the East Coast. A graduate of the University of Missouri, Unrein has been involved in art in Great Bend for many years. She has been a part of the local artists’ group known as the IV Aquarians since the early 1970s.

Maher is noted for her work in ceramics and watercolor. In this exhibit, she shows 19 ceramic pieces including bowls, vases and jewelry. She has had an interest in art since her early years growing up in Victoria, where as a seventh grader, she won a national art contest. A longtime resident of Great Bend, she began taking art classes at Barton in 1975 and her work branched into three-dimensional art about a year later.

All Shafer Gallery exhibits are presented in part by the Kansas Arts Commission, a state agency, and the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency.

Gallery hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and 1 to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The gallery is closed on Saturdays. For more information, contact Shafer Gallery director Megan Benitz, 620-7920-9342.