The use of found objects carries an up-front challenge to artists. Do you try to transform the identity of the "junk" by visually turning it into something else? Or do you accept the object (and all of its cultural baggage) for what it is and shape your artistic statement to incorporate the materials and their recognizability?

This was one of many issues faced by several local artists who participated in the Mississippi Palette project this year. The artists teamed up with the Artists Advisory Council, high-school and college students, environmentalist Chad Pregracke, and his Living Lands & Waters organization to create eight found-material sculptures.

When it comes to art, most artists will tell you that the excitement, or the magic, actually happens during the creative process. And that usually happens in the studio.

But deciding what represents an ideal studio space will hinge on several factors. The nature of your work places demands on what type, size, and character of studio space you need, for instance. And while an open-to-the-public studio might bring the twin benefits of exposure and sales, it can also make it difficult to work.

The Caped Crusader crashes through the window. A spray of glass shards partially melds into the two loosely rendered gray figures. Their ominous shapes and the frantic motion of the broken glass add tension to the pugilistic struggle that ensues. That is just part of the skull-thumping, chain-bursting action to be found in the Figge Art Museum's Comics, Heroes, & American Visual Culture, an exhibition light on context but rich with exciting visuals.

Roughly 150 years ago in Europe, Impressionist and young Post- Impressionist artists were first delighting in the ukiyo-e, wood-block prints from Japan.

These images portrayed popular Japanese actors and courtesans, illustrated well-known stories and plays, showed views of landscapes with everyday people, and documented scenes from ordinary life. These inexpensive prints were wildly popular in Japan, and became a huge influence on 19th Century European artists. These prints changed art history, and as surprising as they seem now, they were even more startling in mid-19th Century Europe.