Pat Edwards is a small, soft-spoken woman, and her oil paintings are also small and soft-spoken. However, there is a quiet power in her person and in her work. The Catich Gallery at St. Ambrose University is currently featuring Here and There, an exhibit of her paintings that will be on display through April 22.
When it was unveiled last September, the Quad Cities Arts, Heritage, & Cultural Tourism Plan was a mass of good ideas and tough questions. While many issues remain, a pair of meetings held Monday represented tentative progress in one major area: where the money might come from.

Photo Synthesis

From time to time, we'll publish the photography of Scott A. McMeekan, with the goal of showcasing his images and prompting new artwork. We'd like our readers to respond to his work in some form. We plan to publish the best responses alongside the original photograph in a future issue.
Editor's note: This is the debut of a new feature in the River Cities' Reader highlighting news, events, and other information about local libraries. • In celebration of William Shakespeare's birthday, the Rock Island Public Library will present "A Whole Lotta Shakespeare Going On," hosting many Shakespeare-related activities for the culture hound.
When I walked into MidCoast Gallery West in Rock Island to see the current exhibit featuring works by B. Thomas Lytle and Steve Banks, my senses were bombarded. I was overwhelmed by the number and disparateness of pieces on display, and didn't really know where to begin.
The Quad City Arts Center's Garden Show is a bright and cheerful exhibit that invites spring to come and stay a while. All participating artists were juried by Quad City Arts after a call for entry. The seven artists selected for the Garden Show were invited to take part because of the common theme in their art - flowers and nature.
Hella is a band from Sacramento, California. But Zach Hill wants you to know that Hella is also a person. Sort of. Hella is "a musical thing that became a person unto itself," Hill said. "There's such an evolution.
I was greeted by myriad colors and shapes as I entered the MidCoast Fine Arts Gallery in LeClaire to see its current exhibit. Lisa Mahar's three-dimensional, functional art is unfettered and bold, while Leslie Bell's more muted portraits and figure paintings are sensual and evocative.
Iowa's agricultural abundance, natural landscapes, and teeming wildlife are themes that tie together the work of Iowa artists Larsh Bristol, Douglas Eckheart, and Brian Roberts, currently on exhibit at Quad City Arts in Rock Island.
As I walked into MidCoast Gallery West in downtown Rock Island, I was immediately transported back in time to my grandfather's garage in upstate New York. The image was complete, from the old dusty equipment whose purpose and use were a mystery, to the used license plates adorning the walls where the grimy pegboard paneling didn't quite cover.

Pages