The Muscatine Art Center is pleased to announce the opening of a new exhibit by Iowa City artist, Connie Roberts on June 17 with an artist's reception on Sunday, July 1 from 1 to 5pm in conjunction with the annual Ice Cream Social.

Connie Roberts call herself a "thing maker."  In her work, she bridges the realms of fine art and folk art and tackles many subjects with sharp wit and unrestrained humor. Trained as a figurative painter, Roberts carves and then paints sculpture, which also happens to be whistles. "Every Piece has a whistle somewhere in it - like a signature. I love building sculptures out of wood and complicating the process by making them whistle, so that they become engaging toys as well as art."

Roberts incorporates a variety of wood in her work, occasionally using hardwoods for smaller, more fragile pieces. She uses power tools for major cutting, sanding, and drilling, and dremels for fine carving and finish work. Acrylic paints are then applied to her sculptures, with a final coat of shellac for a mellow patina. Her art is meant for the collector to handle, play with and blow into.

Roberts has had numerous exhibits at art galleries and museums across the nation and has been the subject of multiple publications and contributed artwork to several books.

Collectors of her work include : Jim Leach, Steven Speilberg, Alan Greenspan, Andrea Mitchell, Rudy Guilliani, Whoopi Goldberg, Dick Cheney, John Williams, Penny Marshall, Letitia Baldridge, "The FOnz", Dr. Michael DeBakey, Carole Burnett, Carrie Fisher, Sonny & Gloria Kamm, Phillip Cooke, Erica Jong and more.

Roberts work is shown in the Stanley Gallery with Pieced Elegance: Quilts by Clara Oleson and will be on view through September 2, 2012.

In conjunction with Iowa Museum Week, June 11-17, the Muscatine Art Center is hosting a FREE Behind-the-Scenes Tour for those interested in visiting working areas normally off limits to the public. Have you ever wondered what goes on behind the scenes at the Muscatine Art Center?  Now you can learn where and how collection items are documented, stored, and preserved. Join us for an up close and personal tour of the treasures from the Art Center's permanent collection, guided by MAC staff.  Join a tour group for a truly unique experience as you learn about how the museum operates from the inside out and have your individual questions answered by the staff.  This event will take place on Thursday, June 14, from 5:30 PM to 6:45 PM.

HIGHLIGHTS:

• Rarely seen cool stuff from the permanent collection.
• Collection storage areas including the textile and print rooms and "hidden"  storage areas in the Musser Museum.
• The original Musser Carriage House and Musser Museum basement.
• Explanation of how museums keep track of collections.

BOOKING INFORMATION:

• Tours are limited to a maximum of 12 people.
• Tours are for adults and children over 12 years of age (12-16 year olds need to be accompanied by an adult).
• Tour duration is approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes.
• As a courtesy to other participants, please be on time.
• Accessibility is somewhat limited, as they cover areas not generally open to the public. Please notify us at the time of booking of any special requirements and we will let you know if this tour is a good match for you.
• For security reasons, you may not take mobile phones, cameras, other electrical equipment, bags, food or drinks on the tour. All personal items must be checked before the tour departs.

Call NOW to reserve a place in the Muscatine Art Center's Behind-the-Scenes experience!

EVENT DETAILS:

What: Muscatine Art Center's Behind-the-Scenes Tour

Who: Hosted by Muscatine Art Center staff

When: Thursday, June 14, 2012

Time: 5:30-6:45 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center

Admission to this program is FREE, pre-registration is required.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at

563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from

10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM Admission is FREE.

The public is invited to join the Muscatine Art Center in welcoming Carol Ehlers, art history speaker, as she presents a 45 minute lecture on the art of French painter and sculptor Henri Matisse. The lecture will take place Thursday, May 24 at 5:30 pm in the Muscatine Art Center's Music Room. Admission is free.

Henri Matisse was an artist known as a draftsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter and for his use of color. Matisse was one of the leaders of the "Fauves", a group of painters united by their use of fresh color, pure pigments and distortion of form. Years later he would be hailed as a champion of the classical tradition in French painting. His mastery of the expressive language of color and drawing, displayed in a body of work spanning over a half-century, won him recognition as a leading figure in modern art.

Henri->mile-Benoît Matisse was born December 31, 1869 in France. He first started to paint in 1889, after his mother brought him art supplies while he recovered from appendicitis. He discovered "a kind of paradise" as he later described it, and decided to become an artist, deeply disappointing his father, who wanted him to study law.

In late 1890's Matisse was introduced to Post-Impressionism, which changed his style completely. Many of Matisse's paintings from 1898 to 1901 make use of the pointillist technique he adopted from Georges Seurat and Paul Signac.

Later in life and wheelchair-bound, Matisse started creating cut paper collages, called gouaches découpés. He called this technique "painting with scissors". In 1951 he finished a four-year project of designing the interior, the glass windows and the decorations of the Chapelle du Rosaire de Vence, often referred to as the Matisse Chapel. Matisse died of a heart attack at the age of 84 in 1954.

In 1992 the Muscatine Art Center's collections were significantly enriched by a gift of twenty-seven works of art by Toulouse-Lautrec, Matisse, Degas, Boudin, Chagall, Renoir, and other European artists. The collection was a gift from the estate of Mary Musser Gilmore in honor of her parents, Richard Drew Musser and Sarah Walker Musser. The paintings are on permanent display in the Laura Musser Mansion.

EVENT DETAILS:

Lecture: "The Wonderful World of Color: Henri Matisse"

Who: Carol Ehlers

When: Thursday, May 24, 2012

Time: 5:30 PM

Where: The Muscatine Art Center's Music Room

Admission to this program is FREE.

Please contact Katy Doherty, Program Coordinator, with any questions or concerns at  563-263-8282 or by email at kdoherty@muscatineiowa.gov.

The Muscatine Art Center is open to the public Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 10 AM to 5 PM, Thursday from 10 AM to 7 PM and Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 5 PM Admission is FREE.