Davenport, Iowa (January 15, 2014) - Kids Design Glass, sponsored locally by U.S. Bank, will open at the Figge Art Museum on Saturday. This traveling exhibition of 52 colorful glass sculptures, along with the original drawings that inspired them, originated as an educational program where master glass artists from the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington selected drawings of mythical monsters by local school children and turned them into glass sculptures.

The exhibition explores the creative process, from pure imagination to advanced technical skills. As Benjamin W. Cobb, one of the lead artists on the project, wrote in the exhibition catalog, "For the kids, it is several minutes of creativity and fun in the studio. For the glassblowers, the program means several hours of sweating it out in the Hot Shop, staying true to a design with unrealistic dimensions, unforgiving irregularities, and strange color combinations...we, the glassblowers, have to let go of everything we have learned about symmetry, form, color and perfection and embrace an artistry that colors outside the lines."

To personalize the experience of presenting Kids Design Glass at the Figge, a drawing by a young artist (12 and under) from the Quad Cities will be selected by the Hot Shop artists from the Museum of Glass. The lucky child's artwork will be translated into a glass sculpture. This process will be streamed live from the Hot Shop in Tacoma, Washington from 2-7 p.m. on March 30 in the Figge Art Museum auditorium. The contest will run from February 1 - February 22. Visit www.figgeartmuseum.org for an entry form.

Kids Design Glass will be on view through May 4, 2014.  

Companion Programming:

FREE Family Day

10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Beat the winter blues during this family celebration. Explore the amazing world of glass and video through art projects, gallery quests and more. $5 burger baskets will be served in the Dining Room until 1:30 p.m.

Kids Talk about Kids Design Glass

7 p.m. Thursday, March 6

Melissa Mohr, director of education, introduces the exhibition. Local children will also share their perspectives.

Art Talk: Kids Design Glass

7 p.m. Thursday, March 20

Alex Stisser, one of the original Hot Shop artists, will discuss the exhibition and his involvement with the initial project at the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington.

Kids Design Glass LIVE 

2-7 p.m. Sunday, March 30

Join the local winner of the Kids Design Glass drawing contest as he/she Skypes with the glass team from the Museum of Glass in Tacoma, Washington live in the Figge Art Museum auditorium. Watch as the glass sculpture comes to life on the live feed.

Kids Design Glass Exhibition Tours 

1:30 p.m. Saturdays • February 1, 15, 22 and March 8, 29

1:30 p.m. Sundays • February 2 and March 16

About the Figge Art Museum 

The Figge Art Museum is located on the riverfront in downtown Davenport at 225 West Second Street. Hours are from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday and Sundays 12-5 p.m. Thursdays the museum is open until 9 p.m. Admission to the museum and tour is $7. Admission is free to Figge members and institutional members and free to all on Thursday evenings from 5 p.m. - 9 p.m. To contact the museum, please call 563.326.7804, or visit www.figgeartmuseum.org.

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Red Cedar Chamber Music Performs He's Gone Away

Red Cedar Chamber Music presents He's Gone Away at Brucemore on Saturday, February 22 at 8:00 p.m. Flutist Jan Boland, guitarist John Dowdall, tenor Jonathan Dyrland, narrator Michael Zahs, and actor Susie Streit commemorate the sesquicentennial of the American Civil War with a blend of nineteenth-century American music, readings from Iowa Civil War letters, and stories about Iowa's role in our nation's greatest conflict.  The poignant Appalachian ballad, He's Gone Away, and letters between a Washington, Iowa soldier and his wife highlight the challenges faced by women left at home, while stories of Iowa nurses reveal contributions women made on the battlefield.  A champagne and dessert reception will be held during intermission.

Tickets are $35 per person or $30 per Brucemore member.  Space is limited; purchase tickets online at www.brucemore.org, by telephone at (319) 362-7375, or by visiting the Brucemore Store.

The He's Gone Away concert provides a natural partnership between two local cultural organizations?nineteenth-century chamber music in a nineteenth-century parlor. As artists in residence at Brucemore in 1983, Jan Boland and John Dowdall began performing nineteenth-century music on period instruments?an 1830 wooden flute and an 1830 gut-strung guitar. Currently celebrating its seventeenth season, Red Cedar Chamber Music continually strives to reach, challenge, and expand audiences that rarely have the opportunity to attend chamber music performances. Red Cedar Chamber musicians inform and entertain audiences, engaging them with lively commentary about the music, composers, and instruments. Their first recording, Czech Chamber Music, received a Critics' Choice award from the American Record Guide, which stated, "Chamber music should be just like this?intimate, bonding, and conversational." For more information about Red Cedar Chamber Music or other performances, visit www.redcedar.org or call (319) 377-8028.

Experience Brucemore, an unparalleled blend of tradition and culture, located at 2160 Linden Drive SE, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. At the heart of the historic 26-acre estate stands a nineteenth-century mansion filled with the stories of three Cedar Rapids families.  Concerts, theater, programs, and tours enliven the site and celebrate the heritage of a community.  For more information, call (319) 362-7375 or visit www.brucemore.org.

WEST BRANCH, IOWA– Herbert Hoover National Historic Site invites visitors to attend free winter ranger programs in 2014.

Join a park ranger at 10 a.m. on January 18 for a one-hour "Snowshoe Through the Park". The park has some snowshoes to lend. Call (319) 643-2541 to reserve a pair. The hike is suitable for ages 5 and up, will begin at Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum, and will cover less than one mile through the tallgrass prairie. Participants must have sturdy boots, and should dress appropriately for the weather and bring water.

Dr. Richard Baker continues his lecture series "Geology of the National Parks", with presentations focusing on Everglades (January 15) and Arches and Canyonlands (February 19). The lectures begin at the visitor center of Herbert Hoover National Historic Site at 7 p.m. and last about one hour.

President's Day weekend will be a good opportunity to learn more about our 31st President. On Saturday, February 15 a park ranger discusses "Herbert Hoover's National Parks": special places like Arches, Isle Royale, George Washington Birthplace, Sunset Crater Volcano, and other national parks and monuments preserved by Herbert Hoover's administration. The presentation begins at 2 p.m. in the visitor center.

Following "Herbert Hoover's National Parks" on February 15 will be the grand opening of the historic site's new permanent exhibits from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. The new exhibits the stories of President Hoover's childhood in West Branch and how he later helped develop this park which commemorates his life. Refreshments will be offered.

On Saturday, March 29 a park ranger will examine "The Undying Legacy of President Hoover": the many places, events, and objects named in his honor. Archival photos and documents will illustrate his range of influence and the variety of ways he legacy carries on today. Audience members will be invited to share their own remembrances of Herbert Hoover during the program. Meet at the visitor center at 2 p.m.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site and the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum are in West Branch, Iowa at exit 254 off I-80. Both are open daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Time. For more information go online at www.nps.gov/heho or call (319) 643-2541.

Herbert Hoover National Historic Site

110 Parkside Drive

PO Box 607

West Branch, Iowa 52358

319 643-2541 phone

319 643-7864 fax

www.nps.gov/heho

Twitter: @HooverNPS

Facebook: HerbertHooverNHS