Thursday Night Lineup Offers Nooks and Crannies Tour

Visit every floor, peek into closed rooms, and satisfy curiosity through this all-access pass to the Brucemore mansion during the Nooks and Crannies Tour on September 11 at 5:30 p.m. Marvel at the Skinner player pipe organ room, discover the architectural oddities in the attic, and experience the sight and sound of a "rain storm" in the basement Tahitian Room. Examine the superior craftsmanship and learn about ongoing preservation work. The tour is not recommended for children under ten or individuals who have difficulty walking or climbing stairs. Admission is $15 per person and $12 per Brucemore member. Space is limited; purchase tickets online at www.brucemore.org or by calling (319) 362-7375.

The Nooks and Crannies Tour is part of Brucemore's Thursday Night Lineup. Every Thursday night Brucemore will feature a different specialty tour focusing on topics for all interests, including arts and culture, Midwestern industry, gardening, landscape design, architecture, preservation, behind-the-scenes at Brucemore, and growing up in the early twentieth century. For more information on the Thursday Night Lineup or other upcoming tours, visit www.brucemore.org or call (319) 362-7375.

About Brucemore

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– Join a national park ranger for an evening family campfire program at Herbert Hoover National Historic Site on Saturday, September 6. The program is free and begins at 7:30 p.m. The ranger will lead family activities and tell ghost stories around the fire.

The campfire program takes place on the village green at the intersection of Parkside Drive and Main Street in historic downtown West Branch.  Visitors and their families are welcome to bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on, and toasting sticks, marshmallows, and ingredients for s`mores.

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

The Muscatine Art Center is kicking off the school year with some changes to its "For Tots" program. In August, a group of parents and caregivers met with Art Center staff to discuss ways to strengthen the program which targets children ages 2 to 5. High on the list were offering different times of day so that children in morning preschool can continue with the program during the school year and occasional evening classes to accommodate work schedules.

Starting in September, the Art Center will now offer the "For Tots" program on the first and third Wednesdays at 9:30 a.m., every Thursday at 1:30 p.m., and the first Thursday of the month at 5:30 p.m.

In addition to making changes to the schedule, the Art Center staff has fine-tuned the program with a new recurring structure for each class. When children arrive, they will begin an introductory activity such as sorting objects from a sensory box, building towers with multi-shaped blocks, and creating flowers from tissue paper. The introductory activities vary each week and tie with the theme of the day. Following the introductory activity, children will listen to a story that connects to the theme of the day. After the story, children will then complete the main project of day and later receive a supplemental project as a take home activity or to complete at the Art Center, should the child finish ahead of the group.

Each month will also have a different theme. In September, children will focus on a different artist each week. In October, they will explore the five senses. Principles of art is the theme for the month of November so students will explore line one week, shape in the next, and color in the third week.

The staff at the Art Center is excited about the projects for this fall. "There is a wide variety of activities ranging from painting with shaving cream to exploring optical illusion and making a sculpture with fruit pieces to creating paper cuts in the style of Henri Matisse." There are also some terrific children's books, such as "Lines that Wiggle", "Monsters Don't Eat Broccoli", and "Duck! Rabbit!", included in the fall sessions.

The new fall class brochure is now out. To request a copy, contact the Muscatine Art Center at 563-263-8282.

The Muscatine Art Center is located at 1314 Mulberry Avenue in Muscatine, Iowa. Hours are Tuesday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursday evenings until 7:00 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 1:00 to 5:00 p.m. Admission is free. Donations are appreciated.

Liam O'Neill: Big Turnings

Davenport, Iowa (August 14, 2014) - The Bechtel Plaza in front of the Figge Art Museum will become an outdoor woodshop starting Monday when internationally acclaimed Irish wood artist Liam O'Neill sets up shop for the Liam O'Neill: Big Turnings project.

O'Neill will be constructing a temporary woodturning lathe made of cast concrete that he will use to create a large-scale turned wood sculpture. The raw material will be a locally sourced tree trunk provided by the Davenport city arborist.

Over the course of four weeks, the three feet in diameter and six feet long tree trunk, will be transformed into a throne or chair. The piece will be sculpted first using chainsaws followed by finer tools and concluding with sandblasting and torching to achieve the desired finish.

Figge visitors will be able to interact with the artist on an ongoing and informal basis while he is creating the sculpture. O'Neill will work on the plaza August 18-22, September 4-6 and September 9-13 (dates are subject to change).

Visitors are invited to view the progress of the sculpture while the concrete cures during the Beaux Arts Fair on September 6-7.

The finished piece will be placed on long-term exhibition in the downtown Davenport RiverCenter Adler Theatre in front of a large window that overlooks the Mississippi River.

Liam O'Neill's artist residency and the Big Turnings project are funded in part by the Downtown Davenport Partnership, Alcoa, the City of Davenport and the Collectors of Wood Art.

Artist's Schedule:

Please note these dates are subject to change
August 18-22 (preparation work/concrete to be poured 8/22)
September 4-6 (sculpture will begin being formed)
September 9-13 (final touches) 

About Liam O'Neill:

O'Neill is an internationally acclaimed wood artist who has exhibited his work across the United States. He began as an apprentice under John Shiel in Bagenalstown, Ireland, and worked for nearly 11 years setting up and managing the woodturning section of Retos, a rehabilitation facility for adults

with disabilities in Shannon, County Clare. O'Neill also was influential in establishing the Irish Woodturners Guild.From 1983 to 1985, O'Neill won First Prize in the Royal Dublin Society's Craft Competition (Wood Turning Section). In 1984, he was awarded the Dr. Muriel Gahan Scholarship to the U.S.A. to travel and study with leading American wood turners. He built his first large scale outdoor lathe in 1997, and has continued to develop and refine his outdoor works since then.

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.