OUR STORIES HAVE A NEW HOME

Please go to http://stories.dbqartcenter.org to read the most current updates on our projects, programs, and the huge community impact we are having in and around Dubuque.

'All You Need Is Love'...and a little help from Matter!

Don't forget Valentine's Day is right around the corner - Sunday, February 14th! Whatever you wish to say to your loved one this Valentine's Day, Matter is the perfect place to find that special something. From the downright sweet "Cupcake" apron by Maria DeJong, $34.99, to the absolutely exquisite Goddess Adornments by Andrea Grace, (necklaces and earrings handcrafted from iridescent glass). $24 per pair of earrings, $100-$225 per necklace.

Or say it in writing with beautiful cards by Exquisite Letterpress, based in Dubuque, Iowa's Historic Millwork District! Exquisite Letterpress utilizes the finest papers made especially for fountain pen and calligrapher's quill. To read more about their process, check out their website: www.exquisiteletterpress.com.

"Letters Mingle Souls", $6.50.

"Love Conquers All", $6.50.

"Love", $6.50

Stop in to Matter today to check out our wide selection of great giftables!

Diorama time!

Winter art camp was a lot of fun here at the Center.  Kids had a lot of fun creating a wide variety of artwork during the four days.  Looking for more opportunities to be creative?  Click here to check out the DAC's youth art programs, and stay tuned for summer art camp, (Registration will open in February).

Creative Kids

Here are some shots of the Dubuque Art Center's school-based programs.  These students really love pushing their creative boundaries to invent fun pieces of art.  Just look at those smiles!

New Products for the New Year!

Exciting news! New modern-twist placemats have arrived at Matter Design Store :)

The "Matrix" placemat, only $18.99!

"Grid" placemat available in gray with red dots (above) and green with gray dots (below). With temperatures falling, who couldn't use a little infusion of color this winter? Again, only $18.99!

Please be sure to stop by the store and check out more great new products (pics and info forthcoming), as well as our post-holiday clearance items, still available for a limited time!

New Adult and Youth Classes forming NOW!

You have polished off all the christmas cookies, recycled your old wrapping paper, and made the trip back to home sweet home.  So, now what?  Well, here at the Dubuque Art Center our adult and youth classes are just about to start up - so get out of your house and chase away those winter blues!

Our Adult session has more than 8 great classes, including Guitar, Pottery, Stained Glass, Watercolor, and Acrylic painting!  Click here to view our adult classes

Our youth program is offering more than 10 different classes throughout January, February, and March, but they are filling up fast!  There are only a couple spots left, so register today before they are all full!  Click here to view our youth classes

We look forward to seeing you in this winter.  And don't forget, pottery painting is open every day except for Monday!

New Products

Here are some new products available at Matter Design Store.  Also, stop in to get some great deals on select POST-HOLIDAY clearance items!

New Midsummer light available in white/red!  This is a sweet light, and only $49.99!  Designed by Studio Tord Boontje

Speaking of sweet lights, the new Phrena Light will make an amazing chandelier or make any corner unique.  $79.99.  Designed by Karl Zahn

Christmas has passed, but the Xmas light designed by Studio Tord Boontje and distributed by Artecnica will keep your spirits warm this winter!  Looks great all year round, especially for only $49.99.

These baskets by FUZ are made out of recycled rubber and are a great way to store knick-knacks in your home.  Available in two sizes, they fold flat when not in use.  Small - $24.99, Large $44.99

It's Christmas time!

Creative Aging gets Festive!

Holiday Oraments Now Available!

The Dubuque Art Center has a great selection of paint your own ornaments!  These great little pieces of art will be a treasured keepsake on your tree for years to come.  They come white, what they look like in the end is up to you.  We have globes, Santa Claus, and Reindeer, all only $8 each.

Independent Study

Liz recently began a new chapter at the DAC as an independent study student in pottery.  After taking her beginning pottery class she decided she wanted to continue having the joy of clay in her life and is now pursuing her own projects throughout the week.  If you are considering an independent study stop putting it off and start your creative growth again today!  Only $30 a month + clay.

Creative Aging-Giving Thanks

As the holidays roll around I asked the students in our creative aging program "What are you thankful for?" With most of them being 70+ I was not sure what they would say. "I am happy for my health." says Mary very joyously. "I am just thankful to be here with all of you." stated Althina. Many others began to comment on being thankful for their health and families.

So we began to create a cornucopia of images and text that we are thankful for. Using watercolor and crayons the residents of Sunset Park Place really enjoyed playing with color. Our more advanced group was really asking lots of questions, wanting to know how to make shadows, how to form a better perspective, etc. Joyce, a woman who loves to draw, even stepped outside of her box and took up the challenge of the paintbrush. The entire time she complained about it, but she never gave up. By the time she had finished she had a lovely painting done.

It's so great to see these students continuing to take risks and to grow into well rounded, fuller people. The more we meet for class with each other, the more relationships we build and the more interest occurs in how to become better artists. It is such a joy to be able to work with this generation. They are really a prime example of how learning is a lifelong process.

Next week we are looking forward to doing an inter-generational class with the residents and their family members. Just another way the Dubuque Art Center is creating a better community through creativity.

Introducing Dubuque Art Theatre

We are pleased to announce the addition of Dubuque Art Theatre to the DAC's programming.  Our newest branch, the Dubuque Art Theatre will be performing three different plays this upcoming summer, for a total of 13 performances.  The best part, each performance is FREE!  Check them out at http://www.dbqarttheatre.org.

Lots of Paint Your Own

Check out all the pottery painting that happened this week at the Dubuque Art Center!  Lots of fun and functional art pieces being created every day - stop by Tuesday-Friday between 12-8 or Saturday and Sunday between 11-7 to paint your pottery.  Call 563.556.0117 for more details or to schedule a private event or holiday party (you can even bring food and drinks - YAY!).

Squares, Glitter and Kids = FUN!

These past two weeks at the Lincoln Elementary
Arts Enrichment program the students have been studying animals and their habitats. Through reading articles in magazines and being able to draw from the pictures they see, these kids were able to produce some amazing mosaics!

Each child worked very diligently gluing down each square and as I looked out among the classroom there was a hum of busy-ness and happiness in the air! Check out the amazing Bald Eagle!

Adult Guitar Classes

Our beginning adult guitar classes finished recently, and everyone had a blast!  As I walked by the door of the classroom I heard refrains of "Margaritaville" and "Horse with No Name" as students (many of whom had never touched a guitar) found ways to express themselves through music.  Chatting with students many were excited to continue learning on their own until we set up the intermediate guitar class.  A common sentiment was "I always wanted to learn, I just never really took the time to do it."  These students had the opportunity to work with Dan Caraway, a professional guitarist who also teaches classes at Grinnell and Cornell Colleges.  Dan believes that guitar classes are a great way to meet new people, take time to have fun, and (of course) finally learn to play!  The next beginner class starts January 11 - sign up now to secure your spot:  http://dbqartcenter.org/Adult_Classes.html 

Michael Chase Cares About Art

Michael Chase found out that his company, BP, has a charitable fund called Fabric of America.  As a BP employee, Michael can have the Fabric of America fund donate up to $500 to any non-profit of his choice.  Michael thought about all the great community programs that the Dubuque Art Center is offering and decided that free art classes for kids was something he wanted to support.  Michael's $500 contribution will buy a lot of art supplies - Thank you Michael.

If your company has a matching donation program please consider supporting the Dubuque Art Center's free community program by making a contribution today.  Contact us for more information!

Happenings at Lincoln

Lots Happening at the Art Center!

Tuesday night was a busy night at the art center!  We had pottery and watercolor classes, as well as a group of ladies who were enjoying an evening painting pottery!  The energy was great and everyone had a blast being creative.

Thanks to Kristine

A big thanks to Kristine Jubeck for donating over $300 worth of stained glass supplies to the Dubuque Art Center.  Her contributions will help us provide more opportunities to adults in our community and help keep our tuition prices low!  If you would like to donate new or slightly used art supplies or equipment, please contact us at info@dbqartcenter.org or 563.556.0117.

Fulton Arts Enrichment

As the holidays draw closer, things at our Fulton After School Program remain busy as ever. This is our most popular program, serving 17 kids each Tuesday and Thursday.

Today, the kids have been commissioned to create holiday greeting cards. The kids were super excited to create Art for someone other than themselves. They put their best efforts forward to create one of a kind holiday happiness for local residents.  These cards will be on sale at Matter Design Store beginning Monday, November 30th.  Each $1 card sold benefits our Art 4 Everyone Scholarship Fund.

We have also been exploring the medium of clay as the kids begin to sculpt out their own puppets. Through this project the kids were able to create their own puppet, writing out it's personality, job, family and activities. While beginning to assemble the bodies of the puppets kids were able to learn basic sewing techniques such as the whip stitch and button sewing. As the needles and threads occupied their hands, not a sound was heard in the class! Way to go Fulton, Keep up the Awesome work!

Matter's Contribution to Kids in the Community

During the giving season, our minds and hearts tend to reach out towards those within our families and communities. Throughout the frenzy of placing check-marks next on wish lists of our loved ones and the reaching out to better lives within the community, it's good to know a place exists where you can do both! Every purchase you make at Matter Design Store funds programs that encourage creativity and personal growth for the children in our community--what a great way to benefit these children's lives, their future, and the future of our community. Stop in and start making a difference!  What you do matters.

Community Arts Education

I just returned from an amazing conference in Minneapolis this weekend.  The National Conference for Community Arts Education is THE premier conference for community schools of art and is a great resource for sharing/gathering best practices in the non-profit arts education field.  There were so many amazing people there, including former chair of the National Endowment for the Arts Bill Ivey and several directors of state arts agencies.  After gathering a whole host of ideas expect to see some new programs rolled out at the Dubuque Art Center this year, as well as advances in the programs we currently offer!  2010 is going to be an amazing year!

Lincoln Arts Enrichment

Last week, we began our newest section of Arts Enrichment After School Program. In addition to Fulton and Prescott Elementaries we are now at Lincoln Elementary. The program has been widely popular as we had more kids sign up than space available in the classroom! On Mondays, we host first and second graders and on Thursdays we work with the third, fourth and fifth graders.

This 6 week program is focusing on giving kids the opportunity to delve into Art in a more intense and hands on approach. We are discovering many different kinds of mediums and techniques such as book making, sculpture, mosaics and collage. As you can see from the above photo, they are loving the spray painting station, where the goal was to learn all the different ways to create texture in our paintings.

This project has been supported by Dr. Donna Loewen, Principal at Lincoln Elementary. She is a true advocate of Arts Enrichment opportunities and believes that these opportunities are vital to creating heathy lifestyles in children.  This project is also made possible by the AmeriCorps Partners in Learning program, which provides funding for the great instructors we have.

It is awesome to be able to form new partnerships with area schools and to be able to knit together a closer community through creativity.

Green Toys

As you hear Christmas music over the radio already one cannot help but to begin to think "What presents am I getting for who?" Well, if you have a young child on your list, your search is over. Green toys is a toy company in California that makes durable & safe plastic toys out of 100% Recycled plastic (mostly old milk cartons). The company is devoted to making toys that are environmentally friendly. For every pound of recycled milk jugs the amount of energy saved is equivalent to: 3,000 AAA batteries, the amount of energy used to power a TV for 3 weeks, and power a laptop for 1 month! Wow! So not only can you feel great about building community and supporting arts through Matter, now you can also reduce greenhouse gasses and make the earth happier. All this while doing your Christmas shopping. Stop in the store and who knows, maybe you'll be able to finish all of your Christmas shopping.

Green Toys:
Dump Truck ($25.99)

Recycling Truck ($25.99)
Tea Set ($25.99)
Tool Set ($25.99)
Cookware and Dining Set ($45.99)

Thanks for reading,

and remember, Matter.

Youth Classes Begin Soon

Remember that our youth classes begin soon!  We are offering a great selection of classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays, check out our website to find the one right for you and your child!  View website >

Creative Aging Program

Wow! I've been to some pretty amazing places in my life these past two years...but none of these places can top what I experienced today!

At nine o'clock on this beautiful, sunny, crisp November morning I packed up my Honda full of art supplies and headed off to Sunset Park Place Retirement Community. It was our first session of the Creative Aging Program that we are starting at the Dubuque Art Center.

As I entered the activity room at 5 minutes to ten, I already had 8 students patiently waiting. They were all very curious about what was going to take place. As I began to unpack and open my supplies, I had one very bright and cheery lady helping me out any way she could, loving the feeling of being useful.

In the next ten minutes people of all abilities started to trickle in. Soon, I had 20 bright eyes staring at me ready to see what we were going to create. I gave a quick demo of drawing materials and some basic watercolor techniques and let them quickly get to work. It was amazing to see their apprehension as the new materials laid by their fingertips. With a little encouragement though, the magic began.

Eyes lit up, grins appeared across faces, old skills came back to life, stories and memories flooded the air! Art awakened their senses that had seemed to be closed for much too long.

Near the end of class, a lady walked in and had a seat. I gave her some watercolors and she asked me "What should I do with this?" I said "Let's just have some fun and see what we can do." Then her story began.

"My name is Margaret she said. I'm 94 years old. I can remember one March day at school when I was 13 years old. On this particular day at school we went for a walk. Our teacher wanted us to draw a picture of what March looked like to us. So, I began to draw a clothesline with the clothes blowing in the wind. I was very proud of my picture. And then all of a sudden, the teacher picked up my artwork and held it up to the class. I was feeling very excited, thinking she liked mine best. Then, all of a sudden, she said to the entire class, "This is the worst picture I have ever seen." I felt terrible and since that day I never did another picture.

After this story, I was shocked! I couldn't believe her teacher had said that, and yet again I could. So many times in Art, we judge our work and feel shame for not being "good" at it. The beauty of Art is that it is neither right or wrong, it's about how our eyes see this world.

So, as I begin to set up my new office space here at the Dubuque Art Center, I feel excited and lucky to be able to create an environment that is safe for the creative process to be explored. After 81 years today, Margaret finally had the opportunity and the courage to take the risk and paint. I will now proudly hang up her first painting at my new desk. Do you know what it is? It's a beautiful clothesline with clothes blowing in the wind!

--Jess Stoffel, Youth Programs Director

Creative Aging Program Begins!

The Dubuque area has a large population of senior citizens (roughly 15% of our metro population).  In order to help build community we have begun our Creative Aging Program, aimed at giving seniors in assisted living facilities the joy of learning new ways to be creative.  The focus of this program is "storytelling" and participants will use painting, drawing, and mixed media to create pieces that express their personal stories.  This program is led by Jess Stoffel, and interested volunteers are encouraged to contact her for more information at jess@dbqartcenter.org.

$500 Contribution from the Noon Optimist Club!

A big thank you to the Noon Optimist Club for their contribution of $500 dollars to our free arts enrichment programs.  This group understands the more art experiences children have the better they do both academically and socially.  A special thank you to Bob Sullivan for helping the Dubuque Art Center secure this gift and to all the Optimists for their continued support for building a stronger community through creativity.  If you are part of a service organization that understand how important art is for kids, please consider making a contribution to the Dubuque Art Center - we are an effective, energetic organization that is causing positive changes in our community.

Paint Your Own Pottery Parties

The Dubuque Art Center's paint your own pottery studio is a great place to have a birthday party!  Just ask this lucky young lady (back left corner) and her friends.  They had a blast creating one-of-a-kind artwork that they will be able to use long after their cake is gone!  The Dubuque Art Center's low prices and relaxed atmosphere make it ideas for any group outing, including ladies' nights, scout troops, and much more.  You can even bring in food and drinks at no extra charge!  Call us at 563.556.0117 to schedule your next get-together today.

Downtown Kiwanis Contribute to Youth Mentoring

The Downtown Kiwanis are a special group dedicated to making the world a better place.  This past week they contributed $500 to the Dubuque Art Center's Youth Mentoring Program, which helps at-risk youth by pairing them with artists in order to explore creative talents and spend time with a caring, attentive adult.  While still young, our youth mentoring program is helping build our community through creativity, one child at a time.  If you or your business would like to support the Dubuque Art Center's community programs, please click here to get more information.