The HeArt of VALA are the Artists & The Creative Spirit that exists here...
KIDNEY TRANSPLANT INSPIRES CONTEMPORARY ART
Larry Thomas received a Master of Arts degree, and a Master of Fine Arts
degree in printmaking from the University of lowa. He has been in over seventy
regional, national, and international exhibitions, including one-person, two-person,
invitational, competitive, and group exhibitions. His work is in more
than sixty corporate and public collections, including the Daum Museum of
Contemporary Art, the Nerman Museum of Contemporary Art, and numerous
private collections. He has taught at Johnson County Community College
since 1991 and is currently Professor and Chair of the Fine Arts Department.
MISSION, Kan. – It’s art with a heart – and more – when regional and national visual artists gather Feb. 19 at VALA Gallery in Mission to raise awareness for two agencies which promote organ donation and work to support both donor families and recipients and their families.
The auction and fundraiser will include informational materials from and presentations by Lyric of Life and the Midwest Transplant Network, both of which work to promote and facilitate the gift of life through organ and tissue donation. Each is based in the Kansas City area, MTN in Westwood (with satellite offices in Wichita, Joplin, Mo., and Columbia, Mo.) and Lyric of Life in Overland Park.
The auction and its theme coincide with artist Penny Thieme’s mixed-media show, “Oracles and Vessels,” which runs during the month of February at the gallery.
“It all ties into my work, which is about transformation and social issues like aging and quality of life,” says Thieme, who is also VALA’s director and has contributed work to the auction. Thieme is also donating 10 percent of proceeds from “Oracles and Vessels” to Lyric of Life.
Other artists contributing pieces for the event, which will also feature live performances from local and regional singers and songwriters, work in a variety of media: painting, photography, drawing and sculpture. A partial list includes R. Scott Anderson, Rick Wright, Joe Bussell, Fred Trease, Maya Green, Stephanie Gray, Zigmunds Priede, Stephen Locke, Mary Ellen Munger, Marissa Hitt, Barry French, Karl Timmerman, Ronald D. Hicks, Laura Isaac, Jean Van Harlingen, Gloria Hawkins, Masha Zhivago and Steve Brisendine.
Guest speakers will be artist Larry Thomas and Lyric of Life director Terry Benson. Thomas is head of the art department at Johnson County Community College and a kidney transplant recipient, and Benson founded Lyric of Life in memory of his late daughter, Lyric, who was an organ donor.
VALA Gallery, based in Mission, is a cooperative devoted to developing its members’ and associates’ careers in a variety of arts. (VALA is an acronym for “Visual, Audio and Literary Artists.”) The gallery and its studio annex offer classes, concerts, figure drawing sessions and monthly poetry nights, featuring both Kansas City’s creative community and selected visiting artists.
Schedule of events:
6-7 p.m.: Music, bidding, mingling
7-8:30 p.m.: Speakers Larry Thomas, Terry Benson and Penny Thieme
8:30-9:30 p.m. Music, bidding, mingling
9:30-10 p.m.: Successful bidders pick up artwork; organ donor registration opportunity
For additional information: