A big thank you to all the artists, performers and patrons who came out to celebrate the arts last night!

Watching a film about an incredible live artist!

Please come out and join us this Saturday night at the Old Court House Arts Center. Opening reception starts at 5pm. Events planned for the reception include: 5 pm Artist/Activist Peggy Lipschutz's film, "Never Turning Back", www.neverturningback.net 6 pm Storytelling with Kevin Kling and Jim May, www.kevinkling.com, www.jimmaystoryteller.com 7-9 pm Music by Lia McCoo, www.liamccoo.com

The Old Court House Arts Center hosts "LISTEN." Works by 23 acclaimed national artists July 6– 30, 2017 on the Historic Woodstock Square. Gala Reception held Saturday, July 8th 5-9 pm. This exhibition, curated by the E/artgroup, focuses on a variety of local, national, and global issues and personal interpretations of the theme “listen", will be on exhibit at the Old Court House Arts Center July 6 – July 30. An opportunity to explore innovative art forms, “LISTEN" is the collaborative brainchild of E/artgroup, a local, professional artist collective including Mary Beth Bellon, Sarah Hahne, Mary Hilger, Bert Leveille, Nan Seidler, and Victoria Senn. This eclectic group has been exhibiting and curating together for 10 years throughout the Chicago area. "LISTEN" showcases midwest artists working in paint, photography, mixed media, fiber, clay, and more. "LISTEN" artists include; the E/artgroup artists, Joan Ackerman-Zimny. Esther Aron, Susan Clough, Peggy Dee, Mary Jean Deja, Jeanine Hill-Soldner, George Lindmark, Peggy Lipshutz, Jeane McGrail, David Orth, John Pittman Weber, Judith Roth, Karen Schuman, Angela Swan, Patricia Tanner, Tom Torluemke, and Gail Willert. There will be a gala reception and events celebrating the “LISTEN" exhibition on Saturday, July 8 from 5-9 pm at the Old Court House Arts Center, 101 N Johnson, on the historic Woodstock Square. Events planned for the reception include: 5 pm Artist/Activist Peggy Lipschutz's film, "Never Turning Back", www.neverturningback.net 6 pm Storytelling with Kevin Kling and Jim May, www.kevinkling.com, www.jimmaystoryteller.com 7-9 pm Music by Lia McCoo, www.liamccoo.com The Old Court House Arts Center gallery hours are Thursday - Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm. For more information about the “LISTEN" exhibition and/or E/artgroup please contact 815-338-4525 or visit www.oldcourthouseartscenter.org and www.e-artgroup.com

QUATERN: three plus one. Rebecca Stahr, Cindy Lesperance, Carol Hamilton and Brad Hook. All four artists work in the ancient medium of encaustic; pigment mixed with beeswax, Although the medium is common to all four, each has developed their own technique and style, showcasing the variety of approaches available in working with encaustic. All four artists are members of the Midwest encaustic group FUSEDChicago. QUATERN is on display in the Gould Gallery at the Old Court House Arts Center in Woodstock from July 6 through the 30. The opening reception is July 8, from five to nine. Brad Hook is an encaustic artist working out of his private studio in a north suburb of Chicago. His art has been exhibited in many galleries and shows throughout the Chicago area. His technique of building and removing layers of wax results in textured surfaces inspired by the imperfections of life and wear. Brad has been a long time member of FUSED Chicago. Cindy Lesperance is a member of the Northwest Area Arts Council, the Elmhurst Artists' Guild, the Alliance of Fine Art and FusedChicago where she serves on the board. Her art has been exhibited and has earned awards in many juried shows and competitions, galleries, and museums throughout the Chicagoland area and across the country. She has evolved a personal style that is highly sophisticated and meticulous in attention to craftsmanship; applying minute droplets of wax, one-by-one, to produce a tactile pattern that invites the viewer to touch. Carol Hamilton has been painting most of her life. Her aesthetic roots are in the western landscape and science. She received her MFA in painting from the University of Wyoming. While living in the austere beauty of the Sonoran desert she began working in encaustic and experienced a transformation in her work from figurative to abstraction. Her work centers on the contemplative. Hamilton is a member of FUSEDChicago, the Elmhurst Art Guild and the artist collective INTERSECT. She is a resident artist at the Starline Factory Gallery in Harvard, Illinois. Carol’s work is in public collections and private collections. Rebecca. Stahr maintains a studio in Greyslake, IL. Her work is highly personal. For 10+ years, she has been in a growing battle of auto-immune illness, severe fatigue and full-body chronic pain. Creating makes room for the restoration of her heart to a place centered in hope. In the quiet of her studio, she is alone in her thoughts and the process of creating. The repetition is meditative and prayer-like as layer by layer I begin to build the foundation of the artwork. The continual process of adding molten wax, fusing with heat, marking and scraping away stirs an inner dialogue, a spiritual connection. Rebecca is a member of FUSED Chicago and the Dandelion Coop in Waukegan.

The Old Court House Arts Center hosts "LISTEN." Works by 23 acclaimed national artists July 6– 30, 2017 on the Historic Woodstock Square. Gala Reception held Saturday, July 8th 5-9 pm. This exhibition, curated by the E/artgroup, focuses on a variety of local, national, and global issues and personal interpretations of the theme “listen", will be on exhibit at the Old Court House Arts Center July 6 – July 30. An opportunity to explore innovative art forms, “LISTEN" is the collaborative brainchild of E/artgroup, a local, professional artist collective including Mary Beth Bellon, Sarah Hahne, Mary Hilger, Bert Leveille, Nan Seidler, and Victoria Senn. This eclectic group has been exhibiting and curating together for 10 years throughout the Chicago area. "LISTEN" showcases midwest artists working in paint, photography, mixed media, fiber, clay, and more. "LISTEN" artists include; the E/artgroup artists, Joan Ackerman-Zimny. Esther Aron, Susan Clough, Peggy Dee, Mary Jean Deja, Jeanine Hill-Soldner, George Lindmark, Peggy Lipshutz, Jeane McGrail, David Orth, John Pittman Weber, Judith Roth, Karen Schuman, Angela Swan, Patricia Tanner, Tom Torluemke, and Gail Willert. There will be a gala reception and events celebrating the “LISTEN" exhibition on Saturday, July 8 from 5-9 pm at the Old Court House Arts Center, 101 N Johnson, on the historic Woodstock Square. Events planned for the reception include: 5 pm Artist/Activist Peggy Lipschutz's film, "Never Turning Back", www.neverturningback.net 6 pm Storytelling with Kevin Kling and Jim May, www.kevinkling.com, www.jimmaystoryteller.com 7-9 pm Music by Lia McCoo, www.liamccoo.com The Old Court House Arts Center gallery hours are Thursday - Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm. For more information about the “LISTEN" exhibition and/or E/artgroup please contact 815-338-4525 or visit www.oldcourthouseartscenter.org and www.e-artgroup.com

The Old Court House Arts Center hosts "LISTEN." Works by 23 acclaimed national artists July 6– 30, 2017 on the Historic Woodstock Square. Gala Reception held Saturday, July 8th 5-9 pm. This exhibition, curated by the E/artgroup, focuses on a variety of local, national, and global issues and personal interpretations of the theme “listen", will be on exhibit at the Old Court House Arts Center July 6 – July 30. An opportunity to explore innovative art forms, “LISTEN" is the collaborative brainchild of E/artgroup, a local, professional artist collective including Mary Beth Bellon, Sarah Hahne, Mary Hilger, Bert Leveille, Nan Seidler, and Victoria Senn. This eclectic group has been exhibiting and curating together for 10 years throughout the Chicago area. "LISTEN" showcases midwest artists working in paint, photography, mixed media, fiber, clay, and more. "LISTEN" artists include; the E/artgroup artists, Joan Ackerman-Zimny. Esther Aron, Susan Clough, Peggy Dee, Mary Jean Deja, Jeanine Hill-Soldner, George Lindmark, Peggy Lipshutz, Jeane McGrail, David Orth, John Pittman Weber, Judith Roth, Karen Schuman, Angela Swan, Patricia Tanner, Tom Torluemke, and Gail Willert. There will be a gala reception and events celebrating the “LISTEN" exhibition on Saturday, July 8 from 5-9 pm at the Old Court House Arts Center, 101 N Johnson, on the historic Woodstock Square. Events planned for the reception include: 5 pm Artist/Activist Peggy Lipschutz's film, "Never Turning Back", www.neverturningback.net 6 pm Storytelling with Kevin Kling and Jim May, www.kevinkling.com, www.jimmaystoryteller.com 7-9 pm Music by Lia McCoo, www.liamccoo.com The Old Court House Arts Center gallery hours are Thursday - Sunday, 11 am – 5 pm. For more information about the “LISTEN" exhibition and/or E/artgroup please contact 815-338-4525 or visit www.oldcourthouseartscenter.org and www.e-artgroup.com

Entry Deadline Sunday, July 2nd Call for Artists for the 2017 Real People Show Real People is the Old Court House Arts Center national juried fine art exhibition celebrating the arts through faces and figures. Real People is open to all artists and media; submitted work must depict the human form or face in some manner that is recognizable. The show is held each year at the Old Court House Arts Center in Woodstock, Illinois, located outside of Chicago, Illinois. Real People has become a much-anticipated area event and the show enjoys excellent media coverage and exposure. Along with the Opening Reception, other events are held at The Old Court House Arts Center during the exhibition to encourage attendance. All work must be for sale, and a 30% commission will be taken by the Art Center for sold work. Cash prizes of $1300 will be awarded to multiple winners (1st-3rd; 3 Artistic Merits). Up to 3 pieces may be submitted to the jury. The cost to enter the show is $40. A $10 discount is available to artists who entered Women's Works 2017 or who are NAAC members. (If you are eligible for the discount code, please email us at RealPeople2017@naac4art.org.) Our jurors for this year's show will be: Francine Gourgechon, a Chicago-area mosaic artist who creates mosaic sculptures of the human form, using found objects. You can view her work at: www.ChicagoMosaics.com. Chehalis Hegner, artist and portrait photographer, who until 2015 was a faculty member of the Department of Art & Design at the University of Massachusetts before leaving to devote herself full time to photography. You can find out more about her and view her art at www.ChehalisHegner.com. The deadline for entry this year is Sunday July 2nd. Accepted artists will be notified by Sunday July 9th. To apply to the show, or view the complete prospectus, please visit www.callforentry.org and look for 'Real People 2017' in the show listings. If you have any questions, please email us at realpeople2017@naac4art.org.

Last week to see the Summer Solstice exhibition. The show runs from June 2nd thru June 26th. Summer Solstice art exhibition showcases artist Bobby Joe Scribner’s sculpture at the Old Court House Arts Center on the historic Woodstock Square, June 5, 2017. Scribner’s outdoor sculptures can be seen in two Chicago locations this year, but you don’t have to go downtown to see a third one. “Riversnake”, a third Scribner outdoor sculpture will be on display on the front lawn of the Old Court House as part of the annual Summer Solstice art exhibition at the Old Court House Art Center in Woodstock. Scribner, a Woodstock resident, whose work has been displayed nationally, had his popular “Hairdo” outdoor sculpture on display for the Summer Solstice event two years ago. Chicago Mayor, Rahm Emanuel has proclaimed that 2017 is the “Year of Public Art,” two of Scribner’s sculptures are part of this celebration; one “Races” prominently featured on bustling State Street in the Loop with another “Moonshine” in West Pullman. The Summer Solstice art exhibition in Woodstock gives McHenry County residents and tourists another opportunity to enjoy his work. In Chicago, one of Scribner’s sculptures is being commissioned by the Chicago Loop Alliance, a cultural promotional foundation the other sculpture by the Chicago Park District and the Chicago Sculpture International group. Scribner commented, "It’s always exciting to be shown in Chicago, a city internationally famous for its outdoor sculpture, but I’m equally excited to have my work in front of the historic Old Court House building, on the Square, in my own backyard. Art adds to a community at any scale.” The Summer Solstice show also features over a dozen artists who work in paper, photography, fiber, sculptural collage, stained glass, painting and kinetic sculpture. Artists participating are Gregory Gantner - Photographic Collage,Gabriel Karagianis - Photographic Collage & Painting, Jane Sassaman - Quilts, Larry Zgoda - Stained Glass, Joan Zgoda - Sculptural Collage, Bill Moran - Painting, Yvonne Beckway - Nature Paper Paintings, Chehalius Hegner - Photography, Arthur Ganson - Kinetic Sculpture, Paul Justen - Astronomical Paintings, Bobby Joe Scribner - Sculpture, David Orth - Sculpture & Mobile, Antatoliy Khmara - Painting, Blake Mueller - Sculptural Collage, Ron Seymour - Photography, Francine Gourgechon -Mosaic Sculptures & Paintings, Karen Stahlecker - Paper Landscapes, and Andrew Zirk - Photgraphic Painting. For more information about the Summer Solstice Art Exhibition, please contact the Old Court House Arts Center at 815-338-4525 or go to www.facebook.com/www.oldcourthouseartscenter.org, www.oldcourthouseartcenter.org. The Old Court House Arts Center is located at 101 N.Johnson St., Woodstock, IL 60098. The Old Court House Art Center gallery hours are Thursday- Sunday, 11-5 pm.

Upcoming exhibition for July, "LISTEN" presented by E/artgroup featuring 23 acclaimed Midwest artists. There will be a gala reception and events celebrating the “LISTEN" exhibition on Saturday, July 8 from 5-9 pm Events planned for the reception include: 5 pm- Artist/Activist Peggy Lipschutz's film, "Never Turning Back". Peggy Lipschutz is an artist, book illustrator, political activist, labor unionist, pacifist, feminist,humanist. This is a story of one woman's unwavering commitment to art, peace, justice and social change. 6 pm - Storytelling with Kevin Kling and Jim May Kevin Kling is a well-known playwright and storyteller, and his commentaries can be heard on NPR’s All Things Considered. His plays and adaptations have been performed around the world. An award-winning storyteller and author, Jim May seeks to reestablish live storytelling as an art form, ideal not only for entertainment and education, but also for the grounding and healing that is needed in complex, modern times. 7-9 pm- Music by Lia McCoo To meet Lia is to meet Presence, wrapped in bright fabric—sometimes flamboyant, never dull! She is an accomplished singer/musician with a voice, sometimes rolling and deep, sometimes light and soaring . . . as wide as a river and powerful enough to lift a roomful of human spirit. Music has brought Lia around the world . . . to 40 US states, Canada, England, Denmark and Germany with the Chicago Children's Choir; to Japan, Hong Kong and Taiwan with her college concert and jazz bands; to Israel as a tour musician with synagogue tours; and to Moscow University as a tour musician with church tours. Lia has lyric diction in 17 languages and enjoys learning from each culture she meets and sharing them with others. For more information about the “LISTEN" exhibition and/or E/artgroup please contact 815-338-4525 or visit http://www.e-artgroup.com/