AUBURN — The work of 46 area artists is showcased in a new art gallery in downtown Auburn’s art district.
Located in the Auburn Atrium Market Place, The Auburn Art Gallery represents local artists who work in a variety of mediums, including painting, ceramics, sculpture, glassware, wood and jewelry. It also offers custom framing services and art reproduction, including Giclee printing.
Gallery owners are Jamie and Jen McCann, who took over what formerly was known as Expressions Gallery in mid-January. Jamie McCann’s photography had been represented at Expressions and he also performed framing services before taking over and launching the Auburn Art Gallery.
Artists represented at Auburn Art Gallery are from communities including Auburn, Butler, Fort Wayne, Huntertown, Howe, Angola, Bryan, Ohio, and Hicksville, Ohio.
Artists submit their work to the gallery for consideration.
“We make a decision in what work to keep,” Jamie McCann explained.
Some works are rotated in and out, he added.
While the art is available for sale, the McCanns hope people will visit, browse and enjoy the artwork on display.
Several of the artists whose work is featured are regionally known. For some, art is a hobby and the gallery provides them with an avenue for exposure.
The McCanns also ask exhibiting artists to submit biographical information, which reveals their interesting backgrounds.
Vern Miller of Howe describes how he became interested in working with wood.
“I have been a bowl turner since 2004. It all started with a class that taught me how to take a chunk of wood, turn it on a wood lathe and create a beautiful bowl. That began a new chapter in my life and a new hobby,” Miller stated in his biography.
Today, Miller works with many varieties of native wood, as well as tropical and exotic wood.
“I only use wood that has already been cut down,” Miller wrote.
The colors and texture in his pieces are all natural and he uses no artificial colors or dyes.
“Each piece I crate is an original. I am amazed at the hidden beauty I find. It is truly Mother Nature’s gift,” he said.
Also included in the gallery is artwork by Patrick Hunter. He and his wife, Valerie, are the proprietors of 0542 Lakeside Art Studio.
According to the gallery, Hunter’s art experience started in his early years while attending Garrett schools. He continued with his art education at The Herron School of Art and Design of Indiana University.
After graduating, he worked as an industrial modeler at the International Harvester Design Center. Hunter and his wife have exhibited their work in many galleries and exhibitions and enjoy sharing their work and information on encaustic art, or hot wax painting, that involves using heated beeswax with damar resin and colored pigments are added.
Jody Prokupek has been a jewelry maker for 10 years. She also paints with oils and enjoys working from photographs she has taken or participating in plein air painting. Prokupek has a bachelor of science degree in art education and spent 20 years as an art educator.
Also represented at the gallery is clay artist Tom Sherbondy.
According to Sherbondy, “Forty-plus years ago, God gave me the gift of sobriety and the gift of clay creating works of art through the potters wheel and hand building.”
Sherbondy studied ceramics at IPFW and Purdue University Fort Wayne, and in 2023, juried into five regional shows.
As well as showing his work at the Auburn Art Gallery, Sherbondy’s work also can be seen at the Fort Wayne Art Guild Gallery at Jefferson Pointe and the Ruth Koomler Gallery on Broadway, Fort Wayne.
Artist Karen Bixler of Fort Wayne exhibits her original acrylic paintings.
Primarily a self-taught artist with some formal training, she is a member of the Fort Wayne Artists Guild and a member of the Indiana Plein Air Painters Association. She enjoys plein air painting with local artists and participating in events with IPAPA.
According to her artist’s statement, “My fingers itch to paint when I see sunlit colors popping from the shadows. I respond by building a painting in layers, working with the play of colors, layers and textures against each other. I want viewers to see more than an image. I want them to step a little closer, see the tactile surface of the paint, see how the pieces come together. An artist learns to observe specifics and see the possibilities. I want viewers to see what I see. I want them to feel a mood. Better yet, I want viewers to look around their own world with new eyes.”
The McCanns noted one of the artists whose work is exhibited in the gallery is a trained medical laboratory scientist.
According to her bio, she did not expect to become an artists and her personal art career did not begin until she started painting notecards at her kitchen table to help pay for her children’s activities. She said she knew then that art must be part of her life and now is an award-winning painter.
The goal of exhibiting artists Elaine Wiening is to make you smile, she states.
She said she loves color and whimsy and fused glass gives her the opportunity to create pieces full of color.
Artist Gina Wolfrum returned to her artistic roots after leaving the stressful corporate world and relocating to a farm in rural Ohio. She transitioned back to the fine arts training she had received in her youth when an interior designer pulled her into the world of decorative art and murals, according to her bio.
The gallery also showcases several pieces of deceased sculpture artist Ken Messman.
“Ken was highly honored for his works of art in stainless steel, including being invited back to The Hoosier Salon after his first acceptance there,” the gallery states.
“This is not something that occurs frequently! We are pleased to have several of Ken’s pieces here at the gallery.”
“Our mission is that we want to support artists and promote local artists, giving the artists a place to share their work and be able to sell it,” Jen McCann said. “We’re giving them a chance to put it in here and show their work.”
