Ignite Studio is proud to present the Hamilton County Artists’ Association’s Annual Exhibit, hosted in Ignite’s main gallery from August, 17th to October 10th, 2024. The HCAA is a juried membership-driven fine arts organization for Hamilton County residents in operation since 1950. The group is a non-profit that helps provide opportunities for artists through artistic development, fellowship, and art appreciation to enhance the quality of life for the Hamilton County community. HEPL and Ignite Studio are proud to host this year’s iteration of their Annual Exhibit. Find a full list of participating artists on their website here.
Meet the Artists: Hamilton County Artists’ Association
- Saturday August 17th – 10 AM – 4 PM
- Saturday August 24th – 10 AM – 4 PM
- Saturday September 7th – 10 AM – 4 PM
- Saturday September 14th – 10 AM – 4 PM
- Saturday September 21st – 10 AM – 4 PM
- Saturday September 28th – 10 AM – 4 PM
- Saturday October 5th – 10 AM – 4 PM
Alongside the exhibit, members of the HCAA will be in the Ignite Studio space on most Saturdays of the duration of their exhibit. Members will be present from 10 AM – 4 PM to sell prints and other art, give guided tours of the exhibit, and answer any questions about the HCAA or the artwork on display. From 1 PM – 4 PM the artists will be doing live demonstrations of various art techniques.
Featured Members for “Meet the Artists”
As a child, I was obsessed with horses. I learned how to draw them before anything else. In high school I won first place in the Clinton County art show. At Florida Southern College I majored in art education and won the senior art show in 1989. I taught art in elementary school but decided it wasn’t the career for me. After pursuing a master’s degree in museum studies, I became a curator. For 30 years I barely picked up a brush, but that changed because of the pandemic. I took my old watercolor paint out to local parks to paint in plein air and I took lessons to improve my skills. I found my passion for art and have made many artsy friends who are on the same journey. My world has expanded in so many ways thanks to art.
Walt has always been a good artist but getting married, starting a family, and being self-employed in the delivery business, pushed the artist within to the back burner. Oil painting was one of many hobbies but at age of 36, something clicked. His artwork became better and better while developing patience, honing his skill, and his artwork progresses. Walt is a self-taught oil painter who developed his own primitive style and paints by his own vision. His subject matter reflects ordinary mid-western scenes, with enough action going on that the paintings hint of a story. His paintings are upbeat, cheerful, and engaging to look at. As Walt would say, “Good karma creates good artwork and good artwork creates good karma.”
Joanne’s art education is extensive. Because of the extensive variety in her education, she has had the opportunity to experience many types of mediums and methods. From 1973 to 1975 she studied with artist Doe Crapo. She also studied at Herron School of Art and Design at Indiana University Purdue University Indianapolis in their extended education program from 1991 to 1995. She was a student at the Art Academy of Cincinnati from 1999-2004. Joanne spent some time studying at the Southern State College in Ohio under James Werline from 2004-2008. She has also studied under Suzanne Peck in Sarasota, Florida and Shirley Luttrell in Zionsville, Indiana. Joanne’s work consists of watercolor paintings, oil paintings and charcoal drawings.
Lesley Haflich is a fine artist concentrating on oil paintings, varying in style from impressionistic to abstract. The vibrant, energetic brushstrokes of her paintings give traditional icons of our world a contemporary flair. She earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree from Purdue and worked for many years in advertising and display design in Indianapolis. In 2006, she became interested in painting and got involved with HCAA, where she met like-minded artists and took workshops from nationally known teachers. Lesley has participated in many art fairs over the years, including Penrod, and many of her works are part of permanent collections of businesses and private patrons. As a longtime studio artist at Noblesville Creates and three-year member of the Historic Brown County Art Gallery, she loves to paint every chance she gets. “I am so grateful for all the fulfillment that art has brought me through personal expression and the many friends I have made and reconnected with because of it.”
See this exhibit on display at the Fishers branch of Hamilton East Public Library at 5 Municipal Drive, Fishers, IN 46038, open during all regular library hours. This exhibit is on view from August 17th to October 10th, 2024.
