Arts and Entertainment
November 9, 2024
From: Water Street StudiosEVENTS - SAVE THE DATE!
Friday, November 8-10: Winterfest Art Market
Friday, November 15: (bonus) Gallery Opening Reception, 6-9pm
Sunday, November 17: Water Street Writers, 5pm
Friday, December 13: Second Friday, 6-9pm
*Please note: There will be no Second Friday in January due to maintenance in the downstairs Galleries
Saturday, January 25: Wilson River Band performance in the Dock 7-10pm
Friday, February 14: Second Friday 6-9pm
Saturday, February 22: All in for Art: A Benefit for Water Street Studios 7-10pm
Winterfest Art Market
Nov 8th, 6pm-9pm
Nov 9th, 10am-5pm
Nov 10th, 10am-2pm
The holidays will be here before you know it! Get started on your holiday shopping with the added bonus of supporting local fine art and artisan vendors. There will be food trucks outside of Hearth & Hammer, drinks at the bar in the gallery, and live music will be provided by Kiss the Sky throughout the weekend.
Check out the Winterfest page on our website for a full line-up.
Event brought to you by: Water Street Studios, Batavia MainStreet, Hearth & Hammer, Kiss the Sky
Water Street Writers + Open Mic
Sunday, Nov 17th
Doors open at 5pm, show begins at 5:30pm
Join us Sunday, November 17th, for an inspiring evening with Water Street Writers! Featured readers Hallie Koontz, Chris Sarcletti, David Semonchik, and Joanne Zienty will share their work, followed by an Open Mic. Doors open at 5pm, show starts at 5:30pm. Suggested $5 donation goes directly to the authors, and signed books will be available for purchase, along with refreshments from the bar.
Interested in becoming a featured reader at a future event? Visit waterstreetwriters.com for submission guidelines.
All in for Art: A Benefit for Water Street Studios
Saturday, February 22nd, 7-10pm
We’d love to invite you to our All in for Art benefit on Saturday, February 22, 2025, at 7 p.m. Join us for a festive evening with a DJ, dancing, heavy apps, an open bar, and casino games in the dock. This is an opportunity to show off the studio you love, support Water Street, and have a fantastic time with friends!
Here’s how you can get involved: purchase tickets and bring friends, sponsor the event, volunteer to help, or spread the word on social media. A big thank you to our generous sponsors, including Brother Chimp, Boyce Body Werks, Mama Bear Photography, and many others. Your support allows Water Street Studios to keep thriving as a hub for art in our community.
GALLERIES
Calling all members! We’re excited to open the December show up to all of you this year. The call for art is now open. Much like the September show, there is no theme for submissions. You have until November 24th to submit your work.
Coming November 15th
“As the Dust Settles: The Prints of Michael Barnes”
Opening Reception Nov 15th, 6-9pm
Exhibition runs Nov 15th - Dec 7th
“Last Scrap”, Lithograph 2024 by Michael Barnes
Michael Barnes, born in 1969, grew up in Ithaca, Michigan, where he developed a love for art amidst a wooded landscape and a historic family cemetery that sparked his imagination. He earned a BFA from Alma College and an MFA from the University of Iowa, where he found a passion for lithography. His work, which blends traditional printmaking techniques with new media, has been exhibited worldwide, supported by awards like the Fulbright Specialist Grant and an Illinois Arts Council grant. Currently, he is a professor and head of the Printmaking program at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.
The work of Michael Barnes addresses, in part, the destructive nature and absurdities that so readily prevail for humankind as it copes with the perpetual daily routine and environment. Various themes of mortality and the philosophical questions of existence in general thread their way through his series of works. The images are concerned with environment, politics, social decay leaning towards an inward and isolated path, and cynicism about the historical evolution of so-called civilization and its effects upon the world and its inhabitants.
“Liminal Space” by Carly Palmer
Opening Reception Nov 15th, 6-9pm
Exhibition runs Nov 15th - Dec 7th
Carly Palmer is a Chicagoland based artist and writer. She primarily works in the artistic mediums of hand-cut paper collage and acrylic hard-edge geometric abstracts. She is a Resident Artist and School of Art Outreach Instructor at Water Street Studios in Batavia. She is a 2021-2023 Jungian Studies Program Cohort Graduate from C.G. Jung Institute of Chicago. Her most personally meaningful work as an artist and writer weaves together elements of depth psychology, surrealism, and symbolism. This is the creative trinity where both she and her art feel most alive.
“Liminal Space” features a self-curated collection of hand-cut paper collages, hard-edge geometric paintings, and written word. This body of work evocatively explores the notion of liminal space, and the sense of hovering at the threshold. When crossed, her paper collages personify objects to conjure and convey psychological ideas. Through the use of color, composition, and line in her paintings, she reveals the sharp edge of precision, but leaves the not-so-linear nuanced narrative hidden.
“Taking Flight” exhibit extended
Exhibition runs through Nov 10th
The Community Gallery's "Taking Flight" Exhibit will extended now through November 10th. “Taking Flight” is an outreach-centered, multi-generational exhibit that highlights artists of all ages from Mercy Housing in Batavia. Art birds were created with the intention for residents to be able to empower themselves and others to take flight in the world. We learn that we can make meaning when only the sky is the limit. When we bring together creativity and connection, we uplift our community as a whole. The possibilities are endless when we let our imaginations soar.
Upcoming Workshops & Classes
One Day Wheel Throwing or Handbuilding Workshops
Perfect for beginners, these workshops are a great way to dip your toe in the world of ceramics. Grab a friend and learn how to make your own hand crafted ceramic piece with new instructor Megan Ryan.
Intro to Color Pencil Drawing
Take your colored pencil drawings to the next level. Students will learn how to use different strokes, layers and color theory to give their colored pencil drawings a painterly quality.
Scratchboard for Beginners and Beyond
The perfect opportunity to make a unique, handmade gift! At the end of this one day workshop students will leave with a winter themed drawing on black scratchboard. Materials included in registration.
Need Merch? We got it!
A big thank you to Ace Graphics for donating colorful WSS logo t-shirts! 100% of the proceeds from these sales will support our efforts to make the arts accessible in the Fox Valley area. You can order these online and pick-up at Water Street!
Get your Colorful WSS Logo T-Shirt: Order online, pick-up at Water Street. Not available for delivery.
Get custom WSS Merch delivered straight to your door!
STUDIO 5 IS AVAILABLE
Looking for a space to create outside of your home? Studio 5 is available now! It is located on the ground floor in the 3D wing, is approximately 12ft by 16ft and best suited for 3D artists. If you’re interested, please fill out the Resident Artist form on our website.