Gallery hosts reception for new artists

Sep. 5—GREENSBURG — Art on the Square Gallery on the north side of the Greensburg Square is displaying the works of artists Vern Bedel and Leslie Newton until the end of September.

Friday evening, during the Farmers Market Fourth Friday, the artists were on hand to greet AOTS patrons and answer questions about the pieces on display.

Newton is a Decatur County native who worked in the Jay School Corporation in Portland, Indiana, for 36 years as an art teacher.

Newton received her Bachelor degree, her Master's degree and an Endorsement for Gifted and Talented Students at Ball State University, and is following a path set by her mother and grandmother, who are both artists as well.

She won a Lilly Scholarship to study in New Mexico where she found her love for all things southwestern.

In 1999, she received the Indiana Elementary Art Educator of the Year award while helping write the Indiana K-12 Standards for Art Education.

She's returned to New Mexico seven times since retiring.

She enjoys painting native southwestern architecture and geology, and for this show Newton chose oils and acrylic paintings portraying the Native-American dwellings seen in her travels.

"When you go out west, you see the skeletal bare bones of the earth. Very angular, very flat, and I love the way the light plays, but here in the east, shapes are softer and it seems that everything is covered in green," she said.

Bedel was born and raised in Decatur County, but explored many different paths before getting his Bachelor degree in Art at Ball State.

Fascinated by the works of M.C. Escher and "tessellation," a style for which Escher is well-known, Bedel shared Escher's style with his students while teaching art in Elwood, Indiana.

Bedel's other works represent different parts of his career as an art teacher and they range in topic and appeal.

The phases in Bedel's life vary in sharp contrast from each other, and so do the nearly 45 pieces making up his display at the Gallery.

Art on the Square Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Wednesday through Friday and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

Visit Art on the Square Gallery in person or online at www.artonthesquare gallery.com/.

Contact Bill Rethlake at 812-651-0876 or email bill.rethlake@greensburgdailynews.com