A “New Life” For ICC Art Gallery

EAST PEORIA — In the late summer and early fall, when students and teachers return to classes, as September turns to October, there is a certain feeling throughout us all. Most feel supreme happiness with the changing leaves, the cool air and the pumpkin spice lattes. During this time, people feel happy just to be. One of the best ways to show feelings like this is through art.

Illinois Central College is currently displaying an art collection by Cathy Crawford, a former professor, that captures the essence of these feelings. Crawford’s collection, which she calls “Bliss of Being” to represent all living things, includes nature based woodcut paintings she has made over the last twenty years. Striving to “capture the truth and beauty” of her subjects, her paintings depict views from cities she has visited, fish in her water garden and natural landscapes. On her influences, Crawford explains she is “deeply enamored with ever-changing hues of water, sky, and land,” also naming the use of many colors for “its emotional impact.”

In the gallery her painting “Sab Pan Yu,” or “the enlightened one,” a portrait of a struggling Ghandi walking through seemingly endless doorways, can be seen. This piece may suggest that in order to be enlightened, one must take many uncertain steps. The piece’s creativity and thought provocation have made it one of her most successful, having been chosen for Best New Print at the International Print Center in New York City.

Another standout is her “Resonant Reflection” painting, which really “captures the beauty” in nature by including many forms of life altogether. These paintings have been regarded as favorites by critics and are included in the Buchanan Center for the Arts in Monmouth, Illinois.

The third shows a different side to Crawford’s work by using humor. “Lovely Legs,” an underwater view of three women in a water aerobics class, shows abstract shaping and a humorous take on the human body. While being the most amusing piece in the room, it doesn’t forget to be an impressive piece of work like every one we see from Cathy Crawford.

Crawford’s work has been in over three hundred exhibits worldwide, including fifty national shows and fourteen exhibits abroad. She has won over thirty five awards at regional, national and international levels, boasting awards from France, Poland, Saudi Arabia and the United Kingdom. Her work can be seen locally in Lakeview Museum, Cullen-Davis library at Bradley University, the Peoria Art Guild and the Peoria Courthouse.

Also included throughout the gallery are tables made by Jennifer Costa, a local artist and professor of art at Illinois Central College. Like Crawford, she specializes in woodwork, but her products are vastly different. “My work tends to be functional” Costa explains, “basically, I build stuff.” Costa makes tables out of her own wood, which she sands, stains and designs herself. What makes her tables unique, though, is the combination of materials.

Most of the tables in the gallery include various metals with wood. This makes for an artistic, almost abstract piece that “remains functional.” Enjoying “working beyond the traditional boundaries of style and media,” Costa makes everyday pieces in a very intriguing and original way.

Costa and Crawford’s work can be seen in Gallery 305-A at Illinois Central College. Gallery hours are 9:00AM- 8:00PM Monday through Thursday, and 8:00AM- 4:00PM on Fridays.