Sinsinawa Dominicans
Exhibit showcases work by Iowa natives

River Ice Harbor 12-inch bowl by Iowa glass artist Barb Zehentner McKinlay

Sinsinawa Art Gallery, Sinsinawa, Wisconsin, will host “Nature: Water and Wonder” Aug. 12 through Sept. 30, 2014. The show will feature the work of two Iowa natives, glass art by Barb Zehentner McKinlay and photography by Stephanie Funke. An opening reception will be held Friday, Aug. 15 from 6 to 8 p.m.

Zehentner McKinlay captures a lifetime of memories of living along the Mississippi River, layered upon one another: the sounds of breaking ice, the bubbles that signal the underwater passage of aquatic wildlife, the smells and textures of backwater algae and mosses, the colors of the changing seasons. She works by hand to create pieces reflective of the river on a base of clear glass with layers of hand-made cubes or bubbles flowing with ground glass (or “frit”). The cubes or bubbles are formed by firing first, then multiple additional firings fuse the pieces and frit to the desired texture and “slump” them into their final forms. “This work explores the images of my mind’s eye remembering the places and times I have spent along this beautiful and unique landscape,” she said.

Much of Funke’s work is of the outdoors as she is easily captivated by the overwhelming power, beauty, intense extremes and profound lessons of nature. Patterns, lines and the presence and/or absence of light also influence her images. When photographing the world outside her door, she is amazed by the endless opportunities to capture the predictable as well as the unexpected, bizarre and often overlooked elements of nature. This collection of photographs combines various regional landscapes along with scenes from hydrothermal features in Yellowstone National Park to highlight some of Mother Nature’s amazing and naturally charming attributes.

For more information, contact Michelle Till at 608-748-4411 or visit www.sinsinawa.org. Sinsinawa Mound, the motherhouse for the Sinsinawa Dominican Sisters, is located in southwest Wisconsin on County Road Z, off Highway 11, about five miles northeast of Dubuque.