During February, artists around Tinley Park are to showcase their work in the Vogt Visual Arts Center’s “What do You Love” exhibit.
The exhibit is meant to provide a space for artists to share their love for the arts with members of the community. Pieces are made from all different types of medium, including charcoal, pastel, watercolor and oil paint.
“Anybody at any ability level—wherever they’re at in their art career—can submit work to this and we can display it,” said Julie Dekker, gallery director of the arts center. “That’s a really important thing because in the art world a lot of times it’s very hard to get your work into a gallery or to have it exhibited.
“There are a lot of talented people. So, this show—and it’s aptly named ‘What Do You Love’—because these people first and foremost they love art and they love making it.”
The idea behind the display began in 2015, and Dekker thought to focus in on the artists and have them explore their strengths “because everybody loves different stuff.” After the success of the first “What Do You Love,” Dekker said she looked to offer that opportunity once again.
What’s more is that artists get a chance to see what other fellow artists are doing, making, painting, creating, she said.
“That really lets you get a feel of where you are in the art world,” she said. “You see what everybody else is doing. You see all these expressions from different people.
“Each piece actually represents a person because that’s what art is, it’s a very personal expression that comes from you, it’s just in a visual form.”
Becky Clemmons, of Crestwood, was one of 100 artists featured in this year’s “What Do You Love” exhibit at the Vogt Visual Arts Center.
“I’m a big nature lover,” she said. “I think I spend half my time looking at the ground because I have a zoom lens on my camera. I take a lot of close-ups.”
Clemmons—who entered three photographs of her photographs—said the purpose of her work is to capture the beauty of nature and to encourage others to observe their environment.
And when it comes to her audience, she said, “I think most people if they look at it, will hopefully see it through my eyes also.”
There is one photograph that Clemmons did not bring for others to view but still made note of its impact.
“It was taken in the forest preserve and was a picture of a dandelion growing out of all this,” she said.
“The ground had all dried up … There was this one dandelion growing. I’m a breast cancer survivor and it said to me, survivor. You just see so much in nature. It’s beautiful.”
The “What Do You Love” exhibit runs through Saturday, Feb. 25. This is the first of three curated by the Vogt Visual Arts Center in 2017. The gallery is to feature photography in March, while the one in June centers on a water theme.
For more information, call the gallery at 708-614-6503 or visit their webpage at tinleyparkdistrict.org