Art Blitz is back, and it’s better than ever! After a virtual Art Blitz last year due to the pandemic, the Art Barn School of Art is putting on a fabulous, interactive festival to show that art will always thrive.
There is a full schedule of activities for this weekend-long, two-day festival that started on Saturday, September 18. Some of these engaging activities include watching artist Kim Vander Vinne paint with watercolors, taking a nature hike with Deb Armstrong, learning some photography tips, exploring print making with artist Mindy Milan, and throwing some clay on the pottery wheel with Miss Samantha Purze, the very first “Artist in Residence” at the Art Barn.
Live music is happening all weekend and ends on Sunday with headliner Joe Rauen performing for his third time at the Art Barn.
Amy Davis Navardauskas, executive director at the Art Barn, is very excited about Rauen’s Sunday show.
“He creates and invents his own instruments; he has a string instrument made out of a kitchen sink. He really bridges performing arts and visual arts, bringing the two art worlds together,” Navardauskas said.
Celebrating her third anniversary at the Art Barn, Navardauskas loves the unique atmosphere the 69 acres have to offer. The acreage provides the perfect environment for a local group of artists who especially love to paint outdoors.
“I admire the Plein Air Painters who come out and brave all of the elements. They are a tough, yet very social group of people, and they really know how to capture light in a great way,” Navardauskas said.
The Art Barn has a rich and colorful history. Founded in 1969 by Jan Sullivan, the Art Barn School of Art was a working farm. Inspired by the natural beauty of the land and her creative instincts, Sullivan visualized another purpose for the property. Starting with workshops and hosting plein air painters, she grew what was referred to as “Happy Jan’s Farm” into a profoundly beautiful place in the Valparaiso and Jackson Township communities that existed purely to enrich lives.
John Bernbom, vice president of the Art Barn School of Art’s board of directors, mentioned the changes brought on by the events of the last year.
“We had the Art Blitz virtually last year, but we were so surprised and excited about how well that went that now we offer virtual classes as part of our regular schedule,” Bernbom said.
Newer to the educational repertoire offered by Art Barn is the ever-popular art of photography. Steve Bensing and Suzan Perry of The Duneland Photography Club were at Art Blitz with amazing photographs on display and for sale by locals. The Club has about 100 members in the Northwest Indiana area, and at only ten dollars a year, members become part of an amazing group of locals with expertise in all niches of photography.
“We are really there to learn from each other and teach each other new things,” Bensing said.
The Duneland Photography Club is putting on their second show at the Art Barn this coming January.
Offering art classes of all kinds, the Art Barn is a true treasure in the area. The annual Art Blitz raises money for the nonprofit to keep things running. More specifically, this year’s ticket purchases go directly towards funding a brand new tractor for the nonprofit. You can involve yourself in the excitement by voting on a name for this new beauty, which is on display at Rigg’s Outdoor Power Equipment. An anonymous donor is willing to match funds up to $3,000 for the tractor.
Coming out to the Art Blitz is not only a fun and lively time, but will also make a huge impact and give a much-needed, new piece of equipment for these beautiful, inspirational grounds. The property is the perfect setting to find one’s inner artist, and you are free to explore and create whatever the breathtaking fields and sunflowers inspire you to. Art lives on here. Come find your place in it.
For more information about the Art Barn School of Art, visit its website at www.artbarnschool.org.