A new exhibit featuring collage art by Valerie Doran Bashaw opens this weekend in the Campanella Gallery at Park University.
As many as 20 fiber pieces by Bashaw will be on display beginning Sunday, Feb. 3, including framed and unframed collages, fabric and scarves, many hanging from above with fishing line. The exhibit will run through March 14 at the gallery, located on the University's Parkville Campus.
"I have been an artist for many years, working in many different media, but always my work echoes my interest in healing and meditation," said Bashaw when asked about her style. "My work has often been collected by doctors, therapists and chiropractors. It seems to resonate in a healing environment."
After completing her bachelor's degree in fine arts in fiber from the Kansas City Art Institute, Bashaw had a studio in south Kansas City for about six years, creating mixed media and handmade paper works, while also dyeing and printing on silk scarves. In 1990, she moved to Ann Arbor, Mich., and received a master's degree in fine arts in fiber from the University of Michigan. She taught graduate school at Michigan and returned to Kansas City in 1993 and taught at the University of Central Missouri in Warrensburg for about three years.
Bashaw taught for the Kansas City Chapter of Young Audiences Inc. as an artist in residence for 13 years, visiting schools across the Kansas City area. For the past eight years, she has been the lead art teacher for the summer school program at The Barstow School. Her main focus is now on making large commission pieces for commercial and residential buildings.
"I really love sharing my joy in creating art with young people," she said. "Making art teaches us creative strategies that can have applications in any field, from science to medicine and more. We learn to brainstorm and learn from our mistakes and 'accidentally' head in new directions. It's very exciting and invaluable too."
Bashaw is on the board of directors of the Best of Missouri Hands artisan organization, whose membership includes 500 professional artists, and on the board of Sharing a Vision for Generations, which raises funds for scholarships for Native American women on two reservations in South Dakota.
The Campanella Gallery is located in the McAfee Memorial Library in Park's underground Mabee Learning Center, which can be entered through Millsap Foyer. Park University is located at 8700 N.W. River Park Drive in Parkville, north of downtown Kansas City on Highway 9.
Gallery hours are 8 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, and 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. Sunday.
For more information about the exhibit, contact Donna Bachmann, director of the Campanella Gallery, at (816) 584-6457 or donna.bachmann@park.edu.
