Thes are real statements from real people who love the art centre. They acknowledge the art and skill as well as the other amenities they have gained as being a part of the art centre.
Karen King
“Many of us have been fortunate in our lives to have a person who inspires us to be “engaged”–exactly what Basics and Beyond students often need. For 4 years that key person may be Karen King, an alternative school employee, Centre for Arts & Artists studio artist and primary instructor. Through grants and resourcefulness, she has volunteered her talent and time to ensure students have had arts activities such as pottery. Student participation needed to be during study hall, or before or after school. Artworks for the school walls have been created in mediums including paint, wood, and photography while instilling a message of repurposing of free materials. Creative activities may lead to employment in creative and inventive professions. Some students have continued their activities at Centre for Arts & Artists in pottery classes. The students’ “contributions” have ranged from cleaning and organizing the clay room to helping with transportation of equipment and supplies to the site.
Creative outreach began in 2008, but could not have remained as impactful without Karen’s flexible, skilled, and dedicated commitment. Her joyous celebration of the arts inspires us ALL!”
–Linda Klepinger (In nomination for Karen King, recipient of the Newton Community Education Foundation
“Above and Beyond Award”, January, 2016.)
What the Art Centre means to Linda Pierce
“The greatest value that I’ve had in working with the Center for Arts and Artists is that I have gained a great appreciation for the arts through the Sculpture Festival and the classes that I’ve taken at the center. I have also enjoyed sharing what I know about the Center for Arts and Artists with the community as a docent for school students as they toured the various sculptures throughout the city.”
“Linda and Nick Klepinger have done a fantastic job in promoting the Center for arts and artists in Newton. We are lucky to have such an organization in our town. Sign up for a class or attend the Sculpture Festival.”
What the Art Centre means to Terri Ayres
“I see great value in being involved as a volunteer at the Centre for Arts & Artists. I feel it is important for us all to use our talents and celebrate our unique abilities; when these abilities are blended with others, great things happen! I feel valued and fulfilled knowing that I contributed to someone’s discovery of his/her talents.
Over the years I have volunteered in various ways from painting the exterior of the building to giving tours to visitors, to helping little people create sculptures. I am humbled to have worked along side of very capable artists; in mundane jobs such as scooping ice cream for a fundraiser.
The centre is a refuge for me, a familiar place where there is always something new being created. I cannot imagine life without the friendships I have cultivated at the centre while jointly working toward the mission of creating excitement about the arts.
I feel that the community has benefited immeasurably from the presence of the Centre for Arts & Artists. Grandparents, parents and children have worked co-operatively on projects. Girlfriends have forged friendships at classes offered at the centre. Young and old have discovered the fun in getting their hands dirty expressing themselves through clay, paint and other mediums. The centre has opened it’s doors to all and constantly strives to encourage every level of ability. It’s a incubator of the very best sort.”
What the Art Centre means to Karen Quinn
“Come here and be serious and funny and delighted and creative in your own way. Do art and see art and be in an environment where everyone is welcome and respected, and you don’t have to be artistically talented to enjoy the benefits.”
“I love beautiful things and at the centre there is beauty everywhere. The paintings change and the sculptures are wonderful. there is also the opportunity to do art in some of the classes and I enjoy that. It’s a little like living in an art colony in the 1970’s.”
What the Art Centre means to Maika Takavesi
“When my family arrived in Newton from Nepal, I wondered what I was going to with my time during a long winter in Iowa. As an artist, I found my creative salvation at the Centre for Arts & Artists. I have an area to paint at there several days a week. Becoming friends with several fine artists and numerous guests , I feel welcomed, inspired, and valued at CAA. I enjoy volunteering when needed too!”
“What would I have done with myself during a winter visiting in Iowa without the Centre for Arts & Artists?!”
What the Art Centre means to Eric Ordway
“Through the art centre, I was provided a grant from the Jean and Murray Nelson Foundation to explore other mediums besides my drawing. I had such fun rediscovering the physical demands of the kick wheel while creating a clay bowl! It was a blast!
CAA is my inspiration to get back into drawing after eye surgery…and I think I have even figured out how to adjust my efforts for a successful sculpture in paper mache’!”
What the Art Centre means to Judd Hoskins
“Community. Art and artists alike thrive through communal means. Whether that’s exposure or the back and forth critique and criticism of their peers, pushing them toward their fuller potential, a community is imperative in order to foster that progression. For all that the Centre is, it is first and foremost a community. A community of artists, teachers, admirers and those who simply appreciate art enough and believe in the cause that they volunteer their time toward making the Centre the best that it can be. Whether it’s workshops, helping artists transport works to other shows, setting up for on site and off site exhibits, networking or simply aiding in the construction of the Centre’s building itself. It’s a community. And that’s what’s so beautiful about the Centre. It’s not just a business, but a nurturing community.”
“The Centre for Arts and Artists is Newtons hub for art and both established and still growing artists who are trying to become established. In terms of where I’m at with art in the public eye I owe most everything to Linda Klepinger and the Centre for all that she and the Centre have done for me. From the connections I have made to the unrelenting belief that they have in me as an artist, in turn creating more belief in myself as a result. I just regret that I’m not as able to produce as much work now that I’m married, a father and have a very demanding vocation. When I go long periods without creating, I not only feel like I’m letting myself down, but also those who truly and adamantly believe and support me as an artist. I’m also a songwriter, so this is not a foreign feeling to me. But what Linda and the Centre have given me is a new found appreciation and understanding of community and what it can provide. And this is coming from an individual who is very introverted socially speaking.”
Centre for The Arts and Artists- Newton, IA 