In addition to art some of her interests include piano, ukulele and guitar. Sierra has played Pollyanna, Fern of Charlotte’s Web, and the 5 of Spades on stage at Joplin’s Stained Glass Theatre. She participates in a local youth choir and shoots in a trap and skeet league with her dad.
 
Sierra grew up in a Carthage neighborhood. Her family now lives on a handful of acres a mile outside of town. There you might find her painting in her mom’s garden or finishing her schoolwork in a canoe on the pond. Her room houses twenty-seven plants, providing subject matter for artistic pursuits while also keeping the air healthy in their home. In addition to her two beloved cats, Sierra lives with her very supportive mom and dad and an energetic little sister.
 
In her Artist Statement Sierra tells us: “I see all of nature as an affirmation of the Creator's beauty, and I want my work to reflect some small measure of this. When I create an image and explore the intricacies of a plant's colors and structure, I find even more beauty than what first inspired me to paint a particular plant. If something captures my interest for a painting, I usually study the subject for a few days and consider every detail. I will look at a flower blossom asking, ‘Will this be easy or hard to paint, and will my end result be worth my efforts?’ When I feel confident and prepared to begin, I take my chosen plant to my mini studio—my desk in my room. If the plant is outside, I gather up a pencil, canvas, brushes and palette, a micron pen, a tombow eraser, a cup of water and a lawn chair…then I get to work. I love painting!”

​Eighteen artCentral artists, well-established in our regional art world, echo Sierra’s love for artmaking through the gracious underwriting of the McCune-Brooks Healthcare Foundation. Their eighteen delightful selections from artCentral’s Annual Membership Exhibition can be enjoyed at The Atrium Gallery in Sirloin Stockade. The diversity of imagery and media in these creations is exciting—from vibrant flowers to wildlife fowl to nostalgic landscape and domestic accoutrements—from photographs to oils and acrylics and watercolors, too. The styles of the artists represented are as unique as the artists themselves. Kudos to these hardworking and accomplished creators including Jane Ballard, Andrew Batcheller, Eric Beezley, Diana Bray, Jim Bray, Barbara Hicklin, Janice Kinman, Koral Martin, Connie Miller, Janice Myers, Ina Niday, Sandra Parrill, Jordy Vulpine, Lora Waring, Nancy Wildwood, Beth Yang, Marilyn York and Bonnie Young.

​Opening August 6, 2021, at artCentral in Hyde House, Debbie and Richard Reed will present their paintings and pottery in METAMORPHOSIS—a collaborative exhibition showcasing their seventy-six new and original artworks!

A MOST PASSIONATE PATRON                         

​In her message posted on the Carthage Council on the Arts (CCA) facebook page, current CCA President, Wendi Douglas, wrote: “Robert Denning lived an incredible life. He was a loyal veteran and semi-scandalous socialite with an amazing array of careers and associations. He was always someone that I wanted to sit next to at meetings and social gatherings; he knew the backstory to everything; he was a delightful storyteller with words of kindness to bestow upon everyone. As president of Carthage Council on the Arts, he served on the Carthage Art Walk committee for many years. Robert cultivated a culture of telling everyone he knew about all of the great things happening in Carthage and bringing more art opportunities to the community. Under his leadership, Carthage Council on the Arts developed funding to bring art and performances to more spaces in Carthage including area senior homes and community events. Robert recently developed a scholarship fund to offer learning programs to students in Carthage who pursue their musical talents. Carthage Council on the Arts will certainly miss our friend and ally for all artists and performers.”
 
Robert’s obituary tells us he was born October 4, 1933, in Hollywood, California, the son of Samuel Pruit Denning and Mabel Whitney Denning. He graduated from North Hollywood High School in 1949 and attended UCLA in the Class of 1952. During his high school and college years he was always seen at Schwabs, mingling with Elizabeth Taylor, Spencer Tracy, Jimmy Stewart and Judy Garland.
 
When he was 24, following the death of his birth mother, Robert dearly wished to be with his father Sam “Denny” Denning and stepmother Elona “Lee” Denning in Chicago. When they had a daughter, Diane, in 1944, he visited every year and spent the summer months at Crystal Lake, Minnesota, at the “Cottage” with Lee’s family.
 
While in the Navy Robert was known as “the singing pilot”—a brave and handsome carrier aviator. After his military service, Robert, the son of a Rockette, worked as an actor, singer, dancer, insurance manager, nightclub owner, nationally syndicated epicurean columnist, social cruise ship director and hotel and restaurant manager, among other engagements.
 
In Santa Cruz, 1958-61, Robert owned the Coffee Cabaret in Capitola By the Sea. He then met his lifelong partner William (Billy) Strayer. They were together for nearly 50 years. Between 1962 and 1977, Robert worked in the corporate world for Occidental Life Insurance in Los Angeles, while also participating in local and regional theater. From 1978 to 1992, he enjoyed culinary pursuits, writing and travel. He opened Robert Denning’s Epicurean Shop in Laguna Beach, California, and worked as the Social Director of the Royal Cruise Lines gathering friends from around the globe. From 1992 to 2007, Robert operated a number of hotels and restaurants in Palm Springs, California.
 
Following the death of his partner Billy, Robert briefly resided with Billy’s family, in Lake Elsinore, California, prior to moving to Carthage, Missouri, his favorite place of all. He was welcomed in Carthage and embraced by all his friends in the Grace Episcopal Church familywhere he was a member of the choir and the Vestry and performed in numerous original plays.
 
Robert was an especially gifted conversationalist, public speaker and storyteller, weaving tales of his exciting, memorable life and of his grandparents Samuel Pruit Denning and Sarah Henson Denning of Roswell, New Mexico, and of his colorful siblings.
 
Robert’s survivors include his sister, Diane Miller, of Wallkill, New York; and cousins, Robert Fredrick Bowes, of Grand Rapids, Minnesota, Brian Dean Bowes of Skokie, Illinois, and Hallie Walker and Hallie Elizabeth Baran of Sherman Oaks, California.
 
Comments made by a friend upon the announcement of Robert’s death offer a poignant tribute to this true original, a man so very many knew and loved: Robert “personified style, courtesy and civility. He was what is increasingly rare these days, a renaissance man in every way—well-spoken and always amusing—a humble and kind friend.”
 
To a much loved bon vivant and most passionate patron, Robert Pruit Denning, we bid “Fare thee well!”

​​Hay! No Hay! That is how we got in our present Chickie Babes predicament. We should have seen this coming. A couple of years ago I made a rather prescient photo painting on this very subject!

Until I met David I was totally inexperienced in the world of tending chickens. Oh, as a child, captivated by the promise of impending drama, I accompanied my aunt Gladys out to her farm flock to chase a hen around the yard. With apron flying she would catch her, prep her and serve her up for company as a fine fried chicken dinner. Being a young girl I never gave a moment’s thought to what went in to caring for the fowls that provided those memorable meals.
 
Now, though we do not keep our chickens to provide company dinners, I do think about the care invested to enjoy the beautiful brown eggs David gathers every evening. Daily, I observe David cleaning up and clearing out the abundant fertilizer created by our Chickie Babes.
                              
When visitors come up on our front porch and lean over the railing to watch our girls clucking and scratching around beneath the Tibetan prayer flags flying over their palace grounds, our guests are charmed by their chicken ways and their feathery good looks. Often someone will say, “Oh! I want to have chickens, too!” Rather than spoil their enchantment, I keep silent and do not bother to respond, “Well, you may want to consider all the hours you are going to be shoveling up after them.”
                     
Having tried various options, for easiest cleanup David has decided hay—fluffy, fragrant hay—is the best bedding nature can provide—better than grass clippings, field straw, pine needles or aromatic, mouse-attracting wood shavings.
 
Providing the best, most-favored accommodations for our girls seems especially important now. As David says, “If it had not been for the fireworks and CoCo passing, the Chickies might have adapted to the pine chips. They had just had a really stressful time and the introduction of something new and different—the change to pine chips—was just one change too many.”
           
Yes, the holiday fireworks were hard on all of us. Our usually serene, small town neighborhood really did sound like a war zone. For four days all of our nerves were frazzled. At dusk a flock of sparrows kept circling our big maple tree seemingly uncertain about where to light for the night. The puppies were cowering in the farthest corners of our bedroom closet, though somewhat calmed by the hemp/valerian/chamomile natural meds shared by friends Lori and David. The Chickie Babes hid and huddled together under the spreading cedar. That was where David found our brave and elegant CoCo. Apparently a heart attack sent her over the Rainbow after an especially bone-jarringly-loud rocket boom.

​Carthage community supporters are the best! Our non-profit hometown artCentral continues to thrive in historic Hyde House with the ongoing assistance of visionaries—visionaries like the Carthage Community Foundation and Leggett & Platt, Incorporated. These philanthropically minded organizations have understood and responded to artCentral’s critical needs—the need for assistance to navigate through the economic challenges of the long pandemic months and, upon emerging from those months, the need to re-establish programming to enhance the cultural life of Carthage and our neighbors.

Yes, the Carthage Community Foundation (CCF) in affiliation with the Community Foundation of the Ozarks and Leggett & Platt, Incorporated have heard and met artCentral’s requests for help. The proof is on artCentral’s walls! Visit artCentral’s galleries and check out the walls of artCentral’s Facebook and website pages and you will know exactly what I mean!

​During the months when the doors were closed, among the greatest challenges to keep artCentral thriving were maintaining daily operations, paying the bills and planning for reopening. With income reduced and many individuals and families feeling eager to help but financially challenged, the announcement of CCF’s spring grant round shone like a beacon of hope on the Hyde House horizon. Typically CCF grants are made for specific projects proposed by local non-profits. Thankfully, the spring grant round was opened to receive requests for stopgap funding to meet critical operational challenges brought on by the pandemic.

Preparing artCentral’s CCF grant application, submitting the application and waiting and wanting to hear good news to make our wishes come true was an act of faith. Often I like to think just such an act of faith is about believing “all is well and will be”, even before answers are given and help arrives. Thankfully, through CCF, our faith was answered. CCF awarded artCentral a spring grant for $2,500.00 specifically designated to assist with operations and urgent financial obligations.

During CCF’s awards picnic, as Betsy Flanigan, president of artCentral’s board of directors, and I went forward to accept the large facsimile of CCF’s $2,500.00 check for artCentral, I felt very grateful for this wish, this dream, this grant come true. In no way can I doubt artCentral’s good fortune. The proof is visible on the wall at the entrance to artCentral’s Membership Gallery where the replica of CCF’s $2,500.00 life-sustaining check is displayed for all of us to see and celebrate!  

With operation obligations met and artCentral’s vivid green doors reopening, the Pottery House was reset and repurposed to create a second teaching classroom, but alas, for a second summer artCentral’s annual summer artCamp for youth had to be postponed due to pandemic generated lingering uncertainties. What to do? How could we possibly serve the youth of our community while honoring the CDC protocols set forth in artCentral’s recognition as an ArtSafe Space certified by the Missouri Arts Council? 

Going on another act of faith, a calendar and curriculum were created for four Screen-Free 3rd Saturday mini artCamps. A budget was made; classes were designed; instructors were invited; and graphics and flyers were developed, printed and distributed. Board president Betsy Flanigan reached out to Leggett & Platt, Incorporated with a request for a grant to assist with classroom supplies and refreshments, teacher stipends, printing and postage, extra sanitation supplies and scholarships. As registrations began to come in, the response from Leggett & Platt also appeared in the mailbox as a check for a $1,000.00 grant—another dream come true!

​On 3rd Saturday mornings in April, May and June aspiring young artists arrived to learn and explore and create as they made new friends under the guidance of Jane McCaulley and Alexandra Burnside who taught Friendly Glass Bugs, Pillow Pets, Zentangle Butterfly Wings and Colorful Glass Posies. The proof of the power of the grant given by Leggett & Platt can be seen in the smiles on the faces and creations in the hands of the artCampers to be found in the photos posted on artCentral’s online walls.

Still on the walls throughout the Hyde House galleries are the inspiring artworks of 42 artCentral member artists displaying their creations in the ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP EXHIBITION. This is a not-to-be-missed collection! Weekend Gallery Hours through Saturday, July 17, are Fridays and Saturdays, 12:00-5:00 p.m.

​They are telling their enchanting story on the wall just outside my studio—holding and lifting and hanging giant globes of amber light. Wearing matching conical hats and dressed alike as six versions of the famous French clown Pierrot, accessorized with ruffled collarets and large black pompom buttons, they are all clothed in roomy white blouses and wide white pantaloons.

I have a costume just like theirs, now tucked away on the top shelf of my studio closet. When my daughter was in the second grade her French teacher asked me to visit her class and mime as Pierrot. I stitched up my outfit, whitened my face, rouged my cheeks and spent a fun afternoon playing my part.

Pierrot, whose origins were in a late seventeenth-century Italian troupe of players performing in Paris, was a stock character of pantomime and commedia dell'arte. With his physical insularity and lapses into mutism and his unworldly naïveté, he became a mythical alter ego for the famously alienated artists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

The bevy of Pierrots outside my studio are actually figures in a framed postcard of a large oil painting—the famous “The Lantern Bearers”, by Maxfield Parrish. Painted by Parrish in 1908 with saturated colors and glazes, this evocative night scene now resides just down the road in the Crystal Bridges Museum. When the painting went on the Christie’s auction block in 2006, Alice Walton stepped up to make the purchase for over $4 million for her museum. My first time seeing “The Lantern Bearers” there, with all my heart I wanted to bring the original home, but, alas, I had to settle for a postcard!

Maxfield Parrish (1870-1966), whose given name was Frederick Parrish, adopted his Grandmother’s maiden name, Maxfield, as his professional name. Raised in a Quaker society, as a child he drew for his own amusement. When his talent was recognized by his parents, they encouraged him and took him to Europe between 1884 and 1886. He attended Haverford College, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the Drexel Institute of Art, Science and Industry. Settling in Plainfield, New Hampshire near the Cornish Art Colony, Parrish entered into an artistic career that lasted more than fifty years, painting to age 91. Also an avid machinist, he frequently referred to himself as “a mechanic who loved to paint”.

Parrish did not shun painting to popular appeal. He recognized that to enjoy big success depended on mass reproductions. Many of his early works were rendered in black and white. He made almost 900 pieces of art including book and magazine covers and illustrations, as well as calendars and greeting cards. Photography became an integral part of his artistic process. Instead of spending hours of drawing from actual models, rather he took photographs, using this innovative technique as a form of artistic shorthand.

In 1904, Parrish signed an exclusive contract with Collier’s magazine stating that his future work would be published solely in Collier’s until 1910. He received $1,250 a month and retained all the original paintings made for the magazine. “The Lantern Bearers” was painted near the end of this period and appeared on the cover of the December 10, 1910 issue. By then Parrish was earning over $100,000 per year, when homes could be bought for $2,000.

As contributor to Startle.com, Amanda Lampel, writes, “By 1925, Parrish’s name was ubiquitous in American households. A staggering one-fourth of American homes had a Parrish print adorning its walls. An art print publisher survey revealed that, at this time, Americans thought of Parrish in the same ranks as Cezanne and van Gogh.”

Rich with atmosphere, “The Light Bearers”, my favorite of all of Parrish’s works, displays his strong sense of romance and his great sense of characterization. As a tour de force of luminosity—delicate and elegant, filled with compositional complexity and detail—the painting shows a masterful handling of paint and a keen understanding of color. The background shade of lapis lazuli blue eventually became eponymous as Parrish blue.

​The work of Maxfield Parrish remains appreciated today, not just by me and visitors to Crystal Bridges. Andy Warhol collected his work. Elton John’s album “Caribou” has a Parrish background. The Moody Blues album “The Present” uses a variation of a Parrish painting. The Irish musician Enya has been inspired by his imagery for her albums and videos including “In Memory of Trees” and “Caribbean Blue”.
Maxfield Parrish, the master of “The Lantern Bearers”, continues to enchant us!