Gallery Artists
Eileen Alexander
Reserve Grand Champion Hendricks County Fair
My second grade art teacher told me I couldn’t draw. When I finally took a drawing class at age 19, I discovered she was wrong. College, career, marriage and family intervened until I took watercolor classes. In the years that ensued my Counted Cross Stitch pieces won awards. In 2006, I moved out of the city to a more rural setting near an Amish Community and began taking quilting classes at The Stitching Nook in Richmond, IN. My love or color and fabric was born. What followed was my quilts earned Blue Ribbons and Best of Show Rosettes in multiple county fairs and quilt shows. When I joined a Quilt Guild in Brownsburg IN and took a class in Art Quilting from Michael Stephens a true addict became hooked! Not realizing how bored I had become with the restrictions of squares, triangles, and rectangles; Art Quilting reignited my passion and set me free. Following that, I became a member of the Crewel Jewels Needlework Guild and my Art portfolio expanded further.
Generally I work from photos I have taken, over the years, to draw or sketch out a basic design, especially if architecture is involved. Then I allow the colors or designs to speak to me as to where I want to go with a piece. My signature has become old barns and landscapes which so often appear in my work. The basis for Quilting is fabric. Yet, in Art Quilting, my pallet has expanded to include acrylic paint, colored pencils, lace, Crewel Embroidery, thread painting, tulle, and Angelina fibers in my compositions.
Over the years my work has been chosen to be displayed at both the Danville and Plainfield Public Libraries that have Art galleries. Since 2018 I have exhibited and sold through The Gallery on the Square in Danville, IN. In 2019 and 2022 I had works accepted for the Reflected Light Juried Art Show. In 2021 my work was on display along with pieces from the Crewel Jewels Needlework Guild’s showcase at the Sullivan -Muncie Cultural Arts Center in Zionsville, IN. It seems each year I manage to pull more and more awards for my work in Counted Cross Stitch as well as Quilting at the Hendricks County Fair open class Art Department. My love of the Arts continues to grow as I mature and it feeds my soul.
Jess Beauchamp
I attended Columbus College of Art & Design in Ohio with a major in Time Based Media (cartoons). I figured out very quickly that Los Angeles wasn't for me and took some time finding ways to use my art back here in Indiana. I worked remotely for a Hollywood horror movie studio called CryptTV for six years. This still sneaks into my work with spooky monsters and lots of skulls. Before the pandemic, I was painting theatrical scenery for all sorts of productions, from the Lyric Opera to massive NFL stages.
When Covid took away the theater, I rediscovered joy in making my own art again. I've made this my full-time job, traveling to conventions to present my paintings and prints and living the dream. Find me at the Danville Farmer's Market in the summer peddling bath bombs.
Sarah Crail
I joined the Indianapolis Professional Photographers Guild and Professional Photographers of America to pursue my photography education. In 2016 I earned my professional certification (CPP). By God's grace, I hope to earn my Master Photographer degree in 2021.
IT ALL STARTED IN 4-H
My love for photography began when my dad took me to my 4H meetings as a kid. We both enjoyed learning together. As I grew older, my folks encouraged me to pursue a "marketable" degree in college. I studied education and Christian counseling. Then I went off to teach at a Christian school overseas for the next 10 years. When Roger and I got married, I was able to quit teaching and revisit my first love of photography.
Giving Back
One of my core values is giving back. Generosity has been a family trait of both the Crail and Motter side of my family, and I believe that some of the most fulfilling things we can do is to be generous with others. For that reason, I give a portion of the earnings on every job to charity or Christian missions in my client's honor each time I book a job.
In gratitude for those who have mentored me along the way, I enjoy giving back by teaching photography workshops and serving in the Indianapolis PPA association where I currently serve as president.
Becky Crosbie
As an artist and educator for many years, there is nothing more rewarding for me than to witness a student’s excitement when discovering the magic of the creative process whether that process involves writing, visual art or performing art.
My passion for art has taken me on a fascinating journey from developing student displays for the Eiteljorg Museum and the Indianapolis Children’s Museum to sculpting public art pieces exhibited at the Indianapolis Zoo and Riley Hospital. My work has been part of a variety of venues including Hoosier Salon, Arts Illiana Gallery, Conner Prairie, Broad Ripple Art Fair, Carmel Art Fair, Circle Center Mall (Indianapolis), the Bungalow (Broad Ripple) and others.
As a ceramic artist my goal is to breathe life into the clay—to make it dance…to make it tell a story. My clay pieces are a celebration of people and nature. They are brightly colored and multi-textured. If my work brings a smile to the viewer’s face, I am happy!
Contact me about purchases and shipping: www.walnutcreekart.com
Jennifer Davies
Bur Oak Studios
Jennifer has been knitting on and off since age 8. She began making jewelry as supplement to public school educator salary 15 years ago, starting Bur Oak Studio. Inspired by her love of fiber arts and recycling she began using the old aluminum needles & hooks for her materials in all their awesome colors! Retired from teaching in 2022 Jennifer is expanding her class offerings and fiber-focused adventures- come join in to use basic techniques and unusual parts to make unique, whimsical creations!
She and her family are the caretakers of the local Twin Bridges Natural Area, a 200-acre site with more than 4 miles of hiking trails on County Road 200 S!
April DeGeeter
Carlton Dixon
Paul Fenter
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Susan Fox
I've always loved the beauty and wonder of fine art. As a child, I would take the bus downtown with my mother, or by myself, to attend art history lectures and special exhibits at the Art Institute of Chicago. This love of art appreciation and color has stayed with me throughout my life. I continued to drop in at local art museums and exhibits, and when I traveled overseas for work, I made a point of going to the many galleries and museums.
Although my mother was a watercolorist, I didn’t start exploring my own creative spirit until later in life mostly to balance out a stressful job. About 15 years ago, I began taking various art classes, but when I attended a weekend Silk Workshop, I was hooked. I loved the way the dye spreads and changes on the semi-transparent, shimmering silk. It warms my soul and quiets my spirit to paint with dye on silk.
Since then, I have taken in-person and online classes from Master Silk Painters (MSP) to learn various techniques associated with silk, including using resists and the sizing technique to control dye spread, creating free flowing designs, the use of Japanese shibori methods, and most recently learning a wax layering process, as well as using a microwave to dye. I have attended a week-long workshop in Seattle to learn the silk sizing technique directly from Karen Sistek, MSP where no resist is used, and the silk work is mounted on canvas. Furthermore, I have attended and taken classes at the Silk Painter International (SPIN) Conference, as well as their online classes. Additionally, I have taken silk and color mixing classes locally and online from recognized silk painters.
My art primarily includes wearable silk: scarves, wraps, and ties, as well as mounted silk of botanical designs. I donate scarves for cancer patients to the Little Red Door Cancer Agency in Indianapolis. In addition, I belong to the society of Silk Painters International (SPIN). I have sold my work through the Charlotte Art League, social media, my ETSY shop (DyedSilksBySusan), and at the Gallery on the Square in Danville, Indiana. I regularly teach silk classes at the Gallery on the Square.
Sue Gillock
Sue is an accomplished artist. Her education includes, Franklin College, Franklin IN, B.A in Art, M.A. E in Art Education from Herron School of Art. Her experience includes teaching art sice 1976. She is co-owner of Glass Design Studio specializing in custom designs, fired glass painting and Patede Verne. Exhibitions include, Penrod Society Art Fair, Broad Ripple Art Fair, Hoosier Salon, Broad Ripple Gallery. She has also been in the recipient of the Eli Lilly Creativity Grant in 2003 and 2011.
Laura Kezer
Lolly Knits
I am a retired grandmother. I taught myself to knit when I was about 9 years old. Ten years ago I responded to a request from a family whose grandmother had recently died and they hoped to continue her tradition of knitting the family’s Christmas stockings. When I agreed, I was given a bag with her needles, wool and original pattern. So far I have knitted seven stockings for them and it has evolved into even more commissioned requests. Sometimes I am asked to make special designs but many families wish to have duplicates of older family stockings. Requests can be made to Lolly Knits at lekezer@hotmail.com.
Debra Kirby
Joan Kisner
My paintings are from nature, photographs or just fun ideas I have with real scenes, with added whimsy. My favorites are my acrylic collages which have won many awards, including one from Robert Indiana. My jewelry is a potpourri of styles and materials. I have taken many jewelry classes including one on "found objects"
Mary McCartney- Jones
My name is Mary McCartney-Jones, and I reside in Jamestown, IN. I have been drawing and painting for over 50 years. If my work makes you happy that is my goal. Everything I do is all for God’s glory.
Bailey McChesney
Howdy! My name is Bailey McChesney. I am a local to Danville, IN. I studied Animal Science with a concentration on Equine Management at Murray State University, where I received my bachelor’s degree in December 2019. Upon graduation I moved to Valley View, Texas. Where I was an assistant horse trainer & trained reining performance horses. I had the privilege of learning from the best in the industry & meet some amazing people. It was a whirlwind of a life I loved dearly. I recently moved back to Danville and have dove back into creating art. I have very little formal art training, taking only a beginner drawing & oil painting class in college. Most of what I know is from my late grandfather and my great uncle, who were both very talented artists.
My art work is western themed ink drawings. I have prints available and sell them un-matted/matted/or framed.
This is a very new venture for me and I am excited to continue creating about the lifestyle I love!“
Bob McColgin
Bob McColgin, Avon, IN, a retired high school physics teacher and public-school administrator, has been doing lapidary work since 2012. He cuts rocks into slabs, then roughs out individual pieces and polishes the pieces into unique cabochons/pendants.
Originally, he purchased metal bails to make each one ready to hang on chains and cords. Since 2021 Bob has been using sterling-silver and gold-plated wire to create individualized bails for each cabochon.
He enjoys discovering the unique natural beauty in each specimen. This has also led him to create three-dimensional mixed media pieces that include nativities, crosses and bolo ties. No two pieces are alike.
Bob got his start by taking several lapidary classes at The FROG rock shop in Pittsboro and continues to learn. He has sold and exhibited at the Gallery on the Square since 2018, as well as at public art fairs and juried non-profit fundraisers in Henricks, Hamilton and Jennings Counties.
Contact Bob at bob.mccolgin@gmail.com or 317-409-9759.
Donna Nolan-Sanders
Donna Nolan-Sanders in one of the managers of the gallery. She is well known around the city for her realistic oil painting and her unique talent of speed painting.
Lisa Pello
Background/training
BFA specializing in Glass from Bowling Green State University – Bowling Green, Ohio. Indianapolis Art Center/Marilyn K. Glick School of Art, Indianapolis, IN – Former Glass Studio Department Head 2005-2011
Indianapolis Art Center/Marilyn K. Glick School of Art, Indianapolis, IN – Former Faculty Instructor for 13 years.
Creative Inspirations:
Glass is its own inspiration. There is no other medium like it. The challenge of controlling it better and making more elaborate and complex forms: this is a lifelong project. Color in glass is fascinating. When the light can come in and out of the form through the color to create its own visual interest regardless of the form, that is a skill that must be honed and sometimes never understood by other glass workers. What there is about glass – you must master the medium…glass in motion and be able to tell it what to do. You must know colors/not just the color wheel but what glass colors are chemically and what they do not and cold and what colors do to enhance the form and then be able to put them where you want them. Then, make the form, an artistically complete form by knowing those basic rules and then create the final vision. The skill set is always in forward development when creating glass.
Lisa’s business name is Hot Blown Glass, Ltd, Hot Blown Glass Studio and Gallery
and Mobile Hot Shop for Demonstrations and Hands-On Events. Her social media for Hot Blown Glass includes Facebook, Instagram, Google Business and Yelp.
Indiana Artisan – 2009 – Present (comprehensive program launched in 2008 by the Indiana Office of Tourism Development, Office of Community and Rural Affairs, the Indiana Arts Commission, and the Indiana State Department of Agriculture.
Cindy Petty
Flory Phillips
Frosty's paint and sip class
paint and sip class of wild flowers
Flory Phillips grew up in Hendricks County. She studied art with a private studio and attended Indiana University.
Flory enjoys people, art and entertaining. Put those three together and you have Paint and Sip. What is Paint and Sip?
It's a fun social event at the Gallery on the Square. Painters enjoy sipping their favorite beverage as they create their own work of art.
Flory guides the group with step-by-step instructions to re-create the featured painting of the day.
A little nervous. Don't be. Flory makes painting easy and exciting as you connect with your inner artsy side. No Experience. No problem. At the end of the event, you take home a beautiful piece of art that was you created!.
You can check out upcoming events and sign up for classes at www.paintandsip.net
"If you hear a voice within you say 'you cannot paint,' then by all means paint and that voice will be silenced." -Vincent van Gogh
Suzanne Piepenbrink
Suzanne has been involved with art most of her life. There are several types of artists in her family that include painting, photography, writing and music. Suzanne enjoys creating in oils, watercolors, and pastels.
Jimmy Ramsey
I became interested in leathercraft while in the military. After leaving the army in 1972, I obtained materials for, and made several possibles bags for black powder rifle shooters. Then college, followed by life, happened for 34 years. In 2006, I wanted a sporran, but disliked anything available. I found a Tandy leather store, obtained materials, made a pattern, took a tooling class, designed, and made a sporran with the Ramsay family Clan Crest tooled on it. I was hooked. For the past 16 years, hundreds of different items from book covers to moccasins have been made due to this interest in leathercraft.
For more information send an email to jimmyramsey@comcast.net
Susan Reece
My name is Susan and I’m a clay medium artist. My love of ceramic art began as a small child. I loved putting my hands on the clay and molding something new and magical. I also loved pouring slip into a mold and watching the form of something being created. I’ve had a passion for art my whole life. Now I get to create items in my own studio and share them with you!
Slip casting is the first type of ceramics that I learned. I have worked with molds for over 35 years. I decided to try wheel throwing 8 years ago. I took a class and I’ve been hooked ever since. I like to mix it up a little bit, so I work on the wheel for a while and then I do some hand building.
I've studied ceramics in numerous studios in Indiana. I've attended workshops at the Arrowmont School of Craft in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. I have also attended pottery classes at The Indianapolis Art Center (IAC) in Broad Ripple since August 2014. I am a studio monitor at IAC and sometimes teacher’s assistant with kids’ workshops. I’ve also volunteered numerous hours at Arrowmont.
I’ve been influenced by several potters over the years. Robert Alewine of Alewine Pottery is probably the most influential of them all. He has several functional pieces that are beautifully decorated and glazed.
I have also worked with wood crafts and painting on canvas. I've had the pleasure of taking classes and teaching classes in both tole painting on wood and painting on canvas.
I enjoy making miniatures for dollhouses, shadow boxes, fairy gardens, miniature accessories, and decorations. I like challenging myself to see how small and realistic I can make something.
Over the years I have participated in craft fairs. Pieces of my pottery have been and still are on display at the IAC. I've had success selling a few pieces through IAC. My artwork has been sold in numerous shops across Indiana and two in Gatlinburg Tennessee.
Currently, I’m a participating artist in the Gallery on the Square in Danville, Indiana. I also have booth space in three other shops in Indiana.
Sheran Simo
Sheran considers herself a world explorer, as she was raised in an Air Force family. Much of her life was spent moving from place to place, often with little that wasn’t stored in boxes. Crafting came easily as it was most easily portable and accessible.
She comes from a very talented family and continues to use the skill and love of creating instilled in her as a child. While she has transitioned to jewelry – her early years of creativity included macramé, lapidary, cake decorating, crochet and cross stitch.
After starting as a bead artist in 2007, her work continues to evolve, with the addition of wire wrap in 2008 and chainmail in 2009. She added metalsmithing after studying with Jewelry Artist Andréa Jackson in 2010 and incorporates the various techniques into pieces currently on sale at the Gallery on the Square.
Her work is known both nationally and internationally. Her wire wrap took 1st Place in 3-D Design in the Central Indiana Artists Art Fair in the Spring of 2009. In addition, she was accepted as a juried member of the International Guild of Wire Jewelry Artists and became a member of Indiana Artisans in 2009. Her work can be found exclusively at Gallery on the Square in Danville, Indiana.
Brenda Whicker
Brenda Whicker is a life-long resident of Indiana and currently lives with her husband on a farm in Hendricks County. A mix of animals and farm fields gives Brenda plenty of inspiration for her colorful watercolor and oil paintings.
Her artistic training began in high school with a major in art. Although she pursued a career as a pharmacist, she never lost interest in art and continued involvement with art-related projects. Over the past few years Brenda has actively pursued advanced art-related training with several nationally well-known artists.
Brenda’s strives to capture the effect of light in both still life and landscape paintings and hopes that her paintings fully express the beautiful effect of light in our environment.
Pat Wilkerson
Pat's Woodturnings
Pat first started woodturning about 45 years ago, however, life got busy, and she took a break from turning. About 15 years ago, she took some refresher classes at the Indianapolis Art Center, and she was hooked for good. Since then, she has taken instructions from local, national and internationally known woodturners.
Traditional woodturning starts with a single piece of wood. The size, grain orientation and colors of the wood will frame how it can be turned into an object like a bowl, platter, or vase. She also enjoys segmenting woodturning.
She sells her pieces at several Galleries and shops in Central Indiana including Gallery on the Square in Danville. She also does commissions.
Pat is a member of the Central Indiana Wood Workers, American Association of Woodturners, American Association of Segmented Woodturners and the Central Ohio Woodturners Guild
Heather Wood
We are excited to introduce our new candle artist Heather Wood, The Big Spoon Shoppe. Heather creates the vessels by using concrete and marbling technique with acrylic paint. Each vessel is coated with a heat resistant layer of epoxy on the inside.
The candles are made of 100% Virgin Coconut Soy Wax. The wicks are made from wood or cotton. Each candle is decorated using a variety of techniques. Environmentally friendly materials such as crystals, Indiana Geodes dye, glitter and mica powder are used. There are no two candles alike.
Shirley Woolard
Shirley has been an artist for a number of years. She was a former member of the gallery and has decided to come back and be a part of the gallery. She also teaches watercolor classes.
1st. Place Winner
Retiring Artists
Marti McCoy
Marti McCoy has been concentrating on watercolor for the last 20 years, since her retirement from teaching Art in the Danville Public Schools. She is now teaching about three 8 week series, every year, at the Gallery, for adults, entitled Sharing the Secrets of Watercolor.
Her own paintings are bright and often whimsical. Subject matter is often children or animals, although she still loves painting still life or flowers occasionally, just for the satisfaction. If you wonder what might have inspired any work of hers, just turn it over, as she usually writes a little about the evolution of the painting on the back. This habit began during her post retirement job at Turtlecreek Pottery, a part of the Workshops of David T. Smith in Ohio, where she often wrote a comment or two on the back of her pottery. These museum-quality redware reproductions of 18th century pottery still occasionally show up on E-Bay.
Marti has degrees centered around art education from both DePauw and Indiana University, and more than 40 hours beyond her Masters in various fields of Art. She is a retired Docent at the Indianapolis Museum of Art, and has had professional work in Hoosier Salon, Indiana State Fair, Clayfest, and many Hendricks County Fairs.
Linda Gilbert
Linda retired from Crown Hill Cemetery and learning to paint with watercolors was at the top of her bucket list. I began taking classes with Marti McCoy in the spring of 2015. I hadn't painted any type of pictures for 50 years (high school). I love learning and am blessed to be part of the Gallery on the Square. My favorite subjects are the children in the family and animals.
In Loving Memory
Stay Tuned
Shirley Adams
Shirley was a founding member of the Gallery, which she dearly loved, and set the bar high for all of us. When she stood in line to receive her talent, God blessed her with both cooking and sewing, and a lot of ambition. She truly blessed us all with her talent and friendship, and her departure will leave a hole in our hearts, but we know we will fill it with wonderful memories of her. Her talent will still be on display and her fiber art: purses, wall hangings, and some clothing from her TV shows will continue to be on sale, at least for a while. In her memory, the Gallery’s Plein Air award for 2021 was designated as the Shirley Adams Award.
