America the Beautiful Art Exhibit
February 4 – March 21
Sponsored by Ron Bry

Awards Reception
February 13, 6:00pm – 8:00pm
Judge: Stuart Roddy
Music: Jim Kanas & Roger Hintzsche

Participating artists include Cindy Bear, Alice Blue, Richard Born, Bob Cholke, Rick Davis, Connie Fry, Beverly Garcia, Chuck Gregory, Timothy Griffith, Dan Grossmann, Stephen Hart, Kat Heitzman, Maggie Isaacs, Bob Kapheim, Julie Kennelly, Linnea Koch, Paula Kuehl, Bob Logsdon, Colleen Logsdon, Henry Matthiessen III, Joy Meyer, Gary Pearson, Joe Popp, Stephonie A Schmitz, and Joseph Virbickis.

Joy Meyer

Taft Gallery Artist, February 1 – March 31

Joy Meyer earned both her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Art and Art Education from Northern Illinois University. She retired in 2005 after teaching art for thirty years, the last twenty years at Rock Falls High School in Rock Falls, IL. Joy also taught many workshops for both teenagers and adults during her career and shortly after retirement. She has won numerous awards for both her painting and her teaching.

Joy has enjoyed working in many different media including watercolor, pen and ink, pencil, glass etching, stained glass, and silk painting, but the medium she has chosen to specialize in during recent years is Acrylic Painting. She enjoys working in a fairly realistic style using primarily bright, cheerful colors. Her actual painting techniques vary depending on the subject matter being painted and the mood desired, often using many techniques within a painting to better represent the details within the painting. Joy also enjoys the challenges of working in an increasingly wider variety of subject matter.



Lowden Gallery Artist: Ellen "Ellie" R. Bartels
March 1 - April 30

​Ellie has a BA degree in Education and a BFA in Studio Art , both from the University of Washington. She taught art, K – 12, in Orangeville, Il for 12 years. She currently lives in Freeport, Il.

Ellie states, “ The process of transforming paint and canvas into an appealing and effective image scares, frustrates, excites and inspires me.

My work starts out with a subject or theme in mind, usually based on my personal response to nature or a past experience, and a general plan on how to accomplish my goal. As it progresses spontaneity and intuition take over and my unconscious becomes the director.
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I have found that both oils and acrylics work well as vehicles for translating my inner vision to outer reality. Both comply with my enjoyment of layering paint and working the canvas by scraping, rubbing, scratching through, dry brushing, etc., to create depth and texture and to bring the surface to life.

It is my wish that the viewer will want to spend time with my work, to contemplate its meaning, discover its complexities, or to just enjoy the colors and shapes.

Cora Hutchison is a life-long resident of the Rock River Valley, Midwest roots and a love of animals and nature has inspired much of Cora Hutchison’s past and current work. A self-taught artist, with some formal education, Cora has been active in the arts throughout her career. A soft style and photo realism in her work has brought her animals, landscapes and portraits to the forefront.

Originally, her art centered around pastels and eventually embracing watercolors for her animals and children. In recent years graphite has dominated her work in portraits and “Americana” scenes.

Cora has shown her art in galleries and venues locally and throughout the Midwest for several years working closely with the community and local groups.

The Rockford DanceMakers Festival (RDMF) celebrates professional choreographers in the Stateline area by producing their work in annual showcases that entertain, challenge, move, and inspire.

For its debut, the RDMF will present two public performances on Friday, March 20 at 7 pm and Saturday, March 21 at 6 pm at the RPL Nordlof Center’s J.R. Sullivan Theater, offering Rockford audiences a rich and varied experience of concert dance. Following the opening-night performance, there will be a Q&A with the choreographers on stage.

The inaugural program will feature original works by ten professional choreographers from the Rockford area and surrounding region, along with special guest Winifred Haun & Dancers. An award-winning choreographer and dancer based in Chicago and Oak Park, Winifred Haun will also host a master class on Saturday, March 21 at 1 pm at Rockford Dance Company.

Rockford DanceMakers Festival 2026 Lineup:
Baylor Twins Move (Caitlyn Baylor & Meghan Baylor)
Ella Lakey
Eona Carey*
Faith Minneyfield
Gina T'ai
Jenny Vause
Maria E. Castello
Michelle R. Stolberg
Penna Broman
Without Shoes Modern Dance Company
*Winifred Haun & Dancers

Buckle up for what the New York Times called “A timely boxing match of a history play.”

In 1950, Margaret Chase Smith was the junior Senator from Maine and the only woman in the Senate. A staunch Republican, she nevertheless bucked her party and the prevailing winds of politics when she took to the floor of the Senate to denounce Senator Joseph McCarthy in a speech she called, “a declaration of conscience.”