Marshall County Arts Cooperative

Photos Courtesy of MCAC

Alex Laughlin’s January exhibition, “Cosmos and Soul,” remains on display at the Lee Dam Center for Fine Art, 201 S. 9th St., with several public viewing times still ahead this month.

Laughlin’s work includes what he calls Soup Portraits, pieces he began during the pandemic. He said the portraits grew out of meditation and intention and serve as a visual expression of what he describes as a healed version of himself. He said the work moves across styles and mediums.

“Over time, I developed limiting beliefs about what art should look like, one medium, one subject, one definition of good art,” Laughlin said. “Those beliefs did not just stifle my creativity, they began to shape and restrict my identity.”

He said being laid off and quarantined gave him space to step outside those boxes and rethink his creative process.

“Through meditation and intention, it became more than art,” Laughlin said. “It became a tool for transformation.”

Viewing hours are Wednesday, January 21, from 4 to 6 p.m.; Friday, January 23, from noon to 6 p.m.; Sunday, January 25, from noon to 3 p.m.; Wednesday, January 28, from 4 to 6 p.m.; Friday, January 30, from noon to 6 p.m.; Saturday, January 31, from 10 a.m. to noon.

The February exhibition at the art center will feature pottery by Eric Stearns. Stearns works in raku, a firing method in which pottery is removed from a hot kiln and cooled quickly, creating crackled glaze patterns and smoky markings that make each piece one of a kind. He uses those rapid changes to explore themes of fragility and connection. Influenced by mathematics, he builds patterns into his forms and uses glaze color and texture to shape how the viewer responds.

A Senior Saturday program is planned for Saturday, February 7, from 8 to 10 a.m., with Stearns speaking at 9 a.m. A public reception will follow from 10 to 11 a.m.

More information is available at marshallcountyarts.org.