Krehbiel (1873-1945), with works for sale. The Carriage Factory Art Gallery also maintains a collection by the Impressionist and later Abstract painter Albert H. Head here for temporary shows by regional artists and a sales gallery for local work in a wide range of media. Carriage Factory Art Gallery Source: Monkey Business Images / shutterstock Art Galleryĭowntown, a lovely two-story former factory building from 1883 has become an art center for Newton and the wider area. On a clear day, the cobalt-glazed tile backdrop merges with the Kansas sky, inviting you to contemplate the sky’s natural movement behind.īlue Sky is designed for interaction, and there’s a bench in the parking lot, and a set of steps leading up to the sculpture. This piece was named as one of the Eight Wonders of Kansas Art by the Kansas Sampler Foundation. 1946), who studied at Bethel College and has a Mennonite background. The Blue Sky sculpture (2008) is by Phil Epp (b. Take a moment to appreciate the mesmerizing piece of public art by the main entrance Centennial Park. Blue Sky Sculpture Source: BUI LE MANH HUNG / shutterstock Blue Sky Sculpture Outside there’s a 1.5-acre tallgrass prairie restoration, as well as an historic farmstead built between 18 and relocated to this site.ĥ. Meanwhile “Mennonite Immigrant Furniture” presents a collection of exquisite furniture brought to Kansas from Prussia and the Russian Empire in the 1870s and 1880s or built by their first-generation descendents. The main permanent exhibit, “Of Land & People: Mennonites of the Central Plains”, documents immigrants’ encounters with the prairie in the 1870s. To get to grips with the region’s past you have to make the short trip to North Newton, home to the attractive Bethel College campus, with a magnificent Administration Building (1887) on the National Register of Historic Places.īethel College is affiliated with the Mennonite Church, and the award-winning Kauffman Museum goes into depth on the history of the Mennonites in Kansas. Kauffman Museum Source: Kauffman Museum / Facebook Kauffman Museum You can immerse yourself in this history at the Kauffman Museum, on the Bethel College campus in North Newton, and at the Warkentin House (1886), which is in an amazing state of preservation. The Mennonites brought with them Turkey Red hard winter wheat, a hardy, high-yield wheat variety that helped turn Kansas into the breadbasket of America. For a time this was a sketchy town in the Old West, before the railroads enabled a wave of Mennonite immigration from the old Kingdom of Prussia and Russian Empire. Location: 12 th and Kansas, go east at Dillon's to Centennial Park.Į-mail: and admission fee: Always open, no fee.The seat of Harvey County in south-central Kansas has a unique place in Kansas history. The figures are intentionally abstract so that the observer can assign them individual activity and identity. The Shino glaze with rich, dark accents from iron oxide has been used for centuries by both Chinese and Japanese ceramists. The sturdy, thick walled figures require six months to dry and are fired twice for eight days at a temperature of 2290 degrees Fahrenheit. The stoneware figures encourage interaction between the sculpture and the viewer. This "heart of the sculpture experience" is intended to enhance the viewer's observance of the surrounding sky and take a leading role in the visual drama. ![]() The sculpture participant is encouraged to stand in the sky passageway. The warm sunlight on a winter day makes the south side of the towers a pleasant area reminiscent of a prairie windbreak. The massive arced walls are designed to accentuate the distant perspective and to be in rhythm with the rolling landscape. The night lighting is intended to illuminate the cloud surface and fade into the natural night sky.Ĭlose-up viewers are encouraged to touch the tactile ceramic surfaces and look up. The sun movement from east to west along the arched surface will change the color and intensity at different times of the day. The hand-painted and hand-installed tiles have a slight variation that causes light to shimmer and flicker on the liquid surface. It can also be seen reflected in the shiny surface of the tile. On an active weather day, three perspectives may be observed simultaneously: The natural sky can be viewed behind the glazed tiles and through the sky passageway. The tile sky motif is intended to heighten the viewer's awareness of the changing Kansas sky.
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