TheFairfield Art Association announces the Closing Reception and Gallery Talk byMark Shafer, whose Retrospective Art Exhibit is on display in the Main Galleryat the Fairfield Arts & Convention Center. The reception will be SundayJanuary 24 from 2-4 PM and the Gallery Talk will begin at 3:00 PM. Allattendees must wear masks and social distance. The exhibit remains open to thepublic Monday - Friday from 9 AM-5 PM through the end of January.

 

Markhas just completed another painting "Joseph, Terror of Demons and Saviorof the Savior" and it will be added to the Retrospective display andincluded in the Gallery Talk with meaning behind all the details in the artpiece. The full exhibit has been several decades in the making by local artistMark Shafer. 

 

MarkShafer's first drawing lesson took place in his Grandpa Summers' lap. Aftermastering the anatomy of a cow's hind leg, Shafer moved on to embrace othersubject matter.

Thisshow explores local architecture, the Polio Pandemic, Greek Mythology, NativeAmerican Culture, Christian Iconography and Chickens, with explicit writtendescriptions of pieces. Shafer's work tells a story and incorporates amultitude of images with deep meaning in each one.

 

Shafer was raised on a farmnorth of Fairfield and is a 1967 graduate of FHS. He studied art at theUniversity of Iowa and abroad. In 1972 he married Susan Anderson. He taught Artand Special Education in the Fairfield Schools for 34 years. Mark was afounding member of the Fairfield Art Association in 1966 as its youngest memberand went on to serve as a board member several years. His previous FAA one manshow was in the organization's old gallery in the basement of the CarnegieBuilding in 1976 and featured the original drawings for his popular book"Fairfield at the Turn of the (19^th) Century".

 

Shafer serves on the localHistorical Preservation Commission and received Fairfield's citizen of the yearaward in 2006 for his many community contributions. In receiving that honor, hewas described as "atruly gifted individual, with a wonderful sense of humor and great attitudetowards life and is a community treasure. With an expertise in so many areas,he is constantly called upon for facts, educated opinions and colorfulanecdotes from a vast store of knowledge."

 

TheFairfield Entrepreneurs' Hall of Fame Portraits were painted by Shafer and hangin the Executive Conference room at the FACC. Since his retirement in 2008Shafer has directed the Carnegie Historical Museum.

 

You can go to these linksto  view Mark Shafer talking about"Becoming an Artist" and another about a recent painting "Communion of Saints"- two different videos created by Burt Chojnowski

Becomingan Artist - https://youtu.be/26uVK5YO4S0

Communion of Saints- https://youtu.be/gdp2G_WM3Nw

The April blood drive will be held on Wednesday, April 14 will be 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm.

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is the provider of blood and blood components to more than 90 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. In your area, MVRBC is the exclusive provider to Jefferson County Health Center.

We have implemented our Emergency Plan here at the Blood Center to protect donors and our staff. This includes:
• Placing only one screening station on a table (observing social distancing)
• Wiping down all machines and equipment after each use
• Spacing beds apart to continue social distancing
• Wiping down beds after each use
• Encouraging donors to allow space in the refreshment area

In addition, donors who want to limit time at the drive can complete the EarlyQ prior to coming to the drive; we can the barcode emailed to them and they move directly to the vital station, then to donation. Feel free to share the link with your donors: www.bloodcenter.org


Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission form available through www.bloodcenter.org and weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. is required to donate. For questions about eligibility, please call the Blood Center at (800)452-1097. Donors are eligible to donate whole blood every 56 days.

Blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that takes about 45 minutes to one hour. Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure may be accepted as eligible donors.

To schedule an appointment or view upcoming blood drives, visit www.BloodCenterIMPACT.org or call 800-452-1097.

The March blood drive will be held on Wednesday, March 17 will be 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm.

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is the provider of blood and blood components to more than 90 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. In your area, MVRBC is the exclusive provider to Jefferson County Health Center.

We have implemented our Emergency Plan here at the Blood Center to protect donors and our staff. This includes:
• Placing only one screening station on a table (observing social distancing)
• Wiping down all machines and equipment after each use
• Spacing beds apart to continue social distancing
• Wiping down beds after each use
• Encouraging donors to allow space in the refreshment area

In addition, donors who want to limit time at the drive can complete the EarlyQ prior to coming to the drive; we can the barcode emailed to them and they move directly to the vital station, then to donation. Feel free to share the link with your donors: www.bloodcenter.org


Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission form available through www.bloodcenter.org and weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. is required to donate. For questions about eligibility, please call the Blood Center at (800)452-1097. Donors are eligible to donate whole blood every 56 days.

Blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that takes about 45 minutes to one hour. Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure may be accepted as eligible donors.

To schedule an appointment or view upcoming blood drives, visit www.BloodCenterIMPACT.org or call 800-452-1097.

The February blood drive will be held on Wednesday, February 17 will be 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm.

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is the provider of blood and blood components to more than 90 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. In your area, MVRBC is the exclusive provider to Jefferson County Health Center.

We have implemented our Emergency Plan here at the Blood Center to protect donors and our staff. This includes:
• Placing only one screening station on a table (observing social distancing)
• Wiping down all machines and equipment after each use
• Spacing beds apart to continue social distancing
• Wiping down beds after each use
• Encouraging donors to allow space in the refreshment area

In addition, donors who want to limit time at the drive can complete the EarlyQ prior to coming to the drive; we can the barcode emailed to them and they move directly to the vital station, then to donation. Feel free to share the link with your donors: www.bloodcenter.org


Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission form available through www.bloodcenter.org and weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. is required to donate. For questions about eligibility, please call the Blood Center at (800)452-1097. Donors are eligible to donate whole blood every 56 days.

Blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that takes about 45 minutes to one hour. Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure may be accepted as eligible donors.

To schedule an appointment or view upcoming blood drives, visit www.BloodCenterIMPACT.org or call 800-452-1097.

The January blood drive will be held on Wednesday, January 20 will be 3:00 pm - 6:00 pm.

Mississippi Valley Regional Blood Center is the provider of blood and blood components to more than 90 hospitals in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri and Wisconsin. In your area, MVRBC is the exclusive provider to Jefferson County Health Center.

We have implemented our Emergency Plan here at the Blood Center to protect donors and our staff. This includes:
• Placing only one screening station on a table (observing social distancing)
• Wiping down all machines and equipment after each use
• Spacing beds apart to continue social distancing
• Wiping down beds after each use
• Encouraging donors to allow space in the refreshment area

In addition, donors who want to limit time at the drive can complete the EarlyQ prior to coming to the drive; we can the barcode emailed to them and they move directly to the vital station, then to donation. Feel free to share the link with your donors: www.bloodcenter.org


Potential donors must be at least 17 years of age (16 with parental permission form available through www.bloodcenter.org and weigh more than 110 pounds. A photo I.D. is required to donate. For questions about eligibility, please call the Blood Center at (800)452-1097. Donors are eligible to donate whole blood every 56 days.

Blood donation is a safe, simple procedure that takes about 45 minutes to one hour. Individuals with diabetes or controlled high blood pressure may be accepted as eligible donors.

To schedule an appointment or view upcoming blood drives, visit www.BloodCenterIMPACT.org or call 800-452-1097.

Give the gift of entertainment, an experience.

Give a Little, Get a Little!

They say giving is its own reward and who are we to doubt it? This Black Friday your Center is getting in on the giving action by treating our favorite gift givers.

This weekend only, when you purchase a gift certificate, you'll receive a BONUS gift just for you!

THE MORE YOU BUY,THE MORE YOU SAVE!

 

The BONUS will be mailed within a week of being purchased. Your original amount will be able to be printed at home or picked up from our offices.

 

Deals are good Black Friday weekend only. Don't lose out! Order before this disappears on Monday.

 

"We are the music-makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams,
We are the movers and shakers of the world forever, it seems."
― Arthur O'Shaughnessy's Ode

Dear Friends,

Well, 2020 has been quite a year! From a global pandemic to equal rights demonstrations around the world to an inland hurricane in our own backyard, we've all needed to test our innovation skills and tap into our resilience as we ride these unpredictable waves of change.

When the world is changed, the strong change with it. My takeaway from the year so far? The words of Nobel Prize Winner Dennis Gabor come to mind: "We cannot predict the future, but we can invent it."

That's why I'm so excited to bring you on board the new future we're inventing here at your Center.

As we wait to welcome our audiences back into the theater in larger numbers for live performances, we are by no means idle. We have a slew of out-of-the-box, vital, and sustainable plans for innovative events, socially distanced partnerships with local businesses, small gatherings, virtual educational content, and more to continue to remain useful in service to our community.

Topping the list, I am delighted to announce that Fairfield Flix at the FACC, your brand new movie theater, will soon be a wonderful, positive reality.

But we can do none of this without your help. Now more than ever, YOU are the key to unlocking the future.

This is perhaps one of the most crucial times for arts and culture organizations that we have yet faced in our lifetimes. I'll say it again: when the world is changed, the strong change with it.

Your community needs and depends on your support more than ever before, and today, I am asking you to have an unprecedented influence on the local culture and economy by donating to your Fairfield Arts & Convention Center.

"We cannot predict the future, but we can invent it." Together, we are not only reimagining the future of performing arts and cultural events, but today, you have the chance to CREATE that future. What we do now will have ripple effects far beyond this time and this town.

We ARE the music makers, and the dreamers of dreams, and yes—we will be the movers and shakers of the world forever.

Be the key. Shape the future. Please give to your Fairfield Arts & Convention Center today.

I'm thanking you in advance for your generosity in making this community vibrant, creative, healthy and whole.

With great hope and great love,

Lindsay Bauer
Executive Director
lindsay@fairfieldacc.com

• Text "FACC" to 44-321
• Go to fairfieldacc.com and click "Donate."
• Mail your support to FACC, 200 North Main, Fairfield, IA 52556

The Fairfield Art Association announces the opening of an exhibitseveral decades in the making by local artist Mark Shafer.

 The "retrospective" display of artwork is in the Main Gallery at the Fairfield Arts & Convention Centerand is open to the public for viewing during the facility's business hoursMonday - Friday from 9 AM - 5 PM. Please remember to wear a mask andsocial distance inside. A reception for the artist will be held in the futureon a date to be determined.

Mark Shafer's first drawing lesson took place in his GrandpaSummers' lap. After mastering the anatomy of a cow's hind leg, Shafer moved onto embrace other subject matter.

This show explores local architecture, thePolio Pandemic, Greek Mythology, Native American Culture, Christian Iconographyand Chickens, with explicit written descriptions of pieces. Shafer's work tellsa story and incorporates a multitude of images with deep meaning in each one.

Shafer was raised on a farm north of Fairfield and is a 1967graduate of FHS. He studied art at the University of Iowa and abroad. In 1972he married Susan Anderson. He taught Art and Special Education in the FairfieldSchools for 34 years. Mark was a founding member of the Fairfield ArtAssociation in 1966 as its youngest member and went on to serve as a boardmember several years. His previous FAA one man show was in the organization'sold gallery in the basement of the Carnegie Building in 1976 and featured theoriginal drawings for his popular book "Fairfield at the Turn of the (19^th)Century".

Shafer serves on the local Historical Preservation Commission andreceived Fairfield's citizen of the year award in 2006 for his many communitycontributions. In receiving that honor, he was described as "a truly giftedindividual, with a wonderful sense of humor and great attitude towards life andis a community treasure. With an expertise in so many areas, he is constantlycalled upon for facts, educated opinions and colorful anecdotes from a vaststore of knowledge."

The Fairfield Entrepreneurs' Hall of Fame Portraits were paintedby Shafer and hang in the Executive Conference room at the FACC. Since hisretirement in 2008 Shafer has directed the Carnegie Historical Museum.

You can go to these links to view Mark Shafer talking about"Becoming an Artist" and another about a recent painting "Communion of Saints"- two different videos created by Burt Chojnowski

Becomingan Artist - https://youtu.be/26uVK5YO4S0

Communionof Saints - https://youtu.be/gdp2G_WM3Nw

Pictures below & attached of Painting Process: 

Artist Mark Shafer's step bystep creative process on "Ocean of Mercy", involves daily painting, religiousfigures with emerging fine details that tell the story, and sometimes dedicatedwith brush strokes for a friend or loved one.

25 November- Cuban dictator, Fidel Castro dies…upon arriving atthe studio I am horrified to discover the encroaching lavender sand had madePadre Pio look like Fidel's clone…a few pencil strokes rectified the situationand Pio was back to his authentic self.

The HOLY FACE begins totake 

on more definition andrichness of color ….. but the mouth wrongly suggests a mood of gloomy 

boredom with a 

December 9- 

FEAST of JUAN DIEGO - he is added- an obvious[though unexpected]            companion to theother MARIAN VISIONARIES.hint of disgust [a subtle quality which can only be discerned inthe original]

….this changes on 5 Decemberwith addition of a tiny slash of blue in the corner of His Mouth.

11 December 2016, 3 a.m.-the base of a CHALICE begins to assertitself in my imagination [along the edge of Juan Diego's  TILMA]…cascading roseswill help define  the foot of this Chalice…paper pattern cut around 3 p.m.[guide for a shadowy silhouette image] …..

research begins for LEPANTO imagery [1571] -

BATTLE FLAG of the HOLY  LEAGUEwill be depictedinstead of a miniature sea battle

12 December- GUADALUPEroses added and dedicated to grieving friends who lost a son-in-law

 

Come relive this outstanding performance from August 29, 2009.

Over 30 musicians helped make it possible.

This Thursday, August 27, the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center welcomes you back to our weekly series "Live from the Sondheim."

This Thursday, August 20, the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center welcomes you back to our weekly series "Live from the Sondheim."

MY ROMANCE returns once again to the Sondheim as part of the Thursday night concert series streaming live from the Sondheim.  Dr. Dave on piano and vocals and Arlene on violin will be joined by two very special guests:  local favorite bassist George Foster and innovative drummer Phil Marks, for an evening of their jazz flavored favorite songs. Mark your calendar, order a sumptuous takeout from your favorite restaurant, and prepare to be entertained in the comfort of your own home. 

MY ROMANCE brings unpretentiousness, pure joy, and the poetry of honest emotion back into jazz, with a repertoire spanning Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker, Duke Ellington, Antonio Carlos Jobim, and the Beatles. Their audience tends to be older folks who have an appreciation for jazz standards performed with class and sophistication, as well as younger folks discovering the beauty of the jazz tunes of a bygone era.

This Thursday, August 6, the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center welcomes you back to our weekly series "Live from the Sondheim."

Quintessential to the Fairfield World Music Scene, Baraka Trio mixes up music and sounds performed in different genres. Their performances include traditional Algerian songs, African medleys, flamenco, reggae,Sufi music and classical music pieces re-imagined. 
 
The trio is composed of Amine Kouider, Karen Aoki Kouider and Jimmy Moore.Amine, a local favorite, has recently released his first music album titled Tchbatch, which is available on iTunes and Spotify. He will be performing on guitar, percussion and vocals. Karen Aoki is classically trained flutist who studied with master flutists from Hungary, Japan and the US. She will be performing on flute and Keyboards. Jimmy Moore a Fairfield staple will be grooving on the bass. 

Thursday, July 30, the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center welcomes you back to our weekly series "Live from the Sondheim."

This week we will be featuring the Fairfield Arts and Convention Center's own sound technician Seth Moore.

It's been ten years since the Saturday Night at the Sondheim Series presented its infamous Motown R&B show, and now we are proud to announce on our next Throwback Thursday, a reprise of this wonderful show.  Motown R&B features the world class talent of Fairfield, Iowa with over 60 local musicians from all ages and backgrounds performing, including a 40 piece orchestra.Produced by the Fairfield Musicians Club, this was the first show to ever sellout the Sondheim Theater, not once but twice.

Please join us as we dance down memory lane to this wonderful music on Thursday, July 23rd.

As a pre-show appetizer, please join us at 6:45 PM for a highlight reel of our first 10 "Live from the Sondheim" performances, then stay linked in for the show at 7:00 PM.