The Four Fabulous Females exhibit, now extended through Jan. 31 in the Red Path Gallery and Tasting Room, is like an especially good hand in a card game.
The four – Lois Smith of Kearney, Amy Tomasevicz of Columbus, Jerene Kruse of Albion and Deborah Monfelt of Wymore – are members of a group of 25 Nebraska artists who have distinguished themselves by selection in national juried shows and their contributions to the art community. Their Red Path exhibit of paintings, glass and pottery opened in late fall.
The Impact Nebraska Artists nonprofit formed in 1985 to educate people in and beyond Nebraska about art through outreach programs and exhibitions.
Each year, the 25 Impact members select a theme for which they create pieces for a traveling show. At any given time, the group could have up to five different-themed exhibitions on display across the state or region.
To become a member, nominated artists submit applications noting their history of works, selection by juried art exhibits at the national level, and their teaching or other service to the art community. New members are selected by a hired, impartial jurist, and openings occur only when one or more of the 25 leave the group (usually for retirement).
Given the hundreds of artists in Nebraska, and even the 22 Red Path members, associate or featured artists, having four Impact members doing a joint exhibit is unusual.
Alison Koch, who owns and operates Red Path with her husband, Chase Koch, said the show underlines the quality of the artists’ work.
“I want the community to know that they can see these nationally recognized artists locally,” she said.
All four women have been members of the Red Path Gallery since Jeanne and Verle Wiemer opened it and continue to work with the Kochs. Members may display their works for sale in the gallery throughout the year outside of the special exhibits.
Three other Impact members have also shown their work at Red Path in the past, David Dorsey, Susan Hart and Janna Harsch. Dorsey has a show in Seward scheduled later in 2025.
Lois Smith, who became an Impact artist in the last five years, said the requirement that an artist has been selected for a national juried exhibit is one of the things that separates Impact from other artistic groups. There is no restriction to the style or medium of artwork submitted.
Smith focuses on watercolors and other water media, Kruse is now focusing primarily on hand-built pottery, and Monfelt’s work includes oil, watercolor and mixed media. Tomasevicz works in a variety of mediums.
Kruse, who taught art in Albion for 28 years, said she appreciates that Impact recognizes the role of educators because she worked to make time to create her clay and fused glass pieces on her dining room table between school and coaching commitments before retiring early to enjoy a new studio set up.
She now has more time to apply for regional and national juried exhibits, which can require extensive applications, Kruse said. Many ask about the work artists have done in schools and the community to advance art appreciation.
“As an art teacher, you know a little bit about a lot,” she said. “I feel very honored to be in Impact because of the whole jury process.”
Monfelt, who could not be reached for this article, lives in Wymore and specializes in landscapes, animals and florals in oil, watercolor and mixed media works.
Smith said she appreciates the Impact program’s process – including the fact that they have a common storage place for exhibits (minus any pieces sold) and have a standard process for venues seeking to show the works to have them delivered, installed and promoted. Each member is expected to help the group in some way, but they do not have to haul their pieces from exhibit to exhibit.
The current Impact exhibit theme is the Spirit of Robert Henri, paying homage to a past Nebraska artist, which will be displayed in North Platte during May. Other traveling exhibits include Waters of Life, Pollinators and Nebraska Roots themes.
“It gives you an outstanding opportunity to spend time with people who are all wanting to get their work out there,” Smith said.
She enjoys the challenge of thinking through a theme, researching a topic or reading a specific author or artist’s words to interpret that in a painting or other piece.
A few years ago when the theme centered around Willa Cather, Smith painted a scene of her grandparents’ farm after finding a phrase in Cather’s writing: “Out there I felt at home again.”
“What is fun as an artist is when we get a new show put together, to go see how everybody put that together,” Smith said.
Kruse agreed.
“It’s been good for me to be pushed to work for those themes,” she said.
Tomasevicz, who was an active artist during the 43 years she taught school, said she likes the thematic approach.
“It gives a little deeper meaning to my artwork,” she said. “There’s more thought that has to go into this. What do I want the viewer to gain by looking at this?”
Impact is now in the process of editing a book featuring its artists’ work and their lives.
Smith said she enjoys showing her work at Red Path.
“I love that place and feel really fortunate to be a part of it,” Smith said.
Koch said she appreciates having the work by artists of this caliber on display.
“I think a lot of artists know that Seward is a community that supports artists,” she said.
To learn more about the Impact Nebraska Artists group and individual artists, and see past thematic exhibits, go to https://impactart-ne.org.